Anya looked up and sighed as Willow came into the shop. "Hey" she mumbled and returned to the book she was reading.

"Hey" Willow mumbled in return and started choosing items from various jars and boxes around the store. "Do these come individually or do I need to get the whole bundle?" she asked as she held up a bundle of twigs bound together with some ribbon.

Anya looked up, a little surprised at Willow's question. "I can do you a good deal on the whole lot but you can take as many as you need" she put her book under the counter and came round to see what Willow had gathered on the table. "Séance?" she asked and lifted one of the jars to see the contents more clearly.

"Giles and I are going to try to summon the spirits that we think are haunting the residential home" Willow smiled at her. "And since I don't keep any supplies at home any more I needed to stock up on the basics"

Anya nodded and sat down on one of the chairs. "How is Giles?" she asked and pretended innocence at Willow's sudden glance in her direction.

"He's very well" Willow nodded and gave up hunting for the final ingredients to sit down next to her. "He and I are trying to work through some personal issues and he suggested that you had helped him to come to a decision about them?" she left the sentence open ended, hoping to get a response.

Anya nodded and concentrated on removing a non-existent piece of lint from her skirt. "I may have suggested that life for mortals was very short and that it wasn't worth wasting it by being indecisive" she shrugged. "Was he decisive?" she asked, a hint of a grin quirking her lips.

"Oooooohhhhh" Willow breathed out slowly and was aware of a blush creeping up her neck. "Decisive doesn't really cover it, let's just say that I took your advice as well" she smiled. "I guess that means I owe you one?" Willow asked.

"Actually you owe me $37.50" Anya smiled and got up to fetch a paper bag for the purchases.

Willow laughed and shook her head. "Have you heard from Xander recently?" she asked, trying to retain the bantering tone but failing miserably.

"Nope, he's not likely to be here unless he's with one of you these days" Anya shrugged and finished packing the items. "Why, is something wrong?"

"Not really" Willow shook her head. "It's just that Giles told him about our new arrangement and he sort of flipped and gave Giles two black eyes and a broken nose" Willow sadly finished and saw the look of worry on Anya's face. She raised her eyebrows as she recognised that Anya was concerned for Giles and not Xander and wondered when that strange shift had happened and why it made her uncomfortable.

"Is he alright?" Anya asked and put the money in the till without even checking it. Willow was seriously concerned now, Anya must care for Giles more deeply than any of them had ever guessed.

"He's fine, Buffy reset his nose and he's just a bit sore" Willow remained seated at the table. "He worked late last night and I left him sleeping this morning, I guess the painkillers knocked him out a bit as well"

"What do you want me to tell Xander if I see him?" Anya asked, trying to get the image of Willow leaving Giles in bed out of her head.

"Just tell him that I need to see him, I'm not mad or anything but I just need to know he's OK" Willow shrugged. "I know this is difficult for him but he's my best friend, I can't lose him now"

Anya nodded and returned to stand behind the counter. "If I see him I'll let him know" she seemed to pause for a moment, unsure of whether to continue. "Perhaps you could tell Giles that I hope he gets better soon?"

Willow nodded and indicated the shop. "I think he wants to spend some time here before he leaves again and I'm sure he'll give you a call once this séance thing is over and done with"

*****

Giles woke up feeling as if his mouth was full of cotton wool. He rolled over and started to wipe his hand across his eyes when he was painfully reminded of the previous day's events. "Oh, bloody hell!" he shouted and lay on his back to try and catch his breath.

"Giles, is everything OK?" Buffy asked from the other side of his bedroom door.

"Yes, yes" he mumbled and his head began to pound like some crazed jazz quartet. He slowly got himself out of bed and headed for the bathroom. He was startled to find Buffy still standing outside his door when he opened it. "Buffy?" was all he could manage as he gritted his teeth.

"Willow's gone out to the Magic Box and I think she was going to pick up some stuff for your head on her way home" Buffy stood back to let him past. "Can I get you anything?" she asked as he shuffled down the hallway.

"I'll be fine once I've got myself together" he said and closed the bathroom door to forestall any further questions. A ten minute shower, most of it spent standing under the scalding water and trying to breath through his nose, helped get him some of the way towards greeting the new day. He decided to miss shaving for a few days to let the bruise on his jaw quieten down a little. He also admitted to himself that he didn't really want to look at his purple and black eyes and nose in the mirror. Feeling a little refreshed he headed back to the bedroom and managed to get dressed and be feeling almost human by the time he headed downstairs.

Buffy was in the kitchen and had just poured his tea when he came in. "Good timing" she smiled at him. "Are you OK?" she winced.

"Just a bit tender this morning, sorry I was grumpy earlier" he blew on his tea to cool it a little. "Where did you say Willow had gone?" he asked.

"She went to the Magic Box to get the stuff you need for the spell and was going to stop at the pharmacist on the way back to get you some more painkillers" Buffy headed for the living room and he followed her. "Are you sure you should be doing any magic if you are in this much pain?" she asked. "Won't it affect your focus or something?"

He nodded a little and sat down on the sofa. "Willow is actually going to be doing most of the work and I'll just be anchoring her" he explained. "She is much more powerful than me anyway and I think she needs to do something like this to get her confidence back"

They sat in silence for a while until he looked up at her. "Any word from Xander?" he asked quietly.

Buffy shook her head. "Willow was hoping Anya might have heard something" she shrugged. "He'll come round eventually, probably just needs some time to get his head round this"

"I don't suppose I should expect him to understand 100% when I'm not sure Willow and I do ourselves" he agreed and looked towards Buffy. "About last night" he started.

"I'm sorry, I had no right to complain that you were able to stay longer" she interrupted.

"It's OK" he interrupted her. "I just need you to know that you and I have a bond that Willow and I will never have and it isn't going to be diminished by whatever we eventually become to each other" he sat forward in the chair and reached for her hand. "I never meant to hurt you" he squeezed her fingers and tilted his head to see her eyes.

She turned her head back to him and smiled. "You didn't hurt me, I was just tired and still a little freaked about you being all cuddly and kissable suddenly" Taking a deep breath she squeezed his hand in return. "I ruined things for you once before by being selfish and I don't intend to do it again, especially when I'd be messing with Willow as well"

He nodded and sank back in his chair. "Oh, and by the way" he added as an afterthought. "What makes you think I'm only staying to get some action?" he raised his eyebrows. "Why would I need to come all the way to America for that?"

Her embarrassment was finally matched by her shock at his teasing tone as the implications of what he said sank in. "Found you're little black book when you got back to England?" she asked and shook her head. "Too much information, I'm going to do some training in the basement"

Willow returned ten minutes later and found him still sitting in the chair, finishing his tea and enjoying the relative peace and calm. "Hello" she smiled as she leaned down to kiss the top of his head. "Did you sleep OK?"

"Not bad" he admitted. "Although I could have used a little company" he suggested and then caught her surprised look and suddenly blushed. "Sorry, just something Buffy and I were talking about" he mumbled and realised that yesterday's `saying something incredibly stupid without thinking' problem was still afflicting him.

Willow stared at him and shook her head. She decided to keep her mind on the problem at hand and emptied the bag onto the coffee table. "We'll come back to that later?" she suggested. "I picked up everything we'll need from Anya and I finished putting together the phrases we'll need for the calling from my notes this morning"

"We'll take half an hour to go over everything to make sure we haven't missed anything important and then you can call Mrs Wayne and arrange a time for us to visit this afternoon" he nodded, feeling happier to be back on familiar ground. "Once the preparations are made we should both relax for a couple of hours to get ready"

Buffy came back upstairs an hour later to find Giles sitting in the armchair and Willow sprawled on the sofa. "Hey, what happened to the research and everything?" she shifted Willow's legs and squeezed onto the end of the sofa. "Is this how you two always work while Xander and I are out killing things?"

"Afraid so" Giles nodded. "We generally get the research done in about five minutes and then just spin out the lazing around till you come back all dirty and covered in demon gloop" he smiled.

"Yep" Willow agreed and lifted her legs till they rested on Buffy's lap. "Sometimes snacks and beverages are involved or not, depends on whether one of us can be bothered to get back up once the lazing has begun" she yawned and stretched a little.

"What's the plan?" Buffy looked sternly at Giles. "I thought we were clearing this up today so you two could get down to serious smoochies?"

He coughed. "That is still, essentially, the plan" he agreed. "We're due at the home for three thirty and have been guaranteed a couple of hours, free from interruption, in the rooms that have been affected to try and summon the spirits, see what they are trying to communicate and then persuade them to stop whatever they are doing"

Buffy shrugged and snuggled down a little lower in the sofa. "OK, daytime TV here we come"

Willow finally roused herself from the sofa at two o'clock. "I need to go and transform myself into efficient reporter woman, does anyone need to use the bathroom for the next twenty minutes?"

"Give me a shout when you're finished and I'll come up and get ready" Giles suggested as he put down the book he was reading.

Buffy watched Willow head upstairs before turning on her side on the sofa. "Bet you wish you still had the Willow-vision thing still going on?" she smirked at him.

He looked at her sharply and she thought he was going to refuse to answer when he finally picked the book up again and pretended to concentrate on it. "I should have remembered the female habit of sharing every embarrassing titbit of news" he shrugged, still refusing to look up. "Now you know just how difficult that situation was for me?"

Buffy sighed. "When Willow told me I felt sorry for you but you've got a point, things over the last day or two have made it seem kinda worse"

*****

Mrs Wayne stared at him as she shook his hand. "What on earth happened to you, Professor Giles?" she vaguely waved her free hand in the direction of his face. "Were you mugged?"

Giles coughed a little and wished he had thought up a reasonable lie before arriving.

Willow took pity on him and tried to get to the business at hand. "The professor was trying to teach some of us to play cricket and unfortunately misjudged his timing a little" she nudged Giles who was looking just as surprised as the older woman. "We should get set up and ready to get started" she suggested.

Giles cleared his throat and shook his head. He was always amazed at the completely innocent look that Willow habitually wore while lying so convincingly. He knew that it was a useful talent in their particular line of work, but was more disconcerted than usual as he realised the power she held over him. "Bit of a leg spin that caught me unawares" he finally let go of Mrs Wayne's hand. "Definitely looks worse than it is" he suggested manfully. "The rooms were down this way I believe?" he pointed to the east wing and followed the two women as they made their way to Mike's room.

Mrs Wayne watched nervously from the doorway as Willow laid out several candles and dishes in a vague circle. "You don't need to worry" Giles suggested as he removed his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. "Ms Rosenberg and I have done this many times before and we'll be perfectly safe"

"If you could just lock the door on the way out and we'll come and find you once we're finished?" Willow suggested. "I thought she would never leave" she sighed and began pouring a ring of coloured sand onto the carpet.

"Are we in a hurry?" he asked as he removed his waistcoat and loosened his tie.

Willow finished what she was doing and passed her hand over a large dish, causing a slightly green tinged smoke to begin forming. "Just looking forward to defeating the evilness, that's all" she smiled sweetly at him. "That's a good look on you" she nodded towards him. "Slightly ruffled tweed with designer stubble"

He rolled his eyes and lowered himself onto his knees within the circle of sand. "Concentrate" he glared at her and held his hands out.

She smiled and dropped into the lotus position in front of him, taking his hands in hers and rolling her neck to get rid of any remaining kinks. When she was quite settled she stared into his eyes. "Let's do this" she said quietly and began reciting the Celtic chant, modified slightly to specifically call on members of the Guilen sect.

He had slowed his breathing and felt himself becoming aware of the magic slowly being generated around him. His job was to remain focussed on the physical surroundings and anchor Willow in their present time and space while she tried to bring forth the sect members.

Willow had admitted to being more than a little nervous. Her previous dealings with the spirit world had all ended badly and she wasn't sure she wanted anything to do with this type of magic ever again but she knew that Giles was very experienced in this area and wouldn't allow any harm to come to either of them.

After about ten minutes they both became aware of a darkening in the smoke that now surrounded them. The green colour slowly changed to a dirty grey and eventually developed into a human form. Willow continued in her chant, becoming a little more insistent to try to actualise the form more distinctly. After a few minutes they were able to make out a human male wearing clothes consistent with the Guilen's time period. He was quite small and Giles wondered briefly if he were a child, however, the final few seconds of the form's appearance distilled into a bearded figure.

"You must hurry" the form urged them. "You must get out while you can"

"Why?" Willow asked quietly. "What is it that you are frightened of?"

The man looked at her as if she was mad. "The demon knows we are trying to vanquish him and is coming to destroy us all" he looked over his shoulder. "I don't have time to explain, we must all leave here now" he was practically begging them now and they both knew that he was petrified of whatever he thought was coming to get them.

"Is it the Lareck demon?" Giles asked and knew he was right from the frightened look the man gave them. "We have nothing to fear, he was defeated by the strength of your joining. He is gone"

The man frantically shook his head and tried to reach out to pull them after him. "I couldn't make them understand and now it's too late"

Willow took a deep breath and concentrated to bring a little more of her power on line. "You can sense my power" she stated and saw the man stare at her in surprise. "You know that the demon will be defeated if he comes anywhere near me so we are all safe"

He seemed to calm down a little but continued to glance over his shoulder regularly. "You are a sorcerer of great power" he finally admitted. "Perhaps you are our only hope now that the demon is free" they could both see a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "You must use your power to resurrect the link between the houses. Without the link we will be destroyed"

Giles signalled to Willow to let him take over for a while. "You must believe us when we tell you that the demon has been destroyed. Your fight is over, you have won and can let go of your connection to this place and allow yourself to rest with the others of your sect"

He looked at Giles and his disbelief in their words faded away. "I cannot rest" he finally admitted as he hung his head. "It is because of my mistake that the demon is free and I cannot rest until I can persuade the council to leave this place before the demon arrives and kills all of us"

"What was your mistake?" Giles asked softly.

The apparition took a deep breath and slowly looked up. "I thirsted after knowledge and would not listen to the elders on the council when they said that some areas were not for novices to study" Giles heard Willow's breathing quicken but trusted her to keep her concentration until they had finished their work. "I stole some of the ancient texts and let my pride get the better of me, summoning the demon in an attempt to prove to them that I was strong enough to vanquish it myself"

"The demon was destroyed" Giles gently reminded him. "You are drawn to this place because it holds your memories of the final battle, but that battle was fought and won over two hundred years ago and you must recognise the futility of continuing to torture yourself"

"I deserve no less" the man suggested and stepped back, spreading his arms wide. "I am worse than the demon himself, I cannot allow myself to rest with the innocents. I should suffer for the rest of eternity and it would still not be enough"

"You are not the only one suffering" Willow allowed a little more of her power to build. "Your actions are hurting people in our time and we cannot allow you to indulge your guilt at their expense"

The three of them sat in silence for a moment or two.

"I do not mean any harm to those in your world but I must remain as I am to warn others of the dangers"

Willow shook her head. "There are many here who know of the demon world and its powers, they will continue the fight if you choose to rest after all of this time"

"I do not warn of demons" he argued impatiently. "You understand nothing" he turned away and closed his eyes. "I must remain to warn others who would seek the power without having the knowledge to temper its use" he admitted quietly.

Giles squeezed Willow's hands. "There are those of us who have learnt this lesson already and are prepared to remain in your stead" he suggested. "You may look into our souls and detect the knowledge you speak of. You will see the battles we have fought and won over many years to teach others this lesson, and you will see that your presence here is only causing harm" Giles allowed a little steel to creep into his tone at the end and met the surprised gaze of the apparition without giving any quarter.

"It is as you say" the man finally agreed. "I have longed for and dreaded this moment for centuries" he admitted. "I am sorry that I have caused your people suffering, I meant them no harm, only to warn them that the house they inhabited could be overcome by the demon if they were not vigilant"

Giles nodded. "We understand but you must leave now and allow these people to live here free from your intervention"

Willow felt an overwhelming sense of relief wash over them to be followed by a deep sadness. "I wish you luck in your coming battles and thank you for releasing me from my duty" the final words seemed to emanate from the cloud of smoke as the form slowly dematerialised.

Willow slowly reined in her power and ensured that the door they had opened to the spirit world was firmly closed before allowing herself to relax and drop her hands to her sides.

Giles was leaning back against the bed, catching his breath. He watched her roll her neck and wiggle her toes and fingers. "You were controlling the doorway for an hour, are you OK?" he finally asked and was rewarded with a smile and her opening her eyes.

"A little tired and a lot sad" she admitted and slowly uncrossed her legs and stretched them out in front of her while leaning back on her hands. "Do you think he's really gone?"

Giles nodded. "I think the mayor may have had something to do with this building being put in the same place and built to a similar specification as the original sect buildings" he stretched his back and rotated his shoulders. "The spirit obviously assumed it had been built to resurrect the demon and tried to warn all of those living here of the danger they were in"

Willow nodded and stood up, brushing sand and herbs from her clothes as she moved to open the windows. She wafted some of the smoke out of the window before moving to his side and offering her hand to help him stand. "I don't suppose he had any way of knowing that the elderly residents wouldn't react very well to ghostly visits foretelling doom and their imminent death"

Giles stood up himself and then took her hand in his. "I'm sorry you had to go through this, it must have been very painful for you so soon after your own battles" he hugged her close. "You were magnificent today, the gradually increasing power, and your control of it, was what finally convinced him to leave"

"Just doing my job sir" Willow smiled at him and hugged him tightly before stepping away. "I'll go and find Mrs Wayne and sort out getting this mess cleared up"

Giles nodded and slowly stretched before putting his waistcoat and jacket back on. He looked at himself in a full length mirror on the back of the door and shook his head. When Willow had originally suggested the tweed suit to impress the woman who ran the residential home he had assured her that he hadn't packed anything like that for his holiday. Willow had giggled and Buffy had been dispatched to the basement to retrieve the box with his name marked on it. "What on earth?" he had asked as he pulled out several notebooks and items of clothing, including two tweed suits and some very baggy sweaters. Buffy had shrugged her shoulders "We figured you didn't want them any more but we couldn't really bring ourselves to throw them out" Now, looking at himself in the mirror he struggled to remember the early days when this had been his uniform. He was still staring at himself when he heard Willow and Mrs Wayne returning. He stepped out into the corridor and found Ernie watching him from the door of his adjoining room. He left Willow to sort out the domestic issues and followed the old man into his room.

"Did you find out what happened to Mike?" he asked as he sat down in the high backed chair.

"I think so" Giles nodded. "We managed to track down a spirit who thought you were all in danger and was trying to warn everyone to leave before it was too late" he sat down on the edge of the bed. "Unfortunately he didn't know that the usage of the building had changed in the last two hundred years and his exhortations to leave and explanations of the danger were probably overwhelming enough to frighten a person to death" he paused. "Do you know if Mike had any heart problems?"

Ernie stared down at his hands clasped in his lap for a moment or two before answering. "He had survived three fairly large coronaries over the last ten years and his doctor had just recently upped his medication" he shook his head. "What happens now?"

Giles stood to pace, taking the chance to look at the many photographs on the wall. "Willow and I persuaded the spirit that the danger was over and done with many years ago and that he could leave this place" he turned to look at the old man. "I don't think you will be getting any more visits but I will be suggesting some works be carried out to change the floorplan of the building" he indicated the room around him. "Part of the reason for the spirit's insistence was the uncanny resemblance of this building to the one previously destroyed."

Ernie looked up at him. "I was at the opening of this home fifteen years ago" he smiled at the memory. "Mayor Wilkins cut the ribbon and we all clapped and sipped our cheap wine as the first residents were wheeled in"

Giles returned to sit on the bed. "You were still a serving police officer?"

"Yes, the Mayor liked his photocalls to have a uniform in them, reminded people how strong he was on law and order" Ernie shrugged his shoulders to acknowledge the irony. "I didn't have any idea at the time that I would eventually live here but I remember thinking that it was real nice that a serving official took such an interest in the welfare of the older members of society. It was in all of the papers that he had overseen the design himself to make it as accessible as possible"

Giles nodded "I suspected as much, a few changes to the usage of certain rooms and perhaps a sun terrace or two tacked onto the building should change it enough to negate any further interference"

Ernie stood up and stared at the picture of him next to the mayor. "To this day I still can't believe he had us all duped" he shook his head. "A few of the senior officers disappeared after you blew up what he had become, but nobody else had any idea of his influence"

Giles stood up as well and rested his hand on the man's shoulder. "There was no reason you should have, he was a very intelligent man who had been around for over three hundred years by the time the Ascension took place" he headed for the door. "If you have any further problems please contact Willow on this number and she can contact me if it is necessary, however, I meant it when I said that there shouldn't be any more occurrences"

Ernie took the card and shook his hand. "I'm sorry I was rude to you the last time we met, I was just so used to seeing you turning up every time we had a strange dead body that I didn't believe you were on the right side"

Giles smiled and shook his hand warmly. "Professional hazard I'm afraid"

Ernie smiled as Willow joined them in the corridor. "Is that the explanation for the bruises?" he asked.

Willow giggled. "Sporting injury" she suggested and looked so honest and innocent that Ernie didn't have the nerve to disagree with her.

Giles shook his head and put his arm around her shoulders. "Have you finished cleaning up the mess you made?" he asked and winked at Ernie over her head.

"Yes professor" she simpered and pulled away from his arm. "Let's just say goodbye to Mrs Wayne and we can get to that other meeting we have planned for this afternoon" she winked in a completely unsubtle way and then grinned at both of them. "Ernie, can you let Kate and Sheila know that the problem has been cleared up and I think Xander will probably be around to visit them soon to make sure everything is OK?"

Ernie nodded and smiled at her. "Will you come back to brighten up our days as well?" he asked and was delighted when she nodded. "Take care of the professor here" he nodded towards Giles and walked off down the corridor to find the others.

Mrs Wayne came out of Mike's room and looked a little worried. "How long do you think the smell will take to go away?" she looked towards Giles again. "I have some prospective client's coming to see the room tomorrow morning and I don't want them thinking we encourage smoking of any kind"

Giles tried desperately not to laugh and refused to look at Willow, knowing she would undoubtedly set him off. "I think the smoke should have dissipated completely within an hour or so and perhaps the liberal use of some room freshener would suffice to clear the smell" he turned away as the smile won the battle and he had to take a deep breath to stop the giggles. "I'm sorry" he mumbled when he turned back round. "The séance has tired me and I should get some rest before my next appointment" he had placed his hand over his eyes and could hear Willow coughing behind him in a losing battle. "Ms Rosenberg, have you quite finished?" he asked and glanced at her, sticking his tongue out so that only she could see.

She stared at him for a moment, determined not to react to his taunting. She took a deep breath and turned to look at the bewildered woman. "I'm sorry Mrs Wayne but sometimes defeating the powers of darkness weakens the professor, it would be best if I accompanied him to make sure he is OK"

Giles lowered his head and groaned dramatically to cover his grin. He felt Willow's hand in the small of his back and allowed himself to be guided down the corridor to the front door. "Of course" Mrs Wayne hurried along beside them. "Will you be OK professor, perhaps some tea before you go?" He managed to draw out an even deeper groan and was sure that his ribs were going to ache for days with the pain of keeping from laughing out loud.

"No, I must insist" Willow practically shouted. "The professor needs to get to bed as soon as possible, it really is the best thing for him when he is in this condition"

By this time they were standing outside the door and Willow reached out to shake the woman's hand. "We'll submit our report in due course and I'll contact you in a week or so to make sure everything has settled down"

"Goodbye" Mrs Wayne waved as they set off. "I hope you feel better soon Professor Giles" she shouted as the pair disappeared into their car.

Giles was sitting in the passenger seat, his hands over his eyes still and his other arm wrapped around his ribs, shaking with laughter. "You are evil" he giggled. " `get to bed as soon as possible' " he quoted and finally chanced a look at her as she drove them round the corner of the building. "We've just eradicated a two hundred and ten year old spirit that was killing off her paying customers and she was worried about the smell" he finally gasped out and leaned back in his seat to laugh out loud.

Willow was laughing with him. "You should have heard her complain about the ring of sand and herbs" she finally managed to get out. "Thank goddess for vacuum cleaners, I thought she was going to make me scrub the carpet"

They finally got their collective breaths back after a couple of blocks and he glanced out of the window. "Where are we going?" he asked. "Buffy's house is back the other way"

"I know" Willow nodded and looked at him a little sheepishly. "I just wanted to find Xander and tell him that the thing was done with" she shrugged as he stared at her. "His latest project is on the outskirts of town and I thought we could drop by and give him the good news"

"What happened to getting me into bed as a matter of urgency?" he sighed and stretched his legs out in front of him, folding his arms at the same time.

"We need to have the serious talk first and I'd rather sort out the thing with Xander before we tackle anything else" she pouted a little. "Please, I promise it will be worth the wait?"

He sighed dramatically and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "Luckily for you I'm still in a good mood from the magic earlier or we would be having our first argument right about now" he suggested dryly.

Willow smiled a little sadly and put her hand on his arm. "We have the rest of our lives together but I need to know I'm OK with Xander, it just feels wrong to not have him be a part of this"

He nodded grudgingly and patted her hand. "I'll behave but I'm warning you, I will defend myself this time"

Chapter 19

"Come in" he shouted and continued to concentrate on the drawings in front of him. He waited for the other person to speak and finally looked up impatiently to ask what they wanted. "Willow!" he said and moved round the table. "Is everything OK?"

"Everything's fine Xan, I just came to let you know that the home is all clear and Kate and Sheila are looking forward to your next visit" she smiled and wandered a little aimlessly round his office. "So this is where you work?" she finally said and picked up a yellow hard hat before investigating it thoroughly.

"Yeah" he nodded, not afraid of the reasons for her visit any more but a little worried. "That's great about the bad guy, what was it?" he asked.

"Spirit from the sect, he was hanging around to warn everyone that the demon was coming for them so Giles and I brought him up to date and he agreed to skeedadle" she put the hat down and turned to face him.

He had flinched when she mentioned Giles. "You OK with the magic and stuff?" he asked and pulled out a chair for her.

"Yeah, better than OK, everything went really well and Giles said I was super control girl so…" she drummed her fingers on the table top and continued to stand.

"What you doing Saturday night?" Xander finally broke the silence that had settled between them.

Willow looked up and tilted her head to the side. "Probably recovering from the shopping trip with Buffy, Dawn and…" she suggested with a slight smile.

"Giles, I get it already" he interrupted her and waved his hand in the air. "So you'll all be glad of the chance to sit down and watch some videos at my place?"

"All of us?" she asked and folded her arms across her chest.

"There's already too many women in my life, I can't afford to lose one of my few male friends" he suggested and looked down at the drawings. "Is he OK?" he asked without looking up.

"Once the bruising has gone down in a couple of weeks he should be fine" she nodded. "Of course he's lucky that Buffy knew how to reset broken noses and that I happen to like the new shape"

She continued to stare at him as he took a deep breath and finally looked up at her. "Do you love him?" he asked.

"I think I might" she nodded. "We're going to take the next few weeks to work some things out but, yes, I think I probably do" Her eyes held his for a few moments before she finally looked away. "He's waiting in the car for me, I'd better get going and let you get back to work"

Giles looked anxiously at her as she slid back into the car. "Is everything alright between you?" he asked.

"I think it will be" she nodded and put on her seat belt. "We're all going to the movie night at his place on Saturday so I guess we'll know better after that"

"Perhaps it would be better if I gave it a miss, I'm sure you would all enjoy yourselves more if I wasn't there" he pulled out of the car park and headed towards Buffy's.

"Giles we can't avoid being seen out together just to keep other people happy" she rested her hand on his thigh. "Xander did say he wanted you there and I think you'll both have to sort out some way to deal with this, preferably sooner rather than later"

Dawn looked up guiltily as they arrived home. "Hey guys" she smiled and waved at them. "Did everything go OK?" she asked.

"Everything is fine, problem is solved and Xander's movie marathon is definitely on for Saturday night" Willow replied. "Hello Martin, would you like to stay for dinner?"

"No thank you, I was just helping Dawn with her Math homework but I have to be home by six thirty" he replied and looked a little surprised as Giles walked past him on his way to the kitchen. "Mr Giles, what happened to your face?"

Giles stopped and shook his head. "It's a long story" he began but Dawn interrupted him.

"He got hit" she said succinctly and returned to her textbook. "What were you saying about this equation?" she tried to get Martin's attention. The young boy shook his head and looked back towards the book to answer her question.

Giles and Willow headed for the kitchen. "Why was Dawn looking so guilty when we came in?" Giles whispered.

Willow shook her head and giggled before nodding her head in the direction of the back door. Giles nodded his agreement and carried two glasses of juice out with him. "She's not really supposed to have friends over without one of us being here and she knows that I know I helped her with the Math homework earlier this week" She sighed as she settled onto the top step and took her drink from him as he settled next to her.

"She must really like him?" Giles suggested as he removed his jacket. "Doing Maths homework twice is above and beyond the call of duty"

Willow nodded. "I used to pretend to do homework I had already done just to spend more time with you in the library" she admitted and raised her face to the sun.

"That would be the occasions when I was reorganising my card index for the fourth time just to remain with you?" he suggested and turned to look at her.

They remained quiet for five minutes, both remembering the times they had spent together in the library. Eventually Willow took another drink and turned to meet his gaze. "So?" she said and raised her eyebrows.

"Indeed" he replied and took a drink of his juice, his eyes smiling at her over the rim of the glass.

She took a deep breath and shook her head. "Alright, I'll go first" she agreed and took a moment to gather her thoughts. "I have no idea how we are going to work this out between us and I know that you have to return to England in a couple of weeks. The only things I do know are that I'm probably in love with you and I'm very confused by that and you are a great kisser" she finished in a bit of a rush and took a gulp of her juice.

He smiled at her and reached out to gather her hand in his. "I also have no idea what we are going to do but I have some good news" he raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "I don't have to go back for at least four weeks and I know that I am definitely in love with you and am surprisingly unconfused by that" he nodded. "Oh, and you do have some potential yourself in the kissing stakes"

"So it doesn't bother you any more?" she asked and tried to concentrate her mind away from the sensations aroused by the hand kissing thing he was continuing with. "The gay/straight thing, cause it seemed to bother you yesterday and I haven't done anything in the meantime to clear it up for me so I don't think I could have resolved it for you"

He sighed and lifted her other hand, transferring his attentions. "I think I just accepted that I'll have to be jealous of everyone on the planet and not restrict it to a specific gender" he shrugged. "I'm prepared to fight off competition for you either from other women or other men"

"What about the age thing?" she asked as her breathing quickened, he had started to nibble her fingers.

He shrugged again and smiled at her around her index finger. "I'm sure I'll be able to keep up with you and I can always start working out again if you think I'm slowing down"

"Wait a minute" she said in an exasperated tone and pulled her hands away from him. "Yesterday you were all about the barriers and the problems and now today you're all about the kissing and the licking and nibbling" she seemed to lose track of the point she had been trying to make. "This is a life changing decision Giles, you need to take it seriously" she furrowed her brow and dared him to make another joke.

He started to reach for her hand again but she pulled away and he sighed. "Over the past two days I have been propositioned by an extremely attractive young woman with whom I've been secretly, madly in love for the past couple of years" he began. "Shortly after this I became a gibbering idiot and nearly spoiled the entire process by saying some incredibly stupid things to her. Once I had apologised we kissed and this was interrupted by several different people, including one of her ex-boyfriends who proceeded to beat me up when I told him of my love for her" he took a deep breath. "On top of all of this I have helped to rid a residential home of an unwelcome spirit and fought off the unwanted attentions of another woman" He held up his hand to prevent her interruption. "As if none of that was enough I have jet lag from hell and plans to spend all day Saturday in an American Mall shopping for shoes before undergoing the ultimate torture of a video night with chick flicks and action movies" He noticed that she was staring at him with her mouth slightly open and reached up to run his fingers over her lips. "In spite of all of this I am, without a doubt, the luckiest man on the planet" he let his hand fall to his side. "I know how important this decision is Willow, but it's also one of the easiest I've ever made in my life. Nothing else matters to me as long as I get to hold you and kiss you and be with you for the rest of my life"

"But you're going to be six thousand miles away and I can't leave the Hellmouth" she frowned. "I'm not sure I can have four weeks of `us' and then say goodbye to you till the next holiday visit"

"I know" he nodded and dropped his head to gaze intently at the wooden step he was sitting on. "But I'm hoping that we can sort something out, after all I move around a lot with my job and I'm sure Buffy and Xander could cope if we worked out a schedule whereby you came to England when I couldn't get here"

"Giles I don't think I can make that work, after all I couldn't make it work with Oz and he lived on the same campus" she was pleading with him to come up with another answer. "I know you think of England as your home and you have friends there but isn't there any way you could come back here permanently?"

"Can't we at least try it my way first?" he suggested, trying to make her see that he wanted this to work. "You know that I would come back here if that was the only way to be with you but the reasons for my leaving haven't changed in the last year and I don't want to go down that road again"

Willow thought about what he had said for some minutes before answering. "I think you are wrong, Buffy is coping really well on her own now and she wouldn't go back to relying on you for everything if you came back" she drew her knees up and rested her chin on them. "But I guess I could try it your way for a while to see if it would work out" she nodded. "I do need to be with you, and I don't expect you to give up your home and friends and job again just to prove how much you love me"

They stayed next to each other, watching the sun go down over the houses behind the garden. Buffy found them twenty minutes later. "Hey guys, what's up?"

Giles was the first to stir and looked round to smile at her. "Everything is fine. The spirit at the home has been despatched and Willow talked to Xander this afternoon" he stood up and lifted his empty glass. "I'm going to get out of this suit and into something a little less tweedy" he smiled and headed indoors.

Buffy took his seat and looked towards Willow. "Hey Will, how was Xander?" she asked, a little concerned at the far away look on her friend's face.

Willow roused herself and turned to look at Buffy. "He was fine, said the movie night is still on and that it was OK if Giles made an appearance" she smiled a little.

"So what's with you two sitting out here all contemplatey?" Buffy asked.

"We were just trying to work out how we were going to work things out" Willow replied and sighed. "He seems to think that I'm sweating over the small stuff too much and we should just kiss and get on with it" she shrugged. "I think we also agreed to try and commute for kisses once he goes back home"

Buffy looked a little confused. "He's OK with the gay thing now?"

"Yeah, that surprised me a little as well" Willow admitted. "But he explained it and I sort of agreed with him then he was kissing my hand and I sort of lost track of why I was so worried about it in the first place" she admitted and looked a little confused herself.

"He isn't going to come back here to stay?" Buffy asked, unsure of her reaction irrespective of Willow's answer.

"Not at first" Willow nodded and turned to look at Buffy. "I know this must be really weird for you but he can't really drop everything and come back again so we're going to try and work out lots of visits" Buffy looked a little sceptical. "I know" Willow agreed. "But I can't go and live with him in England, what happens if you need me here and I'm there eating scones and drinking warm beer?"

Buffy shrugged. "Same as happens when we need him, I phone and you come back"

Willow looked at her friend for several minutes. "I'm getting really confused that everyone seems to see no problem with me falling in love with a man and moving six thousand miles away" she shook her head. "All I can see are the problems with that"

Buffy put her hand on Willow's arm. "Look, if you are in love with him and he won't move back here then you need to move there" she explained. "You gave up the chance to escape the Hellmouth when you chose to go the UC Sunnydale and it's not fair to make you give up another chance, particularly when it's about something this important"

Willow nodded and sniffed a little. "It's just that I promised myself I would spend the rest of my life protecting everyone around me from the Hellmouth and I kinda need to be here to do that" she wiped her eyes and sniffed again. "I don't think remote remorse works the same as being here"

Buffy pulled her into a hug. "Willow, you've saved hundreds of lives over the six years we've been here and that's not counting the apocalypses you've helped to stop" she rubbed her friend's back and held onto her as she started sobbing in her arms. "You don't need to torture yourself or Giles by staying here"

Giles listened from his bedroom window and muttered under his breath. "Bugger, I thought she was over this" he turned from the window and found Dawn staring at him. "Dawn" he smiled uncertainly and moved towards the door. "I was opening the window for some fresh air" he ad libbed.

Dawn shook her head. "For someone in your job you are a lousy liar" she suggested and headed for her own room.

He started to argue with her then shook his head and went to change instead.

Twenty minutes later he had just put down the phone when Buffy came into the kitchen. "Hey Giles, good work on the golden ghost" she smiled and headed past him to the front door. "Need to see some vampires about a kitten, I'll see you later" she shouted over her shoulder and shut the door behind her.

He went to the back door to find Willow and found her still sitting in the same position. "Hey, don't you want to get out of those clothes?" he asked and blushed furiously as she turned to look at him with an incredulous look. "I just meant to change into something more comfortable and less smoky" he finally managed, cleaning his glasses with extreme prejudice.

Willow shook her head and laughed at him. "I think you've had one too many head knocks, you're turning into a character from a Carry On movie" she giggled. When she had finally stopped laughing she stood up and looked at him. She made a point of obviously checking him out before stepping closer to him and putting her arms round his waist. "You look good, have you lost some weight since your last visit?"

He shrugged and pulled her hips tight against his. "Just toned everything up a bit and bought some new clothes"

She moved her hands to clasp them behind his neck and leaned in for a gentle kiss. "I think I might be biased but tight black jeans really suit you" she smiled at him. "Perhaps I will go and change, give me fifteen minutes then maybe we could go out for some dinner, just the two of us?"

He looked a little surprised then leaned down for another kiss. "If that's what you want, I'll wait down here?" he asked hopefully.

"I think that would be for the best" she shook her head and sighed. "Perhaps you could phone and reserve a table somewhere"

Half an hour later they were walking towards the centre of town. He had his arm round her shoulders and she was trying to explain the principles behind the spell she had undertaken on her return. "Anya thought I was set on world domination and it was only the rabbits being there that persuaded her to leave Buffy and I alone in the shop" she giggled and turned to face him. "The spell to endow them with the human pheromones took about half an hour and it worked just like we hoped. Then we let them loose in the basement and gave them an hour before we checked to see if it had worked out. Buffy helped me gather them back up and we took another fifteen minutes to de-pheromone them" she gasped for air as she practically bounced with the remembered excitement. "Everything went just as planned and the whole thing was over in two hours max but it took Xander four hours to prove to her that there weren't any bunnies left in the shop"

Giles was caught up in her laughter and hugged her. "At least the spell worked and the storeroom is back in use again" he smiled. He stopped outside a restaurant. "I booked a table here, is that OK for you?" he asked.

"Pizza!" she smiled up at him. "It's perfect and I'm starving"

*****

"I insist" Willow put on her resolve face, marred slightly by having tomato sauce on her chin.

He sighed and leaned across to wipe it up with his thumb before handing his credit card to the waiter. "Willow if this is our first official date then I absolutely insist on paying for our dinner" he signed the voucher and returned it to the waiter. "I have never had a woman pay for dinner on a first date and I never will" he thanked the waiter for the return of his card and left a generous tip before holding his hand out to her.

"It's just so old fashioned" she complained. "But, hopefully this is the last first date you'll ever go on" she took his hand and they turned towards home.

"I suppose so" he answered and reached down to kiss the top of her head. "What do you want to do now?" he asked.

She looked a little surprised "I thought we could go back to the house and see if the sofa is any more comfortable than last night" She reached up and kissed him, one hand reaching behind his head to ruffle his hair. The kiss advanced quickly and Willow pulled back a moment later to lick her lips and gaze up into his eyes.

He was breathing heavily and ran his hand down the side of her face before taking a step away from her. "Persuasive as your argument is Ms Rosenberg I think it might be better to take the long route home and continue the serious talk from earlier"

"But I thought we had agreed that we were together now and the problems were all overcomeable" she pouted and stopped walking. "Are you having second thoughts already?"

He shook his head and pulled her close to him again to hug her. "Willow, this is the one problem that isn't overcomeable" he pulled back to look into her eyes. "By the way that isn't really a word"

She nodded and looked miserable. "What have I done now?"

"Despite your protestations yesterday and today, you don't really believe that you are in love with me nor that I am in love with you" he shook his head and raised his hand to forestall her interruption. "You are stuck in the same mindset as the Guilen spirit, he didn't believe he deserved to rest and was determined to continue his self imposed exile in order to punish himself"

Willow shook her head vigorously and followed him as he started to walk away from her. "You are wrong, I do believe that I'm in love with you and I'm getting there in believing that you feel the same for me" she pulled his arm to slow him down. "I'll spend the rest of my life paying for what I did but I'm not hurting anyone else"

"Except me?" he suggested and took his glasses off to look at her. "Willow, if you never allow yourself to be truly happy again then I will spend the rest of my life in the fruitless pursuit of trying to bring about an impossibility" She stared at him and slowly shook her head as he continued. "You don't trust me when I say that the obstacles in our path are not going to stop me and I'm not about to have second thoughts" he rested his hand on her shoulder.

She stared at him for some minutes before reaching out and touching his face. "I do want to be happy again and I think you are the very person for the job" she took a deep breath. "I talked with Buffy today and she persuaded me that it wasn't such a biggie for me to move to England. So I think that we should spend the next few weeks sorting out some sort of early warning system for everyone here and then I'll go back with you when you need to leave"

He stared at her in astonishment. "But you told Buffy that you wouldn't leave because you couldn't protect them from a distance" he knew he was admitting to eavesdropping but didn't want her to make this decision for the wrong reasons. "I don't want you to come back because you think it's what I want, it needs to be what you want"

"What I want is to be with you, in every way possible" she glared at him. "If that means I have to become your research assistant and travel the world at your side then I will" Her face fell a little and she sniffed. "I am just so fed up with heavy conversations and crying about this" she suddenly got angry and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "My decision is made and you can either debate it further by yourself or come over here and kiss me" She was a little surprised at the speed with which he was suddenly standing in front of her. "Please Giles?" she whispered and wrapped her arms round his neck as he bent down to kiss her. If she had thought the earlier contact was intense she was completely unprepared for the ferocity and gentleness embodied within this kiss. "Wow" she finally mumbled when they surfaced. "Can we go home now please?" she asked and met his eyes as they stared at her.

She was reassured that she wasn't alone in feeling overwhelmed by her emotions when he raised his arm. "Taxi" he shouted and handed her into the cab when it pulled up. "Ten dollars if you can make it in five minutes" he assured the driver and stared straight ahead, without saying a word, for the entire journey. Six minutes later he handed her out of the car and held onto her hand for the journey up the front path. "I don't want to test out the sofa again" he whispered in her ear as they stood on the front porch and he leaned down to kiss her. "Where else can you suggest?"

"You're the one with your own room Mr Giles, you work it out" she ran her hand round his hip to squeeze the back pocket of his jeans.

He pulled her tight against him as he reached behind his back to open the front door. They practically fell into the front hall and realised they were busted when Buffy tapped Willow on the shoulder.

"Am I glad you guys are back?" she smiled sweetly at Giles as he glared at her over Willow's shoulder. "Martin and Dawn are settling down to watch a video and I have to go out for that `appointment' so chaperonage looms, no tux required this time Giles" She grabbed her jacket and pushed past Willow before either of them had a chance to argue. "See you in a few hours"

By the time the front door had slammed behind her and Giles was working up to using a very ungentlemanly suggestion as to what the slayer could do with her idea, Dawn was standing next to them looking very embarrassed. "I'm sorry but Martin's mom said he could come over then Buffy said Martin could only stay if someone else was here. I tried Xander's but he's gone out with some of his work buddies and Anya isn't answering her phone" she took in the deep breaths both of them were taking and became even more embarrassed. "I know you would probably rather be doing something else but perhaps you could just stay with us for ten minutes to make sure she's definitely gone?"

Willow gathered herself first and put her hand out to rest on Giles' chest. She could feel his heart hammering and didn't want to risk looking into his eyes. "We can manage to watch one video with them, can't we?" She felt him take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Why don't I fix some munchies while you keep them company?"

When she returned with a tray she found Dawn and Martin sitting glumly at either end of the sofa with Giles between them. She giggled and stared at him in disbelief. "Could you give me a hand with something in the kitchen Giles?" she asked and walked towards the dining room. "Dawn, you and Martin help yourselves to some popcorn and start the video, we'll be back in five minutes"

She turned to stare at him as he followed her into the kitchen. "What are you doing?" she whispered. "Just because our plans were ruined it doesn't mean Martin and Dawn have to be miserable"

He sighed and rolled his shoulders. "I'm sorry, I'll stop being mean to them but I can't promise I won't have a suitable revenge for Buffy"

She pulled the front of his shirt until he was leaning against her. She settled herself more comfortably against the worktop before reaching up to kiss him. It started out as light kisses along his lips and down his jawline to his neck but soon escalated to sloppy french kisses when he placed his hands on either side of her head and returned her lips to his. After five minutes of this they parted and stared at each other for several moments. "I can't go back in there in this state" he finally mumbled and pushed his hips against hers to demonstrate his concerns. "What do you suggest?"

She ground her hips against his and moaned. "Not really up to thinking at the moment" she admitted and bit her lower lip as his hand ran down her side to rest on her hip. "Why don't you go upstairs and I'll join you as soon as I can?" she licked at the sweat that had gathered in the hollow of his throat and felt the movement of his adams apple as he gulped.

"Don't be long" he growled in her ear and nipped her earlobe before turning abruptly and heading upstairs.

She took a couple of minutes to gather her wits and tried to make it look less like she had been semi-ravished. Plastering a grin on her face she returned to the living room just in time to see Martin jumping back to his end of the sofa. She recognised the ridiculousness of the situation and couldn't stop the laughter. "Listen, Giles and I have some work to do upstairs so keep the noise down and behave yourselves" she shook her head. "If you need anything just shout, OK?"

Dawn was grinning back at her and nodded towards the TV. "Remind me to tell you what happens in the movie so you can pretend to Buffy that you watched it with us"

"Like you'll be watching the movie?" Willow giggled as she walked slowly upstairs. She took a deep breath when she reached the top hallway and decided a quick stop in the bathroom would be the last interruption to her plans for the rest of the night.

Giles was standing looking out of the bedroom window when she finally opened the door. She was overcome with conflicting emotions and let the moan escape her lips before she could stop it. He turned and tilted his head to the side as he watched her leaning against the doorway. After an obvious shudder she moved into the room and closed the door behind her. He looked a little confused as he met her and gathered her into his arms. "Are you OK?" he mumbled into her hair.

"Fine" she took a shuddering breath and let his scent wipe away the remaining memories.

He decided to take her word and not start another discussion on her anxieties. "What did you tell Dawn and Martin?" he grinned and moved away from her to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Told them we had some work to do and not to make too much noise" she grinned and felt herself return to her earlier aroused state. "And that goes double for you" she put her finger on his chest as she stood in front of him.

He shook his head, took his glasses off and placed them on the bedside table. This was followed by his watch before he turned back to her, put his arms round her waist and pulled her to stand between his legs. "I can't promise but I'll try my best" he brought his hands back round to begin unbuttoning her shirt. As each button was opened he placed a soft kiss against her skin. He could hear her breathing quicken and felt the abdominal muscles tighten as he worked his way up from the bottom button. When he reached her bra he quickly opened the rest of the buttons and stood up to remove her shirt.

She had taken a step back when he stood up and almost sank to the ground as he pulled her shirt off and started to kiss her neck and shoulder. She felt his arms go round her to hold her up and leaned into him. After a brief moment she realised that he was doing all of the work and set about redressing the balance by undressing him.

He had to stop kissing her for a moment to remove his shirt and took the opportunity to loosen his belt and kick off his shoes. "God, you are beautiful" he whispered and held her at arms length.

She ran her hands across his bare chest and pushed him back onto the bed. As he landed she crawled next to him and began sucking on one of his nipples while she pinched the other one.

"Bloody Hell" he shouted and clamped his hand over his own mouth. "Sorry" he whispered when she glared up at him. "You just took me by surprise" he shrugged his shoulders and shuffled backwards until his legs were on the bed as well. He pulled her up to lie next to him. "Perhaps we should take things a little more slowly?" he suggested as he licked her ear and kissed her neck.

"We can do slow tomorrow morning, right now I want you hard and fast" she reached down to unfasten her jeans and pushed them off. "I've waited too long for this and I think I'll probably explode if I don't feel you inside me soon" She didn't wait for his answer as she reached down to remove his jeans and boxers. Her lips fastened onto his as she moved one of her legs between his and rested half on, half off his chest.

"Oh shit" he moaned as he rolled away from her and sat up on the side of the bed. "I don't believe I'm saying this but we have to stop"

"Oh come on! You have got to be joking" she glared at him and knelt in the centre of the bed, her chest rising and falling as she gulped in air. "What is it now?" she asked incredulously.

He had started to pace at the side of the bed and seemed completely unaware of the effect he was having on her as he ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "I can't believe how stupid I am" he mumbled almost to himself. "Stupid, stupid, stupid" he started a mantra to fit the pacing.

"Giles" she hissed at him. "Five seconds to get back on this bed or I'm really going to lose my temper" she glared at him.

He stopped and looked at her, picking up the power starting to converge within the room and tried to calm himself and her. "Willow, please darling, think about what you are doing?"

"I'm thinking about what we were doing, about what we were about to do" she was still breathing heavily and he watched her breasts rise and fall with each gulped breath. "What is the problem, exactly?" she reined in her power and shook her head to try and clear her thoughts.

"I don't have any protection with me" he mumbled, mortified and developed a sudden interest in the carpet.

"Within ten paces we have four crucifixes, three bottles of holy water and a crossbow, how protected do you want to be?" she asked, completely at a loss.

"Not that" he waved his hand and sat on the edge of the bed, his earlier arousal almost completely gone. "I mean prophylactically" he shrugged. "I didn't pack anything, didn't expect to need it and today has just flown by and I didn't get a chance to visit a chemist so.." he ground to a halt as he saw her eyes flash.

"You don't have any condoms?" she asked and shook her head when he nodded. "Do not move from there!" she ordered and stood up at the side of the bed. Picking up his black oxford shirt she pulled it on over her underwear and ferociously pulled open the bedroom door. "I'm serious, no moving" she wagged her finger at him and stormed down the hallway. She was mumbling under her breath as she strode towards the room she was currently sharing with Buffy. "Why couldn't he just tell me instead of wasting all that time?" she growled as she opened the closet door and knelt down to pull a small wooden box from behind the bags of weapons on the floor. She grunted as she slammed the doors shut again and dumped the box and it's contents onto Buffy's bed. Several small ziplock bags spilled out and she cursed as she gathered them together. With her other hand she was fishing around the bottom of the box and finally smiled as she pulled out several foil wrapped packages. She took the time to carefully replace the ziplock bags into the box but left it on Buffy's bed. She shook her head, her life was very strange and anyone else would assume the bags contained illegal substances but they were the ingredients for various protection spells, given to her for the Slayer when she left the coven.

"Willow?" she heard him whispering her name.

She stepped out of the room and let the shirt fall open. "What did I tell you about moving?" she kept eye contact and stalked up the hallway towards him. "I'm fairly sure that someone of your intellect must understand the words" she pushed the door closed behind her and shrugged her shoulders to let the shirt drop back onto the floor. She held up the condoms and placed them carefully on the bedside table, keeping one in her hand. "Now, where were we?" she took a couple of steps backwards and sat on the edge of the bed.

He was watching her, the sight of her marching down the hall in his shirt and little else had brought him close to his earlier state of arousal. If he needed any more encouragement she was now sitting staring at his groin with a mischievous look on her face.

Willow took a deep breath and shook her head, smiling up at him as she pulled his hand to bring him next to her on the bed. "Is there anything else stopping us having hot, sweaty, quiet sex in this very bed within the next few minutes?" she quietly asked and handed him the condom. "I was going to offer but I'm a little out of practice and in a hurry so you'd better do it yourself"

He didn't answer, just slowly pulled her back so that they were lying next to each other across the bed. He dropped the condom behind him and used both hands to quickly remove her bra and panties. "I think that's the last obstacles out of the way" he mumbled as he pulled her onto her side and kissed her neck. His right hand dropped onto her left breast and began gently teasing her nipple.

She rested her left arm behind his head, arching against him as he hot wired her with the skill of a veteran. As she came back down she rolled onto her back and he took the opportunity that the new position afforded him to slide down and begin sucking on her right breast. Her right hand clamped his head into this position and a high pitched keening sound started.

He took his time, licking and sucking one nipple to a peak before turning to the other and lavishing the same attention on it. All the time he kept glancing to see her face, eyes tightly shut and mouth open to allow her to gasp for breath. After a few minutes he pushed himself up and began kissing her, meeting her tongue as it darted out to moisten her lips. Taking the opportunity, he sucked her tongue into his mouth.

As she moaned against his lips she was vaguely aware of his left hand trailing down her side to rest on her abdomen. Her muscles spasmed uncontrollably as she crunched up to meet his touch. She could hear and taste his chuckle as he continued to kiss her. When his fingers slowly crept downwards her brain gave up any pretence of leadership and threw its hands up in defeat. At this unconditional surrender her nervous system took control and she writhed on the bed in an attempt to place his fingers exactly where she wanted them.

He could feel her squirming underneath him and pulled away from her lips for a moment to gather his wits and get his breath back. Her eyes snapped open as she finally registered his movement and she met his eyes steadily. "Why did you stop?" she asked quietly and closed her eyes again for a second or two as his fingers found a particularly sensitive spot. "Stopping not good" she hissed and grabbed his wrist to persuade him to return his fingers to the correct place. "Please?" she sighed as she arched off the bed and moaned.

"I just need to remember this" he whispered as he nibbled her earlobe and neck. "You are gorgeous and I'm going to picture you like this every time I think of this night"

"Night's only just begun" she growled and pushed his shoulders to get him on his back before rolling on top of him. "I need to feel you inside me, please?" she ran her hands down his chest, stopping to tweak his nipples on the way to his groin. She gently stroked his erection and watched fascinated as it hardened even more in her hands. "Do you want me?" she asked and continued what she was doing as she waited for his answer.

"More than I've ever wanted anyone before" he muttered through gritted teeth.

"Good answer" she nodded and leaned across his chest to pick up the condom. Carefully ripping the package open she placed it at the tip and slowly unrolled it. She waited till his eyes opened again before leaning down to kiss him. Crawling towards him a little further she lifted her hips and slowly settled onto him. "Oh goddessssss" she hissed and rested her hands on his chest. With an effort she sat up straight and took a deep breath before gently lifting up and sliding back down. "Like riding a bike" she giggled and increased the pace a little.

He had closed down the higher brain functions when she had put the condom on him and the next few seconds were taken up with him furiously thinking about cricket. After she had settled into a steady rhythm he risked opening his eyes and gasped as he watched her head roll back and a lazy grin spread across her face. His hands rested on her hips and helped to keep her steady but he decided that she had taken enough of the initiative. "Willow?" he said quietly and ran his left hand down her thigh. "Honey, look at me" he gently rubbed the inside of her thigh and took a deep breath as she managed to take even more of his erection on her next down stroke.

The lazy grin had changed into a more concentrated smile and she eventually pulled herself together enough to look down at him. "OK?" she managed to ask between shallow, fast breaths.

"I love you" he said seriously and used her distraction to run his hand up to her clitoris and gently brush against the sensitive tissue. "I love you" he said again and again as he met her on every down stroke.

She had built up a steady rhythm and was fairly sure she could spend the next hour or so impaling herself on his cock before she could even imagine getting tired. When he said her name she took a moment or two to relish the friction before grinning down at him. She saw him looking up at her with a serious look on his face and checked that he was enjoying this as much as she was. Physical sensations had become the most important thing in her world but when he said the magic words she instantly felt as if her body had received a flash upgrade. Suddenly the emotions behind what they were doing flooded through her and every sensation was magnified ten-fold. With the introduction of his fingers into the equation she went into overload and centered all of her concentration on the tingle starting in her lower back.

As she ground down at the bottom of her thrust he pushed up with his fingers. This coupled with his other hand finding her nipple caused the rhythm to break down completely and he wondered how she managed to keep her balance when all of her strength seemed to be concerned with pounding down onto his cock. He felt the muscles deep within her begin to tremor and knew she was close. A final flick of her nipple seemed to be enough to push her over the edge and he threw his head back as she squirmed in his lap, grinding against his pelvis in an attempt to make the orgasm last.

Her eyes were squeezed shut and she was biting her lower lip as every muscle in her body hardened and tensed. Just as quickly the most intense pleasure she had ever experienced burst from her abdomen and rushed to reach every single cell in her body. Lights burst behind her eyelids and she held her breath. When she let the breath out she heard the rush of blood around her system intermingled with a guttural scream. As she collapsed onto his chest she felt him thrust into her and the sensations began again. "Not again" she gasped, her tone pleading as her clitoris sent needle sharp messages along her nerves.

He wrapped his arms round her and held her to his chest as he rolled them both over. With her now on her back he could control the depth and direction of his penetration and it took only a minute before he felt her muscles contract again as she clenched her thighs around him. As she thrashed beneath him he thrust once more and joined her.

He lay on top of her until he felt the condom begin to loosen. Withdrawing he rolled to the side and deposited it on the floor before rolling back next to her and resting his hand on her stomach. His breathing was still quite fast and he was glad to see that she was having the same trouble in bringing herself back under control. "Are you OK?" he asked and began running his fingers in small circles across her stomach.

"Give me a minute?" she gasped as her muscles twitched and she squirmed out of his reach. "I don't think OK comes close to what I am" she finally suggested as she recovered the ability to speak coherently.

He pulled her closer to him and kissed her. It wasn't a passionate kiss, just welcoming her back from wherever she had gone and letting her know that he would always be waiting for her.

"That was incredible" she smiled and snuggled against his chest. "I had imagined what it would be like but it was so much better"

"It went pretty well as I imagined" he said but couldn't prevent the giggle from escaping. When she started to tickle him he tried to fight her off before gasping for mercy. "All right" he finally held both of her wrists to prevent a further attack. "It was better than any of my fantasies. You are a sex goddess and I worship at your shrine"

Willow giggled and rolled onto her back to stare at the ceiling. "You are amazing" she turned her head to stare at him as he rested his head on his left hand. "I always knew you were hiding most of your emotions under the English veneer but I had no idea" she shook her head. "I also guessed that you would have a pretty amazing body under the tweed and I'm glad to say I wasn't wrong about that"

He stood up and held out his hand for her to do the same. As she stood next to him he pulled the quilt back and they both snuggled underneath it. "You are a beautiful, intelligent, sexy woman and I'm the one who should be thanking you for even noticing me, never mind what you've given to me tonight"

She took a deep breath and wriggled against his chest as he pulled her back against him. She yawned and pulled his arm tight around her, starting to feel the effects of the last few days on top of her recent exertion. "I love you" she mumbled and kissed his forearm. "I want to do this for the rest of my life and I'll never get tired of lying in your arms"

"I'm glad to hear it" he kissed the back of her neck. "I plan to do this frequently and I'd hate for you to get tired of it after fifty or sixty years" she snuggled closer to him and her breathing dropped to a deeper rhythm. "I love you Willow Rosenberg" he smiled against her neck and closed his eyes.

Chapter 20

Buffy returned from patrol at four in the morning and crept quietly into the house. Her left arm was cradled in her right and she was limping a little as she headed for the kitchen.

"Buffy, are you alright?" he asked and put the table light on. "Are you hurt?" he stood to help her into a chair.

"Just a few bumps and bruises" she muttered and winced as he helped her take her coat off. "One of the newbies decided to hotwire a car and see if it was a match for a blonde with a stake" she leaned back, exhausted, as he knelt in front of her to take off her boots.

"I'm assuming you showed him the error of his ways?" Giles suggested dryly as he helped her stand before loosening what was left of her jeans and lowering them as she sat back down. "Although I'm guessing he took an early advantage" he got some ice packs from the fridge and placed them strategically around her thigh and knee as it seemed to swell in front of him.

"Another one up here" she sighed and took the proffered ice pack for her shoulder. "I was definitely winning until he decided to drive through the cemetery wall and that was when everything got a bit complicated" she admitted and winced as he gently probed her shoulder.

Giles sat back on his haunches and let her catch her breath. "The shoulder is dislocated but I think I can fix that for you here" he watched for the imperceptible nod and continued once he received it. "I don't think you've broken anything in the leg but I would be happier if we could get it X-Rayed to make sure"

"Might as well X-Ray the ribs while I'm there, maybe we'll get two for the price of one" she quipped and lifted the ice pack from her shoulder. "Let's do this first" she said quietly and took a deep breath.

He stretched his fingers and rolled his neck before taking a firm stance in front of her. "Hold onto my arm" he suggested and waited till her healthy hand rested on his elbow. "On the count of three" he said as he took a deep breath. "One, two" he counted before pulling her arm down and towards him at the same time as pushing against her collar bone with all of his strength.

She took several deep breaths and rested her forehead on his chest before glaring up at him. "I knew you were going to do that" she muttered and gently rotated her shoulder. "Thanks, that's a little better" she leaned back in the chair and replaced the ice pack on her shoulder. "Not that I'm not grateful but what are you doing up and about?" she asked as he stepped away from her and sank into a chair on the other side of the dining table.

"I was just making sure Martin left before you came home and caught them together in bed" he suggested with a completely straight face.

It was an indication of the pain she was in that it took several seconds for his meaning to kick in. "You better be joking" she glared at him. "Or you will be retiring hurt from the chaperone game"

He shook his head and smiled. "Martin left at a perfectly respectable time and Willow was sleeping so I took the chance to make some phone calls"

"How is Willow?" Buffy asked and raised her eyebrow. "I'm guessing I didn't completely ruin your evening?"

"It continued very satisfactorily after you left" he admitted. "Willow is fine, if a little exhausted" he added and failed dismally to keep the smug grin off his face. She shook her head and tried to find a more comfortable position on the chair. "Would you be more comfortable on the sofa?" he asked and when she nodded he bent down and gently carried her to the living room.

"Thanks" she muttered after several shallow breaths. "I don't suppose I should eat or drink anything?" she sighed as he plumped the cushions behind her head and positioned a few under her knee to support it.

"I wouldn't" he shook his head. "Even with your slayer healing they may still have to do some invasive work" he checked his watch. "If I called a cab we might be able to get to the emergency room and back before anyone knew you were gone"

"I think that's a plan" she nodded and rested her head on the cushions. "I could use some different clothes, if you don't mind?" she asked and indicated her torn blouse.

"Would sweats be OK?" he asked and went upstairs to collect them when she nodded. He quickly scribbled a note for Willow and taped it to the bedroom door before heading back downstairs.

Willow woke the next morning to a quiet knocking on the bedroom door. She turned over and was a little confused when her outstretched arm didn't encounter anybody else. Pulling the quilt up to her chin she said "come in" and yawned.

Dawn popped her head round the door. "Sorry to wake you but Giles has just called from the emergency room and he says they are going to be another hour or so"

"Hospital?" Willow practically jumped out of the bed before remembering and grabbing the quilt. She stood beside the bed, trying to wrap the quilt around her and Dawn took a step back. "Why is he at the hospital?" she shouted before making a conscious effort to rein in her fear.

"He left you a note" Dawn sheepishly admitted and pulled the taped envelope from the door. "He said Buffy was a bit beat up and they had gone there early this morning to check her out" Dawn explained as Willow tore open the envelope and read the message. "He said she's fine but they want a specialist to check out her knee before they let her go"

Taking a deep breath Willow nodded and sat back down on the bed. The note had quickly outlined Buffy's injuries and the fact that he loved Willow very much and was sorry he hadn't been able to wake up next to her after last night. She blushed and finally remembered Dawn was still looking at her in concern. "You call Xander and tell him to come and pick us up in twenty minutes" she said. "I'll get showered and meet you downstairs in fifteen"

Dawn nodded and seemed a little happier about finally having something to do. "I'll make a thermos of tea, Giles never did like the stuff they sell at the hospital" she smiled shyly and was about to leave before turning back. "I'm really sorry about last night, I hope I didn't ruin everything" she shrugged her shoulders and hurried to her room to finish dressing.

Willow closed her eyes and remembered the highlights of the previous night, a smile taking possession of her face as the blush flared again. Dropping the quilt she pulled his dressing gown around herself and breathed in his scent before heading for the shower.

Xander was making breakfast. "Hey, no time for food" Willow said anxiously.

"Willow" Xander began before turning the french toast. "Giles said it would be another hour before the specialist got to them and we can't do anything at the hospital so we may as well have breakfast and go in ten minutes" he explained as he served up a plate to her. "Eat this and I'll phone the hospital to let them know we're on our way" he headed for the phone.

Dawn came in carrying a sports bag and dumped it beside Xander. "Clothes" she smiled at Willow. "Just in case the stuff she was wearing was all gooey"

Willow nodded to the laundry basket. "I think she changed before she left, that's the blouse she was wearing when she went out last night"

Dawn picked it up and they all stared at the tear running from one shoulder down the back almost to the bottom hem.

Xander hung the phone up and looked towards Willow. "Lets go" he nodded and they all hurried towards his car.

"She's alright" Giles held his hands up to placate the anxious questions. "Everything's going to be OK, they are just being cautious and getting a specialist to give her knee the once over before they let her go" he automatically put his arm round Willow as she moved to his side. "Good morning" he smiled down at her. "Did you sleep OK?" he asked and heard Xander cough quietly behind him.

"Xander please" he sighed, ready to have this out with him when he saw Buffy standing in the door of her room, leaning on a single crutch. "Buffy, have you seen the doctor?" he asked, quickly moving to her side and leaving Willow.

"If we wait much longer it will practically be healed anyway" she muttered and slowly moved a step or two forward. "The knee brace should do the trick for the next day or two" she mumbled.

"But they said you shouldn't be using a crutch with your shoulder" he started before being pushed aside by Willow and Dawn.

"Let's get you out of here and home to your own bed" Willow suggested and slid her shoulder under Buffy's, putting her arm round her waist.

Buffy hissed and took a few deep breaths. "Dislocated shoulder as well" she smiled apologetically at them. "That's why I'm only using one crutch"

Xander shook his head and handed Willow the bag with Buffy's clothes. "Only one way to do this" he suggested and gently lifted her into his arms. "Let's go" he suggested and the others fell in behind them.

"Wait a minute, you can't leave" one of the nurses was trying to attract their attention and Giles sighed before turning back to face her.

"We can leave, all you need to do is get me to sign a D12 form and the hospital won't be responsible for any relapses as a result of our leaving" he stood at the desk as the nurse rifled through the paperwork on the desk. "You used to keep them in that purple file there" he pointed lazily at the desk and smiled as she put the form in front of him. "Perhaps you could tell Dr Alexander that I'll give him a call later today to let him know of her progress?" he suggested and headed after the others.

Dawn was fussing over her sister as Xander gently placed her on the back seat of the car. "Dawn, I'm fine" Buffy sighed and slid across the back seat to rest her back against the other door. "I'm not sure how you're all going to fit in" she started and looked pleadingly at Willow.

Her friend smiled at her and gave the bag to Dawn. "Dawnie, put this in the trunk then you get in the front, next to Xander" she leaned down into the car and met Buffy's eyes. "You going to be OK?" she asked quietly and was relieved to see Buffy smiling back at her.

"I'm going to be fine, Will. Although I'm not saying no to the healing magics when we get back" she shifted around a little more to get comfortable.

Xander and Dawn were busy choosing music for the return journey and Willow stood beside the car and waited for Giles.

"Hey, Giles?" she waved at him as he exited the building and blinked in the sudden sunlight. When he reached the car he took the situation in at one glance and furrowed his brow. "I know" she said and took his hand. "But I have a plan" she smiled mischievously at him.

"If it involves roof racks you can forget it" he mumbled and bent down to kiss her lightly. "Good morning"

"You already said that" she kissed the tip of his nose and stood away from the car. "I need you to sit in the back seat and get comfortable" she waited until he gently slid in and made sure he didn't jar Buffy's leg. "Good, now I just need to squeeze a little" she mumbled as she scrunched up to get onto his knee without too much trouble. "Now" she turned to smile at him. "I just need you to hold on tight around my waist and we're good to go"

He stared at her in fascination before shaking his head slightly and placing his arms as directed. "I'm too tired to argue" he mumbled and rested his head against her shoulder.

It took Xander fifteen minutes to drive back to the house as he avoided every bump and pothole on the way. Giles was gently snoring on Willow's shoulder and she was holding him to her to prevent him sliding on the seat. Occasionally she would glance over at Buffy and her friend would smile at her and shake her head. "You know I don't think Xander can carry him to bed" Buffy finally whispered and started to giggle. "Although I am getting used to being treated like a queen"

Dawn turned round when she heard her sister laugh and smiled at the picture she found. "Poor Giles, I guess the magic stuff yesterday really took it out of him?" she sighed.

Xander met Willow's eyes in the rear view mirror and could see her biting her lip, desperately trying not to laugh. He turned his head slightly to see Buffy covering her wide grin with a hand under the pretence of a yawn. He knew that Giles wasn't tired because of the magic and guessed what the friends were keeping from Dawn. He shook his head and remembered that he had promised Willow that he would try to sort this out with Giles but it was difficult to picture his best friend in that scary visual place. As he slowly navigated the car into the driveway and stopped it took him a minute to switch the engine off as he tried to imagine Giles as something other than `stuffy old watcher but still better than dad' material. He had genuinely cared for him and respected him up till now and couldn't quite meld the old Giles with this new `seducing younger women of his acquaintance' Giles"

"Xan, we're here" Dawn put her hand lightly on his arm and went to open the front door.

Buffy stretched a little and groaned as the painkillers from the hospital started to wear off. Xander opened the door behind her and slowly let her lean on him to exit the car. Once she was free he bent down to pick her up again.

"Xander, I can manage" she protested, but not too much.

"Just for once I get to be the big strong man, let me have my moment" he smiled down at her and hefted her slightly. "Although you may want to leave off the pizzas for a while"

"Hey" she swatted his shoulder. "Once I'm back to normal I'll get you for that" she smiled and leaned her head against his chest. "In the meantime I guess I'll just have to be a weak girlie"

He shook his head as he took her into the house and gently put her on the sofa. "I'll go and help Willow get Giles sorted out then I'll take you upstairs if you want" he threw over his shoulder as he went back out to the car.

Willow was gently shaking his shoulder and trying to waken him. "Giles, come on honey, we're home" This was having no effect on him so she slowly disentangled herself from his arms and slid out of the car. She felt Xander's hand on her hip as she stumbled. "Hey, no copping a feel while the boyfriends asleep" she smiled at him and they stood and looked down at the sleeping form. "Would it be OK if we just let him sleep for a few hours?" she asked.

"I guess so" Xander shrugged, opened the window a little and locked the other doors in the car before retrieving Buffy's bag from the trunk. "I don't have any meetings till later this afternoon so he can have free room and board till then"

Everyone congregated in the kitchen as Buffy demonstrated her skill with one crutch. She nearly fell over twice but soon got the hang of it. "Perhaps we could get a wooden crutch and you could sharpen the ends?" she suggested to Xander. "Then I could pretend to be all weak and injured and stake the bad guys at the same time" she smiled and then yawned. "Sorry, but it took a bit out of me and I think I should try and get some sleep" Xander stood up to flex his shoulders and held his arms out. "I think I can manage Xan but thanks for coming to pick me up at the hospital" she started to shuffle towards the stairs. "Willow, any chance you have some `making the pain go away' mojo you'd like to share with me about now?" she asked as she took a deep breath and negotiated the first stair.

"No problem" Willow smiled and began gathering some ingredients from the kitchen cupboard. "Just as well I stocked up when I went to the Magic Box the other day"

By the time Buffy was at the top of the stairs Willow had joined her and helped her the last few yards to her bed. "Thanks, didn't want to say it in front of Dawn but I think I really took a beating last night" she murmured and slowly sank onto the bed.

Willow helped her lie out and placed a dish on the bedside table before sitting down gently beside her. "Where does it hurt the most?" she asked quietly and waited for her friend to get her breath back before she pointed to her ribs and shoulder. "Can you take your top off for me?" she waited to see if Buffy wanted any assistance and helped her lean up to remove the sweatshirt. "Lie back and take deep, relaxing breaths" Willow murmured, lighting the ingredients in the dish before rubbing her hands together to heat them up a little. She placed her hands just off the surface of her ribs, above where the largest bruise had appeared, and began reciting a healing prayer. As she repeated the same phrases over and over Buffy felt heat being generated by her hands and radiating through the skin to the damaged muscles underneath. The heat spread gradually and she took a deep breath when it rose to an almost unbearable level. After five minutes Willow took a brief rest and plumped some pillows behind Buffy's back.

"Hey, that feels a little better already" Buffy smiled and let her head roll back to rest on the pillows. She watched as Willow took deep and even breaths, hanging her head with her eyes closed. "Does this take a lot out of you?" she asked quietly and waited a moment or two before Willow seemed to be aware of her question.

"Just a bit" Willow nodded and then smiled. "But I can get my strength back later once you're more comfortable" She pointed to her shoulder and began rubbing her hands together again. "Is it this area?" she asked and began the same process when Buffy nodded.

Forty minutes later Willow came downstairs to find Dawn and Xander sorting through some laundry. She watched as Xander handed all of the underwear to Dawn to sort through before fluffing and folding the outer garments. She giggled a little and then put her hand on the back of the nearest chair to stop herself falling over.

"Willow?" Xander was concerned and beside her within seconds. "Take it easy" he mumbled as he guided her to the sofa and chafed the back of her hand as he sat on the coffee table facing her. "Are you OK?" he asked when she had some colour back in her face.

"I'm fine, just a little wobbly from the healing spells" she leaned back onto the sofa and smiled as Dawn handed her a glass of water. "Thanks Dawn, but I'm OK, honestly"

"Was she really bad?" Dawn asked and hugged her arms around herself. "Is she going to be OK?"

"Buffy's fine, you know her slayer healing will have her up and about in a couple of days" Willow handed the glass to Xander and sat up a little. "She was in some pain and her system's not really used to dealing with all of that at one time so it took a little out of her but she's sleeping now and will be feeling much better when she wakes up" Willow yawned herself.

"Seems like you should be in bed as well" Xander suggested and held out his arms.

"I think I can manage" she smiled at him. "You are loving this strong man thing a little too much"

"Doesn't happen very often" he shrugged. "Go upstairs and get some rest and I'll tell Giles when he wakes up"

"Perhaps the serious talk should wait for another day" Willow mumbled as she ran her hands through her hair. "I don't think any of us is in the mood for deep stuff right now" she put her hand on his arm as she stood up and headed for the stairs. "I think the shopping trip may be postponed but we'll see you tomorrow night for the video-fest?"

"Don't forget the popcorn" Xander said sternly and turned to Dawn. "Looks like it's just you and me Dawnster, how about going out for some lunch?"

Dawn watched as Willow slowly climbed the stairs. "Are you sure we should leave them alone?" she asked anxiously.

"Buffy will be out for the rest of the day and Willow looked pretty tired as well" Xander answered as he put his jacket on and held Dawn's for her. "We'll leave a note for Giles and he can check on them when he wakes up"

Giles tried to turn over and realised he was sleeping sitting up. He groaned as he tried to move his head and found his neck stiff from leaning against a window. Sleepily wiping some drool from his lips he scrunched his eyes up as the sun streamed into the car. "What on earth?" he mumbled and tried to remember how he had ended up sleeping in a car. Slowly the early morning crept back into his memory and he groaned and opened the car door, stretching his back and legs. He looked around and wondered where everyone else had gone before shaking his head and pushing open the front door. He found a note from Xander taped to the door just before he closed it and searched several pockets for his glasses before finding and putting them on to read the young man's scrawl. Taking a deep breath he went upstairs and washed his face with some cold water in an attempt to clear his head but the jet lag, combined with the magical energy he had used the previous day had exhausted him. He suddenly stopped and stared at himself in the mirror, remembering the exertions of the previous night as well. A broad grin looked back at him and he shook his head and finished tidying himself up before heading for Buffy's room.

She was lying on her back, her right knee sitting up slightly with some cushions to support it. He leaned over and checked her pulse, happy when he found a slow, regular beat consistent with her sleeping. Satisfied that she was comfortable he pulled a blanket from the foot of her bed and draped it over her. He stood up with a bit of a wince and held his lower back, taking several minutes to watch her relaxed face as she slept.

"Hey" Willow murmured from the doorway. "Is she still sleeping?"

"Yes" he said quietly and followed Willow as she returned to his room. "Her ribs look a little less bruised, is her healing process speeding up or did you help out?" he asked as he pulled off his sweater and sat down in the chair to remove his shoes.

"I helped a little on her ribs and shoulder, just to help her relax and get to sleep" Willow admitted and sat with her back against the headboard. "I remember you telling me once that her healing works best if she is asleep so I did some of the stuff I learned at the coven and it seemed to have the desired effect"

He stood up and removed his trousers and socks. "About desired effects" he started then yawned. "I seem to remember missing out on some morning after cuddles" he slid under the covers and snuggled up next to her.

"I didn't much enjoy waking up and not finding you beside me" she pouted. "But I forgive you this time, just don't let it happen again"

"I'm sorry, but cuddles are about all I can manage" he kissed her lightly, not letting it deepen. "I'm absolutely knackered and you must be exhausted from performing the healing rituals so soon after the spirit intervention yesterday?"

"Benefits of dating a younger woman" she ran her finger down his arm and entwined her fingers in his when she reached his hand. "Fabulous recovery time" the effect of this was spoiled a little by the huge yawn that overtook her and she fell back, laughing by his side. "Perhaps a little power nap would be just the thing"

"At least I get to wake up next to you this time" he mumbled into her hair as he pulled her close to him and almost instantly fell asleep.

Willow woke up in the early evening and watched him sleeping next to her. She smiled and traced her fingers down his chest and across his stomach. Shaking her head she gave herself a severe talking to for trying to wake him up just because she was horny. "Sorry" she whispered and leaned down to place a kiss on his forehead. He mumbled something in his sleep then turned over. Shaking her head she debated staying in bed and trying to get back to sleep but she realised she was starving and could smell something delicious being prepared in the kitchen. Sighing, she slid out from under the covers and quickly pulled on her jeans and a t-shirt.

Dawn was reading a text book at the dining room table and looked up when Willow came downstairs. "Hey, you feeling better?" she asked and put a marker in the book before closing it.

"Much better, thanks" Willow smiled at her. "What time is it anyway?" she asked and went into the kitchen. "Six thirty!" she shook her head. "No wonder I'm starving" she pulled open the oven to see what was producing the fabulous aroma.

"I guessed everyone would be pretty hungry, after all you missed breakfast and lunch" Dawn leaned against the doorway. "I put the lasagne in and was going to try waking you once it was ready"

Willow smiled up at her. "You are a life saver" she went to the fridge to get some juice. "What have you been up to today since we all crashed out on you?"

"Xander and I went to the Espresso Pump then he had to go to some meetings so I've been studying for a history test next week" she shrugged.

Willow followed her into the living room. "How did your date with Martin go last night?" she asked and smiled as the young girl blushed and pulled her knees against her chest on the sofa. "That good?"

"Stop teasing me" Dawn mock scowled then giggled. "He is really smart and really sweet"

"And you really like him?" Willow asked

"Yeah, I think I do" Dawn agreed and looked serious for a moment. "Since the only other guy I've been out with was a vampire it's kind of difficult to judge but I think he likes me too"

"Oh he likes you" Willow nodded and tried to hide her grin. "Take it from me, he is showing the classic signs of liking you"

Dawn stretched out on the sofa. "How do you mean?"

"If he goes to school in Sunnydale he must have heard the weird stories about Buffy and the rest of us while we were at school" Willow began. "Also he's met Buffy and she was pretty fierce until she was sure of him" she watched as Dawn listened intently. "So I guess he must be serious because he's still around" Dawn smiled and decided to accept the logic as evidence of his interest. They were silent for a moment or two before Willow stood up and headed for the kitchen. She looked back over her shoulder as Dawn followed her. "Besides, I caught you necking on the sofa, guys don't usually risk getting caught doing that unless they are pretty serious"

"We were not necking" she protested and looked shamefaced as Willow regarded her with a raised eyebrow. "OK, maybe just a little but please don't tell Buffy, she'll try to stake him?" she pleaded.

"Let's sort out some salad to go with this and then we can get Giles and Buffy down here for dinner" Willow suggested.

*****

Dawn lifted the empty plates from the table. "Anyone for ice cream?" she asked and smiled as Buffy pinched Giles.

"Ow, what was that for?" he asked indignantly as he rubbed his arm.

"I was just making sure I wasn't dreaming, what with Dawn making dinner and offering dessert" Buffy grinned at him.

"You're supposed to pinch yourself, not me" he grumbled and followed Dawn into the kitchen. "Do you want a hand with dishes?" he asked and pulled his sleeves up.

"I'll get them later" Dawn said as she pulled the ice cream from the freezer. "Call it payback for ruining your date last night?" she suggested as she saw his incredulous look.

He shook his head and pulled her against him for a hug. "You didn't spoil anything" he smiled and took the ice cream from her to serve it up.

"I saw your face when Buffy told you to baby-sit" she looked at him and suddenly he realised that she wasn't a child any more.

"Well, yes" he muttered and could feel himself blushing. "I'm assuming you behaved yourself and that Martin got home OK?" he tried to gain the upper hand again by discussing her love life instead of his own.

"His Dad picked him up at eleven thirty" she smiled sweetly, not in the least phased by the change in subject.

She carried two bowls of ice cream into the dining room and it was only as she left the room that he realised she hadn't answered the first part of his question. Shaking his head he put the kettle on before lifting the other two bowls.

"I guess the trip to the Mall is off till your leg is better?" Dawn was asking as he sat a bowl in front of Willow.

"Sorry Dawn, perhaps next weekend?" Buffy asked apologetically.

"Why wait?" Giles asked and put extra chocolate sauce on his ice cream.

"Not really able to walk" Buffy pointed out, as if he had forgotten.

"We can hire a wheelchair and use it for carrying the shopping as well" he smiled sweetly at her. "Also, you'll need to replace the clothes that were damaged last night" he suggested reasonably.

Buffy was looking at him in astonishment. Finally she turned to Willow with a grin. "Whatever you did to him you need to do more often" she grinned.

"Buffy!" Willow shouted at her then started laughing as the two girls collapsed into giggles. "Who knew it would awaken his latent shopping gene?" she finally gasped out and caused convulsions in Buffy and Dawn while Giles looked a little mystified.

"I'll make the tea, shall I?" he asked and headed for the kitchen.

Chapter 21

"I cannot believe I fell for it!" Buffy complained as Willow helped her up the stairs to Xander's. "I thought he was just trying not to spoil the day out for you and Dawn"

Willow sighed, listening to the mini rant for the third time. "Perhaps that was part of the reason?" she suggested.

"He just knew that I wouldn't be able to try on shoes!" Buffy insisted and turned to look over her shoulder. "Don't think I don't know" she shouted at Giles as he and Dawn brought up the rear.

Giles just sighed as Dawn giggled. He turned to her and grinned. "I'm surprised it took her two hours of shopping to figure it out" he whispered.

Xander met them at the door and took over Buffy helping duties. "Hey how did the shopping trip go?" he asked brightly and was surprised when Willow groaned and covered her eyes. "What?" he asked.

Giles placed the grocery bags on the kitchen worktop and handed his jacket to Willow. He shook his head and began emptying out the bags. "Where do you want the beers?" he asked and was rewarded by Xander moving to help him in the kitchen, removing the new audience from Buffy.

Willow and Dawn were hunkered down in front of the TV, sorting through the videos they had brought. "When is Anya due?" Willow asked just as there was a knock at the door.

When they were all comfortably seated, with popcorn strategically placed, Xander took charge of the remote controls. He stood in front of the TV and cleared his throat. "I'd like to welcome you all to the inaugural meeting of the Scoobies adult video extravaganza" he intoned and looked at their astonished faces staring back at him. "I mean we are adults now, not the videos" he hastily corrected himself and blushed. Giles started sniggering and the others shook their heads in disbelief. Xander decided to plough on with his planned speech. "The event will take place on this date annually and it will be a celebration of our first meeting at high school and our adventures ever since" he smiled around the others as they continued to look bewildered. "It was six years ago today that we first met up in the library for Giles to tell us about things that go bump in the night" he explained.

"I can't believe it" Buffy shook her head in disbelief. "Really?"

Giles stood up to face Xander. "A toast" he raised his drink and kept eye contact with the young man. "To the Scoobies" he solemnly said and held his bottle for Xander to clink his against it. They both took deep drinks and turned to face the others.

"The Scoobies" Willow and Dawn both said at the same time and then they were all clinking glasses and laughing.

Giles hugged Xander, much to the young man's surprise, then moved to stand in front of Anya. "I'm glad you could make it" he mumbled into her ear as he hugged her.

"Me too" she sniffled a little.

He hugged Willow and Dawn before standing in front of Buffy, holding out his hand. She took it and pulled herself up in front of him. "Congratulations Buffy" he said and hugged her.

"What for?" she pulled back to look into his eyes.

"We're all still here to celebrate and I doubt we would be without you" he said seriously and hugged her again. The others, taking part in a group hug, stopped to watch the slayer and her watcher in each other's arms.

Willow eventually cleared her throat. "Do you want us to leave?" she asked but smiled to take the sting out of it.

Giles helped Buffy to sit back down before moving to pull Willow into his arms. "I had to make up for the shoe thing" he sat down and pulled her onto his lap.

"Time for a movie" Dawn suggested to forestall any more moaning from Buffy and leaned against Xander as he sat down and pulled the popcorn towards them.

*****

Dawn helped Buffy into her jacket before hugging Xander at the door. "Thanks Xan, I had a great time and it was really sweet what you said earlier" she turned to open the door.

"Yeah Xander, thanks for reminding us what we've achieved" Buffy smiled and hugged him tightly.

Willow hugged him quickly. "I'll see you for lunch tomorrow?" she smiled and headed after Dawn to help her with Buffy.

Anya yawned a little and shook his hand. "Thank you for including me, it meant a lot" she said.

"Anya" he smiled and hugged her. "No matter what happened, you are still a member of this group"

As she left, Xander turned to find Giles finishing his beer and leaning against the kitchen counter. "Giles" he held the door. "I think the girls are waiting for you?"

"They'll wait" he said and put the bottle down, crossing his arms. "I know you and I need to talk about what's happened between Willow and I but there is something more important" he paused.

"More important than you sleeping with my best friend?" Xander asked, aware that he had drunk just enough beer to make him a little brave.

Giles ignored the comment and continued to stare at him. "I'm proud of you Xander" he stated matter of factly. "You have always been the unsung hero in this unlikely band and tonight you proved yourself truly to be the heart of the group" he moved forward and stood in front of him. "I know I've never told you before and I should have, but I would have been proud to have you as my son"

Xander stood in shock, watching as Giles reached out his hand and waited for some reaction. He ignored the hand and pulled him into a hug. He swallowed to try and get rid of the lump in his throat. Pulling back he wiped his eyes quickly with his sleeve before smiling at him. "Better not keep them waiting?" he suggested.

Giles nodded and headed after the others, waiting till he was around the corner before taking his glasses off and wiping his own eyes.

*****

He was lying in bed reading when Willow closed the bedroom door behind her. "How is her knee doing?" he asked and put his glasses on to watch her undress.

"Still swollen and tender after today's exertions" Willow quickly piled her clothes onto a chair before turning to him. "But I think the healing spell is certainly speeding up her own speedy healing" she grinned and pulled the book from his hand. "She wouldn't let me do the full half hour treatment, said I had to keep some strength for myself"

He grinned and put his glasses on the bedside table. "Well done Buffy" he muttered as Willow slid under the covers.

"Mmmmm" Willow groaned as his hands wrapped around her waist and pulled her tight against his body. Her lips found the side of his neck and she nuzzled and licked as his hands found interesting places in their travels. "Oh yes" she hissed. "Right there" she nipped his neck as he ran his fingers around her clitoris before dipping inside her. She was taken by surprise and orgasmed quickly, shuddering in his arms. "Sorry" she smiled at him after a few moments. "I guess I was a little more ready than I realised?"

"It's not a problem" he grinned back at her. "Rather the reverse in fact" he suggested as he pushed his erection against her thigh.

"Oh" she rolled onto her back and pulled him on top of her. "Jet lag wearing off?" she pushed her hips up against his.

"Willow" he took a deep breath as he reached for a condom. "Holding you in my arms while you come will give me a hard on anywhere in the world at any time" he assured her and hissed as he rolled the condom on.

"Glad to hear it" she smiled and opened her thighs to give him some more room. "I love you" she said huskily as he slipped inside her.

"Glad to hear it" he smiled and began moving slowly, almost pulling out of her completely before pushing in as deep as he could. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen" he told her as she gazed into his eyes.

She smiled before closing her eyes as she felt him bury himself deeper than before. "Oh boy, keep doing that"

He grinned and took a deep breath to calm himself. He wanted this time to last a little longer than last night but she was so tight and warm around his cock that he struggled to maintain his slow pace. He felt her wriggle underneath him and suddenly found he could go even deeper "Jesus" he groaned and began thinking of the Aramaic translation in the book he had been reading earlier.

Willow had closed her eyes to try and slow down her reactions to his movements. However, this plan completely backfired when she suddenly tuned into some of the fantasies she used to have of them in the library together. It had been several years since she had run these particular movies through her brain and was surprised at how erotic they were. Her breathing quickened to panting as she remembered the one about pushing him against the weapons cage and sliding down his body, kissing his bared chest as she went. Her back arched as she felt her second orgasm rip through her and she was vaguely aware of him gasping as he picked up the pace.

She kept her eyes closed, her nervous system in overload as he pounded into her. "Willow, honey, open your eyes?" he begged and stared at her as she blinked up at him. He seemed about to say something else when he suddenly got a very serious look on his face and slammed into her one more time. He grunted once, trying to keep as quiet as possible. He looked down to find her grinning up at him. He continued pushing into her, his orgasm prolonged by the contractions he felt her generating around him.

When he rolled off of her and removed the condom he was panting. "You are incredible" he managed to get out before putting his hand over his eyes.

"You're pretty impressive yourself" she grinned at him as she leaned on her side and ran her hand over his abdomen.

"Enough" he gasped and turned on his side to face her. "Please, I'm an old man, have mercy?" he put his hand out to brush against her nipple and watched as she hissed, closed her eyes and rolled onto her back. "Again?" he asked and smiled, leaning down to take her nipple into his mouth.

"Bloody hell" she managed through clenched teeth as he ran his finger in ever decreasing circles around her clitoris. Her hands had clamped to the back of his head just in case he tried to stop the miraculous thing he was doing to her breasts. "Nearly" she gasped just before arching off the bed, the back of her head and her heels the only things still connected to the real world. When she finally opened her eyes she saw him grinning down at her. "What?" she asked breathlessly and tried to turn onto her side but gave up as every muscle in her body appeared to have turned to jelly.

He shook his head. "Do you have any idea how gorgeous you look right now?" he asked.

"Right" she nodded and turned her head to grin up at him. "My face is probably all red and sweaty and my hair must be a mess and.."

He didn't let her finish, putting her lips to a much better use. "Don't argue with me" he finally suggested and pulled her closer to him. "If I say you are the most beautiful woman on the entire planet right now then just agree with me"

"Yes sir" she managed around a yawn before snuggling into him. He thought she was asleep and was lying watching her. When she opened her eyes she saw him look a little surprised. "You better be here when I wake up in the morning" she mumbled and yawned again.

He placed kisses between her eyebrows and down her nose. "I love you Will" he whispered and heard her sigh.

*****

Buffy swept round, delivering the roundhouse kick where his head had been seconds before. She bounced on the balls of her feet and grinned at him. "Glad to see you've finally got the hang of ducking" she caught the towel he threw at her.

"I see you're knee and ribs are completely healed" he said between heavy breaths. "How do you feel?" he asked as he sat on the bottom stair.

"A bit stiff but that'll disappear after I've loosened off properly" she rolled her shoulders and swung her arms around. "Willow's healing mojo certainly helped things along" she smiled at him. "It also seems to have cleared up the black eyes" she pointed at his face.

"Yes" he leaned back and stretched his legs out. "I even managed to sneeze yesterday without thinking my nose was going to explode" he smiled.

"How are you guys doing?" Buffy asked as she moved to the punch bag.

He stood up and put his weight behind it as she swung a few preparatory punches at it. "What do you mean?" he asked, hoping she would be too busy concentrating on her training to continue the conversation.

She stopped what she was doing and looked at him. "I mean how are you and my best friend getting on now that you're doing something other than researching?" she put her hands on her hips and waited for his answer.

He sighed and hugged onto the punch bag. "It seems that we also make a good non-researching team and I think I may have a solution to the transatlantic commuting problem" he said and saw her smile.

"Hey, good news, what's the what?" she swung a punch and he grunted as the bag bounced against him.

He waited until she had completed her first combination before explaining. "All of the calls I've made over the last few weeks have been about finding some way to allow Willow to work with the Council" he explained and was caught a little off balance as she stepped away from the bag.

"She's going to become a watcher?" she asked in surprise. "When did she decide this?"

He sighed. "Not a watcher, more a very over-qualified research assistant" he explained patiently. "And she doesn't know, I haven't had a chance to discuss it with her yet as I only received the confirmation call an hour ago"

Buffy pounded on the bag for five minutes, her face scrunched up by her thoughts rather than the physical effort. "How does this solve the problem?" she finally asked, hardly out of breath.

Giles took a step back and flexed his shoulders. "If she works for the Council then they will pay for her to be wherever they need the research resource" he explained and shook his hands out to try to get the feeling back in them. "And as she will be my assistant then she will be with me wherever I am, England or Sunnydale"

"And you'll need to check on the hellmouth on a regular basis?" Buffy asked, her anxiety about losing Willow again seeping out.

"I would imagine so" he smiled at her and took a deep drink from his water bottle before throwing one at Buffy.

*****

Willow and Xander were in the kitchen making sandwiches for lunch when Buffy and Giles came up from the basement. "Hey, how'd training go?" Willow asked and reached up to kiss him.

"Very well" he mumbled and kissed her.

"Actually it was a little slow but I'll do some more later on" Buffy had crossed her arms and was watching her best friend and her watcher with extreme concentration. "You know" she turned to Xander. "I don't think I'll ever get used to seeing them do that" she sighed.

"Seeing who doing what?" Xander looked around the kitchen and shrugged his shoulders.

"I like your style Mr Harris" Buffy grinned at him. "Denial is definitely the way to go" The two friends laughed and took the prepared food into the living room.

"Where'd everybody go?" Willow asked as she realised they were alone.

"Was there anyone else here?" he smiled sloppily and put his hand on her butt. "I certainly wouldn't be able to do this with an audience" he grinned.

"I see your point" she replicated his hand position and snuggled against him.

They were kissing again when Dawn coughed politely from the kitchen doorway. "You guys, can you take it somewhere else, Martin and I are starving"

Giles blushed bright red and Willow wasn't far behind him. "Oops" she mumbled and cleared her throat.

Dawn just shook her head and walked past them to the fridge. "Martin" she shouted over her shoulder. "It's safe to come in now, they've stopped"

Martin stood in the doorway smiling bravely at them. "Hi Mr Giles, Willow" he waved and went to help Dawn with the lunch preparations.

"Martin" Giles coughed and used the towel he still held as a screen for the front of his trousers. "I have some phone calls to make so I'll just go upstairs and use the telephone to call those people I have to call"

"Very smooth" Willow giggled and shoved him towards the doorway. He disappeared at speed and she turned to the youngsters. "Hey Martin, how did your science project go?"

The next half hour was taken up with discussions of the latest news from the science club and when Giles eventually came back downstairs after his shower he was a little annoyed to find Willow deep in conversation.

"Ah Willow, I wonder if I might have a word with you?" he asked and didn't realise he had regressed until Buffy looked up and smiled.

"Oh-oh Will, sounds like you've forgotten to return a book" she giggled and watched as Willow stood up and excused herself. "Perhaps he'll let you work off the fine?" Buffy and Xander looked at each other and covered their eyes at the same time. "Ooooooh scary visual place" they both agreed.

"Ignore them" Willow advised and led Giles into the back garden. "Unless this is about a book you've lent me in which case.." she was getting started on one of her famous rambles.

"Willow" he put his hand on her shoulder. "I have some good news" he started and sat down on the garden bench. "Well, I hope you'll think it's good news, because I think it is definitely not bad so I suppose that would make it.." he seemed to forget what his point was.

"Of the good?" she asked and sat down at the end of the bench, turning to face him.

"Exactly" he smiled and squinted his eyes in the sunlight. "Anyway" he realised he had phased out a little while admiring the way the sun shone through her hair. " I have spoken to several colleagues at the Council over the last few days and have come up with a solution to the problem of how we can be together" he stood up to pace and she shook her head and smiled at him. "Obviously the Council know of your talents in the field of research and they have agreed that you are more than qualified to take up one of the positions for research assistant that is currently open" he was still pacing so she didn't interrupt him. "Furthermore" he took his glasses off and waved them at her. "I have persuaded them that the importance of the work I do requires that a research assistant be permanently assigned to me and they have agreed to my `suggestion' that that person be you"

She had noted his hesitation over the word and wondered exactly what leverage he had used to make his suggestion successful. "Why would I want to work for the Council?" she asked and looked genuinely confused. "These are the people who have stood against all of us on several occasions and had a hand in actively trying to kill the two slayers that I know personally" she continued. "This is the organisation that you tell me is worse than useless in most of the situations we have encountered in the last six years" she was building up a head of steam and ignored his attempts to interrupt her. "This is the organisation that would have killed me if they had gotten to me before you did several months ago and who would undoubtedly count murder as a small price to pay for controlling the kind of power I still have"

Giles was staring at her, completely shocked by her outburst. "But Willow, don't you see?" he started and watched as she stood up, almost shaking with anger.

"These are the people who threatened to deport you when you wouldn't play the game to their sick and twisted rules Giles" she was shouting at him now. "What makes you think I trust them to keep any promises they make to you where we are concerned?" she headed for the kitchen door and turned for one final question. "What makes you think they don't see the control they'd have over our relationship as something they can use down the line to blackmail you, me or Buffy?"

He watched as she stormed back into the house and heard the front door slam as she continued straight out again. He was still standing, completely bemused when Buffy came out to find him a few minutes later. "What happened?" she asked, taking in his confusion. "What's up with Willow?"

"Apparently I have just asked her to sell her soul to the devil or somesuch" he shrugged his shoulders and sat down wearily on the bench.

Buffy sat down next to him. "I'm guessing she didn't like the idea of being Travers' lap dog?" she guessed.

"Is that what you think I am?" he asked while continuing to stare at the ground. "Do you think I would place her in that situation if I could think of any other way to guarantee that we are together?"

Buffy sighed and leaned back, tilting her face to the sun. "It's not me you have to persuade but I'm going to throw my opinion into the ring anyway" she took a deep breath. "Giles, I think you are the most intelligent person I have ever known"

He continued playing with his glasses and watching the ground. "I can't see but I'm guessing you have something else to add?" he suggested wryly.

"Yep, major but coming up" she nodded and sighed. "You and I both know the destructive power of the Council and I know they have amazing resources and a fabulous library but do you really want to be working for them any more than Willow does?" She watched him try to assimilate what she was saying. "I mean when Tara died" she paused for a moment and looked up to the bedroom window before taking a deep breath. "When it happened and Willow went AWOL it wasn't the Council that got you here and helped defeat the evil. The coven works outside the Council and manages to be on the side of the white hats, why can't you?"

"It's not that simple Buffy" he continued. "The Council may not have it's finger on the pulse where the hellmouth is concerned but many good people dedicate their lives to it's aims and I feel obliged to remain within the organisation in order to help them survive"

"Doggy poo" she blew a raspberry as well in case he didn't catch her meaning. "You could hire yourself out as a consultant and make them pay for the experience you've earned over the years, experience they were perfectly happy to ignore whenever they wanted to get their own stuffy, British way"

"It's not a black and white issue" he began and felt her anger rising as she stood in front of him and waited for him to look up at her.

"That is exactly what it is" she crossed her arms. "You could get a job teaching or lecturing in any University in England or America and do the watchery stuff on the side" the idea seemed to surprise her as much as it did him. "Yeah" she suddenly realised that it might work. "I mean you said you were actually a professor and you probably know something about regular subjects as well as vampires and demons?"

He chuckled as her excitement infected him. "Just a little" he acknowledged and then shook his head. "But if I teach in England it will mean Willow will have to live there to be with me and I'm trying to find a way to spend a little more time here"

She shook her head and growled at him in frustration. "You are so stupid sometimes" she wagged her finger at him.

"But you just said I was the most intelligent…." he started but she cut him off.

"Never mind what I said" she started pacing in front of him. "What's more important to you?" she finally asked. "I know you really don't want to live here and Willow has said she is willing to move to England to be with you but you know she'd be miserable, so what's more important?" she finally gave him a chance to answer.

"You want me to come back here?" he asked.

"Not for me or Dawn or Xander" she stopped pacing to stand in front of him. "Not even for Willow, but for yourself" she said quietly. "I know you have friends and family in England but I think we must count as pretty nearly that as well and if you were prepared to commute to see us what's so wrong about considering commuting to see them?"

He stared back at her for a moment before shaking his head. "You make it sound so simple" he huffed. "You're asking me to give up my home, my friends and my job to relocate here again" he was staring at his hands and didn't see her standing behind Buffy.

"That's not what she's asking" Willow said quietly and touched Buffy's shoulder. Her friend took the hint and nodded at her before heading back indoors. "You've been happier over the last few weeks than I've ever seen you" she suggested. "I know I'm biased and some of that has to do with the fabulous sex life you've suddenly achieved but I think you were happy even before you and I hooked up" She sat down on the bench and he sat next to her. "Buffy was wrong" she took a deep breath and decided to get it all out in the open. "I wouldn't be miserable if I moved to England because I'd be with you" she smiled at him as he turned to watch her. "But I don't think I could work for the Council and we'd be in the same position we are now with you having to work away from home and us not being together"

"Willow, please, I don't want that either and I'm not trying to defend the Council's history but there are many people like me who work for them and truly believe that we are doing some good because of it" he rested his hand on her shoulder. "I understand that you don't want to work with them but I'm not sure if I can get another job that would allow me to make the same difference as I do now"

"You had a job that allowed you to make all of the difference in the world" she mumbled and sniffled a little. "You were a librarian at an American high school by day and a battler for evil at night" she sighed. "You trained the most successful slayer in history and made sure her friends survived to help her celebrate her success"

"But I was working for the Council" he interrupted.

"Up until they fired you" she let out a deep breath, determined not to lose her temper again. "You stayed with us and helped us save the world more times than Travers and his kind have had hot dinners" She turned to face him and put her hand up to brush against his cheek. "You don't need them Giles, you are better than that and can make more of a difference by following your own path and not being tied up in their red tape. They'll beg you to stay and they'll come knocking on your door when you set up freelance, believe me they will have no choice"

"You don't know them like I do" he turned his head to kiss the palm of her hand. "They are just as likely to take umbrage at me having my own life and try to end it"

"Then they'll just have to deal with a pissed off witch, won't they?" she smiled at him. "You're not alone in this Giles, we are a formidable team of people and Buffy will remind them of their subservient role in our lives if they ever dare show their face in this place again" He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "With the money you'll be making as a top consultant we can visit your friends as often as you want"

"Do you really think it will work?" he asked and leaned back against the bench. "I mean it seems so simple when you and Buffy describe it but all I can think about are the obstacles"

"That's what you thought about us and look how well that turned out?" she smiled at him and leaned back beside him, her hand resting on top of his.

Chapter 22

"Are you sure the red plug goes in there?" he asked for the third time.

"Do you want to do this yourself?" Xander leant back and put down the instruction booklet.

"Leave him alone, come and help with these boxes" Willow shook her head and checked a notebook. "Dawn, that one goes in the study" she shouted as the young girl sighed and turned to her left.

"Where to Miss?" a young moving man stopped in the hallway with a dolly loaded with boxes.

Willow stood on tiptoe to read the number of the top box then checked her list. "Sorry, they need to be in the front bedroom" she winced as he sighed and began lifting the individual boxes upstairs.

"Good grief" Giles put down one of the boxes and stretched his back. "Why can't I help Xander install the satellite TV thingy?" he pouted.

"Because he was just about to stab you with his screwdriver" she patted his shoulder and reached up to kiss him. "Why don't you unpack the kitchen while we finish up in here?" He walked off shaking his head and mumbling under his breath.

"What's up with Giles?" Buffy asked as she carried some empty boxes downstairs.

"He's getting in everyone's way and I've relegated him to kitchen duties" Willow shrugged. "After these we only have three more boxes for the study and then we're done with the unloading" she grinned as Buffy easily lifted the box that Giles had given up on. "Technically you were the one who persuaded him to stay in America" Willow reminded her.

"Next time you guys can emigrate and get some English people to move your books" she grinned over her shoulder as she headed upstairs. "Tell Giles that we could do with some coffee for the workers"

*****

"I can't believe you don't have some of the same books" Xander argued several hours later as they fought over the Chinese takeaway.

"All of his are in weird languages and he doesn't have any on robotics or science" Willow shrugged and finished handing out drinks. "Although we discovered that we both had Wind in the Willows" she grinned.

"I told you" Xander sat back and looked at Buffy. "There is one less book you would have had to carry today" he emphasised his point with his chopsticks before returning to his food.

"Giles!" Dawn shouted from the hallway. "Hurry up or there won't be any left"

"I was just checking to see if I had any emails" he smiled as he came downstairs. "Mmmm" he dived straight into the large pile of takeaway containers. "I'm starving" he mumbled as he finally sat down beside Willow and kissed her cheek. "Did you find my record collection?" he asked hopefully.

"I got Buffy to dump them in your study" Willow nodded and sat back with a sigh. "Let's not do this again any time soon" she yawned.

"Shouldn't need to" Giles agreed "We have plenty of capacity for any future expansions"

Buffy caught Dawn's startled look and stared at Willow. "Future expansions?" she asked carefully and saw Xander put his chopsticks down and lean forward a little.

"He means more books" Willow rolled her eyes. "Right?" she turned to see his grin and started to get worried.

"Absolutely" he nodded and laughed at the shock on their faces.

Once the food was finished everyone found a comfortable seat and they gave the new satellite TV system a test. "It's just like football" Xander shrugged his shoulders.

"It might be just like your version of football" Giles agreed. "However, rugby players don't need ten layers of padding, helmets or a rest break every thirty seconds" he explained patiently.

"So the kicker stays on the field?" Xander asked over his shoulder as another play unfolded in front of him. "That's weird" he shook his head but continued to follow the game.

"I can't believe you agreed to the sports channels" Buffy followed Willow and Dawn upstairs.

"It was one of the things on his list to make him stay in America" Willow shrugged. "Apparently he used to play it years ago and has a mission to explain it to Xander so that they can watch games together every week"

"This is a really pretty room" Dawn sighed as they started to hang up clothes in the master bedroom. "You can see most of the park from here" she sat on the window seat and stared out at the view.

"Don't tell me, the trees were on his list?" Buffy guessed and smiled as Willow nodded and sighed. "What was on your list?" she asked and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Not much, I just asked for a study of my own and enough room that you guys could stay over" Willow shrugged and closed the wardrobe door. "Oh, and something for the garden" she grinned and headed downstairs again. "Cool, huh?" she nodded as they all stood and looked at a huge hammock slung between two very old oak trees. "I've always wanted one and he said we should get one each but I managed to find a place that supplied one big enough for two" she gingerly sat on the edge before swinging her legs into it.

Dawn looked around at the garden. "Your neighbours can't see into this part of the garden" she pointed to the sheltering trees.

"They can't?" Willow asked and tried for surprised innocence before Buffy tutted.

"Remind me to give them plenty of notice before we come over?" she suggested to her sister and pushed the hammock, causing it to sway lightly. "You should get a couple more of these and we could spend all summer out here"

"I'll add it to my list" Willow grinned and they spent another half hour in the garden before the sun set and a cold breeze started up.

"Offside!" Xander shouted at the TV and looked up to see the girls coming back to join them. "This is a great game" he pointed to the screen enthusiastically. "It's over already?" he looked incredulously at Giles as the players trooped off the park.

"Another advantage" Giles grinned. "The game lasts forty minutes each half"

Xander thought for a moment or two before winking at Willow. "No cheerleaders"

"Well you may have a point there" Giles nodded in agreement before wincing as Willow nudged his ribs.

"I need to patrol and Dawn's got school in the morning so we should get going" Buffy looked to Xander.

"Sure, I'll just visit the little boys room" Xander nodded.

"Are you free next Saturday night?" Giles asked as he helped Buffy into her jacket. "I think a house warming party is definitely called for to thank you for all your help today" he smiled at Dawn as well. "You can bring Martin if you want"

"That would be nice, thanks" Dawn blushed slightly.

"I'll call you tomorrow" Willow sniffled a little as she hugged Buffy. "Thanks for everything" she kept eye contact until Buffy nodded slightly. "And you Dawnie, are you sure you're not a slayer, the way you were throwing those boxes around today?" she grinned and pulled the young girl into a rib crunching hug.

"Thank you" Giles held onto Buffy for several breaths. "Today wouldn't have happened without your help"

"Hey" Xander pouted. "I leave the room for two minutes and suddenly there's an orgy" he pointed to the hugging couples and smiled as Willow opened her arms for him. "That's better" he sighed and pulled Dawn beside him.

"Thanks Xan" Willow giggled and pulled away from him. "Can you make it to our house warming party next Saturday night?" she asked.

"I'll be here to see the game on Saturday afternoon so I don't see why not" he shrugged and turned apologetically to Giles as Willow looked surprised. "Sorry big guy"

"It's alright" Giles assured him and patted his back. "I was going to break the news a little more gently than that but.." he shrugged and held out his hand to Willow. "I promise the house will be tidied and ready for the party before we watch the game" he pouted a little before winking at Xander over Willow's shoulder as she sighed and hugged him.

"Let's go and leave them to the rest of the unpacking" Buffy shook her head.

*****

"Where do we start?" Willow looked at the huge pile of boxes in the middle of her study.

"As you know" Giles bent down to pick her up. "Tactical planning has always been a bit of a talent of mine" he strode down the hallway towards the spare bedroom.

"I thought you had hurt your back?" she giggled as he kicked the door open. "Rupert, it's beautiful" she gasped as she saw the bed made up and a huge vase of roses standing on the dressing table. "When did you get time to do all this?" she looked around at the rose petals scattered across the bed covers.

"I enlisted some help" he admitted and sheepishly stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Just one problem, I couldn't find any matches" he admitted.

"You could have done it yourself" she protested as all of the carefully laid out candles burst into life with one word.

"I wanted to save my strength for something else" he grinned and pulled her into his arms. "Welcome to your new home, Ms Rosenberg" he sighed before kissing her for several minutes.

"We would have moved several months ago if I'd known it would be like this" she assured him and let her head roll back as he kissed the skin revealed by unbuttoning her blouse.

"You should have put it on your list" he looked up as her hands disappeared under his sweater. "Mmmm Will" he sighed and pulled her towards the bed.

"Rupert, please" she whispered as he dropped her bra on the floor and slowly moved to undo her jeans.

"There's no rush" he spent a few moments nibbling around her belly button before standing up to drop his clothes on the floor. "We have the rest of our lives together" he watched her lick her lips before kissing her.

"I want you now" Willow finally pulled away to catch her breath. "And later, I want you in every room of our house" she gasped and closed her eyes for a second or two as he let his fingers gently stroke her thigh. "Please" she begged as he spread her legs apart and began stroking her clitoris.

"I wanted this to last all night, for you to have this whenever you thought of our first night here together" he pushed away from her and searched for his jeans. "But I don't think I can wait any longer" he admitted as he searched through the pockets.

"Don't" she raised herself onto her elbows before reaching out to pull him back onto the bed. "We don't need anything" she saw him hesitate and grinned. "I'm not proposing a future expansion" she giggled as his eyebrows rose in shock. "I've taken care of that side of things and we don't need the condoms any more" she watched him swallow and take several deep breaths. "Unless there is something you haven't told me?" she slowly squirmed higher up the bed till she could rest on the pillows.

"Are you sure?" he whispered and saw her face fall a little. "Not that I wouldn't want to have children with you but we haven't discussed it and…" he closed his eyes and listened to the tiny voice in his head telling him to shut up. "I'm sorry, can I start again?" he asked and slowly started to stroke her thigh.

"Some day you can explain to me how you ever managed to get a second date with anyone?" she shook her head before clearing her mind of everything else and concentrating on his body.

He blew across her breasts and watched as her nipples crinkled with the cold air. Licking his lips he bent down to heat them with his tongue before continuing down her body. "You are so beautiful" he sighed and blew against her pubic hair. "So beautiful" he mumbled as he watched her fists clench around the duvet.

"No more talking" she growled and stared at him as he slowly ruffled the hair with another breath before dropping a kiss on her clitoris. She managed to keep eye contact until he licked the length of her and then had to concentrate solely on remembering to breathe. His left hand joined the game shortly after as he expertly brought her to the edge before easing off and letting her calm down a little. He kept up the technique for several minutes before she finally whimpered his name and he realised that he wanted this as much as she did. Pulling back a little he kissed her thigh. "Willow" he whispered and waited for her to look at him. "I love you" he said softly and a tiny part of his brain memorised the silly grin that grew on her face. "I love you" he said more definitely and grinned back at her before dropping down and alternating licking and sucking on her clitoris to bring her to a screaming orgasm seconds later.

Willow could still see stars when she opened her eyes. "Oh goddess" she moaned as he blew across her breasts again on his journey back up her body. "You are a wicked, cruel man" she scowled at him for a moment before pulling him into a kiss. "And I think I've worked out how you managed to get second dates" she giggled a couple of minutes later when he rolled away from her and took several deep breaths.

"Willow!" he growled and caught her movement out of the corner of his eye. "Willow" he said more softly as she straddled him, pinching his nipples as her hands rested on his chest.

She took a deep breath as she raised herself enough to slide him inside, lowering herself slowly to savour the moment. "Ready?" she opened her eyes to see him with a frown on his face that she recognised as deep concentration. The look became even more serious when she pushed away from his chest and sat up straight above him. She clenched her pelvic floor a couple of times to tease him before raising up and almost off of him. The silly grin had returned to her face as she slowly built up the speed and depth of penetration but Giles had screwed his eyes shut. "So much better" she sighed and leant back a little further.

The rhythm she had built up was suddenly broken when he grabbed her hips and rolled her to the side. "Need more" he explained through gritted teeth as he rolled on top of her and started kissing her neck.

"More is good" she assured him and crunched her abdomen a little to help out. "More" she groaned and pulled his head against her neck, one hand grabbing his hair as the other scratched down his back.

"So warm" he mumbled and tried to remember the rugby game from earlier. This distraction was rather spoiled when she rolled her hips under him again and shouted his name as she shuddered and gasped. "Willow" he grunted and gave up the battle for control, biting his lip to stop himself biting her shoulder.

"Thank you" he waited till she had opened her eyes and gently brushed some hair from her forehead.

"What for?" she asked.

"For falling in love with me, for realising what was happening, for having the courage to act on it and for agreeing to live with me" he said softly and kissed her.

"I'm not sure I had any control over any of it other than the last bit" she shrugged and pulled the duvet over both of them. "And you are on probation for the living together thing for six months, remember" she grinned.

"You won't leave me" he shook his head and pulled her tight against him. "The rest of them will never agree to move all of your stuff again"

*****

"It's not really my fault" she sighed as he slammed another pile of books onto a bookshelf. "I've only been working there for three months and I did say they could call me if anything went wrong"

"You've only been on holiday for three days, why can't someone else sort it out?" he kicked the empty box out of his way and pulled another full one towards him.

"It's your own fault for wanting to move in with a genius" she finished pulling on her sweater. "The reason they employed me was because they don't have anyone else who can do this kind of stuff" She watched his back as he continued to stack shelves. Sighing she stepped over a box and gently rested her hand on his back. "I am sorry and I'll try to get it cleared up as quickly as possible" When he didn't react she shook her head and left the house.

Giles was clearing up dishes in the kitchen when Buffy knocked at the backdoor before pushing it open. "Hey Giles, is Willow around?" she asked brightly.

"She's gone into work" he slammed the last mug down and threw the dishtowel onto the worktop.

"Something came up?" she asked and leaned against the doorway, preventing him leaving. "Or were you just having a fight and she decided to leave you to take it out on the dishes?"

"Buffy!" he shook his head in disgust and walked around her to the living room. "I'm just annoyed that she agreed to go into the office as soon as they called" he admitted.

"What else did you expect her to do?" Buffy asked quietly. "She grew up with a boss who expected her to drop everything and deal with the latest emergency, no matter how inconvenient it was" she smiled gently at him as he caught the gist. "The same boss who worked until the job was done and expected the same of everyone else" she watched him struggling to keep the grin from his face. "He was a mentor who would have shrugged and told her to ignore the real life stuff with a boyfriend because the work was more important"

"I wasn't that bad" he protested.

"Maybe not" she shrugged, only partially agreeing with him. "But surely you understood how much we all changed because of the years of working together, and Willow changed more than any of us"

"And now she's saddled with a pathetic old man who has a tantrum when she dares to put anything else ahead of him" he frowned again.

"I know she's not saving the world and that international banking may well count as working for the bad guys" Buffy grinned. "But you taught her well and she won't let someone else take the slack"

They sat in silence for a few minutes as he struggled to see the situation from Willow's point of view. "Perhaps you have a point" he finally conceded and glared at Buffy as she grinned. "What did you want her for anyway?" he asked to change the subject.

"Just needed her advice on something, I'll catch up with her later" she shrugged and headed for the front door.

"Give me five minutes and I'll give you a lift" he pushed up from the chair and headed upstairs. When he came back down ten minutes later he had changed into his black jeans and a clean white shirt.

"What's the occasion?" Buffy asked as they drove towards the centre of town.

"I need to get a present to apologise for being a grumpy old man" he sighed and checked the traffic before pulling onto the main street.

"Well I have seen this fabulous pair of shoes" she giggled and was relieved to see him laughing as well.

"Not for you" he rolled his eyes and pulled into a parking space.

"Hey, I've put up with more grumpy old man fits than Willow ever has" Buffy reasonably pointed out. "Besides, I still haven't got you back for duping me out of shoes on the last shopping trip" she suddenly remembered their trip to the mall six months before.

"I promise, once I get the payment from the Council for the Mavid translation, I'll take you shopping" he walked round the car to open her door for her. "In the meantime I have to get Willow something obscenely expensive and take her for dinner" he glanced round at the shops near them. "Any ideas?" he finally looked back towards her and smiled as she shook her head at him.

"You've got the computer place over there or the book shop round there" she pointed in two different directions. "Or the flower shop next door to the sexy lingerie place" she waggled her eyebrows and laughed as he blushed. "Oh come on Giles, I helped decorate the spare room, remember?"

He coughed and put his sunglasses back on. "Perhaps the book shop would be best" he started walking before turning to Buffy. "I'll let Willow know you were looking for her" he nodded as she waved at him and headed in the other direction.

*****

"The patch should last for a while, at least until I can put together the justification for the upgrade" she sighed and pushed away from her desk.

"I can't thank you enough Willow" the relieved looking manager of her department assured her. "How about I take you to dinner to make up for breaking into your holiday?" he asked.

Willow glanced at him as she packed her laptop into her bag. "It wasn't a problem and thanks for the offer but I should really be getting home" she shouldered the bag and lifted her jacket from behind the door.

"At least let me buy you a drink?" he persisted and held the door for her into the car park.

"Rupert will be really mad if I miss out on any more of the unpacking" she glanced round, trying to remember where she had parked her car.

"If you had moved in with me I would never be mad" he mumbled but she still managed to catch it.

"Richard, look, I'm sorry if I'm getting the wrong signals here, but Rupert and I are very happy together and I never mix business with pleasure" she watched him trying to think of a face saving way out of the situation. "Rupert?" Willow had seen him heading towards her from the other side of the building. "What on earth are you doing here?" she asked but thanked whatever gods were listening that he had turned up. "Is something wrong?" she asked as she realised that there might be a problem.

"Nothing's wrong" he assured her as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I just wanted to see if you had finished" he took her bag from her before turning and holding his hand out to the younger man who was standing next to Willow. "Rupert Giles, I don't think we've met?" he said pleasantly before noticing a slight hesitation on the other man's part.

"Sorry, Rupert this is Richard Davies, he's in charge of the IT department" Willow hurriedly made the introduction.

"Pleasure" the younger man shook his hand before turning a bright smile on Willow. "I was just offering to buy Willow dinner for her help this afternoon"

Giles smiled pleasantly back at him but Willow could see the tell tale tightening around his eyes that meant he was angry. "I suspect she set the whole thing up to get out of the unpacking" he joked and put his arm round her shoulders. "However, I'm afraid I have first claim on her for dinner tonight, it's our anniversary" he lied with consummate ease. "Six months since I came back from England and we finally admitted our feelings for each other"

"You'd known each other before?" Richard asked, trying to find out how this unlikely couple had got together.

"Rupert was one of my first teaching projects" Willow desperately tried to avoid a discussion of their initial relationship and get away from the uncomfortable feelings generated by the close proximity of the two men. "I agreed to tutor him when he first got a computer and we've collaborated on several projects over the years"

"What is it you do?" Richard asked, aware that he was making Willow nervous and trying to find out why.

"I'm a consultant for a major international research institute" Giles felt the need to impress this man and a part of his brain wandered off to work out why. "In my spare time I teach a class in Ancient History at the local University"

"Look at the time" Willow picked up the rise in testosterone levels and decided to end the discussion. "Richard, you shouldn't have any more problems and I'll work up the report when I get back from my holiday" she smiled at him and put her hand into Giles' as they walked towards his car. "That was timely" she blew out a breath as he opened the door for her.

"Was he bothering you?" he asked, looking over his shoulder as the younger man got into a car. "I'll have a word with him if you want?"

"What would you say?" she looked at him as he pulled out of the car park. "Please stop being nice to my girlfriend?"

"Actually I was thinking more along the lines of asking if he liked having the use of all of his limbs" Giles admitted and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. "He obviously makes you uncomfortable and I know you can deal with it yourself, but you will let me know if there is anything I can do?" He waited for her nod before reaching out and putting his hand on her thigh. "I am sorry about earlier" he said quietly and looked over his shoulder. "There are some presents for you on the back seat" he nodded.

"They're beautiful" she gasped as she saw the large bunch of flowers. "What's in the box?" she asked and turned round in her seat to try and reach it. "Rupert!" she giggled as she peaked inside the large box to see something white and lacy wrapped in tissue paper.

"Buffy suggested books but I think you've got everything that the local bookshop stocks" he smiled and rested his hand on her thigh again.

"You don't need to apologise for earlier" she started before he interrupted.

"I know how important your work is to you and I had no right to be jealous" he said seriously. "I'm just struggling to get used to someone else having the first call on your brain" he admitted. "Buffy reminded me that I was an even more unforgiving boss in High School"

"You weren't that bad and we were trying to save the world" she reminded him. "Did Buffy come over?"

"She said she wanted to ask your advice on something and that she'd call you later" he turned to look at her as he stopped at traffic lights. "Have I told you today how much I love you and how beautiful you are?" he leaned across to kiss her properly.

"I think you managed to convey that quite well when you woke me up this morning" she blushed as she remembered. "How about we give dinner a miss, pick up some pizza and you can remind me again" she leaned across to run her hand up his thigh.

*****

"Hey Buffy" Willow snuggled into the chair and yawned. "Rupert said you were looking for me earlier?"

"I just needed a best friend chat" Buffy leaned against the tomb wall. "What you doing for lunch tomorrow?"

"Nothing much, we could meet at the Espresso Pump, is everything OK?" Willow wasn't too worried as Buffy sounded happy.

"Everything's fine, I'll explain tomorrow" Buffy smiled and glanced over her shoulder. "Can you hang on for a second?" she asked and rested the phone on top of a gravestone. "Sorry about that" she picked it up a minute later and headed towards the cemetery gates. "So, did Giles manage to make up?" she grinned.

"He decided against the books and went with the flowers instead" Willow laughed when Buffy explained her advice from earlier. "Yeah, he went in there too" she admitted and the two girls giggled.

*****

Willow looked around the Espresso Pump and waved at Buffy as she saw her sitting at a corner table. "Please" she smiled at the waiter as he suggested her usual. "OK, spill it" she rested her elbows on the table and glared at Buffy.

"It's nothing world ending" Buffy shrugged and smiled at the waiter as he put Willow's coffee on the table. "Is it OK if I bring someone to the party on Saturday night?" she asked and rearranged the sugar packets in the dispenser.

"Who is he?" Willow demanded and bounced on her seat. "What's his name, where did you meet him and have you checked him out?" she finally ran out of breath.

"His name's John and he plays in a band and I met him at the Bronze a couple of weeks ago and yes, I have checked him out" she grinned as she got to the last part.

"Slut" Willow giggled. "I meant you've seen him in the daylight and stuff?" she sipped her coffee.

"I don't only ever go out with vampires" Buffy protested and looked sheepish as Willow raised her eyebrow. "Alright, yes, I've seen him in the daylight and he didn't turn into a fiery ball"

"Give me his full name and I'll run a check when I get home" Willow pulled out a notebook and Buffy grudgingly wrote down his name and address. "Of course you can bring him on Saturday, how much have you told him?"

"Just the basic, non demony stuff" Buffy shrugged. "He thinks I'm a personal trainer"

*****

"What do we know about him?" Giles frowned as he leaned against the door of Willow's study and watched her search the internet.

"As soon as I know more than his name I'll tell you" she sighed and scanned down the list of search results. "This looks promising" she mumbled and clicked through several more options.

"I just don't think her track record is exactly reassuring" he sighed and moved into the room to sit on a chair and look over her shoulder.

"Ooooohh" Willow leaned back in her chair and pointed to a picture. "I think her average score just went up a few points" she grinned at the picture of a blonde drummer sitting at the back of a group shot.

"Isn't he a little young for her?" Giles suggested before smiling as Willow looked at him in astonishment. "I'll go and put the kettle on, shall I?" he suggested as she nodded and reached for her phone.

"Buffy, he's really cute" she said excitedly. "Uhuh" she mumbled agreement as Buffy elaborated on his other attributes. "But doesn't that mean he'll have a gig on Saturday night?" she asked and scanned down the list of upcoming appearances for the band.

"He said he'll have to leave by nine but he'd love to meet up with you guys" Buffy cradled the phone on her shoulder as she continued to make dinner.

"And you have warned him about Giles?" Willow checked over her shoulder to make sure he was still downstairs. "I mean, he's pretty protective of you"

"You didn't see him when I told him about Spike" Buffy rolled her eyes and kicked the oven door closed before leaning against the kitchen counter. "Ask him about it sometime" she pouted. "I need to go, see you on Saturday?" she said and had hung up the phone by the time Dawn and Martin came into the kitchen. "Hey Martin, do you want to stay for dinner?" she asked pleasantly and turned to get some plates out of the cupboard, completely missing the astonished looks passing between the two youngsters.

"Thanks Miss Summers" Martin finally answered on Dawn's shrug.

*****

"Explain to me again why I can't get the remote?" Willow looked at him over the arm of the sofa.

"Because you're a girl" he sighed and moved to sit next to her, lifting her legs out of the way.

"But if that was an actual law then how did Tara and I ever manage to watch TV?" she argued.

"You spent your time with Tara watching TV?" he asked incredulously.

"Sometimes" she grinned and then laughed on his continuing disbelieving look. "OK we never actually got around to it but the point is a valid one" she argued.

"Here, you can have it while I get this call" he dropped the remote in her lap and went to answer the phone. "Damn" he ran his hand through his hair. "Send me everything you've got and I'll call you back in an hour" he promised and put his head round the door of the living room. "The Council need me to look at a prophecy"

"But we were nearly snuggling" she pouted and sat up to look at him. "Is it bad?" she asked seriously.

"You know the Council, they won't pay my exhorbitant fees unless they've exhausted every other avenue" he leaned across the back of the sofa to kiss her. "It sounds quite serious but I won't know until I get the information they're sending through"

"I'll put the kettle on and make us some tea" she sighed and pulled him in for another kiss before releasing him.

*****

"Dawn, is Buffy there?" Giles yawned and wiped his hand across his eyes while he waited for Buffy. "We have a problem" he said wearily and outlined the basics of the prophecy.

"I'll call Xander and we'll be with you in half an hour" Buffy said seriously and hung up. "Dawn?" she shouted as she went to her room to change. "Can you stay over at Martin's tonight?" she asked as her sister popped her head round the side of the bedroom door.

"What's wrong?" Dawn knew that Giles had been phoning about business and didn't want to be kept out of the loop.

"Giles found a prophecy that unsurprisingly leads right back to the Hellmouth" Buffy explained. "We're meeting over at his place and we'll probably be working on it all night"

"I'll pack my bag and be ready in five" Dawn turned to head for her own room.

"Dawn" Buffy struggled into her shoes before striding after her. "Not this time, but I'll call you in a few hours and let you know that everything's OK" she assured her and went to phone Xander. "Xander'll be here in ten minutes and we'll drop you off at Martin's" she sat on the bed. "I just spoke to Martin's mom and she says she'd love to have you over, apparently you're such a polite young woman" Buffy lifted Dawn's chin with her finger and smiled. "Winning over the mom, smart move"

*****

"Why don't we just flatten every old tomb in Sunnydale?" Xander huffed as they waited in some bushes and kept a watch on a specific family tomb. "I mean I could get a couple of bulldozers from the site and we could get rid of these things once and for all"

"Xander, we can't desecrate every tomb on the off chance that it contains the organs of a thousand year old demon who is set to rise on this night after the sacrifice of a virgin" Giles patiently explained. "It is more mystifying how they can still find a virgin in Sunnydale" he mumbled quietly.

"Hey" Willow whispered next to him and elbowed his ribs.

"Sshhhh" Buffy waved her hand at a small pinpoint of light that was weaving across the cemetery towards them. "Heads up" she whispered and they all made sure of their weapons.

"Strange time for a picnic" she stepped out of cover as the small group of acolytes reached the tomb. They stared at her in astonishment. "I know, you must be really bummed?" she walked towards them and was aware of Giles and Xander moving to flank them. "You wait a thousand years, you go to the trouble of finding a virgin" she pointed at the unconscious girl slung over the shoulder of one of the robed figures. "Then, just when everything's about to kick off, you bump into the Slayer" she stopped a few feet from them and crossed her arms. "You know how this is going to end" she advised as the apparent leader pointed to two of them and then at her. She shook her head and flattened the first one with a punch straight to his nose before stepping to one side and flooring the other one with a straight arm to the throat. "You'll attack me and I'll beat the crap out of you" she pointed at the next one to run at her and caught him with a roundhouse kick. "A couple of you will try to run away" she inspected her nails as Xander and Giles both incapacitated the two who ran in their direction. "Then the one with the hostage will think he can bargain his way out of it" she walked deliberately towards the remaining acolyte and stared straight at him. "Put the girl down gently" she advised and watched as he carefully laid out the unconscious girl on a nearby tombstone. "Get a new hobby" she advised as she hit him once and watched as he crumpled to the ground.

"So we've moved from bad puns to screenplays?" Giles asked sourly as he helped Xander tie up the acolytes.

"I'm still working the kinks out of it but I think it went pretty well?" she looked towards Willow and grinned. "How is she?" she asked as Willow checked the girl's pupils with a small flashlight.

"Can't really tell but they needed her alive to begin with so I'd guess they slipped her something in her drink" Willow shrugged and checked her watch. "If we call the police they can get her to hospital and take these guys in for attempted date rape"

"It would avoid any unnecessary explanations" Giles nodded and handed Xander a phone. "Use this one, it was in his pocket" he nodded to one of the acolytes and watched as Xander dialled the emergency number and reported a disturbance in the cemetery.

"Just need to clear up the loose ends" Buffy hefted the gas tank to the door of the tomb before kicking the door open and rolling the open tank inside. "Giles, did you ever find the matches?" she grinned.

"You told her?" Willow stared at him in astonishment before walking towards the tomb and conjuring a small flame in her hand. "Just you wait till I get you home" she threatened and carelessly threw the flame over her shoulder as she walked back towards their car.

Giles shook his head and watched the interior of the tomb fill with smoke and flames before heading after the others.

*****

"And then Giles and I both stepped out and pow" Xander mimed a solar plexus punch. "Bam" he did the same for a left hook. "The final two bad guys are eating dirt" he nodded at an impressed Dawn.

"I still don't see why I couldn't have come along?" she pouted.

"Surely the pajama party at Martin's was more fun?" Buffy asked as she carried a tray of drinks past them. "Stop talking about work and mingle" she frowned at both of them and waited till they had lifted glasses and wandered off to join the party.

"So Buffy tells me you used to play in a band?" the young blonde asked nervously as he sat at a garden table across from Giles.

"About two hundred years ago" Giles admitted and grinned as Willow dropped a kiss on his head. "We liked to think we were a bit of a cutting edge rock band" he stretched in his chair and smiled at the memories. "Leather jackets and groupies" he remembered happily.

"Do you still play?" he asked and the two men settled into an extended discussion on classic songs.

"He's really cute" Willow assured Buffy as they both sat on the steps of the decking and watched Giles and John in deep discussion.

"He's cute and funny and smart" Buffy sighed and a soppy grin settled on her face. "And the tight butt in those jeans, mmmmmmmm"

"Yeah" Willow nodded in agreement.

"Hey" Buffy finally shook herself out of contemplation of his butt to look at Willow. "I still can't quite get used to you doing the guy thing again" she grinned as Willow blushed.

"I never stopped doing the guy thing" she whispered. "I just do the girl thing as well" she admitted.

"Still?" Buffy raised an eyebrow. "What does Giles say about that?"

"John's is the first cute butt I've ogled since I got together with Giles" she held up her hands. "And I don't see what's wrong in admiring from afar" she nodded and giggled.

"Will?" Xander shouted at her and waved from across the garden. "Settle an argument" he pointed to where Martin and Dawn were sitting on the grass. "Did my egg last longer than yours in science class?" he winked at her as she looked at him in astonishment.

"You hard boiled your baby Xan" she sighed and smiled as Dawn and Martin started to laugh. "Never take advice from Xander about science" she warned them seriously before checking her watch. "Come and help me in the kitchen" she put her arm through his and left the others sitting together.

"Are you going to sit there being served all day?" she leaned down to whisper in Giles' ear as she passed. "Because you'll only pay for it later once everyone has gone" she promised.

"Have a seat" he stood up and offered Willow his seat. "Let me take care of the hosting duties for a while" he suggested and headed towards the kitchen.

*****

"I think today was a success" he sighed as he dropped into the armchair and yawned. "But I thought they'd never leave" he took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes.

"Who knew that being a hostess was such hard work?" she gave in to a jaw cracking yawn. "Can we leave the cleaning up till tomorrow?" she pouted.

"I'll sort it out in the morning" he assured her and moved to sit next to her on the sofa. "You worked really hard to organise everything so leave the rest to me"

"If you insist" she mumbled and snuggled into his chest as he put his arm round her. "You seemed to be getting on OK with John?" she smiled up at him.

"He's a nice bloke, certainly a lot better than the last one" he frowned and rested his head on the back of the sofa. "Asked if I'd sit in on a few sessions to let them hear some of the old stuff" he grinned as she pulled back to look at him.

"You're going to be in a band?" she giggled and stood up. "You know that I've always had a thing for musicians?" she held out her hand and pulled him up.

"I try to ignore your past relationships, particularly the ones that involved werewolves" he rested his hands on her hips as she preceded him upstairs.

"Thank you for today" she leaned against his back as he looked at his eyes in the bathroom mirror. "It felt kind of weird to welcome all of our friend's to our home but I got used to being the Lady of the Manor by the end of it"

"Oh god, you haven't been reading Lady Chatterley have you?" he asked as he pulled his sweater and t-shirt off. "I don't think I`ve got the energy to be a lusty gardener tonight" he wrapped his arms round her as she leaned against him.

"Surely you're not fed up with the Librarian and naughty pupil already?" she started to giggle but it was cut off with a huge yawn.

He helped her undress before dropping the rest of his clothes in a pile at the foot of the bed. "I watched you today" he admitted as she turned on her side to let him spoon her.

"Can't get out of the habit?" she asked.

"Wouldn't ever want to" he admitted and pulled her tighter against him. "You were laughing with Xander and I had a flashback to a time in the library when you were trying to tutor him for a Chemistry test" he leaned down to kiss her neck before continuing. "He finally seemed to get the hang of it and answered a couple of questions correctly and you leaned across to kiss him" he heard her breathing starting to slow down and knew that she was nearly asleep. "He turned round and asked you why you'd done it and you told him it was a reward for him being so smart" he smiled at the memory.

"I don't remember" she mumbled and kissed his arm where it cradled her head.

"I remember it vividly because it was one of the first occasions where I felt jealous and it took me months to work out that I was starting to have feelings for you" he took a deep breath. "If I'd known then that I'd end up one day, lying in our bed with you in my arms, I'd probably have admitted myself to the nearest hospital for treatment for concussion"

"Sometimes I can't quite believe we've ended up here either" Willow admitted in a quiet voice and turned round in his arms. "But there is nowhere else I'd rather be than right here"

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