"I couldn't afford to wait! You said so, yourself. We didn't know when the Canopy demon would attack. I couldn't risk innocent lives while you did a spot of research!"

Dawn, Xander and Willow sat on the Summers' couch, watching the argument escalate between Buffy and Giles. Their heads swung back and forth as if in a tennis match, although Dawn occasionally paused as a brown glob would make its way down her sister's body.

"You're lucky that all you ended up with was the demon's blood all over you. Kanbe demons' talons are poisonous. One scratch."

"So I stayed out of harm's way. I don't know what all the fuss is about. It' s over. After I wash the evidence off, nobody'll know the difference."

"That's beside the point!"

Buffy sighed in frustration. "No, that is the point! I did my job, and all those unsuspecting innocent people can now sleep peacefully! I'm sorry I didn't wait for you, but it was the right thing to do!"

"And what if you had been wounded?" This was said more quietly, the pain showing through. "What if I'd had to bury you again because you feel you no longer need my help in researching these creatures?"

This brought Buffy up short. She was obviously still angry, but understanding dawned on her face. None of the occupants of the room spoke, the two combatants obviously unwilling to continue the fight, yet neither willing to back down. Finally, Giles moved toward the front entry, grabbing his leather jacket on the way. Silence filled the void after he slammed the door.

Giles strode through the deserted streets of Sunnydale. Most of the town's citizenry may not have understood what happened at night, but they knew enough now to stay indoors, especially after the witching hour. His hands pushed into his pockets, his head bent, Giles was unconcerned that he might be attacked. He was carrying his usual supply of stakes and holy water, but most vampires and demons knew him as Watcher to the Slayer. Their fear of Buffy was such that they did not want her on the warpath were one of her own harmed in any way. Plus, being Halloween, there was very little demon activity about.

So occupied was Giles in his internal thoughts, he didn't notice the fog growing in front of him. Nor the sudden chill that filled the air. His anger at Buffy foolishly endangering herself seemed to grow rather than dissipate with every step he took away from her. That emotion seemed to be taking over, filling every pore of his being. That she would be so careless after they had all been reunited was beyond any other stupidity she had shown previously. Except perhaps sleeping with Spike. And Angel. And going up against Faith to save Angel. Well, perhaps it wasn't the most stupid thing she'd done.

Giles' train of thought was broken by a noise like the crack of a whip in front of him, followed immediately by a flash of light. He raised his eyes, finally realizing he was shrouded in a thick fog that blocked everything from his vision. The normal landmarks of Sunnydale were nearly invisible to him. Another crack and a flash of light in front of him increased his trepidation. Certainly he'd never heard of lightning strikes in a fog before. Another strike hit closer to where he was. In the illumination of the space around him, he thought for a moment he'd seen another figure before everything once again went dark. Turning, Giles began to run back towards the Summers' residence, hoping to avoid being hit by the bolts of light. His only awareness of being too late was a slight stinging sensation at the back of his neck.

Giles awoke to find himself lying in the middle of a road. The skies above him were now clear, the stars twinkling down at him. "Well, I suppose it wouldn't be a week in Sunnydale if I wasn't knocked out at least once." Sighing, Giles lifted himself up into a sitting position. A blinding headache halted his movements. He lifted his hand to his head, trying to ease the pain. He mentally checked the rest of his body, pleased to find no sign of any other injuries, major or otherwise. He pushed himself into a standing position, swaying as a wave of dizziness hit him. Shaking his head, he started making his way back toward the Summers' residence.

"Hey, Giles!" He turned at the sound of Xander's voice across the road. "You better hurry up and get home. She's kinda pissed."

"Xander, wait! I need.." Giles stopped as the younger man jumped into a car and drove off. ".your help. Since when do you drive off when I'm talking to you? And where did you get that ridiculous station wagon?" Giles shook his head as he weaved his way towards the front door of Buffy's house. He was surprised to find the place in darkness. He'd only just been here. Where were Willow and Dawn?

He pushed open the door, surprised to find it unlocked. "Hello?" He stepped further into the foyer. Other than the dim glow of a light from upstairs, there was no sign of life. "Anybody up?"

"Up here." There was no mistaking Buffy's voice.

Giles climbed the stairs. "Buffy? We need to talk." He hesitated in the upper hall. "Where are you?"

"In here." Her voice came from what he still considered Joyce's room. Confused, he opened the door. The décor seemed somehow different, but as he' d not been in the room since he'd returned from England, he assumed that whoever was now sleeping here had redecorated. "I'm over here."

Giles moved around the bed, toward the bathroom. He wasn't sure what game Buffy was playing, but he needed her help to investigate the strange phenomena he'd just experienced. "Buffy, while I was gone.."

"You realized how foolish you'd been and came back to beg my forgiveness." Buffy stood framed in the bathroom doorway, the still-damp robe she wore doing very little hide her naked body from his view. "Well, you are really going to have to do some begging this time. I'm going to have to be very inventive to find a way for you to make it up to me." She raised her hands to the sides of the robe, pulling them apart before letting the material fall to the ground at her feet.

Giles' mouth opened in shock. Before he could utter a protest, Buffy took two steps and launched herself at him. His hands automatically circled her to prevent her from falling off him. Her hands grabbed clumps of his hair as she fastened her mouth against his, her tongue darting inside in the most carnal kiss he'd experienced in some time.

Buffy ran the brush through her damp hair. She'd stood under the shower for at least fifteen minutes, scrubbing away any remaining traces of the demon she'd killed that night. She wished she could do the same to the memory of her argument with Giles. He'd become uber-research guy when he'd returned from England, and it had begun to annoy her. If she were honest with herself, that was the reason she hadn't waited as he'd asked. She was sick of his need to read everything he could find on every demon they encountered. She hadn't realized that maybe he was still worried after her death over a year ago.

A noise in the room next door ceased the movements of the brush. As far as she knew, she was alone in the house. For a moment, she wondered if Spike had decided to pay her a visit. But after the last time he'd been inside, and since his return, he'd stayed away from the house. Buffy putg the brush down as she tightened the sash to her bathrobe before carefully opening the connecting door between the bathroom and main bedroom. Who she saw was more of a surprise than Spike would have been.

"Giles, what...?"

"Where is everyone?" Something didn't seem right somehow.

"Dawn's staying at Janice's. Willow and Xander are having a Simpsons' Halloweenathon."

"So we're all alone?"

"Yeah. What's.?" Before she could finish the sentence, Giles swooped, pushing her against the wall. He covered her lips with his own, pressing his body into hers. She froze at first, her body remembering another time when a man had tried to hold her. But this was Giles, and the one man she knew she could trust. She relaxed her body as she let the memories wash away from her, and she became aware of exactly what Giles was doing. Surprise prevented her from trying to push him away. That and her fear of hurting him. She opened her mouth to protest, but Giles took the movement as an invitation. His tongue sneaked past her lips, scraping along her teeth before stroking the roof of her mouth.

Buffy made a sound of protest. At least she thought it was a protest. But it had been so long since she'd been kissed by a man, a living man. One who didn't repulse and terrify her in equal parts. And Giles seemed to know what he was doing. And it was Giles: her Watcher and friend. Clarity returned, and Buffy pressed her hands against his shoulders, ready to push him away. She gasped as she felt his hand press against her breast, kneading it through the terry of her robe. His knee pushed her legs open, and she felt his arousal press against her. Strangely, it didn't feel weird or gross. And if it was anybody else she'd probably be encouraging him more. But she realized that if she didn't stop soon, something would happen they would both regret. Giles was acting so strange. It had to be some sort of spell, and she didn't want him to feel all guilty in the morning, when he obviously had no control over his actions.

What did it matter if he made her shiver from the feel of the rough cloth over her aroused nipple? Or that she wanted to open her legs more to give him more access to her body? This was Giles, and his feelings mattered more than the fact that he made her feel more alive by just kissing her and fondling her breasts than any other man, living or undead, had in a long time.

Giles finally released her lips, though his hand continued its ministration. Buffy turned her head to the side to take a couple of deep calming breaths before she stopped him. She also needed to figure out how to push him away without causing him any physical damage. Taking advantage of the change in position, Giles began to press open kisses against the side of her face, her ear, her neck. She felt her nipples pebble under his assault.

"Giles, we have to.Oh God." She hadn't realized he'd undone the belt to her robe until she felt his warm lips draw her nipple into his mouth. His hot breath sent a coil of heat directly to her groin. When his tongue and teeth began tormenting the hardened nub, she drew on her last reserves of sanity to end it. "Giles.ohhh!" She hadn't noticed his hand had been stroking its way down her body. Not until his fingers pressed against the curls covering her sex. As if they knew her body intimately, they pushed through her lips and straight toward her clit. She couldn't stop herself pressing against his palm as he began to massage that most sensitive part of her body. She fought against the fog of passion that began to cloud her mind.

She was being assaulted on three fronts now. His mouth and right hand were fondling her breasts, sending shards of pleasure down her body to her core. His left hand was driving her insane as it stroked, petted, and teased her clit. She moved her hands to his head, to pull it away she told herself. Instead they pressed him harder against her flesh as she moaned and began whimpering. She felt, rather than heard him laugh against her skin. As if rewarding her, he pushed two fingers against her opening, wetting them with her arousal. They pushed into her, sliding in and out with an ease and familiarity she would not have expected.

Buffy began panting as Giles increased the pace of his fingers, pushing her closer toward her climax. "Giles, please." She wasn't sure what she was begging for. She only knew she was at his mercy. "Please."

Giles pulled his mouth from her reddened breast, resting his forehead against hers. "Please what?" He found an extra sensitive spot in her channel. "Please what?"

"Please. Make me..."

"Make you what? Make you come? Is that what you want, love? You want me to make you come?"

"Oh, God." She was out of control now, pushing against his hand, seeking for the release he could give her, yet wouldn't.

"Say it."

She swallowed against the dryness in her mouth. "Make me come. Please!"

She felt his smile against her lips as he took her mouth in a possessive kiss. His tongue entered her, its actions mimicking those of his fingers. His thumb stroked against her clit, pushing her further. Finally, his fingers stroked against a part of her channel she hadn't known existed. She felt herself explode. She cried her climax in his mouth as he stroked her, not letting her down. Only when she became lax against him did he reduce the pressure, allowing her to fall into a sweet oblivion.

Giles stepped back against the combined onslaught of Buffy's body pushing against his and her tongue ravishing his mouth. He tried to pull away to order her to stop, but all he could manage was a gargled sound that only seemed to encourage her. Of course it didn't help that his tongue seemed to be encouraging hers rather than discouraging it. He felt the edge of the bed as he took another step back, then a falling sensation as he tumbled onto it.

Somehow Buffy had retained ownership of his mouth, though her body had bounced a little against his as they fell. She began squirming against him, her naked body rubbing along his crotch. He moved his hands to her waist, trying to lift her from him. Unfortunately, a combination of her slayer strength and his unwillingness to touch certain parts of her anatomy limited any chances of success. He found himself returning her kisses more, and trying to dislodge her less.

She finally released his mouth, pausing to catch his lower lip between his teeth. Her hands were now on his sweater, pulling it up his body. "Buffy."

"I thought we got rid of all these horrible things. You want another burning party?"

"Burning.? What.? Buffy! Stop that!" He ineffectually slapped at her hands, trying to prevent her from exposing any more of his flesh to her. The irony of his playing the role of a virtuous maid to her ravisher was not lost on him. But he needed his shields, even if they were made of a flimsy material. They prevented her from seeing the real him.

Buffy paused her wriggling only long enough to drag his sweater over his head, the momentum forcing his arms up. "Come on, Rupert. Play nice. This is your punishment, remember." The material covering his face muffled his answer. "Well, if you're not going to behave, I guess I'll have to punish you some more."

Giles tried to protest, his words blocked by the top and her body leaning across his face. He heard the sound of a drawer opening and closing, then felt her repositioning herself on top of him. Buffy grabbed one of his wrists, pulling it over his head. He felt the cold metal of a bracelet against his flesh moments before the sound of a lock clicking. He froze in shock, not believing his slayer had actually handcuffed him. Before he could recover to fight her, she'd grabbed his other hand, pulling it toward the first. He tried bucking her off, only to be punished by the pressure of her knees against his sides. She attached the second manacle to his wrist. He pulled against the restraints, then realized she'd chained him to the bed head. He moaned as one of his fantasies came to life. Only knowing that Buffy would normally not be willing to engage in an act with him kept him from giving over to his desire. He could only assume she was the victim of some spell, and whatever actions she undertook under its influence would cause her great embarrassment later.

Buffy moved further down his body, her hands trailing down his now exposed chest, before her fingernails scratched their way back up again. She paused to pay special attention to his nipples, scratching and flicking them for several seconds. Giles couldn't hold back the moan that escaped. It had been so long since somebody had done that to him. He heard her chuckle as she moved her hands back up, gathering the edge of his top. He took a deep breath, preparing to tell her that something was wrong, and they had to stop.

"You know, I forgot how much fun this is. Being the naughty girl is good, but I like being in control now and then." Buffy pulled the material up, freeing his face at last. "Uh-huh." She pressed her finger against his lips. "If you're going to open your mouth, it's not going to be for talking. She leaned forward, only removing her finger when she was in place.

Giles managed to say "Buffy." before he found his mouth filled by warm, soft flesh. His lips automatically closed around the nipple as he felt her hands in his hair. He tried to struggle, pulling against her hands and the handcuffs securing him against the bed. More importantly though, he was now fighting against temptation. It had been a while since he'd had a woman in his bed, and somehow Buffy seemed to know exactly what to do to arouse him. Such as her thigh rubbing against his groin, applying just enough pressure for discomfort, but not outright pain. He closed his eyes, trying to think of a way out of his predicament. He could only come up with one.

Buffy moaned as he began sucking against her nipple, then nipping it with his teeth. He worked at the willing flesh in his mouth, hoping she would release him before he lost control of himself. She finally pulled away from him, only to place her other breast in place. Giles played with her as she demanded, lathing each breast with attention as she moved them nearer to him. After a few minutes, she seemed to have enough, and shifted until she could kiss him. Her tongue mated with his as she lay herself fully against him. Her nipples pressed against him, her crotch pushing against his as he opened his legs to accommodate her. He vaguely heard the opening of another drawer, but was concentrating on holding onto the last shreds of his control. Whatever had happened to Buffy, he could not take advantage of this. He couldn't bear that she would hate him in the morning.

Buffy lifted her head, her breath coming in deep pants. Her lips were wet and swollen from his attention. He gazed, distracted by the evidence of their passion. She smiled and placed a light peck on his mouth. He felt rather than saw the material she pressed against him. "Open wide love." She increased the pressure until he agreed. Pushing the material between his teeth, she secured it behind his head. "Don't worry. Next time, I'll let you tie me up." She shifted until she was sitting astride him, her hands stroking along his shoulders, neck and chest. Finding his erect nipples, she fondled them for a few seconds, watching his eyes dilate as his face flushed with excitement. "You know, I kinda get the feeling that you're not completely with the game here. Guess I'm gonna hafta change that." She shifted further down his body, then leaned toward him.

Giles moaned as she felt her lips pull against one of his nipples. She began playing with him, her teeth grazing against the sensitized flesh, then her tongue licking away any residue of pain. She moved from side to side, drawing him further down into his passion. He felt her lips smile against his flesh as his breathing increased. He thrashed his head from side to side, trying to prevent what he now knew would happen. He cried out, but he wasn't sure if it was in anguish or pleasure. Her hands trailed along the sensitive skin of his sides until they reached the waistband of his jeans. They moved up the material until they met at his stomach. He felt the button undone just before her fingers touched the exposed flesh of his tummy. His muscles clenched, as they gently teased him before he felt the zipper pull down.

Buffy looked up, her eyes glazed with her own passion. She smiled as she moved down his body. "Well, Watcher mine, time to live up to your title. Watch me." Her face was now level with his groin. She pulled the material of his pants apart, then stroked the silk of the boxers where they rose to meet her. "Guess not all of you is reluctant." Pulling the material down, she mewled as she released his aroused flesh. Glancing once more to make sure he was still watching, she grasped his erection before dipping her head.

Giles couldn't tear his eyes away. He closed them momentarily as he felt her take him in her mouth, but reopened them quickly in fascination. The sight of his petite slayer pleasuring him was the most erotic thing he'd seen. All his secret fantasies come to life. He groaned when she scraped her teeth along one of the more sensitive parts of his penis. The groan turned into a cry as she teased his tip with the edge of her tongue. She seemed to know all the things he liked. He pulled against the handcuffs again, this time as he felt his orgasm at the edge of his consciousness. Whatever the consequences, he would take this one guilty pleasure. Surely she would realize he'd fought hard, but even he didn't have the strength to fight himself and his slayer. He allowed himself to concentrate only on the feel of Buffy making love to him, as he eagerly awaited the moment when she would bring him to climax.

Buffy pulled back, as if knowing how close he was. She blew against his heated flesh, then pressed a gentle kiss against his tip. She dipped her head, allowing her hair to cover him. She blew against him once more, as her free hand began massaging his balls. He jerked against her, knowing his climax would not be stopped this time. Pausing for only a second more, Buffy again took him into her mouth. Her finger scraped along the exposed nerve as his hips automatically began pushing into her. Buffy shifted, then touched him in a way nobody had before. It was enough. His cry of her name was muffled as he came in her mouth, his hips pushing up towards her as he came.

Buffy felt an arm against the back of her knees, taking her weight. She automatically slipped her arms around his shoulders as he lifted her and carried her from the wall. She didn't notice her robe being dropped on the floor, only the light kiss against her forehead. She frowned as she felt him lower her. She opened her eyes as he placed her on the bed. He bent and kissed her, a gentle massage of her lips. She responded automatically, her hands moving up to the back of his head. Her mouth opened as she felt his tongue pressing for entry. He swept it along the moist roof before playing with her tongue, enticing it to follow into his mouth. Her obedience was rewarded as he sucked against it, drawing it further into him.

His hand moved to her breast, resting against her swelling flesh. His thumb traced gentle circles against the mound, moving closer to the center. She shifted impatiently, wanting him to touch her still hard nipple. A still sensible part of her knew this was Giles, knew it was wrong. But her body was still glowing from the climax he'd so expertly drawn from her. He seemed to know how to distract her from doing the right thing, his petting and kisses slowly rearousing her. Whatever the consequences in the morning, she knew she would not resist his lovemaking again.

She sighed as he shifted his palm, allowing his thumb to finally flick against her hardened nipple. While the first time was rushed, this time he moved as if he had all the time in the world. He took his time, drawing each part of her body back into wakefulness. She realized he had shifted and was now lying fully prone beside her only when she felt his foot gently stroke her leg. He shifted slightly, pressing his knee against her thighs until she opened for him. His thigh pressed against her sex, eliciting a moan as she felt the tendrils of arousal curl against her groin.

Giles released her mouth, pressing kisses along her cheeks, eyes, nose and chin. He rolled on top of her as he continued his kisses down her neck and chest. He placed a gentle kiss on each of her breasts before laving one with his teeth and tongue, drawing a moan from her. He repeated his ministrations to the other breast before continuing his journey down, pressing open-mouthed kisses against her sensitized flesh. He paused only once he reached the slight mound below her belly. Blowing against the heated flesh, he watched as if fascinated as her muscles contracted. He shifted further down, getting into position before looking back up at her. He smiled when he saw her watching him. "How long do you think you can hold out this time?"

Before Buffy had time to ask what he meant, Giles dropped his head. His hands were now wrapped under her thighs, and he lifted her slightly. She caught her breath as she felt his lips against her arousal. Nobody had kissed her like that. But the night had been full of firsts. And they were still coming. She moaned as she felt his tongue run along her swollen lips, licking away the juices of her arousal. She wanted to drop her head back and howl with what he was doing to her, but she was afraid to turn away. The sight of his head against her crotch was almost as exciting as what his mouth was doing to her. This was Giles. Her Giles! And he was licking her sex, and nipping at her clit, and, oh god, pushing his tongue in her passage. And as before, Buffy's mind shut down. She couldn't think any more, only feel. His mouth and tongue and hands seemed to be everywhere at once. He licked her lips before pushing into her once more as his thumb started pushing against her clit. She cried out as he began rubbing the nub back and forth. He increased the speed as his tongue darted in and out of her faster and faster. She panted and whimpered as he drew her further and further down. She fell back against the bed, losing her strength as if he was sucking it through her body and from her sex. She thrashed, only the grip of his hands on her thighs stopping her from pulling away from him. She cried out his name, turning it into a keening wail as he pushed against her one more time. She climaxed in his mouth as he kept working against her, not letting her rest until she whimpered in exhaustion.

She felt a gentle kiss against her swollen labia before he shifted away. She vaguely heard the sound of material being removed, but was too exhausted to do any more than lay where she was. She couldn't even try to cover her nakedness from the eyes she could feel caressing her exposed body. A few moments later she felt the heat of another body as he lay on top of her. He kissed her, teasing a response from her. She felt his erection pressing against her, the length and size of it surprising her. She whispered his name, before opening her eyes to gaze into his own.

Giles shifted, pushing his hand under her body. He rested against her bottom, before lifting it slightly. He rose, positioning himself against her. His green eyes held her captive, the passion in them calling out to her as he entered her. They both moaned as he filled her. Keeping his weight against his free arm, Giles began moving in and out of her. Buffy wrapped her legs around his waist, allowing him further access to her. Still exhausted from the orgasms he'd given her earlier, she could only take his weight, allowing him to control their coupling.

He rocked in and out of her gently, allowing her time to recover a little more before pushing her further. He slowly increased the pace, allowing a few minutes between the changes in tempo. His arms now framed her head, the sinews in his arms stark as he held back. Only when he felt her pushing against him did he allow his passions loose. Buffy held her breath as he let go, his expression almost animalistic. He pushed against her frantically, his penis seeming to almost pierce the full length of her body. The sweat glistened on their skins as they slipped against each other. Buffy gripped tightly to Giles' shoulders as he pushed them further away from reality. Then he lifted his head, crying out as his climax began. The feel of his seed filling her pushed Buffy over the edge, and she joined him as they fell into their orgasms.

Giles felt his shoes being removed, soon followed by his socks, jeans and boxers. He opened his eyes, looking down the length of his now naked body. Buffy climbed back onto the bed, purpose in her every move. His eyes widened as he realized what she was about to do. He tried to stop her, to tell her it was wrong. In the morning, whatever spell she was under would cease to exist. Then she would hate him and herself. He steeled himself, preparing to fight both his slayer and his own desires. The gag in his mouth made his words only an intelligible mumble. He shook his head at her.

Buffy continued on, nodding her head in response. "Yes. Time to show me what a good boy you can be." She grabbed his now flaccid penis, stroking along its length. Giles closed his eyes, shaking his head 'no' once more. He tried to concentrate on anything but the feel of her small hand surrounding him. He thought instead of how she would feel in the morning, knowing she'd seduced the man she thought too old, and practically a eunuch. He almost succeeded, until she began massaging his balls. He jerked, trying to pull away from her. She was sitting on his legs however, and he was trapped. He pulled against the imprisoning manacles, hurting the already raw flesh of his wrists. He moaned as he felt her squeeze the sacs, encouraging them to fill. He whimpered when she changed tactic, running her finger below his erection to his anus. She pushed gently against him. He pushed back automatically, his eyes opening in shock as he realized what she was about to do. He almost groaned in disappointment when she removed her finger. At the sound of sucking he looked toward her.

Buffy paused before removing her now wet finger from her mouth. She moved it back down below his body. He jerked as he felt her push against the hole of his anal channel. His traitorous body reacted automatically, opening up for her. As she entered him, his penis stirred. They both looked down as the flesh hardened, swelling in response to her ministrations. She pulled her finger out slightly before pushing hard back into him. He moaned as his pelvis closed around her. He began pushing onto her, allowing her to fuck him with her finger.

He felt his climax drawing closer. He tried to increase the tempo, begging her with his body to let him come. Instead she pulled out of him, resting her hands against his thighs. He whimpered as he pleaded with his eyes. Instead Buffy moved forward, lifting herself until she hovered above his erection. Lifting the flesh, she positioned him against her entry, then waited. Giles groaned, realizing what she wanted. He knew he'd lost. Probably had from the moment he'd entered the bedroom. If she'd tried to seduce him with gentle words and easy strokes, he may well have been able to stop her. But this wild coupling called to a part of him he'd kept hidden from her for so long. She'd been able to draw it out with ease. And now he was her willing captive, eager to experience whatever she wanted to give him. When he felt her rub herself against his tip, he finally gave up the last of his fight. Lifting his legs, he pressed his feet on the bed. Using the leverage, he pushed himself up and into her.

Buffy sighed as he filled her. It felt as if she was made for him. His entire length was sheathed in her canal, her juices dampening his flesh. She began to move, rocking gently against him. He sensed that she wanted control of this, that she would decide the pace and length of their coupling. So he held himself still as possible, fascinated as she moved atop him. He noticed her breathing increase, her chest heaving as she began panting. She increased the tempo, her breasts bouncing slightly with the pace. He watched open-mouthed, in awe of the almost animal-like image she presented.

Most of the women he'd been with disliked him watching as they reached their orgasm, almost as if they were ashamed of their reactions. But he felt she enjoyed his eyes upon her, reveled in the pleasure it gave him. Her hands lifted, rubbing against her breasts. She moaned as she neared her orgasm. Giles responded automatically, thrusting up into her as much as she could. She lifted her head as she climaxed, calling his name. "Rupert!"

Giles growled as she fell on top of him, now pushing toward his own orgasm. He continued to push up into her, her body jerking as he lifted her slightly with each movement. Her pelvic muscles began squeezing him as she began another climax. It was enough to send Giles over the edge, and he cried his release as he emptied himself into her.

Buffy shifted slightly, frowning as she felt the ache in her lower muscles. She was too relaxed and satisfied to want to worry about it though, so didn' t open her eyes right away. In the background she could hear somebody opening drawers and wardrobe doors. A voice was muttering, only snatches of comments reaching her ears. "..all gone..must have been really upset..burnt them again, I'll kill her.not hers...what's this.what the.?"

Buffy opened her eyes wide, remembering everything. She rolled over to see the very naked back of an obviously upset Watcher. As if sensing her eyes on him, he turned to look at her. A part of her marveled at his complete lack of self-consciousness, while the part that still lived the night marveled at his complete lack of clothes. The two stared silently at each other for a few moments.

Giles shifted, frowning as he realized the warmth that had slept beside him was no longer there. He moved his arms, surprised in his semi-consciousness that they were free. Wondering why they wouldn't be, he became fully awake as memories of the night before flooded in. His eyes shot open as he looked for the source of those memories. She lay beside him, her weight resting on her elbow. During the night she'd covered them both under the bedclothes. Now she held them so only her shoulders were exposed. The two stared silently at each other for a few moments.

From two different universes, at the same moment, a very pissed off slayer demanded, "Who are you and what have you done with my Giles!"

"Dawn!"

The younger Summers girl pulled her head back at her sister's sharp reprimand. "Are you sure it's not him?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dawn, I'm absolutely, positively sure that the man in the living room is not Giles."

"Bu-but how? They look so alike."

"That's because he is Giles, just not." Buffy frowned as she talked herself into confusion. An emotion she'd pretty much become used to in the past twelve hours. "Trust me, that man may be Rupert Giles, but he's not our Rupert Giles."

Dawn shrugged. "How could you tell?"

"Be-because he didn't act like Giles." Buffy turned so her sister couldn't see her blush. She finished setting the dining room table for breakfast, then returned to the kitchen for the milk and cereal.

"How?" Sometimes having a sixteen-year-old sister was a pain in the butt. When did she get so curious about everything?

"Just not Giles - like." Buffy sighed, then waived toward the living room. "Like now. Would Giles do that?"

Dawn turned back toward the man sitting in the middle of their couch. His arms were resting along the back as he looked curiously around him, probably comparing to his world. He looked very relaxed and unselfconscious, which was pretty good considering he was wearing Buffy's bathrobe. And from the exposed chest and legs, that was all he was wearing. "Oh. You're right, that 's not Giles."

Buffy smiled, relieved she didn't need to go into any more explaining. "Why don't you call him in?" She took her seat as her sister obeyed. She glanced up at their guest, hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt. He smiled gently at her before sitting in his own place.

"So what's the sitch?" Dawn grabbed the cereal before any of the others had a chance to blink.

"Xander's going to Giles' hotel room to get some clothes."

"I live in a hotel room?" The frown on his face showed this was not welcome news.

Buffy sighed. "You've been out of the country for a while. You're back now, but you haven't had a chance to find your own place."

"I don't live here?"

"No." Buffy hoped that didn't sound as sharp as it felt. She turned back to Dawn. "Willow's gonna come back with Xander, then we try to figure out what happened."

Dawn paused in lifting a spoon of milk-soaked cereal to her mouth. "I wonder what our Giles is doing now."

The other Giles answered. "I'd assume the same as me. Trying not to scream in frustration and work out how we managed to switch places."

"A spell?"

"Don't look at me!" Xander snapped at his friends in response to Willow's query.

Giles' lips twitched but he held back the smile wanting to escape. At least most things in this other world weren't much different to his. Except for one or two glaringly obvious things. He shifted on the couch, uncomfortable in this other Giles' clothes. They fit more snugly than his own, no loose lines to hide under. He suspected that Buffy did the shopping for him. He moved slightly when he felt her leg press against his thigh yet again. He could only assume she was unaware she was doing this.

"If it was a spell, I doubt if it was a random act. This seemed too specific. I think it would be more beneficial to investigate a-any anomalies in the weather, or any unusual planet alignments?" He looked toward Willow.

Willow nodded, but leaned further back into her chair. "I'll fire up the laptop as soon as Tara brings it. She borrowed.it for.one...of.." She trailed off as she noticed the colour drain from Giles' face.

"Tara's dead?" The pain in Giles' voice was obvious. "Oh, Willow, I'm so sorry. But how?" He looked toward Buffy.

Making sure her friend was coping with the pain, she answered. "Last year. Three guys we went to school with decided to take over Sunnydale."

"The legion of doom, yes I remember." Giles nodded.

"Well, two of them got arrested. But Warren had a gun, and he came to shoot me." Buffy swallowed past the tears in her throat. She glanced around the room. The others were also struggling to contain their emotions. "He did, but he also shot Tara too."

Giles bent his head, his eyes closed. "We found out who they were fairly quickly. You took care of them, scared them into realizing that trying to take over the world perhaps wasn't the best way to while away the summer." He looked up, anger in his eyes. "How did I let this happen?"

"You didn't. You weren't here." His head snapped back in shock.

"You would never leave me!"

Giles sighed. "I once thought that. But things were - complicated. If I stayed, somebody would have died, again."

"What." Buffy was interrupted by the tooting of a horn. They all looked toward the window.

Xander rose. "That would be my loving wife back from counting all her money."

"Wife? Anya?"

Xander paused. "Yeah. Wait, don't tell me we're not married in your world?"

"Oh, God." Willow's whispered prayer was barely heard in the silent room. "What other horrible things happened there?"

"Spike? You slept with that psychotic creature?"

"At last! Somebody agrees with me." The gloating tone in Xander's voice was obvious.

"Different Spike, Xander. We don't know what Giles, um, his Spike, is like." Buffy didn't bother hiding her irritation. She knew Xander didn't hate Spike as much as he pretended, and she didn't have time for his games.

"Likes his mind games. Obsessed with you. Will stop at nothing to have you."

"Yep. Sounds completely different."

"Xander!" Buffy turned back to the man sitting beside her. "Does your Spike have a soul?"

Giles shook his head. "After he attacked you the only thing he had was my stake in his heart."

They all looked at him, their mouths open. Buffy couldn't think of anything to say to that except, "Oh."

"Didn't your Giles do the same thing? I assume that."

"Yeah. Well, he tried. But you, Giles, he. This is kinda confusing."

Giles shrugged. "My Buffy calls me Rupert if it would be easier for you."

Willow leaned forward. "Do we all call you Rupert?"

"Of course not."

Buffy was curious. "What do you call me?"

Rupert turned to her, sharing a look that the others couldn't see. "Depends what mood I'm in." She hoped nobody saw the flush that covered her neck.

"But Buffy does.call you by your first name, I mean?" Willow's question broke the heated silence before it became uncomfortable.

He shrugged again. "Well, it would be silly for a wife to call her husband by his surname."

"We're married?"

Buffy nodded. "I figured that you and your Buffy weren't."

"How?" They both ignored Dawn's question, neither wishing to explain the events of the previous night.

"When?" Giles' couldn't contain his curiosity.

"Just before Mom died." Buffy smiled in memory. "She wanted to make sure Dawn and I'd be okay when she went in for her operation. So we had the ceremony in the hospital room. We all cried." There were a few teary eyes in the room. Giles could only assume it was a very special moment.

He looked around the room, this place and these people so familiar, yet different. Anya sat on Xander's lap, her head resting on his shoulder. Tara rested on the arm of Willow's chair, her hand playing gently with her lover' s hair. It still hurt to see the life and vitality of the blonde witch in this version of his life. Dawn rested against Willow's legs on the floor. All of them seemed content, full of a quiet joy that was missing in his world. Even Buffy had an extra layer that his Buffy didn't.

Giles sighed. "It must have been beautiful. And Joyce didn't mind about you and me?"

Buffy shrugged. "Well, the age thing was a bit of an issue at first. But other than that, why should she?"

"I slept with your mother? I don't think so!"

"It was a spell. You thought you were teenagers."

"Buffy! I've been in love with you since you were seventeen. Why on earth would I, spell or no spell, sleep with the mother of the person who'd stolen my heart?"

"Oh." She seemed to be saying a lot of that recently. But what could a person say to such a comment? And she couldn't help but wonder if her own Giles had had similar feelings back then.

"This is very confusing." Anya leaned forward. "Everything is mixed up. I wonder where it changed?"

"Changed?" Dawn shook herself out of the shocked silence that had settled after Rupert's latest announcement. "What changed?"

"Alternative realities are created when a choice is presented. Like a fork in the road." Anya looked to Rupert for confirmation.

"The right fork creates one world, the left another. A split in the universe."

Anya nodded. "So which choice created Rupert's world instead of ours?"

Rupert shrugged. "The only way to find out is to compare histories and find that one variation in decisions."

"I think I found it!" They all turned to Willow as she looked up eagerly from her laptop. "I think I know how Rupert and our Giles swapped places."

Giles leaned over Willow's shoulder, reading the text on the computer screen. "I think you're right. Well done, you two." The witches exchanged congratulatory smiles.

"So? Are you going to let the rest of us in on the great discovery?" Frustration had tinged Buffy's voice with sarcasm.

Giles removed his glasses, unconsciously playing with them in his hands. "Actually it's several discoveries. Or rather, a convergence of several occurrences at the same time."

Willow jumped in eagerly. "Every five hundred years, we have a delta solar alignment. Last night was the beginning of a three day alignment."

"A what?"

Giles turned toward Xander, to answer his question. "Not so much an astrological alignment as a mystical one. The suns from four solar systems align to create the four points of a rhombus in which the energies of the universe converge in on themselves. A great curiosity for the mystic astrologers and scientists, but nothing truly portentous or threatening to the equilibrium of things."

"But?"

Before Giles had a chance to respond to Buffy's question, Anya's hand rose. "What's a rhombus?"

Willow chimed in automatically. "A figure with four equal sides, but whose angles aren't ninety degrees."

Tara smiled at Willow's eagerness before addressing Buffy's question. "On its own it isn't much. But it could act like a booster to another occurrence. It's Halloween and the feast of Beredac."

"And he is?"

"She, actually," Giles intervened. "Goddess of mischief and the masque. Last night there was some sort of fog. If there are traces of her power, that might have combined with the power of All Halloo's and the eclipse to create the power to meld the two universes for a fraction of a second and allow the transference between myself and your Rupert."

"I still don't get it. I understand the eclipse and the feast thingy, but how did that cause our Giles and you to swap? Why not another Giles? Or Buffy, or somebody else?"

"Well, as to the 'who', I believe that is because Giles and I were in the right, or rather the wrong, spot at the wrong time: the point where all these occurrences converged. And as to why these two particular realities." Rupert bent down, until he was equal with Dawn. He picked up a pen from the case she'd left out, and opened one of her school workbooks to an empty page. He began drawing a line, before splitting it into two. "For all of us, our lives are a straight line, until we come to our first choice. When we make that choice, then we create a different reality, where we had chosen differently." He drew one of the new lines along until he split that again. "And each time we make a choice we create more realities, never merging, just moving parallel, but differently." The page was now covered in lines forking in different ways, none touching the other. "What happened last night, is that two of the universes somehow fused for just a moment, causing them to become inter-linked, and for Giles and I to somehow cross over into each other's realities."

"Again with the why?"

"I can only guess. Buffy, what were you and Giles doing just before we swapped?"

Buffy blushed. "Well, not just before. But we'd had an argument and Giles stormed out."

Rupert nodded. "What was the argument about?"

"I'd gone after a demon without waiting for him to finish researching what it was."

Giles shook his head, somehow relieved that some things were the same, even if it was the stubbornness of his slayer. "Did he call you stubborn and irritating?"

Buffy smiled. "Oh yeah."

Giles laughed, unable to stop himself. He returned to the drawing he'd made for Dawn. "For just that moment the same event was playing itself in both realities. For just a fraction, instead of running parallel, the two worlds crossed." He drew his line over another. "It was enough, mingled with everything else, for us to step into each others' lives. A billion-to-one chance. One to never be repeated."

A gasped sob echoed in the silent room. He looked up to see the tears shimmering in Buffy's eyes. "Then I've lost Rupert forever?"

He stood in realization. "No! No, Buffy. Your Rupert will come back to you!"

"When?"

"Probably tomorrow night?" Rupert nodded at Willow's query. "The eclipse lasts for three nights. All Hallows' effect lingers for about a week, same as the feast. There's a slight wane tonight, but I think that I can fix a booster spell for tomorrow night so we can merge the two worlds again, and the two Gileses can swap."

"But how?" Buffy had contained herself. She'd been upset for herself, true, but she'd been more upset for the other Buffy. True, her Giles was there, but he wasn't Rupert. He wasn't the husband of the Buffy in the other world. "I mean, don't you guys have to do exactly the same thing at the same time again?"

Rupert smiled. "Don't you think your Giles and my Willow would have already worked this out? And realized the same as I? I have to leave this house at exactly the same time as I left last night."

Buffy sighed in relief. "So what'll we do tonight?" She felt the colour tinge her cheeks as she realized how that could be taken. Rupert smiled in understanding.

Anya provided a distraction and a suggestion. "Why don't you compare your histories and see where things changed?"

Rupert moved back to the sofa, settling besides Buffy. "Good idea. Well, I suppose we should start from where we met. That would be the one place where things started the same. I was assigned as your Watcher after the death of Merrick, and a position was found for me as the librarian of Sunnydale High School."

" ...and Snyder wouldn't reinstate me until you went all Ripper on him." The laughter around the table eased the tension brought on by remembered pain and lost love. Giles sighed, allowing the memories of Jenny to flow through him. He was glad she had been part of this existence also. She'd brought so much to their group, especially Willow. Her influence was still visible on the young witch. As for him, thoughts of her only brought him happiness and a vague regret of promises unfulfilled.

He looked around the dining room, and out into the living area. He hadn't noticed before amidst all the confusion, but there were many differences between this version of Buffy's house and his. Pieces obviously selected by his alter ego, others perhaps bought by Buffy herself. Yet enough remained of Joyce's furniture for it to feel familiar. He reflected on another difference as he bit into the tender meat on his fork. Somebody, possibly himself, had taught Buffy how to cook. "Buffy, this meal is delicious."

She nodded. "It's your favourite. At least, it's Rupert's, so I hope it's yours too."

Giles smiled. "I have to admit it's been awhile, but roast beef and Yorkshire pudding will always have a soft spot in my heart."

"They better, Mister. Do you know how many times I had to make those puddings before Rupert deemed them just right?" Laughter rang out again as the others obviously remembered some of Buffy's previous attempts at the temperamental food.

Giles looked toward Anya and Tara, the two present that could not share the memories of events so far experienced. "I'm sorry. The two of you must find this boring."

"Oh, no." Anya jumped in eagerly. "The reminiscence of others about things we haven't experienced is very interesting and not at all monotonous."

Xander sighed. "My wife. Ever the diplomat."

Giles smiled at the younger man. "I wouldn't change a thing about her."

Xander returned the smile. "Neither would I."

"So," Dawn finished playing with her vegetables and returned the conversation back to the matter at hand, "the first eighteen months were the same. What happened next?"

Giles stopped smiling as he remembered. He barely heard Buffy's whispered response. "Angel."

"You mean when he came back?"

Buffy nodded. "Just appeared out of nowhere. Kind of crazy, not knowing who he was."

"And you hid him." Giles hoped only he noticed the slight bitterness inflected in his words.

Buffy turned to look at him. "I remember. That was when we thought werewolf Oz was killing people. I stayed up all night with him trying to work out how Angel got back. And you woke me up."

"I asked what you were researching. You asked about hell dimensions, and how people would come back. You told me you'd had a dream."

"The hills are alive and all that." She paused, obviously also remembering. "But then I couldn't. After everything I'd put you through the year before, and how you'd stuck by me. I couldn't lie to you. So I told you the truth." She stopped speaking, her eyes widening. Giles wondered if it was because she'd noticed the blood had drained from his brain, sending him dizzy.

"You didn't tell me?" Pain and anger laced Rupert's words. He pushed himself from the table, rising stiffly. "You kept Angel's return from me; from him? God, how that must have destroyed him."

Buffy lowered her eyes, blinking the tears back. "I-I didn't know what to do. Angel was still crazy. I was trying to protect Giles."

"Lies! You were trying to protect yourself and your precious lover!"

"Hey!" Xander jumped up, halting the other man's agitated pacing. "You weren 't there! Well, maybe you were. But it was a different you. And Buffy paid for that decision. We all did."

"Yes, I can see how you did!" Rupert's arm swept around the room, indicating the differences between their world and his. "By that one selfish act, she."

"That's enough!" Willow's words rang sharply in the strained air. "Our Buffy made one choice, yours another. It was years ago. You only know part of our world. There could be some things that are better because of what happened. We knew that something happened to make things different between us. You have no right to tell Buffy off now because of a decision she made when she was a child."

Rupert pulled himself up, a look of shock on his face. "You're right. I'm sorry." He turned toward Buffy. "Buffy, please forgive me. I had no right to react the way I did. My only excuse is that I remembered the pain I felt upon hearing Angel had returned, and realizing how much worse it was for your Giles."

Buffy nodded, not yet ready to speak as she felt the guilt and pain battle within her. Anya leaned forward. "I just thought it was an excuse so you didn't have to eat any more of this dinner Buffy prepared." Dawn tried to hold back a giggle. She was unsuccessful, and was soon joined by Rupert. Willow and Xander followed suit. "What? What did I say?" Finally, Buffy couldn't resist. Wiping the tears from her eyes she began to laugh too.

"It must have hurt. When you realized she'd lied to you." The two of them were now in the living room, enjoying a quiet cup of tea. The others had left, wanting to give them a chance to discuss things more. After Giles' shock revelation, nobody had wanted to share past experiences any more, and the meal had continued in a more subdued manner. Finally, even Dawn had decided she'd had enough, and bid them goodnight a few minutes before.

Giles nodded, enjoying the peace of having Buffy to himself for a while...even if it wasn't his Buffy. "At first. Especially as I found out from Xander. I'm not sure how much longer Buffy would have kept it quiet. But I did understand, you know. There is no saying how I might have reacted. And doing the wrong thing would have done the world a great disservice."

Buffy nodded. "I know. He's doing good in L.A. I think he's even saved the world a couple of times."

Giles smiled. "How did your Rupert react?"

She shrugged. "He was very quiet at first. I think he was afraid of what he' d do if he confronted him. But then Angel saved me from that Jekyll and Hide guy. Rupert realized that he might still be saved. We kept him chained and cared for him until we were sure he could be trusted." She sighed, obviously back in that time that had changed her destiny.

Giles hesitated, not wanting to break into her memories, yet curious about where her life had led from there. "And when you and Angel started seeing each other again?"

Buffy looked up in surprise. "Oh, we didn't. At first, I was confused about how I felt about Angel. And the others kinda conspired to keep us apart. We' d all take turns sitting with him." She shrugged, then smiled. "Xander so hated that. Then Rupert and I started spending more time together, so..." she trailed off.

"That's when the two of you started seeing each other?"

"God no! I was still a kid!" Buffy giggled. "Rupert did everything to make sure we 'followed propriety'. I wondered at first why he made sure Willow or Xander were always with us during training and research. I didn't realize you see, until Quentin Travers dropped that great big anvil on my head."

"Travers?" Buffy giggled at the thought of the stuffy head of the Watchers' Council playing cupid. The other four who'd had the pleasure of meeting Quentin Travers smiled with Rupert.

"Yes, well, it wasn't intentional on his part. I'm assuming your Giles went ahead with the Cruciamentum?"

Buffy nodded, her giggles dying as she remembered that time. "Oh, yeah. It was part of the year of 'Let's see how much Buffy and Giles can hurt each other'.me with Angel.him with the Cruciamentum. We only survived that because he chose me in the end."

Rupert nodded. "As did I, after almost getting my Buffy and her mother killed. My only excuse is that I was trying so hard to prove how much I didn 't love her that I wasn't thinking clearly."

"Enough of that." Anya had heard of the Cruciamentum, but obviously wasn't interested in anything she wasn't there for. "How did this make you realize you loved Buffy?" She didn't notice the speculation passing between Xander and Willow.

"After it was over and Quentin was congratulating Buffy. He then informed me I had failed and that I was fired. Accused me of loving Buffy."

"Like a father." Buffy nodded. "That's what happened here too. But how did that make you realize?"

"Not Rupert, me. As soon as the words left Question's mouth I realized the truth. Whatever Rupert Giles felt for me, it wasn't fatherly love. Made me wonder what it really was." Buffy smiled as she sipped her tea.

Giles returned the smile. "And you are, if nothing else, persistent."

Buffy's smile widened as she lowered her cup. "And you are stubborn. It was an interesting couple of weeks."

"And you won?" Giles didn't notice that in the intimacy of the darkened room, the two of them had leaned closer to each other. He could smell the sweetness of the tea as it lingered on her lips. Listening to this young woman explain how she'd fallen in love with him on another plane was intoxicating. He drew his breath as he waited for her answer.

Buffy nodded slowly, her eyes never leaving his. "Oh yeah. We both won." They leaned closer at the same time, their lips almost touching.

Giles pulled back in shock. "I-I'm sorry. I don't."

"Giles, it's okay. Really. We both kinda got caught in the moment." He looked down where her hand rested against his arm as she restrained his effort to rise. He felt his body warm as he remembered the events of the previous evening. He lifted his eyes to hers once more, aware she would be able to see the passion in them. The blush that covered her cheeks told him she had. "Oh. Maybe we should take a break for a while. I need to get some sheets for your bed."

Giles nodded, putting physical distance between them by standing and moving toward the fireplace. "Yes. It can be tiring, reliving the memories."

"That's one word for it."

Rupert grabbed the jacket Xander had brought round for him earlier. "I appreciate you taking me."

The other man nodded. "No big. You sure you don't want to stay with me?"

Rupert shook his head. "No. I think I need some time alone. It's a lot to take in."

"I know. I figure it'll take a while for us to get over the whole you and Buffy marrying thing." The two men smiled. Xander glanced over his shoulder, making sure none of the women were near enough to hear. "One thing Willow and I were wondering..."

"Yes?" There was a wariness to Rupert's query, as if he knew what the question was.

"You talked about when Buffy realized she was in love with you. But you didn 't say when you fell in love with her. We were wondering because."

"No, I don't think Janice would find this all cool. Especially on a school night." Buffy joined the two men as she responded to Dawn's request. "And you better be in bed when I get back from patrol."

"Nag."

Rupert laughed. "I see some things are the same." He glanced down at the slayer. "Will you be careful out there?"

Buffy nodded, sensing this was a ritual he followed every night. "Are you sure you want to spend the night alone in a hotel room?"

A smirk slipped across Rupert's lips. "Alone, no? But as there's no alternative..." He trailed off, before letting her off the hook and changing the subject. "Besides, it will give me a chance to go through some of Giles' things. Try to learn some more of this man who is your Watcher, then isn't."

Buffy dropped her eyes, the blush gracing her cheeks for both his innuendo and his comment about Giles. "It isn't all his fault, you know?"

Rupert nodded, brushing her cheek with his hand. "I know. But I would like to get to know him better. So, on that note, shall we go?" This queried of Xander.

At the younger man's nod the two of them made their way to the front door. Buffy held it open as she watched them climb into Xander's car. She raised her hand in farewell before releasing a sigh.

Giles shifted once more, trying to find a more comfortable spot on the sofa. He'd forgotten how uncomfortable this particular piece of furniture was. Past experiences showed he'd get very little sleep this night.

He froze at the sound of a footfall on the stairs. Holding his breath, he waited to see what she would do. He was not aware that she'd come toward him until he felt her moon cast shadow fall over him. "I guess we can play the 'you're really asleep and I don't want to disturb you' game, or we can quit wasting time. After all, we don't have that much time together."

Giles smiled as he turned to look toward Buffy. "How did you know?"

The petite blonde shrugged. "I can tell the difference between awake Rupert and sleeping Rupert. He's more relaxed. 'Sides, you snore."

"I do not!" Giles spluttered as he rose to a sitting position.

"You do! Just a little. Sort of more like deeper breathing." Buffy perched herself on the coffee table, bringing them to a more equal height. "You gonna ask what I'm doing here?"

Giles smiled. "I was working up to that. I'm not sure if I want to know."

Buffy dropped her eyes. "I couldn't sleep. I was thinking about you and your Buffy. A-and how much it must have hurt. And I thought that maybe." She leaned forward as she spoke, her intent obvious to the man before her.

Giles leaned back, shocked at her forwardness. "Buffy! What do you think you 're doing?"

"Well, last night."

"Last night was a mistake." He paused at the look of hurt on her face. "I'm sorry. But you thought I was your husband, which I need remind you I'm not. And I thought.. Well, never mind what I thought. Last night was a mistake. But tonight would be you cheating on the man you profess to love."

"With himself?" Buffy stood up, obviously agitated. "Oh, I know it doesn't make sense. And I know most people would think it was wrong. But I don't think Rupert would. And I guess I thought I'd give you a good memory of what it could have been like. To ease your hurt."

Giles gentled his expression as he understood the gift she was offering him. "Except I'm not your Rupert. A-and Buffy and I never had that kind of relationship."

"Are you sure?" She raised her hand to stop him arguing. "Rupert and I were having one of those silly moments. You know, the kind that only people in love can. And I was telling him the exact moment I realized I was in love with him." She paused, remembering. "You do fill a tuxedo out very nicely, Mr. Giles." She sighed, then shook to clear her head. "But he couldn't tell me when he fell in love with me. And I was so hurt. But then he explained to me you see." She sat down on the coffee table again, leaning forward in her eagerness to make him understand. "He said he had definitely fallen in love by the time I was seventeen. But it had started before then. Things I did or said, certain glimpses of what was to come. His words not mine." She smiled sheepishly. "He began falling in love with the potential almost from the moment we met. He wouldn't have done anything about it on his own. In fact, most of the time he convinced himself it wasn't happening. But I made the first move you see."

"Yes, I understand that. But Buffy, what does this have to do with me?"

"I realized when I was lying up there in that big, lonely bed. Rupert started falling in love with me before the Cruciamentum. Before even when Angel came back from hell. So if Rupert loved me back then, you must have loved.." She stopped, halted by the shocked look on his face.

Giles sputtered, trying to deny the obvious. "I didn't. I-I'm not. I would never." He stopped, running his hand through his hair. He felt trapped, both physically and emotionally. The air closed in around him, adding a feeling of suffocation to the panic rushing through his body. Finally, he realized there was nowhere to run. He closed his eyes in defeat for a moment, then opened them to look at her. "Nobody knows. I never told anybody. She wouldn' t appreciate it you see. Being made to realize I was more than the dependable adult she pictured me as. And so I pushed it down. Pretended that what I felt was the love of a parent."

Buffy lifted her hand, wiping the tears that had begun to trail down his cheek. "Bet you've been choking on that for the past six years."

Giles emitted a half chuckle, before grasping her hand in his. "Yes it has. Thank you."

She smiled at him. "So, I thought that maybe."

Giles shook his head. "To go back to her thinking of me as an old man? A eunuch. Thank you for your offer. But even I'm not desperate enough for a pity fu."

"That's not it!" Buffy jumped up, angry that he would think such a thing. "I just wanted." She paused, her head bent away from him. "I'm scared. Tomorrow night it'll all be over. Either Rupert will be back, and we'll get back to normal. Or it won't work, and I'll lose him forever. Just for tonight, I wanted.."

Giles closed his eyes, pained at the look of vulnerability on her face. He hadn't thought how this was affecting her. And of the fears she would be experiencing about the actions the following day. He sighed, realizing that, for him, there was no choice. As always, he would put his Slayer's needs first. Even if she was only his for a few days.

Giles rose, moving closer to Buffy. Taking her hand in his, he led her toward the stairs. "That sofa is horrendous. If I'm going to spend the night making love, I'd rather concentrate on the person I'm with than count the number of lumps digging into my body."

Buffy giggled, a look of gratitude on her face. "Oh, I can guarantee the last thing you'll be thinking about is lumps. Well, those kinds anyway." Her impish grin was too wicked to resist. He lifted her hand, placing a kiss on the knuckles. "And it'll be different tonight. I mean, I practically raped you last night." She stopped, a look of horror on her face. "I didn't did I? I mean you tried to fight me, but.."

Giles placed another kiss on her hand before turning it over. He pressed his lips against her palm, enjoying the salty taste of her. "I tried to fight us both. I can resist my own temptations, but added to your attention, I was already lost. I'm afraid, Buffy, that I'm not as much of a gentleman as I pretend to be."

She giggled. "Rupert said the same thing after our first night." She moved beside him, and the two of them continued up the stairs side by side.

Buffy lifted her hand to knock on the door, only to hesitate. Again. She'd been standing outside his room for several minutes arguing with herself about whether to disturb him or not. She had very logical reasons for being there. After his last comment she wanted him to know that she was okay after the patrol. And she wanted to make sure he wasn't still angry with her. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she couldn't forget the night before. Or what he'd made her feel.

Buffy sighedg in frustration at herself, then lifted her hand and knocked quickly before she could change her mind. There was no immediate response. "Must have gone to bed." She turned, ready to walk away, when she heard a door handle turn.

Rupert stood in the entryway wearing Giles' glasses, a book in his hand. Buffy recognized it as one of her Watcher's personal diaries. In the room behind him she could see several other journals scattered on the furniture and floor. With his spectacles on, he looked so much like her Giles, it made her heart ache. "Buffy, what.?"

She pasted a bright smile on her face. "Just wanted to let you know everything went fine. So I'll go on home now. Night."

"Wait." He took her hand before she could leave. "Please come in." Rupert stepped back, granting her entry into his room.

"You know you should be careful on the whole invite thing. You never know in vamp central."

Rupert smiled. "Normally, I would. But I doubt you would have been turned in the two hours since we talked."

"Oh." She hesitated, unsure where to sit, or what to do.

"Why did you really come here?" His abrupt question surprised her.

"What? I told you. I wanted to check in."

"Do you 'check in' with Giles after every patrol?"

"Yes." Her response was too quick and too sharp. "No. But you seemed so worried before."

"I always worry when my Buffy has to face evil. Something that started from the moment we met."

"Oh." Buffy ducked her head, her hands playing with one of the buttons on her overcoat.

"Shall I ask again?" His voice was gentle as he sat on the bed. "About your real reason for being here?"

"Well, I um, I was just.."

"Curious?"

"God, no! Is that all you men think about? Sex?"

Rupert smiled. "What makes you think I was talking about sex?"

Buffy's face heated as she felt a blush rise. "Well, I assumed. Because you' re a man. And."

Rupert laughed. "Oh Buffy. One thing that hasn't changed between our worlds. Your stubbornness and unwillingness to admit defeat."

She shrugged. "It's just. I mean last night was.but you're Giles. Even though you're not. And he'd never."

He lay back, resting his head on his hand. "He might, given the right incentive. I could show you a few, um, sensitive spots if you like. Should you ever wish to take the initiative."

Buffy knew it was wrong. He was talking about teaching her how to seduce her Watcher. Giles deserved better than that. She shook her head no as she verbalized her answer. "Okay." Rupert smiled. Then she remembered. "Oh wait. You're married. To me. And I wouldn't appreciate."

"You may not. But she'd understand. Knowing my Buffy, she's probably making a few moves herself."

"On my Giles!? How dare she, the."

"Careful. That's my wife you're talking about, as well as being yourself." He smiled as she stopped in confusion. Holding out his free hand, he beckoned her to him. "For this one night, we'll pretend I'm your Giles, and you're my Buffy. A moment in time, a madness never to be repeated. And tomorrow, after everything is returned to the way it should be, we'll all continue as we had before. What do you say?"

Buffy chewed on her lip, thinking about his offer. In the end, it wasn't his words that won her over, but the physical effect they had on her. Her body remembered his touch from the night before, and how his passion had ignited her. Throwing all caution to the wind, she stepped forward and grasped his hand, allowing him to pull her down beside him.

He moved his mouth across hers, encouraging her to open up for him as his tongue trailed along her lips. He rolled so his body half covered hers, his left leg resting across both of hers. Eventually, he sighed against her mouth then raised his head, looking into her eyes.

"I'm sorry." Buffy felt embarrassed and pretty stupid. "I want to, but I guess I'm."

"Nervous?"

She shrugged. "More like scared. Last night was," she moved her hands up, rubbing them along Rupert's chest, "last night was one of the most intense sexual experiences of my life."

"You're frightened tonight will be a letdown?"

"I'm frightened tonight will be even better." She smiled as he began giggling. "And I guess I'm still confused with the Giles, yet not Giles married to me thing."

Rupert sighed again before rolling off her. He rose gracefully from the bed, turning toward a carton on the floor near one of the walls. "Turn over."

"What?" Confused at his actions, Buffy couldn't hide the trepidation in her voice.

He bent down, removed something from the box, then stood again before answering her. "Turn over." He turned to face her again, showing her the vial in his hand. "Onto your stomach. I'll give you a massage."

"Oh." Colour flooded her cheeks at the almost normalcy of the request. She did as he requested, resting her arms by her side. She jumped as she felt his hand lightly trail along her spine.

"You're still tense. It's only a massage, Buffy. I'm sure your Giles has given you several before. Now take off your top."

It was Buffy's turn to giggle. "Gotta admit, he's never given me that particular order before." Turning her head to see he was looking away, she lifted her torso as she pulled her top over her head. She sniffed the air as she lay her head facing away from Rupert. "What's that?"

The bed dipped slightly, causing her to tense again as she realized he'd sat beside her. "I'm not sure of the name. I suspect Giles had it blended personally. From the aroma, I'd say the ingredients definitely include Cloves, perhaps a dash of Cinnamon? Also just a hint of Lavender and.", a pause as the scent grew stronger. She then heard the sound of skin briskly rubbing against skin. Blind as she was, Buffy assumed Rupert had poured some onto his hands, then rubbed them together to heat the liquid up, ".yes. Well, that's interesting."

Curiosity piqued, she turned her head. "What?"

A bare knee came into her periphery as Rupert shifted closer to her. The warmth of his hands combined with the heat of the oil as he touched her bare back was somehow surprising. He began to firmly massage her exposed shoulders and spine. "I think Giles may have had this made up for you. The ingredients have several purposes, including assistance in relaxation of the muscles. Perhaps he used it after training exercises or a particularly trying battle?" The last was a question rather than a statement.

"Hmm?" Buffy succumbed to his ministrations, her body becoming fluid under his talented fingers. "Can't remember smelling this before. It's nice." The strong aroma of cloves filled the room, the spiciness invading her senses. There was a hint of something else mixed in, something that seeped into her pores, relaxing her, yet drawing heat from where he touched her. The mixture of heightened senses and physical lassitude was almost heady. "What was the other ingredient?"

She hadn't noticed as his hands began to wander. They swept under the band of her pants, trailing along her hips, then moved upward, grazing the exposed sides of her breasts. She sighed as he shifted again, straddling her before resting his weight on her thighs. It took her just a moment to realize he was completely naked. She didn't notice that he hadn't answered her as his hands increased their wandering, stroking the parts of her fron t that weren't pressed against the bed. She groaned at the sensations now starting to hum through her body.

His voice low, he finally answered her question of several minutes earlier. "I believe your Giles may have had a few fantasies concerning his slayer. There were five or six ingredients in the oil, but four base ones. Some of them have dual purposes. Relaxation for one, but mixed with other oils and heated, they can also be rather.arousing. Lavender has these qualities. So does the fourth ingredient. Ylang Ylang."

He shifted back, drawing his hands down until they rested at her waistband. Pausing for just a moment, he moved toward the front of her body, first releasing the button, then pulling down her zipper. Her only response was a small gasp and a tensing of her body, before she relaxed once more. A dip in the small of her back told her that he'd poured some of the oil onto that sensitive spot. She then felt a tugging at the cuffs of her pants. Lifting her torso slightly, she allowed him to remove that article of clothing. Dressed now only in the thong that did little to hide her body from him, she rested her head against her now folded arms and closed her eyes.

His fingers dipped into the oil against her skin, then trailed onto her exposed buttocks. Using the pressure of his hands, he rubbed the rapidly heating fluid into the flesh, his thumbs grazing against her inner thighs. Her legs opened almost involuntarily for him, giving him greater access to the peaks and shallows hidden there. He moved up, his hands rubbing her shoulders as she felt the heat of his body before he covered her. He moved his massage to the sides, and underneath, encouraging her to raise herself slightly. His arousal rested against her thighs, her automatic reflex to push back against him. His hands finally found their target, covering her breasts with their breadth, before tracing their shape with his fingers. His thumbs flicked against her hardened tips before he pinched them and rolled them between his fingers.

She was panting now, overcome with the feel of his body pushing against hers as the combined aromas of the massage oil, and their arousal, invaded her senses. She whimpered as one of his hands left her breast. It trailed down her chest and rested against her stomach, before urging her to change her position. Soon, she was resting on her hands and knees, as he rose behind her, his penis still pushing against her exposed thighs. His hand continued its journey before stroking against her damp core through the material of the thong. Moaning she pushed against him and tried to open herself more to his fondling.

"Rupert.please!" Her voice was husky with her arousal as she begged him to remove the final barrier between them. Bending to kiss her shoulder, he obeyed her command. Grabbing onto the flimsy material, he twisted then yanked until the sound of tearing material rendered the air. Throwing away the fabric he returned to her mound, his fingers dipping into the wetness at her sex before rubbing against the exposed nubbin. Almost crying now, she pushed down on his hand, trying to follow the rhythm he set. "Rupert!"

Shifting slightly, Rupert pushed further against her, guiding the tip of his penis to her waiting opening. He used both hands to support her upper thighs, then pushed fully into her until his balls pressed against her ass. She sighed as he filled her, her muscles squeezing against his swollen cock. With his hands holding her still, he withdrew slightly before sliding back in. He repeated the action, increasing his pace, while not allowing her to join the rhythm. Her head arched back, Buffy relinquished the last of her control and her fear, willingly allowing Rupert full authority over this coupling.

The sound of skin slapping against skin was all that broke the silence as he moved faster in and out of her. Her panting increased as she felt the pressure building within her. She could feel him as he prepared for his own orgasm to arrive. She didn't notice when one of his hands moved, and jumped when she felt his hand searching for and once more finding her clit. Now with some freedom, Buffy joined him in his rhythm as they both strove for the end they so desperately needed. She felt her orgasm build from her core, moving outward in a wave, then opened her mouth in a silent scream as it broke through the surface. Finally, toppling into her climax, she screamed his name. A warm flooding inside her told her he'd followed her soon after.

She collapsed panting upon the bed, her body still in thrall of the intensity of her release. His arms enclosed her as he pressed against her back. Wrapped in the safety of Rupert's arms, Buffy closed her eyes and savored the moment of joy.

He bent his head, brushing her lips with his own. She lifted her hands to his head, holding his mouth still against her own as they deepened the kiss. His own hands rested against her waist, pulling her to his length as their mouths molded to each other. She wrapped her arms around his neck as she drew his questing tongue into her mouth. Their movements were slow, knowing they had all night to learn each other.

Eventually Giles pulled back, entranced by the dazed look in her eyes, and by her wet, swollen lips. He stepped out of her embrace, grasping her hand as it dropped, and led her to the double bed. They sat on the edge together, their knees almost touching. As one, their heads moved forward, repeating the heated kiss they'd shared earlier. As they separated Giles smiled at her.

"I've been meaning to ask: how did you know I wasn't your Rupert?"

Buffy's eyes dropped momentarily, then rose to meet his own. "Last night.last night was like our first night together. Actually, more like our second," a frown marred her forehead, "or maybe our third."

Giles huffed slightly. "I don't believe which time it was like really matters."

"Oh but it does," she lifted her hand to rest against his chest, rubbing against the cotton of his pyjama top as she tried to make him understand. "Last night was fantastic. Making love to Rupert has always been like that. But.," she paused, as if trying to find the right words, "our first night together wasn't like our second night. And that wasn't like our third. Which was nothing like."

"Buffy, if you say your fourth I think I shall scream!"

She giggled. Her fingers had begun undoing the buttons, exposing his warm flesh to her touch. Neither mentioned it. "I was going to say it was nothing like the way it felt once we knew each other. After we found out what drove the other person crazy, and what was a complete turnoff."

Understanding finally dawned. "You knew how to 'drive me crazy', but I had no idea what was a turn off or a turn on for you."

Buffy nodded as she released the final button. Her other hand rose to join its partner as the material was brushed to one side. "Exactly. It was mind blowing, but you didn't use any of Rupert's tricks on me." She began kneading his skin, her nails grazing against his hard nipples.

Giles rested his hands on her thighs, closing his eyes against the sensation. "Well, I hope you'll show me some of those tricks tonight." He felt her hand against his shoulders as she pushed the material back. He lifted his hands for a moment, allowing the top to fall onto the bed.

"Definitely. Later. But now," he felt her breath against his sweat dampened chest hair a moment before her open lips sucked some of the salty fluid off him, "this time is for Giles and me. No tricks."

His breath hitched at her words. He lifted his hand to hold her head against him as he dropped a kiss onto her crown. Waiting only until he'd been able to bring some sort of control to the emotions she'd let loose with her words, he lifted her face up to his.

The kiss was different this time. Leisurely, but deeper, the giving and taking of more than just a taste. His hand slid down, resting on her shoulder for a moment before continuing to the hem of her nightie. Grabbing the edge of the material in his fist, he lifted it up and over her body, breaking the kiss to drop it beside his pyjama top. Wrapping his hands around her back, he pulled her to him, wanting to feel her breasts pressed against his chest. The sensation was more than he could have dreamt.

As one they shifted sideways, tilting until they lay on the bed. Their kisses eased as they explored each other's bodies. Giles watched her face, basking in the lust in her eyes, and the increase in tension of her muscles as he aroused her more. Stroking the curve of her breasts, he gathered them into his hands, then dipped his head. He pulled the first nipple into his mouth, teasing it with his teeth and tongue, feeling Buffy's moan hum through them both, as the nubbin hardened in his mouth. He then turned to its partner, giving it the same treatment.

He released her breasts and pressed gently against her hip, rolling her onto her back. He rose slightly and he began pressing open kisses against her flesh, reveling in the taste of her, as the musk of her arousal scented the air, before pausing for a moment at her sensitive stomach to dip his tongue into her navel. Then, grabbing the edges of her panties, he pulled them down her legs, exposing her to him. Pushing the material off her legs, he ignored it as it fell to the ground, wishing to concentrate instead on the vision before him.

She lay with her hands by her side, no embarrassment in her nakedness in sight. Her legs were open slightly, allowing him to see beyond the tuft of curls covering her sex. Dipping his head, he kissed her at the apex of her thighs, then dipped his tongue to taste her. They both moaned at the sensation. Accepting the invitation of her opening legs, he moved further down, lathing her lips with his tongue before searching out her clit. Finding the hidden treasure, he drew it into his mouth, pressing gently on it with his teeth. The bucking of her hips told him the success of his ministrations, but the tugging of her hand at his hair warned him to stop.

Lifting his head, Giles looked up at her quizzically. "This isn't a one way trip. We both go together." Smiling, he bent to kiss her core once more, before laying beside her again.

Buffy's hand pressed against his chest, before trailing down to the elasticized waist of his bottoms. His muscles clenched automatically as her fingers brushed against his stomach. They paused a moment before slipping underneath the cotton material. His erection rose, eagerly awaiting her touch. At the feel of her nails scraping against the fold covering his tip, he groaned and automatically jerked back. Her hand followed him as it moved lower until he was grasped tightly in her palm. He automatically began pushing against the channel created by her grip. He grabbed her hand, knowing how close he was to the edge, the cotton material between them. "If you want us together, you should stop about now."

Buffy smiled, then kissed him gently on the mouth. Releasing his erection, she pushed the dampened material from his body, then pulled it over his thighs and legs. Once the bottoms were below his knees, he took over, kicking them off fully. They paused, looking deeply into each other's eyes, then smiled simultaneously. Giles moved forward as Buffy lifted her leg onto his thigh. When he felt himself pressed against her, he dropped his hand, finding her opening. His eyes opened as he felt her hand on his penis. Together they guided themselves to their joining, their hands releasing their prizes and grasping each other as he entered her in one stroke.

The rhythm was slow at first, a gentle rocking that barely disturbed the bed. Giles felt as though he had a lifetime to make love to this wonderful, giving woman. He didn't want to miss a moment of it. But their needs soon overcame their wishes, and the pace increased as they strove toward their climaxes. Giles took Buffy's mouth as he felt her orgasm begin. Drawing her tongue into him, he swallowed her scream. Her name was lost in her mouth as he followed her over the abyss.

"So, did you get a chance to ask him?"

"Ask him what?"

Xander and Willow glanced at Dawn, weighing whether or not they should answer. It was hard to tell how much Buffy's younger sister understood, and what her reaction would be. The four of them were sitting in the Summers' living room. After she realized Buffy wasn't returning for the night, Willow had called Xander and Anya over to help her keep Dawn company. Xander finally answered. "I didn't get a chance. Buffy interrupted us just as I was leading up to it."

"Ask him what?"

"So we still don't know."

"Guys! Ask who what, and what don't we know?"

Anya sighed. "They wanted to ask Rupert when he fell in love with Buffy, to see if our Giles has inappropriate feelings for your sister."

"Oh. What? That's . actually that kinda make sense."

"So you're not wigged?" Willow stroked the younger girl's hair as she asked the question.

"Not really. I mean, look how many times he left then came back. And it's not like he moved to the next county, or even in the same country. And why else would he put up with all the crap Buffy dished."

"Wow." Xander shook his head. "I never thought of it that way."

"You know what I'm wondering?" They looked at Anya, expecting some embarrassing comment on Buffy or Giles. She surprised them all. "If Buffy didn't die, how did they defeat Glory?"

"We ran away."

"You what? Here?"

"Just a little lower. That's the spot. Works better with your tongue though. The three of us ran away, after the wedding ceremony. Told people we were on our honeymoon."

"With Dawn? I'm sure that went well. Oh my God, how did you learn to do that?"

"Experiment. You practically broke the bed the first time. Where are you going? Oh, that's alright. Ahh yes, such a clever tongue."

"Mom had just died. It wasn't like Dawn was a little kid. People understood."

"And the others? Are you alright?"

"Hmm. Yes. You're so close, just a little to the.Oh God!"

"You are a fast learner. Always liked that about you."

"Only on the physical stuff. The rest takes a while."

"True. But it's worth the wait. Ow!"

"I didn't hit you that hard. Didn't Glory come after you? Oh, that's nice."

"Luv, I'm not that good. I can either tell you about Glory or I can continue."

"Well, tell me after. Oh God.Rupert, your tongue is so."

"Of course she followed us. Rupert made us move every few days, and he put up as many wards to confuse her as he could. Ouch."

"Sorry, did I hurt you? Here, put this pillow under you."

"Much better. Hmmm. Anyway, while we were running Willow and Tara worked with the Watcher's Council to find a way to defeat her."

"I'm sure Quentin loved the fact a Watcher was marrying his Slayer."

"Oh yeah, he wanted to give the bride away. I don't think even Rupert's done that to me."

"Something I experimented with in the past couple of years. You approve?"

"Oh Go."

"Eventually we worked out how Glory was going to use Dawn, and how much time we had left. Now squeeze, that's it. And start moving your fi.Ah yes. So we, um, we waited until she, argh, was almost out of, er, time."

"Having trouble concentrating, Rupert? Want me to stop."

"Dear God, no. Just slow down, that's better. We lured her into the desert. No new victims, you see."

"Brainsuck?"

"Precisely. Might have to finish this story later. Oh f."

"Don't think I've ever heard Giles use that word before."

"And you liked it?"

"Oh yeah."

"Do you know how many partners I've had who didn't?"

"Yeah, Rupert told me. So, where were we?"

"Glory. Desert. Insane. Taste so good."

"Glory?"

"You."

"Hmm. Always thought your tongue was the cleverest part of you. We didn't know about Ben then you see. The knights were 'persuaded' to co-operate, so we knew there was a human host. Just not who. It was a shock when she morphed into him."

"What did you do?"

"That was the plan you see. Weaken the God so she hides behind her human host."

"And then you found it was somebody you knew. I never thought that would feel so good."

"It gets better. We just move slightly and."

"Oh,God. I keep saying that tonight. But you keep.Oh, God! Ben. what.?"

"We killed him."

"So that wasn't different."

"You killed Ben too?"

"Yes. After Buffy defeated Glory. I.I had to stop her you see? It was the only way. Unfortunately it was too late to save Dawn."

"Does your Buffy know? Ow! Nails!"

"Sorry. I forgot to trim them this week. Didn't know I'd be doing this tonight. No, Buffy doesn't know."

"I figured it out. Not at first, but Willow said that Ben and Glory just seemed to disappear. Nobody was too worried, because they were still dealing with me dying. But afterwards, she said Giles didn't even want to talk about it. She thought that maybe he was still grieving."

"But you knew better."

"I know Giles."

"Yes. You ready for some more?"

"There's more? I mean we've beaten the Karma Sutra already tonight."

"Ha, that's for amateurs. I thought I'd show you this one next."

"What are you.? Oh God, how did you manage that?"

He'd already said goodbye to the others. They'd left early, understanding that Buffy wanted to be alone at this time. He looked down at her, memorizing each feature, wanting to remember the past 48 hours in their entirety. "You look tired."

She smiled. "That's hardly surprising. You didn't let me sleep much."

He returned the smile, then bent and kissed her. "He'll come back. I promise."

The smile slipped. "Which means I say goodbye to you. How crazy is that? I'm gonna miss you Giles." She pulled him to her, putting all her confused emotions into one final, passionate kiss.

Pulling away, he stroked her hair. "Goodbye Mrs. Giles. It's been a pleasure." Turning, he left the house quickly before she could see the pain this parting was causing him.

He walked briskly, heading back toward the place where it had all started. The mist started to envelop him a few blocks from his target. This time he sensed the change in the atmosphere, the scent of majicks in the air. Just as he reached the spot of the occurrence of two days ago, the pyrotechnics began. The lightning strikes were expected, but still startling in their intensity. He looked around, trying to find that other half of him. Eventually, he saw a shadow ahead. He half raised his hand, wanting to speak to this Rupert, tell him how lucky he was. Before he had a chance, all went black.

He opened his eyes to a clear sky, the stars twinkling down at him. Raising himself gently, he did a mental check for any broken bones or damaged organs, relieved the only after affects seemed a slight headache. He stood, he brushing the dirt and grime from his clothes, then headed home. She was waiting for him, silhouetted in the doorway. He moved slowly toward her, until only inches separated their bodies. They stared at each other for a moment before they moved into each other's arms. Holding his Buffy to him, he thanked whatever gods were involved for their aid in bringing him home.

She sat in the dark, curled up on the couch. The house was silent after all the welcome home's and the sighs of relief that it had all worked out. Restless, he'd stopped in his hotel room for just a few minutes, then realized there was some unfinished business. He'd returned, knowing she would be waiting for him. Her entire body language cried of the pain she was feeling.

Giles sighed as he sat beside her. They hadn't discussed the differences between their relationship and that of the other Rupert and Buffy. With their track record, they probably wouldn't. But he felt, perhaps, there were other things that needed to be talked about. And if, in the loneliness of the night, he brought out some of those precious memories and wondered 'what if', who was to know?

"Well if we ever needed evidence that I'm a screw up, we've got it now."

"What?" That he wasn't really expecting.

"Come on, Giles. You were there. We only had Rupert telling us, but you saw it. Because of that one stupid choice I made, I ruined everybody's lives. Xander and Anya, Willow. I killed Tara."

"No you didn't."

"As good as. And you and I." Her tears were visible in the moonlit room, her voice thick with emotion. "Because of my childish selfishness I stopped any of us being happy."

"Buffy, we only saw a snapshot of their lives. We don't know all the effects of their choices. And, we don't know how I would have reacted."

"Yes we do. We saw."

"Only one option. The way I felt then, I could have easily staked Angel the moment I saw him. Especially the condition he was in at the time. The other Buffy even admitted that her Rupert struggled with that. So, there is another version of our lives where I did stake Angel. Each of our choices changes how our lives turn out, what we become. There can be no right or wrong in that."

"But they were all so happy! They had happy endings! Name me one thing in that world that was wrong!"

"Riley." His quiet response pulled her short. "You weren't there to save him from the Initiative. They didn't even know who the Initiative were, or what their real agenda was because you weren't invited into the inner circle. By the time Adam made his move, it was too late. For Professor Walsh, and for Riley. When they finally battled them, Adam had turned Riley into another human/demon hybrid. Buffy had to destroy them both."

"Oh god."

"And because Riley hadn't been taught by you the difference between evil demons, and those who were victims of their circumstances, he wasn't sympathetic when Oz was captured. By the time the gang had found out where he was and tried to rescue him, it was too late. They'd killed him with their experiments."

"How do you know this?"

"I asked. I was afraid you might feel this way, so I needed to be able to show you that all choices have consequences, and that no matter what decisions you make, they have long-reaching effects on many people. Do you really think Willow is completely happy knowing how Oz died? Or that Buffy isn't free of guilt because she couldn't save him? Or that they couldn't stop the bloodbath that happened when Adam started the final battle? Hundreds died, many of them innocent. You stopped that happening, because of your involvement with Riley. And that only came about because you and I didn 't have that relationship." There, it was out in the open. The question was, what would she do with it.

Buffy shifted, then turned so her weight leaned against his side. He froze, surprised. "I understand what you're saying. But it hurt, to see what differences one decision can make. You know?"

He sighed, bringing his arm around her shoulder. "I know. I saw you happy, really happy. Something I haven't seen in a long time. And it hurt me to know the pain you've gone through all these years, knowing I couldn't prevent it."

They sat silently for a while, content to be in each other's company. They shifted at the same time, turning to face each other. A moment passed, and then they moved closer until their lips touched.


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