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What a Mother Wouldn't Do	By : QueenB Category: -Buffy the Vampire Slayer > Het - Male/Female > Buffy/Giles Views: 5213 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer (BtVS), nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

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Mr. Seversen looked out his window and frowned as he caught a glimpse of fabric wisking behind a tree. Who was that? He’d been here less than a month and already there were trespassers. Was it one of those damned environmentalists?
You’d think people like that would be glad of his efforts. It’s not like he had the trees destroyed. No, when he’d opened that business in Scotland, he had assured the local farmers that their lives wouldn’t be changed and that the factory would bring much needed jobs to the impoverished community.
He wasn’t a thief or robber baron. He was a businessman and he’d bought the land fair and square. The previous owner had been a city boy who’d inherited the property from a distant uncle. Disinclined as he was to do anything with the heavily wooded area, he had been thrilled to sell. Some of the farmers had grumbled about the changed landscape. But farming was always an iffy proposition especially in such marshy country and the manufacture of steel was a sure bet. When their sons had signed up to work for him, they had been happy to have the extra income.
But some people were never satisfied. A few environmentalists--tree huggers as his father had disparagingly called them--went up in arms, saying that the oak trees on his property were hundreds of years old, housing various woodland creatures that would starve to death if he removed them.
So he’d had the trees transplanted to his new property here in Sunnydale. They were magnificent in appearance and he thought they’d make a lovely addition to the grounds. Every grand home should have trees on the grounds to heighten its beauty and the oaks were perfect as scenery. They were hardy and had weathered the journey intact. So what if they were no longer in their native land? They’d survived and surely that was all that mattered.
Not to people like that McPherson woman, evidently. She had protested longer and more vigorously than anyone else about the trees’ removal, claiming that it was dangerous to uproot them and take them to a strange country where the inhabitants couldn’t be prepared for what they would do. He’d pointed out to her that America had had oak trees for quite some time; he doubted the addition of a few acres would upset the ecosystem that greatly. Then she’d started storming about curses and dark women haunting the trees.
That’s when he’d realized he was dealing with a nutcase. The fact that many of the older locals had backed her claims didn’t deter him. Didn’t these people know they were living in the modern age? There were no such things as pookas, fairies, leprechauns or goblins. These people needed to grow up.
Dismissing the McPherson woman and others of her ilk for the moment, he turned from the window and bent his mind on other things. Overseas news from the new factory was encouraging; there had been no outcries from the workers other than the usual complaints. Things couldn’t be better.
“Now where did I put that tie?” he muttered. He had a business meeting this morning and couldn’t afford to let anonymous trespassers distract him.
__________
Buffy hated hospitals. That hadn’t changed since she was a young girl and had watched her cousin Celia die. Even knowing later that a demon had been responsible and not doctor incompetence hadn’t altered her feelings.
But this was important. All the books said, and Giles had insisted, that she needed to get a doctor’s opinion now that she was pregnant. She wasn’t afraid of what a doctor might say. Well, not much.
What if being a Slayer brought complications? What if she couldn’t carry this child to term? What if…? She straightened up as the doctor came back in and gripped Giles’s hand. The doctor hadn’t wanted him present but as the baby’s father he’d demanded to stay. Buffy had agreed and said she’d be much more comfortable if he could be with her and the man had relented.
“Well, Ms. Summers, you are definitely pregnant. Congratulations.” He smiled at them both and added, “You’re about a month along and you seem perfectly healthy.”
“Perfectly? As in perfectly? No weirdness going on in here?” She waved at her belly and Dr. Morgensen graced her with a broad smile. She wished Ben was still around. But this wasn’t his field and he’d disappeared after the battle with Glory anyway. Occasionally she wondered what had happened to him. But right now she had other concerns.
“You’re in excellent health, far more so than many women your age.” He flipped up the chart to look at her entry form. “You indicate that you don’t drink, smoke or take recreational drugs and get plenty of exercise so that’s all in your favor.”
“No. Not really big on the drinking or smoking,” she answered with a grimace. She could recall even now the stinkiness exuded after Spike would engage in those activities. They were habits she could never take up.
“Wonderful. Now you also indicate that you lead a very active lifestyle. You should be aware that hyperactivity can aggravate or even trigger morning sickness, fatigue, backache and indigestion. Take these pamphlets,” handing her several in different colors, “and adjust your schedule accordingly. Do you have any more questions?”
“Yes, rather. Should she avoid activity that might, ah, result in blows to her stomach?” Giles asked.
“Blows to the stomach? Well, yes! That would be dangerous, both for her and the child. You should definitely rule that out.”
“But I’ve got to fight--” Giles squeezed her hand lightly in warning. “These girls in my class.” Buffy amended hastily. “I help teach martial arts for a living.”
Dr. Morgensen’s look was sympathetic but firm. “You might want to think about another occupation while you’re carrying.”
When they were leaving after hearing more advice from the doctor, Buffy glanced at Giles. “We’re going to have a fight about this, aren’t we?”
“I’d prefer to think of it as a calm, rational argument.” Noting her mulish expression, he added, “That may be too much to expect.”
__________
The punching bag wasn’t much of an opponent. But, since Giles had learned Buffy was pregnant, he had argued adamantly against her return to the martial arts center. He was terrified that one lucky blow to her stomach might have serious effects on the baby. Buffy had argued back just as loudly until Dawn had complained about the racket. So here she was at the Magic Box taking out her frustrations on an innocent bag.
She wanted to continue with her slaying as well although she hadn’t broached that subject to Giles yet. She had to slay; it was like an itch all over her skin, one that she couldn’t work off with work, sex, cooking, cleaning or any other activity. If anything, the urge to go out and pummel evil into the ground had gotten stronger with the pregnancy. If she didn’t get out and kill something soon, she was going to explode. A cranky Slayer was a dangerous Slayer. Maybe she ought to point that out to Giles. Buffy took another high kick at the bag, grunting as she connected.
“That was a little sloppy. You should rotate your hip a little more. You could throw it out with a move like that.”
Buffy smiled. She had felt a presence there although she’d given no sign of it. But she remembered she was feeling ticked off and allowed grumpiness to get the upper hand. “Stow it, Watcher mine. I’ve been doing this for almost seven years now. I think I’ll muddle through.”
“Quite right. But that’s no reason to get lax.”
She snorted. “Me sloppy? God forbid. But I should keep myself fit Buffy. It’s not as if I’m doing anything else with my time.” She fired off a quick round of punches to the upper part of the bag.
Giles circled around and kept out of reach of the swaying bag. “No, I suppose not. After all, it’s not as if you’re continuing with the slaying.” Something in the quality of her silence alerted Giles. “Oh no, Buffy. You cannot go on with your slaying.”
“Oh, come on, Giles!” She stopped her workout and glared. “First you don’t want me to work. Now you want me to quit the slaying. That’s just crazy! What am I supposed to do all day? Stay home and knit booties?”
“If you can’t work, then going up against creatures with razor talons is out of the question. The others are handling your duties quite well. I’m sure you can find plenty of other things to do to occupy your time.”
“Like what? Honestly, if I’d known you’d get all chauvinist-y about this, I would have waited until I was four months gone before letting you know,” she groused.
“I’m sure I would have divined the truth before then if only by your continual upheavals in the morning.”
“Not to mention the mood swings,” she pointed out.
“Are you having mood swings? I haven’t noticed. You seem to be the same old Buffy as far as I can tell.”
The dry tone didn’t escape her. “Ha ha. Watcher wit. I think I’ll split my sides with all the laughing I’m not doing.” She directed another punch at the bag and then held it until it stopped swaying. “Look, Giles. I’m not even showing yet. And the female human body is designed to take a lot of abuse. And I’m the Slayer! I’m so much stronger than your average bear. Just let me go back to work and I’ll cut back on the slaying. No more than three times a week, I promise. But you’re gonna have to let me go. I’m going nutso from being cooped up and it’s only been two days. You think I’m bad now? Just wait until I’ve been indoors for a week,” she threatened.
“Heaven forbid. Very well. I suppose if you’re careful and take backup--”
“Sure! You can come with. We’ll be a slaying duo just like in the old days.” Buffy beamed at him. Her smile was radiant, seeming to light up the whole room, and Giles’s breath caught, just a little, the way it always did. Smiles from her had been so rare and precious after she’d been brought back; at times he thought he’d never see them again.
She charged, winding her legs around his waist as she jumped him and began kissing him all over his face. Pulling back, she whispered in his ear, “Did you lock the training room door when you came in?”
Even though the room had been soundproofed to hide the noises of sparring from curious customers, he found himself whispering too. “Of course. Wouldn’t do for Anya or a customer to come back in here while we’re otherwise engaged.”
“Say that word again.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Which one?”
“Engaged,” she murmured. “Sometimes it doesn’t seem quite real.”
“Engaged. And it is real, darling. Never doubt it.” He kissed the back of her left hand, the golden band with the three diamond gems winking at him. It had been quite expensive but he hadn’t cared about the cost. The three diamonds stood for the times she’d come into his life--her first appearance in the Sunnydale High library and the two times she had come back from the dead. Buffy’s eyes had brimmed with unshed tears when he falteringly told her the significance of the stones and she’d vowed she would never forget what this meant to him.
He examined the jeweled band now with some criticism. “Should you be wearing this when you’re sparring? Aren’t you afraid of damaging it?”
“Oops. I suppose I should be all concerned over it. But I like looking at it whenever I’m alone. It reminds me of you. But now that I’ve got you here…” Her voice trailed away and her roaming hands became purposeful.
Buffy steered him over to the mat and pushed him onto its surface. The pale pink tip flicked out to probe the moist surface of his lower lip, darting inside before coyly retreating again. Her weight shifted over his erection and Giles groaned, his hips bucking upwards in spite of his resolution to keep still.
She unbuttoned his shirt in slow increments, pausing to tease him with her lips and tongue. Soft lips coursed down over his chest, pausing to suck at the twin circles on his chest. Her tongue flicked all around the aureole before scraping the nipples. Giles hissed and murmured for her to continue. His fingers wound themselves in her hair but otherwise he didn’t push, content to let her set the pace.
Emboldened by his passivity, she pushed the shirt to the side. She sensed he was as eager as she was and complete disrobing wasn’t necessary. She leaned up slightly and pulled off her T-shirt.
Giles’s fingers skimmed over her belly to unsnap the front closure of the bra. Whoever invented these things must have made them specifically for sex and he was always grateful that Buffy wore them instead of the other kind.
She arched, the cups falling out of the way, and at last he was allowed access to her breasts. Dainty pink nipples beckoned him to touch; a vibrant sigh was his reward as he obeyed. The delicate mounds were cupped and lightly squeezed between his hands and she moaned when the callouses on his fingers teased the straining tips. He began pulling and tweaking the pretty points and she ground her thighs against his, panting and whispering for more.
Giles leaned up, his hands being replaced by his mouth, teeth and tongue being brought into play. A hard demanding mouth closed over her nip and she cried out softly as he nuzzled the yielding flesh. Her breasts seemed to swell, pushing themselves into him until she wondered why he didn’t choke.
He pushed off his loafers and managed to wrestle off his socks without shifting her. The motion made his hips wriggle and she rocked faster over him. Belatedly recalling her own state of dress, Buffy unzipped her jeans and wriggled out of them, trying to maintain contact with Giles as she did.
In just moments, the warmth in her body had increased, molten heat lapping at her tits and coursing down to pool in her cunt. She couldn’t believe how much her hands were shaking as she tugged at his zipper, almost tearing his pants in her hurry to remove them. She could see the enormous boner he sported, the shaft straining as if to burst through his boxers. The distracted thought came that he should wear briefs; she’d be able to see more of his thighs. No! He should just go commando. Then she wouldn’t have to wait to get his clothing out of the way.
Giles was shocked to the core as she wound her fingers in his underwear and ripped the offending boxers from his thighs. He looked down to see the material hanging in shreds around his waist. Before he could protest this unwarranted mangling of his unmentionables, Buffy shifted upwards and slid onto his cock in one frantic motion.
The violence of her movements caused him to rock backwards, throwing out one hand to keep from falling flat onto the mat. Buffy was already in motion, her hot passage clutching and squeezing at him with every up-and-down movement.
“Oh god, Giles, hurry, please hurry. I need you, love you, give it to me. Harder, Rupert, harder!” He wound his free arm around her waist and strove to match her pace. She grabbed his face, peppering it with kisses and little nipping bites. Her mouth sealed itself to his and he moaned into her as her tongue flew past his teeth, brushing his tongue and sweeping in fiery licks all around his mouth and the ridge behind his upper ivories.
Her thighs clenched and he gasped, the pressure threatening to break his hipbones. She fell back and broke his hold, both hands planted flat on the floor behind her, her entire body one tight curve from neck to thighs as she surged back and forth on him.
Now he could see almost all of her front, the sex flush sweeping from her neck down to her breasts, the sweet mounds shaking with every sucking breath. Slick sucking noises filled the space, his cock visible with each backward pull, and the erotic thrill of the sight and sounds made him growl. Her stomach rippled, the action translating to a clenching of her folds, and they both cried out at once.
Thanks to her pregnancy, there was no need for those pesky condoms. She could feel every inch of him from the bulging head to the throbbing shaft. He was pulsing so much inside her; it was like another heartbeat racing in time with her own. The curly hairs itched delightfully when they rubbed against her bare mons. Later once the excitement faded it would feel like the world’s worst case of rug burn but for now the scratching provided another sensual fillip to the driving cock within her folds.
She was all heat and moisture. Golden tanned flesh slid under his arms; the small breasts yielding under his grasping fingers. “Oh God, Buffy. Sweet girl. Fuck!” The expletive shot from him with startling force. Buffy had leaned forward again, pressing him into the mat. She reached down and behind to grasp and roll his balls, occasionally tugging them to match her movements over his body.
“Rupert. Mmmmm…so hot. Harder, yeah, that’s so good,” she babbled. He was gripping her waist, his fingers digging into her flesh, while he pumped into her. It was a good thing Slayer healing was still working during her pregnancy; otherwise the bruises would last for days. He arched his back, thrusting so the tip of his dick reached her cervix, and she shuddered at the pang.
In spite of the temperature controls setting, sweat was beading on both their bodies, the moisture causing them to slip across the mat. It seemed to add another burn to his senses, the salt liquid stinging his lips as he reared to nuzzle and lick at her breasts again.
Buffy bit her lips, arching her body towards the mouth tugging harshly at her nips. She could sense that Giles was tiring a little with the mercilessly pounding rhythm but she couldn’t hold back. Wanting to feel him cum at the same time as she, Buffy concentrated and squeezed her lower muscles.
Giles’s eyes bulged and he shouted, “BLOODY HELL!” The next moment, hot cum shot out of him and she squealed as her orgasm rushed to meet his. A final spasm rippled over their bodies and then Buffy collapsed onto his chest, her searing pants mingling with his.
They’re going to have to pry us off these mats. He flung one arm over Buffy’s back as she lay atop him and gasped, “Good Lord. That was…simply…spectacular.”
“No arguments here.” She stretched to meet his mouth for a languid kiss.
The kiss drew him in, her teeth exploring and nibbling at his lower lip. But he was still in the process of catching his breath. Moving back, he replied, “I also hope that’s helped burn off some of your excess energy.”
“Umm hmmm. I’m good for the moment. But I could be ready again real soon.” She paused and gazed down at him through lowered eyelashes.
“Well, I’m simply not up to the challenge right now. Give me a few minutes…” Actually he thought he might need more time than that. Buffy had been quite--enthusiastic just now and her efforts had wrung him dry.
“Okay. I think this’ll hold me.” She winked and sat up, reaching for her clothes. “But if you think this was something, just wait until you see me after patrol tonight. I get really wound up after demon killing. That’s when I need extra special attention. Something about pounding flesh, I suppose,” she mused slyly. That seductive look had turned a trifle predatory.
Goodness, she got randy after slaying? He’d never known that. He wondered if such a condition affected all Slayers. It certainly would explain Faith’s enthusiasm for this particular activity. But Buffy couldn’t possibly get more passionate than this--could she?
Feeling an almost primal fear welling up, he removed his now useless underwear and replied quickly, “You know, perhaps you should return to your job. If you’re cautious, I’m sure none of those other students will be able to touch you. You ought to be able to do just fine.”
Buffy hid a triumphant smile. And the Slayer scores one! “Really? That’s great. ‘Cause I didn’t tell Frank I was quitting and I was planning on coming into work tomorrow anyway.”
He paused to stare at her. “Even though I’d cautioned against it?”
Her arched eyebrows indicated she hadn’t thought much of his negativity. “And you would have stopped me how exactly?”
“I wasn’t thinking of stopping you,” he remarked with asperity. “I merely thought that now that you have another life to think about, you would realize what dangers such an active regimen would entail.”
“Maybe. But pregnant women need to exercise as much as others. You wouldn’t want me all fat with excess weight rollage around the tummy?”
“Oh, you’re absolutely right. Your looks should have been my first concern, not your life or that of our child,” Giles replied.
Buffy stilled slightly. Giles had said “our child” and that brought up all sorts of uneasy thoughts. She and Giles hadn’t informed the others in their little group yet that she had a baby on the way. She’d even hidden her engagement ring, choosing to wear it only when she was certain of being alone. Thus, she and Giles hadn’t yet discussed the important things like where they were going to live or how they’d take care of Dawn.
He sensed the sudden tension in her. “What’s wrong now?”
She finished dressing, her back towards him, while she thought of an answer. “Um, nothing really. I was just wondering little things like when I should start buying kids’ stuff and where we should put the crib and where we’re gonna live and all. Nothing big.”
“Well, your mother’s house is large but currently you, Willow and Dawn are taking up all the bedrooms. You and I could move into my place.” He finished adjusting his trousers. The boxers were a dead loss and he chucked them into a trash receptacle with a sigh.
“Oh, that’s nice, I suppose.” Buffy sounded subdued and Giles wondered why she seemed suddenly depressed.
Before he could ask her, there was a furious pounding on the exercise room door. He wanted to ignore it but from the persistent noise it could only mean Anya was at the door and she wouldn’t go away until she’d had her say about whatever was troubling her. Bugger.
He unlocked the door and saw the co-proprietor of the Magic Box tapping her foot impatiently. “Finally. I thought you were going to be in there all day. I approve of a quick bit of orgasm fun as much as anybody. But we do have a business to run, you know.”
“Anya, you’ve shown that you’re more than capable of handling the sales part of the business by yourself. What emergency could possibly have arisen that requires my august presence?” Giles rapped out.
“It’s one of those women, you know, one of your fans that have been hanging around here for the last week. She absolutely refuses to buy something unless she gets a peek of you. So I’m thinking you could come out here for a few minutes, wriggle your butt a little…”
“What?!?”
Giles cringed at the outraged note from the Slayer behind him. He turned and held up placating hands. “Buffy, I can explain.”
“Explain? There’s explanations involved? Who’s the slut after Giles?” Buffy stood on tiptoe, trying to peer over Giles’ shoulder to see into the store proper.
“She’s not a slut! She’s a paying customer!” Anya protested. “At least she will be. I’m not asking you to date her, Giles. Just let her get a peek at you. It’s called good customer relations.”
“It’s called pimping, Anya,” Buffy gritted out. She slammed the door in Anya’s face, locked the deadbolt and turned to face her Watcher, her arms crossed and her face set. Ignoring the renewed pounding on the door, she began interrogating her lover. “Mind telling me what this is all about, Giles? You’ve been entertaining other admirers since you learned I got pregnant?”
“Buffy, it’s not like that, I swear!”
“Then what is it? Anya says there are others. What others, Giles? What’s going on?”
Giles wondered whether Buffy’s adversaries had ever seen such a dangerous gleam in her eyes as what he was witnessing. Anxious to stave off further misunderstanding (and possible bodily injury), he spoke as quickly as he could. “It’s not my fault, Buffy. It’s that damned contest Dawn entered me into.”
“The contest?” Buffy hadn’t thought about the Harlequin contest in weeks. As far as she was concerned, it had all been a kind of scheme by fate to get her and Giles together. After that, she’d simply dismissed it from her mind.
“Yes, the contest. I-it seems the book has gone public with my picture on the cover just as the Harlequin people intended and, well, these women have seen it…”
“And come here to the Magic Box to check out the real thing.” Buffy considered this briefly. Then her eyes narrowed. “Anya says these women have been around here before. Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I meant to, truly. Then you told me you were pregnant and the whole business completely slipped my mind. When I did consider it, it seemed rather inconsequential. Honestly, how could I take it with any seriousness? I’m still remembering the farce we played out at the Plaza Hotel with those blasted marketing people.”
Her anger faltered in the face of his obvious contrition. “You mean it? S-she’s not an orgasm friend?”
“Not even remotely. She’s just a nameless face in a crowd.”
The storm clouds reappeared on Buffy’s face. “Oh, there’s a crowd now? How big a crowd are we talking here?”
He sighed heavily and went to sit on the steps near the window. “Buffy, please. I’m rather worn from our latest--bout and you’re being unfair. You know how dearly I love you. And I’m in here, aren’t I, not out there so some strange daft woman can ogle my twitching bum. I don’t see how else I can prove that you are the only woman in my heart.”
Giles looked so hurt. Buffy felt like a total bitch. “I’m sorry, Giles. I don’t know what came over me.” She sat beside him and wound her arms around his waist. “Do you forgive me?” she whispered.
“Of course.” He returned the embrace, planting a swift kiss on the top of her head. “I suppose these must be the mood swings you warned me about.”
“Really? I didn’t think they would be starting so soon,” she mused. Buffy looked at him speculatively and then began yanking his shirt out of his trousers again.
Giles paled in alarm. “Buffy, please. I told you, I’m not--”
“I know, Giles. But we are not going to hide in here. It’s time this woman realized that you are spoken for and that nobody poaches on the Slayer’s territory.” She reached up to ruffle his hair and then cocked her head to view the results.
“Ah. So we’re going to show her I’m spoken for by implying rampant sexual activity?”
“There’s no implying about it.” Satisfied, she stopped with her efforts. Giles resisted the urge to rearrange his ‘do back to its neatened state. Then, grinning wickedly, he retaliated by yanking off her scrunchy and running his hands vigorously through the golden strands.
“Hey, take it easy! We want sex hair, not hedgehog hair,” she said, batting away his hand.
“Sorry. Just trying to make it convincing. Right, let’s push off then, shall we?”
Grasping the doorknob, Buffy planted a kiss on him and pressed his body against the back room door. As the door swung outward, the two of them appeared to be engaged in a tight clinch. Buffy and Giles staggered forth, trying to maintain a liplock, running their hands all over each other.
Giles saw her first, Ms. Business Suit from earlier. The anticipation on her face was replaced by a look of almost comic disappointment when she saw his body entwined with Buffy’s. He could have laughed if she wasn’t so obviously crushed.
Buffy saw her, too, with the accuracy of a jealous woman who has successfully identified a rival. Watching the woman from beneath lowered eyelids, she gave Giles a last lingering kiss and pulled away. She walked past the woman with a dreamy smile and waved airily at her. “Sorry about that. Mid-afternoon booty call.” She blew a final kiss to Giles. “Bye, honey!”
“Goodbye, dearest,” Giles called after her, managing to keep a straight face.
The Business Suit glared daggers at Buffy’s retreating back. What was it with men and their obsession with young, dippy blonds? Older ones like herself had brains, beauty, a steady-paying job and experience in the sack. If Mr. Giles turned out to be nothing more than a Humbert Humbert in disguise, then the people at Harlequin romances were seriously off the mark.
She determined to dismiss Mr. Giles from her mind. If that was the kind of man he was, he wasn’t good enough for her. Ignoring the voice in her head that whispered this was just a case of sour grapes, she determined to tell all the women she met what a sleazy little cradle robber he was. Tossing her head, she marched out of the store, paying no heed to Anya’s desperate cries.
“Wait! You haven’t bought anything and you promised you would if he came out! You should always keep your promises!” She actually ran after the woman and only stopped because the lady didn’t so much as look back, stomping down the street, ire obvious in every line of her body. Anya peered helplessly after her and then snapped at Giles. “This is all your fault!”
Giles wasn’t the slightest bit troubled by her anger. “I hardly think so. You asked me to come out and wriggle my bum. I did. It’s not my fault she didn’t uphold her end of the deal.”
“It is too! She had money. I could tell by her clothes. Maybe I could have foisted some of the slug candles off on her. But, oh no, you and Buffy have to get all possessive and grabby in front of her and now she probably won’t come back.” She was struck by a terrible thought. “Oh crap. What if she tells all those other women? No one will ever come back here and we’ll go bankrupt! Go after her right now!”
Giles gave her a haughty disdainful look. “Really, Anya, you mustn’t let your obsession with finances get the better of you. We have plenty of other customers. We don’t need the fawning attentions of a bunch of foolish, dizzy women with nothing better to do with their lunch hours than drool over some anonymous male.”
“This isn’t just any anonymous male. It’s you, Rupert Giles, and as the co-owner of your store it’s your duty to do everything you can to promote sales and good customer relationships!”
“Does that extend to parading myself like a model on the runway for their delectation? I think not,” he finished with a warning frown. “Besides, do you want to deal with an angry Slayer if she feels you’re exploiting me in that fashion? She accused you of pimping me a moment ago. What do you think she’d do if you actually tried it?”
“I really don’t care what Buffy does. This is the United States of America, built and run by a proper work ethic. Buffy should respect that,” Anya maintained.
It was at moments like these that Giles found himself at an absolute loss to deal with Anya’s overwhelming attention to the bottom line. Changing the subject, he stated, “You know, if you’ve decided my skills as an entrepreneur are limited to wagging my tail at potential customers, then I think I can go and leave the running of the store up to you. Goodbye.”
Speaking of tail wagging, Giles thought of the golden-haired Slayer who’d recently left him and hoped that she really wasn’t as energetic after slaying as she’d told him. If she was…
He shut the shop door behind him, shaking his head. “Goodness. I’d better get plenty of rest before tonight. Either that or plan on visiting a friend. I wonder if Xander will put me up?” he muttered.
__________
Buffy dropped Dawn off at the Reggerson’s household. She’d had Willow look these people up in the city records. The redhead may have been a powerful wiccan but she still kicked butt when it came to illegal hacking and she hadn’t been able to turn up anything against the Reggersons except an outstanding parking ticket.
But it was still Dawn’s first time out as a baby sitter and Buffy worried. She told Dawn to call her on the hour every hour just to make sure she was safe. However, Dawn had drawn the line at having Buffy walk her to the door. She had pointed out that it wouldn’t do much for her babysitting rep if her own sister treated her like a baby.
So Buffy watched Dawn trot up the walkway and ring the doorbell. However, it wasn’t until the door closed behind her that Buffy relaxed her grip on the steering wheel and drove away. Thank goodness for cell phones. She was keeping hers close.
This was one of the nights her friends had gone out slaying in her stead. So she had nothing to do tonight except stay home, hover by the phone and hope that nothing went wrong. But that was no different from what she had been doing for the last two days. Maybe she could stop in and see Giles. She smiled to herself and darted to her closet.
“What’s a good outfit for a drop-in? Not T-shirt and jeans, no strapless dresses, no minis.” She muttered to herself while pawing frantically through her closet. Finally settling on a demure but tight green short-sleeved sweater and light green pants, she gathered up her threads and headed for the bathroom. She wasn’t planning on seducing Giles again tonight but it didn’t hurt a gal to get all dolled up, did it?
Buffy drove through the streets in a mounting state of excitement. On passing an all-night convenience store, she had darted in to pick up some microwaveable mini pizzas and a box of jelly donuts. Since he agreed to let her resume her normal schedule, she wanted to do something special for Giles.
Exiting with her prizes, her sharp ears picked up the sounds of a scuffle and a shrill cry abruptly choked off from the alley adjacent to the store. Sighing in disgust she muttered, “I hope it’s a vampire and not a mugger. I don’t need to get sidetracked by calling the cops.” Setting the goods into her car, she jogged around to the entrance and peered down the narrow space.
Two vampires were holding down a struggling woman. One had his hand clamped over her mouth, clawing at her blouse, while the other was trying to yank down her panties while pinning her legs. She was struggling ineffectually against them while trying to hold on to something in her arms.
The scene broke over Buffy in a hot flash and she flew into a blind rage. Charging down the alley, she swung down her stake in a brutal blow so violent it went through the vampire on the victim’s legs, almost nailing the innocent woman beneath him. The second vampire barely had time to rise to his feet before Buffy was on him. She pummeled him without letup as if trying to pound him into the pavement before recalling her stake and finishing him off.
She crouched on the ground for a moment, her whole body shaking from the adrenalin rush. Ugly memories from her final meeting with a certain peroxided vampire tumbled over and over again in her head while she fought for control.
Gradually the prolonged sobbing and sniffling from the other woman in the alley impinged itself on her awareness and she turned to see the woman crouched against an adjacent wall. She reached out a hand only to hear the woman hiss menacingly at her. “You come near me and my child and I’ll rip your throat out.”
Buffy’s eyes narrowed at the hostile tone. Who did this woman think she was? Buffy had just saved her life and she was spewing threats? “You’re welcome.”
The other woman’s shoulders sagged. “I-I’m so sorry. That was rude of me. It’s just--those things, they were going to hurt me, hurt my child. I-I wasn’t…” Her voice trailed away and she shivered hard.
The woman was clutching a bundle to her body and Buffy heard the child give a weak squall. She tried to get a closer look at the baby but the woman hunched her shoulders over it as if shielding it from the Slayer’s gaze. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to hurt you or the baby. I just wanted to see…”
“We’re all right. I think they were attracted by the--” She stopped as if she were about to say something revealing. The green-coated woman stood up, a fluid movement that made Buffy blink. Except for the baby clutched protectively in her arms, the woman appeared totally unfazed by the incident. Weird.
When the pair of women stepped out of the alley, the lady appeared to remember her savior. “I feel so stupid. Without you, I don’t know what those cr--men would have done. How did you deal with them, anyway? Where did they go?” She glanced up and down the street and Buffy wondered how the other woman could have missed the staking back in the alley. Maybe this was just the usual blinkered outlook of Sunnydale residents in general.
“Uh, I think seeing somebody else scared them off.”
“But--didn’t you attack them?”
“Yeah, but I work out and they totally freaked. Muggers and rapists are like bunnies. Put up a good fight and they scamper like--scampering, hopping things.” Okay, that was pretty lame but the woman appeared to accept it.
“I’m not usually caught off guard like that. But I was in a hurry to take care of my baby and they took me by surprise. It won’t happen again,” she muttered darkly.
“It may happen more often than you think if you wander around Sunnydale at night. Do you have a car? If not, I can drive you wherever you need to go.” This would delay her getting to Giles. But there were more important things than cuddling with her fiancé although she wanted nothing more than to fly into his arms right now.
“No, that’s not necessary. I’m within walking distance. We’ll be fine.” Her tone was now distant and remote, a clear warning to Buffy to back off. She held the baby with a death grip; Buffy wondered why it didn’t scream from the fierceness of her hold.
“Are you sure…?”
“Yes!” The woman glared at her, spun on her heel and stalked down the street. Her feet made no sound and, within moments, she disappeared into the darkness.
“And again, you’re welcome!” Buffy shouted. Her fingers shook; she had to restrain herself from going after that woman and smacking her. She wanted to scream and shake some sense into her. Didn’t she know, didn’t any of these stupid people understand how dangerous Sunnydale was, how the most human-looking faces held something vile and evil underneath it?
Like a flashbulb popping in her head, she saw herself lying on the bathroom floor, writhing in terror as that face, that awful human face loomed over her, his clawlike hands pawing and tugging at her bathrobe while he railed about how she felt when he was inside her…
Abruptly she wheeled away and ran blindly back to her waiting car. “Giles. I’ve got to go talk to Giles,” she muttered over and over again as she turned the key in the car door with a trembling hand.
She never had truly resolved the last scene between her and Spike. She had come to terms with her own part in the ugly gropings she’d shared with the soulless vampire and she had discussed her feelings with Giles. He had understood far better than she could have hoped.
But she hadn’t told him about this. She couldn’t really talk about it to anyone. Xander had come in and seen the bruises; he had guessed what had happened. That wasn’t the same as having it out with the people who cared about her.
If she went to Giles now, he would know something was wrong. Talking only about the aborted attack on that woman might explain some of her anxiety but he’d know there was more to it than that. She didn’t want him to know. He’d be furious at Spike, sure. But he wouldn’t forgive her for letting it go so far, for not staking him when she had the chance.
But hadn’t she told him everything else? About the things she and Spike had done together? He’d forgiven her for that. Hell, she’d almost forgiven herself for it. But the attempted assault on her body was far worse than anything they’d done before it. She could feel bile pushing at the back of her throat whenever she thought about it. So she tried not to think about it. And if she couldn’t stand to think about it, how could she talk about it to anyone? Especially Giles?
She was startled out of her introspection by the loud ringing of her cell. She yanked it out of her pocket and snapped, “What?”
“Hey, hello to you too. What happened, couldn’t find the remote?”
“Dawn! What’s happening? Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. What’s got you so spooked?”
“Me? Nothing. I-I was just wondering why you were calling.”
“Uh, you told me to call, remember? You wanted me to call every hour which I think is just stupid. I mean, what if I’m in the middle of--Larry, put that down! Your mother’s gonna kill you!” Dawn’s voice came back to the phone. “Like I said, it’s all under control--no, you can’t have another cookie, Mindy. Just watch the TV, okay? LARRY, I SAID NO!”
Buffy smirked, amused in spite of her earlier wiggins. “Sounds like you’ve got your hands full.”
“Naw, I’m coping. The cash is a BIG incentive. So I’ll call you later. Bye!”
“Dawn, wait.” It was too late; her little sister had clicked off. What would she have said to her anyway? This wasn’t the sort of thing you went into with your younger sister. Never mind that Dawn had seen more than her share of horror on the Hellmouth. Buffy still cherished this absurd desire to protect her from things like this.
The thought steadied her. If she couldn’t, wouldn’t, share with her sister, then Giles was the logical choice. She couldn’t very well marry him with something this ugly secret hanging over them. And didn’t she know the worst about him, about Eyghon?
She rested her forehead on the steering wheel. The adrenalin rush from the battle had left her and all she could feel now was a churning nausea in her stomach that had nothing to do with the new life growing inside her.
The moment stretched on. Buffy knew she should move. But she could only raise her head and stare at nothing out the windshield. Then she turned the key in the ignition and pulled recklessly from the lot.
__________
Giles critically tested the contents of the pot. He preferred decent meals and as a long-time bachelor he’d acquired a certain level of skill when it came to fixing home cooking. Satisfied that the dish was ready, he spooned out a measure of rice onto his plate. He opened the can of mushy peas and ladled them on top. Buffy often teased him for his love of the vegetables, telling him she thought they were overly soft and gross. But they were a favorite food of his and they reminded him of England.
He smiled at the thought of his home country, remembering the long horseback rides and thinking wistfully of the annual trip to the Cotswolds taken by other Watchers. Being on the outs with Quentin Travers and the Council had caused him to be barred from those outings.
But there were plenty of other fun outdoor places in England. Perhaps one day he could take Buffy to see his favorite sights in England. This morning she had hinted that her home was no longer satisfactory. Yet that wasn’t quite the same as agreeing to be uprooted and taken to another continent.
Shelving the matter for the moment, he took his plate to the table. There was a slight sound behind him and he turned to see Buffy standing in the doorway. She was wearing a beautiful ensemble of green that made her eyes turn a matching color and clutching a grocery bag in her arms. But her face was subdued and she shuffled from one foot to the other in an odd show of nervousness. “Buffy. How wonderful. I was just sitting down to eat. Would you care for something?”
“Sure. I didn’t eat tonight and I’m fam. Want me to help get plates and stuff?”
“No, I know where everything is. Just sit down and I’ll serve.” He rushed to get things from the kitchen. He sensed this wasn’t merely a social call and wanted to make Buffy completely at ease. When he returned, there were a couple of boxes of mini pizzas and a box of jelly donuts piled haphazardly on the table. But she was staring blankly at the food as if she’d forgotten all about eating.
Giles made a fuss about getting everything set but in his heart there was a mounting sense of dread. Had Buffy changed her mind about the two of them? She had been demonstrative in her love and affection ever since the night she’d seduced him. But lately her emotions had been yawing out of control and now he feared she might be having second thoughts.
Manfully restraining himself from questioning her, they settled down to their meal. He tried to make small talk about his day and Buffy did her best to respond with suitable interest. However, the tension in the room cranked itself ever higher until Buffy put her fork down and sighed. Giles instantly went still; whatever this was, it was going to be bad.
“Giles, y-you remember when I told you about me and…me and Spike?”
“Yes, Buffy. I thought we’d pretty much covered everything.”
“Not everything. There was something…something happened before he left. I thought I’d put it all behind me but tonight there were these two guys--they were in an alley with this woman and they were trying…” A large lump rose up to choke off her breathing and for a second she couldn’t continue.
Giles pushed aside his plate, the meal only half-eaten, and walked over to her. Without a word, he bent his large frame and wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “Shall we adjourn to the living room? It might be easier to talk there.”
Buffy tipped her head up at him and squinted. “Oh Giles. Only you could say something like adjourn.”
“I see nothing wrong in using the Queen’s English. You might try it yourself.”
“Why should I speak the Queen’s English? She doesn’t speak mine.”
He snorted and led her out to the living room. Seating himself beside her, he made no attempt to force the conversation. He merely stroked her shoulder with one hand and her stomach with the other. Buffy was beginning to love it when he did that. It made her feel so safe and protected. Courage surged up and she spoke more evenly.
“It started when Riley came back.”
That was startling news indeed. He peered into her downcast face. “Riley Finn? I didn’t know he’d returned. What did he want?”
“Nothing special. There was a special beastie in town, something that hatches out of eggs, grows to grizzly size in one day, can devour entire towns. Sorta like an Alien dealie and he wanted me to play Ripley.”
“Pardon?”
“God, Giles. We have got to stay in one night and watch some rental movies. You seriously need an education in pop culture.”
He sniffed in mock disdain. “Yes, I’m sure I need to get my fill of Pokemon movies or some such trash. My education simply wouldn’t be complete without it. I take it Finn needed your assistance? The monster was properly dispatched?”
“Yeah. But not before Mommy Dearest laid several eggs. That’s why Riley really needed my help. We had to find the store of eggs before they hatched. Riley heard a rumor that a local guy named the Doctor was hiding them.”
When she fell silent again, he probed her gently. “I’ve never heard of this Doctor. You say he was local?”
“Yep. It turned out to be Spike.”
Giles’s eyes hardened. “That blighter. I suppose he was going to sell them for cash?”
“Probably. The thing was, when I went to question him, h-he didn’t say anything about them. You see, Riley had gotten married and she was everything he wanted. She was a great fighter, beautiful, tough, blond, head over heels in love with him and there I was, the pathetic ex flipping burgers in a crappy job and wearing a hat with chicken wings on it. I felt like shit and I wanted to be with the one person who loved me--even if I didn’t love him. So I went to Spike. Then Riley showed up. You can guess how humiliating that was.”
Giles was floored. Buffy didn’t give him the sordid details; she didn’t need to. She had made it abundantly clear that the major portion of her liaisons with Spike had nothing to do with affection. It was just cheap sex. But it was one thing to endure sex with Spike. It was quite another to have someone else witness it. “I take it Riley walked in while you were, ah…”
“No! It wasn’t that bad. H-he came afterwards when it was all over. Then he told me Spike was the Doctor and we found the eggs. They were sitting right down there in his basement and the asshole never said a word.”
Giles fought to keep revulsion and anger out of his voice as he imagined that ugly scene. “Then what happened?”
“Well, the eggs were supposed to be in a deep freeze but stupid Spike didn’t know or care. So they started to hatch and I blew up his crypt in order to destroy them. Problem solved.”
“That’s not the end of the story, surely?”
“No.” She shifted and bit her lip. “I broke up with Spike that night. He didn’t believe me, at first. I’d told him it was over before and I always came back. So he didn’t take it seriously. But this time I meant it and I thought that was the end of it.”
The anxiety he’d experienced earlier was turning into a knot of coldness in his stomach. Spike wasn’t the sort to leave just because somebody showed him the door. The worst was yet to come and it had to do with whatever had happened earlier this evening.
“I stayed away from him. I stuck to my guns this time and I felt so much better for it. I kept thinking how proud you would have been because I’d kicked him to the curb. Then one night I was injured on patrol.”
She drew in a shuddering breath. When she spoke again her voice was eerily flat. “I was going to take a bath and he just showed up in the bathroom. He acted all concerned about me. Then he was grabbing me, forcing me onto the floor, telling me that he knew I’d felt it when he was…he was…” The horror of that scene gripped her by the throat and she started to tremble.
Somehow Giles had kept his arm around her shoulder, his other hand still making those slow circles on her abdomen. He leaned his head against hers and whispered into her hair, “Buffy, you don’t have to tell me.”
“I do. I do. I don’t want to hide this and I-I didn’t tell anybody else. It’s just…I was so stupid and weak. I should have stopped him, staked him when I had the chance. It was my fault!” Her voice rose to a kind of shriek and she shook in spastic tremors, clinging to his shirt.
Giles clasped her closer, rocking her back and forth. He wanted to say a thousand things: how it wasn’t her fault that she’d erred on the side of mercy rather than caution, how she wasn’t stupid or weak-willed, how she had done the right thing.
She hadn’t done the right thing. Buffy should have staked Spike. He should have staked him after that ponce’s betrayal with Adam. Spike had deceived them repeatedly, showing them again and again that, no matter how apparently good his deeds, they stemmed from the selfish desire of the demon and sooner or later the inherent cruelty and viciousness of his nature would bleed through and injure anybody near him.
You’d think they would have learned from Angelus.
Giles said none of these things. He merely continued to rock her until Buffy’s tears subsided. She continued, albeit with much sniffling, “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“Say what? I can’t say anything except what I’ve said before. I’m so very sorry that I wasn’t here for you in your time of need. You required guidance and care--”
“Don’t forget Watcher smoochies.”
He smiled at the puerile term but continued his earlier train of thought. “I should have been here to help you and I wasn’t and because of that you turned to Spike. I am more sorry for that than I can say.”
He tipped her chin up and met her eyes, willing her to believe him. “But listen to me. Whatever Spike tried to do to you, it was not your fault. His actions stem from the same obsession with Slayers that he has always possessed. Whatever he attempted with you, it is no different than the time you fought him in the school during Parent/Teacher night, when he chained you to a wall and menaced you with Drusilla’s fangs and when he came to your dorm room to kill you after he was implanted with a chip. Spike is an obsessed monster and his actions are nothing to do with you.”
“Aren’t they? If he gets that chip out and starts killing people again, how is that any different than when I let Angelus run loose in Sunnydale after he lost his soul?” Buffy demanded.
Giles sighed. “If he had managed that, don’t you think we would have seen some sign of him back in Sunnydale by now? One of the first things he would have done is to return here and that hasn’t occurred. There would have been signs or rumors to that effect, more vampires on the rise. I believe he would have challenged you himself. It fits with his behavior. He’s not the one to skulk from a distance.”
“No, that was Angel’s shtick.” She didn’t speak again for several minutes and he was mindful not to interrupt her silence. “Giles. I thought I’d gotten over this. But when I saw those two vamps with that woman tonight, I just lost it. I started pounding on one of them like I was Faith. I was seriously out of control. I-I don’t want to go back home tonight.” She paused and then whispered, “Can I stay here with you?”
“Absolutely. You don’t need to ask, Buffy.”
“Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting in the way of any plans.”
“Well, I did have a rousing game of Old Maid planned. But I suppose it could wait for another time.”
A faint, watery smile rested briefly on her face. “I’ll just head upstairs and brush my teeth and then I’ll be good to go.” She stood and glanced in the direction of the living room. “Let me help you clean up.”
“No, I’m quite capable…”
“Giles, please. I-it’ll help...” She gulped and clasped herself around the arms. “It’ll just help. Okay?”
He was about to protest when he saw the desperation in her eyes. No matter how much she wanted the comfort of sleep, she really wanted to prolong being with him even more. So he merely nodded and accompanied her to pick up the abandoned place settings.
Standing beside her while they washed and dried the dishes together, Giles was struck with the placid domesticity of the scene. They had been trading visits back and forth between their respective domiciles since declaring their couplehood to their mutual friends. But they hadn’t shared duties between the two of them before this. It was pleasantly homey and he glanced at her to see a soft smile on her face. One look from her sparkling eyes and he knew she’d been struck by the same thought.
“Isn’t this sweet?” she murmured. “Eating together, washing dishes…”
“Going to bed without sex. It’s like we’re married already,” he teased.
“Ha ha.” She bumped his hip with hers and resumed the drying process.
Giles had let her wash up first and waited behind the door. She had kissed and caressed him briefly before stepping into the bathroom but he’d sensed how much she needed comfort rather than sexual intimacy and restrained himself from taking it further. After he’d performed his ablutions and clothed himself modestly in pajamas, he’d walked slowly into the darkened bedroom to see her tiny figure already huddled under the covers. Without a word, he’d slid into bed beside her. She waited until he’d settled beside her and then turned to embrace him. “Giles, this is so nice.”
“I agree. It’s rather pleasant indeed.”
She raised her head to peer at him. “Even without the sex?”
He smiled even though he was certain she couldn’t see it. “Buffy, do you remember my telling you my idea of romance?”
She thought back to that conversation. “Oh, yeah. We’d seen that movie and you were revolted by the sex.”
“I wasn’t revolted,” he corrected. “I just thought there should have been more to cinematic romantic displays than sexual shenanigans that would have shamed Mick Jagger.”
“Whatever. And you said romance was about not talking about anything because you’d gotten the important stuff out of the way, foot massages--I’m gonna be expecting those when I’m six months gone so don’t think you can wiggle out of it, mister--watching her shop for clothes so you could see them around her ankles afterwards…”
“And going to bed cuddling because you crave each other’s company even when you’re too tired for the sex,” he finished.
“Oh, yeah!” She thought about that and rested her head on his chest. Running her fingers over his pajama top, she murmured, “So this is romance, huh? Kinda liking it, Rupert.”
“It does have its moments.” He curled his arm around her as she shuffled upwards. When she’d achieved the perfect spot under his chin, she settled with a contented sigh. He kissed the top of her head and whispered, “Sleep well, Buffy.”
“Night, Rupert,” she muttered sleepily.
Privately Giles thought it would take more than one talk before her brush with sexual assault would be resolved. He ground his teeth at the thought of that miserable wretch brutalizing his Buffy that way. Once more he thought of all the various tortures he would love to inflict on that undead body if Spike were ever within his reach. He recalled the various agonies Angelus had visited upon his own flesh. Maybe he could borrow a chainsaw from Xander…
“Rupert?”
He started at the sound of her voice. He’d thought her asleep. “Yes, Buffy?”
“Don’t stress over it, okay? I don’t want you beating yourself up over what he did to me.”
Giles blinked in surprise. “How did you know what I was thinking?”
“My hand’s on your chest. I could feel your heart beating faster and I figured it wasn’t because you’d changed your mind about getting Buffy tail.”
“I’m sorry.” He breathed deeply in an attempt to slow his heartbeat. “Better?”
“Much.” The bed shifted as she moved and a soft kiss was pressed to the tip of his nose. “Good night, Jellybelly.”
The endearment touched and calmed him; he suspected that was her intention. “Good night, dearest.”

TBC
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What a Mother Wouldn't Do