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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.

Chapter List
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It felt like a weight had been lifted. She’d heard that phrase before but hadn’t really experienced anything like it since she’d been called as a Slayer. After Merrick had shown up and trained her for her calling, she’d always sensed the weight of the world on her shoulders. With few exceptions, it rarely seemed to lift.
Slayer. The one girl in all the world, blah blah blippity blah. Even when she’d burned down the gym at Hemery and relocated to Sunnydale, the invisible burden hadn’t ever lifted. She’d hoped to leave it all behind her; all she’d been worried about was having the wrong style clothes or last year’s hair. Then a certain Mr. Rupert Giles had slammed down a book bearing the word “Vampyr” on the cover and she knew the horror would start all over again.
No matter where she went the responsibility and toil of Slayerdom followed. She’d grown somewhat accustomed to it during her tenure on the Hellmouth, enough to worry when her powers apparently vanished, enough to wig over Kendra and resist Faith’s attempts to wrest her mantle away. But she’d never really grown to be thrilled beyond all measure over it.
Her friends helped, sure. She was beyond grateful for all the support Willow, Xander and even Cordelia had shown her. Angel had been a real help once he stopped skulking in the shadows and decided to throw his manly strength into the ring. But always lurking in the background was the word “Slayer” winking at her in bright neon letters. That had been proven when they forcibly wrested her from her final reward. But now for the first time there was a lightness of spirit and it came from her Watcher.
It didn’t really make any sense. He was the first one to shove her Slayerhood in her face when she got to Sunnydale; he of all people was the one she should resent the most. But she didn’t. He was a sober, calm presence in the whirlwind that was her life. He lacked Xander’s constant goofiness, Willow’s babbling, bubbling energy, Cordelia’s snide commentary and Angel’s grief. That’s what put him head and shoulders above them. He provided her with a steady…center for want of a better word. Giles was the symbol of the best adulthood had to offer and finally she had caught up to him.
After unloading her private shame to him, she actually felt better. The puking, formerly making its appearance at all times of the day (lending the lie to the term “morning” sickness), had tapered off. That made her bold enough to suggest the next step. “Giles, I think we should tell them.”
“Must we?” He gazed wistfully at her still-flat stomach as he drove to pick up Dawn. “We’ve only kept this to ourselves for the last three weeks. I thought a little longer…”
“A little longer and I’m going to need to let my pants out. I think Dawn is going to notice something,” Buffy warned. “Besides, I want to start making preparations for the wedding before I have to waddle down the aisle.”
“Then let’s tell them about the wedding. We should have that soon. It will be just our few friends and shouldn’t require lengthy preparations. I’m sure you won’t be showing until your fourth month or so. Surely we can get wed before then.”
“Get wed. I love your Gilespeak.” She darted across the car seat and gave him a swift kiss on the cheek. He smiled at the brush of her lips and thought about Buffy dressed in white. The thought of their wedding produced the most confounding sensation in his stomach. He was anxious and a trifle giddy all at once. This gorgeous woman beside him had agreed to be his bride. A swell of pride surged in his breast and the anxiety vanished.
Dawn was talking a mile a minute as she came into the car. “Buffy, you’ll never guess what happened today!” When no curiosity was forthcoming, she persisted, “Well, come on. Guess!”
Buffy pretended to yawn. “One of your teachers turned into a giant insect?”
“No!”
“The lunchroom was overrun by snakes?” Giles asked.
Dawn pouted. “Fine. I get it. Dawn’s school life is so much more boring than Buffy’s. So sue me. Not all of us get to be Slayers, you know.”
Buffy relented at the stifled envy in her sister’s voice. She forgot how left out of her life Dawn sometimes felt. “Hey, not meaning to rain on your parade, Dawnie. So what’s the dealie at school?”
Dawn brightened. “They want us to do a book report.”
Her sister craned her head back over the front seat. “That’s the big news? Book report, schmook report. What’s so earthshaking about that?”
“Well, it was a sociology experiment ‘cause the teacher wanted to show what people were reading in modern times and I picked that new Harlequin romance with Giles on the cover--”
“Dawn!” The outcry came from both people in the front seat and Dawn was treated to twin glares from her sister and the tall Englishman.
“What? It’s modern literature,” she protested.
“It’s literary swill,” Giles countered, scowling. “No wonder American literacy is at an all-time low.”
“Here we go. More of that snooty, tooty English snobbiness,” Buffy replied, puffing out her lips in exasperation.
“This from the girl who couldn’t tell Emily Dickens from Emily Dickenson,” Giles countered. He resumed chiding the young Summers girl. “Dawn, I know you’re at the age when books of that, that, nature are riveting reading. But how your teacher can think such trash would constitute suitable material for a book report is beyond me.”
“I told you, Giles. This is a sociological study or something. The teacher wants us to show how modern lit has its effects on people’s lives. And since this book helped bring you and my sister together, I thought it qualified.”
“To be fair, Dawn, the book didn’t bring us together. It was your bogus entry in that contest. You gonna tell your teacher how you forged two names, lied about Giles’ status as a non-alien and snapped semi-nude pictures of your future brother-in-law?”
Buffy realized her slip just as Giles flung an exasperated look at her and Dawn squealed. “Brother-in-law? Are you and Giles getting married? Cool! This is so great! When are you doing it? Can I be your maid of honor? I mean, who else would you pick? Okay, maybe Willow but I’m your sister! Hey, can I invite Kit?”
“Oops. Sorry, Giles,” Buffy muttered.
“Well, we were going to tell them anyway so I suppose no real harm done,” Giles sighed.
Dawn leaned from the back seat. “What? Was it supposed to be a secret? When were you going to tell me?”
“We meant to tell you all today. We just wanted to get everybody together. We were going to meet at Giles’s place and then spring the news,” Buffy explained.
“We’re both going to be cooking a sit-down meal for all of you. We want to do this up right,” the tall Englishman added.
“Can I help?”
“Uh…” Memories of peanut butter quesadillas rose and Buffy felt a tightening in her stomach that had nothing to do with the baby. “You can set out the plates.”
“Done. But I’m still writing that book report. The book’s not so bad either. It’s about this young woman who’s studying paleontology who meets this charming but repressed archaeologist while on a dig in Africa. It’s sort of a Jurassic Park meets Pride and Prejudice dealie.”
“Good Lord,” Giles sighed.
“Spare me,” Buffy muttered.
Dawn giggled. “Man, you’re even starting to sound alike. Next thing you know Buffy will be saying things like ‘tosh’ and ‘fiddle dee dee.’ “
Buffy snorted in amused contempt. “As if!”
“So is this going to be an outdoor wedding or indoor?” Dawn asked, her mind jumping back to the subject of her sister’s upcoming nuptials.
“We’re not sure yet. But we’re keeping it simple. Just our few friends, maybe your friends from school. We don’t want a big crowd.”
“No lime green dresses, okay, Buffy? That’s all I ask.” A shudder passed over the younger Summers woman as she recalled the hideous monstrosity she’d been forced to don for Anya’s aborted wedding.
“Sure. How about lavender?”
“Oh, ugh!”
“Rose pink with ruffles? Sky blue with spangles? Oh and it’s gotta have puffy sleeves. No bridesmaid dress is complete without puffy sleeves, right, Giles?”
Giles hunched over the steering wheel and sighed as the girls traded banter and sarcastic quips. “Leave me out of this, please. Just let me do what my father did: dress like the bloke on the cake and show up.”
Peals of laughter greeted this resigned statement as they pulled up in front of Giles’s place.
__________
“So what’s the haps? Is there evil afoot? Should we be sharpening our axes?” Xander rubbed his hands together as Anya sniffed.
“You can’t handle axes, Xander. Anything bigger than a dagger and you’d slice your foot off. Stick to crossbows.”
“And how would you know?” Xander retorted. “It’s not like you’re joining us on patrols any more. You wouldn’t know jack about my fighting skills, Anya.”
“Other than you’re really good with a wrecking ball? No, I guess not.”
“Giles and Buffy are getting married,” Dawn blurted out, eager to spring the news before the scene deteriorated into petty bickering.
“You are?” Willow said. She flung her arms around Buffy and squeezed her tightly. “Oh, Buffy! That’s wonderful news! It’s about time, too,” she added.
“About time? Come on, we’ve only been together just a little over two months. You don’t think we’re rushing things?” Buffy queried even as she patted Willow on the back.
Her red-haired friend drew back. “No way! I could tell that Giles has been in love with you for years. Just because you finally woke up and smelled the tea is no reason for you two to hold back because of some fussy idea of waiting and taking your time and ‘oh, Giles, this is so sudden’ nonsense and I’m so glad the two of you are getting married and can I not wear lime green again?” She stuttered to a stop and muttered to Xander, “You’re supposed to stop me when I do that, you know.”
“No, that was Tara’s job,” Anya stated and Willow’s face grew tense and dark.
Xander’s lips thinned but he gently steered the conversation away to safer subjects. “So, G-Man. You got anyone in mind for your best man? Not that I’m hinting or anything since I only helped install that soundproofing in Buffy’s room free of charge.”
“Yeah, he probably still has his tux, too. Might as well get the full use out of it,” Anya muttered.
“Okay, Anya, that’s enough!” Buffy barked. The room fell into silence as she glared at the ex-vengeance demon. “This is supposed to be about me and Giles not your personal drama. You got things you need to hash out with Xander? Fine but do it on your own time. We told you because you’re our friend, believe it or not, and we want all of our friends there at the ceremony. If you don’t think you’re going to be able to behave yourself or we think you’re going to make a scene, then you can forget about attending and just spend the day making money at the Magic Box. Got it?”
There was a moment’s silence then Anya sniffed again. “Oh, I can behave myself, all right. I’m not so sure Xander can. You can’t tell with him. He might just forget to come or run out during the ceremony or forget the rings--”
“That’s it, Anya. Shut. Up,” Dawn ordered.
“Oh, look who’s giving orders! The little thief! You still haven’t worked off the debt from the stuff you stole, you know, so don’t tell me what to do!” Anya yelled.
“Well, Anya, since you seem to have a grievance with almost everybody in this room, I take it you’re not coming to the wedding?” The quiet statement from Giles caught everyone’s attention and all eyes turned to Anya.
“No. No, I’m not. It doesn’t seem fair that you and Buffy get a happy ending and that I have to watch. That’s just cruel, vengeance demon cruel, and I don’t want to deal with it. Count me out, Giles.” She walked to the front door and slammed it as she left.
Buffy smiled feebly at the others. “Oh, that went well.”
“Look on the bright side--that’s one less dress to order,” Willow ventured.
“Good riddance, I say,” was Dawn’s added comment.
Xander couldn’t stand by and let them take potshots at his former fiancée no matter how well deserved. “Dawn, that’s not fair. Anya’s in real pain and it’s all my fault.”
“Don’t defend her, Xander,” Dawn shot back. “That crack about Tara was mucho insensitive…even for her.”
“You didn’t hear the one about cutting up your mother after she died,” Willow mumbled. Dawn paled and Buffy clasped her around the shoulders.
“Ugh. I’m so glad we weren’t there for that,” the tiny blonde woman sighed. “Maybe that’s the best we could have hoped for from her.”
“Let’s hope she doesn’t try leveling any vengeance our way,” Dawn added. Her brow creased as the thought appeared to worry her. “Do you think we should worry about vengeance spells?”
“No. Anya wouldn’t do that.” Xander looked up and saw everybody’s gaze on him, varying looks of disbelief on their faces. “Okay, maybe she would think about doing that. But the vengeance would be against me and she got her licks in good last year. She’s not gonna hurl anything your way just because you two get to live in wedded bliss. By the way, since I didn’t say it earlier, congratulations, G-Man.”
“Thank you, Xander. That’s much appreciated. If the offer still stands, I would like very much for you to be my best man.”
“Yay me. Guess I better get home and brush off that tux.” He and Giles hugged each other awkwardly and Xander trudged out.
“Poor Xander. He’s really hurting, isn’t he?” Willow murmured. It really pained to see her best friend aching like this over Anya. It hadn’t been nearly so bad when he’d been mooning uselessly after Buffy or kicking himself over ruining his relationship with Cordelia.
But Anya still wouldn’t ease up on him even though she’d screwed things up just as badly by sleeping with Spike. Willow wasn’t sure she could forgive her for that. True, Buffy had done the same. But she had hurt only herself by her actions. Anya had trampled Xander’s heart into the dust. The worst part was she didn’t even seem to feel she had done something wrong!
Willow chewed her lip. She simply had to help Xander. But after her actions of last year, she was leery of anything that reeked of magic. But what else was there to try?
Unaware of the wiccan’s inner struggle, Buffy hugged Giles. “You really think Anya might be dangerous, Giles?”
“It’s hard to say. She doesn’t seem to have cast any vengeance spells since Xander left her. And if she didn’t do it then when the wound was fresh, she might be disinclined to take action now,” he murmured.
“Or she could be super pissed off because you and Giles are getting married and she isn’t. You heard her; it’s like we’re digging into an old wound. Well, peeling the scabby ickiness off an old wound and then digging into it. Anya’s never dealt with what Xander did to her and I’m thinking we could be seeing an explosion any day now. We should do something to head her off. Who’s with me?” Dawn asked, raising her hand.
Buffy didn’t say anything but her jaw clenched. She didn’t want to admit that her little sister could be right. Correction. Not so little. Dawn’s been through a lot and she’s grown up a lot faster than most kids on the Hellmouth. She’s got a right to her opinion.
But Xander needs Anya back in his life. He still loves her in spite of the groinage with Spike.
So how do we help him?
Does he really need help? Does he really need her? He’s getting along just fine. And Anya’s got herself some issues. Chucking her humanity every time she gets dissed in love doesn’t make her an ideal candidate for anybody. Maybe Xander is right to keep away from her.
That was an uncharitable thought but one that kept popping into her head at odd moments. She still remembered that scene she’d witnessed on Willow’s computer when Spike and Anya were grinding away in the Magic Box. While Buffy felt nothing like jealousy over it, she couldn’t help but understand Xander’s pain. No matter what Anya’s excuse might have been, the ex-demon had hurt one of Buffy’s friends. Did she really deserve to get Xander back?
Getting no answer but a mental shrug, Buffy glanced up to catch Willow’s equally thoughtful gaze. The redheaded girl looked furtive and yet resolved as if she were also hatching a plan. The two women communicated silently for a second and Buffy decided to talk to Willow alone as soon as she got the chance.
But Giles caught the look. “Willow, no magic.”
“What? Giles, I wasn’t going to--”
“Yes, you were. I can see it in your eyes so don’t deny it,” Giles replied.
“Well, yes. But I wasn’t going to cast a spell on them, I swear! I-I was just thinking of the spell I used to lock you in Buffy’s room when you two--” Willow recalled Dawn’s presence and flamed up to her eyebrows.
“When they what? Oh my god, is that what got the two of you boinking? Willow locked you two in a room together? That’s so romantic--and kinda kinky, when you think about it,” Dawn mused aloud.
“It was Buffy’s idea,” Willow said defensively although her face was still red with embarrassment.
Time to stop this line of conversation before her sister got too inquisitive. “Never mind that. But if it worked for me and Giles, I’m thinking it might help to sort out the wreckage that is Xander and Anya.”
It sounded like a plan to Dawn. “Sure. If it got the two of you humping, then it’s bound to do the trick with Anya the sex machine. So how do we get them together? They can’t stand to be in the same room right now.”
Willow didn’t see that as a problem. “We can do what we did today. Get them together for a Scooby meeting and then walk out and leave them alone.”
Giles shook his head. He hated to put a damper on their enthusiasm. But they had to understand there was a bigger problem here. “That may not be enough. Anya and Xander’s problems run far deeper than a simple desire to delay sex as I wished to do with Buffy. Having sexual relations won’t necessarily make things any better for them. Judging by Anya’s conversations of the past, she seems to rely too much on the physical to sort out her problems.”
“Maybe that’s why she had sex with Spike,” Dawn sniffed, her nose wrinkling.
Giles stared at her in shock. “Anya slept with Spike?” He turned to Buffy. “You didn’t tell me that.” His look was accusing and she shrank from the reproach she could see sparking in the depths of his eyes.
“I-it wasn’t my secret to tell. Anyway, I think it was just the once. She was hurting and Spike just happened to be there…” She hugged herself and looked away. Anya’s situation was so akin to hers she couldn’t help but feel a sting. Looking back on what Anya did made her own actions seem even more stupid. Anya did use sex to solve her problems; you’d think I would have learned not to do that with Parker.
Was Giles thinking about her bump-uglies sessions with Spike? She risked a peek at his face but his expression had turned unreadable. He merely asked quietly, “Does Xander know about that?”
Buffy and Willow didn’t answer so Dawn filled him in. “Yeah. They were being filmed by Warren and his team of fellow perverts and w-we all saw it on the computer. He tried to kill Spike after that. I think Buffy stopped him.”
This last comment truly pained Giles. After all that Spike had done to her, she still retained enough feeling to prevent his death at the hands of the man he had wronged. Did she still feel that way about the vampire? What would she do if he ever returned? Giles pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind and pressed on as if the revelation was unimportant. “Be that as it may, Anya may pressure Xander for sex but I believe he’s matured enough to realize it won’t necessarily mend fences between them.”
“T-then there can’t be any harm in getting them together, can there? I mean, sex aside, they’re gonna have to talk to each other if we lock them up. What else can they do?” Willow asked.
“Kill each other?” Dawn muttered.
Giles replied, “Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
However, they couldn’t come up with any viable reason to meet again. Also finding a suitable location for a forced tryst proved more problematic than any of them had realized. Buffy didn’t want her house off limits to her, Willow and Dawn while Xander and Anya hashed out their difficulties and Giles flatly refused to let his house become a liaison for one horny ex-demon and her reluctant ex-fiancé.
“I know!” Buffy said. “We could lock them in the back room of the Magic Box. It’s soundproofed already and the door is solid.”
“But what excuse could we use for getting both of them back there? Xander doesn’t exactly make the Magic Box his home any more.”
“Yes, that is a problem.” Giles pulled at his lower lip, turning over various plots in his head and discarding them. Finally he lit on one and his eyes brightened. “I think I may know the answer.”
“What?” Six pairs of eyes lit on him expectantly and he outlined his plan.
“I’ll have something delivered to the Magic Box in a very large crate, something too big for Anya to open by herself. I ask Xander there, ostensibly to help me plan my bachelor party--”
“You’re going to have a bachelor party?” Buffy interrupted, her eyes stormy.
“No, of course not. It’s merely a ruse. Anya says she has difficulty opening the crate. I offer Xander’s help, he goes into the back room--”
“--And we lock the door on them!” Willow finished with a big grin.
“Do we even need magic for that? The back room door has a pretty good lock. Remember, Giles?” Buffy cooed at her lover and waggled her eyebrows. He smirked back, a Ripper-like gleam in his green eyes.
Dawn waved her hands. “TMI! I’m still reeling from seeing you two getting boink-y on the couch.”
Willow added her two cents. “Better make it 48 hours. Anya could outlast Xander.”
Buffy didn’t think that would be a problem. “Not where her beloved store is concerned. All the time she’s trapped, she’ll be frantic that she’s losing sales. She’ll wrap things up quickly if only to avoid losing money.”
Giles smiled at Buffy in admiration. He hadn’t thought of that but of course she was right. More than sex, Anya adored money. However, she was also stubborn and her feelings had been hurt just as Xander’s had. Best to err on the side of caution. “Willow’s suggestion has merit, however. Another day would allow considerable time for proper reconciliation.
“Then we should do this on a weekend,” Willow stated. “What are ya gonna order, Giles?”
“Ah. Hmmm. That is a point. It should be fairly large yet small enough to get through the back door.”
Dawn offered the first thing that came to mind. “A statue? Something in marble or stone so that it’s really heavy.”
Giles shook his head regretfully. “No. Too cumbersome. And who would buy a large statue? I’d be stuck with the wretched thing.”
“Ooh! I know!” Willow cried. “How about a bookshelf? With books to go with it? Magic books of course. Maybe the Council would be willing to send over some stuff if you told them you needed them?”
“Capital suggestion except that the Council would demand to know exactly why I would need esoteric books that couldn’t be found here. I doubt telling them we’re attempting to mend a domestic rift would sway them. Besides, bookshelves rarely come in crates. Delivery usually just entails putting them on a lorry and having the delivery men place them in your home,” Giles pointed out.
The redhead shrugged. “Then I’m thinking a statue or maybe valuable artifacts are the only way to go, Giles.”
“Too bad we don’t still have Acathla,” Buffy mused. After sending Angel to hell, the others had had the thing destroyed with very heavy mallets. So no joy there.
Giles brightened. “I have several valuable books that I left behind in England. I can have them sent here with the request that they be crated. That should solve the difficulty.”
Another sunny smile spread itself over Buffy’s face. “Terrific! That’s all settled then. We’ll have Xander and Anya smooching in no time. What’s the fastest FedEx can get them here?”
“I’ll have to make a call to my solicitor in England and have him open the flat. Then he’ll simply pack up all my books and send them here.”
“Why are your books still in England, Giles? Weren’t you planning on staying here in Sunnydale? You’ve been here for almost three months. What’s the deal?” The accusing note in Dawn’s voice didn’t escape Giles and his answer was defensive.
“I’ve been making quite a few cross-Pacific trips in the past year. While the Council is unaware of Buffy’s return from the dead, such trips are bound to rouse suspicion. So I left the majority of my personal belongings there as a ruse.”
Willow was the first to figure it out. “Oh! So if they think you aren’t staying then they won’t have any reason to think that Buffy’s alive. Good thinking, Giles. But if you marry Buffy won’t they get word of it back in England? I mean, one of their Council members getting hitched--that’s bound to attract attention.”
“One of the reasons I didn’t let them know about Buffy’s resurrected status was because I could see what a fragile state of mind she was in. If the Council realized that she was less than stable, they might have taken active measures to remove her.”
“Like they did with Faith,” Buffy murmured, remembering all too well how she’d been treated by the Council’s goons when she’d been stuck in Faith’s body.
Giles nodded. “Yes, well, I’m hoping my marital status will act as a kind of immunity for her. When they do learn of Buffy’s re-entry into the world, I want them to understand that she is stable, happy and of sound mind.”
“And how better than by marrying the guy Harlequin romances deemed the most sexy and attractive boyfriend ever. Well, it’s true!” Dawn ended when she saw Willow blush and Buffy roll her eyes.
“Y-yes. Well, I have a phone call to make,” Giles added.
“And with that I say we’ve got our assignment. Operation Xander and Anya is officially a go, people!” Buffy grinned as she, Willow and Dawn high fived each other.
Giles picked up the phone, offering up a silent prayer that the training room survive the upcoming ordeal.
__________
Willow had thought it a good idea to be absent for the planned Xander-and-Anya get together. She still had problems keeping a secret especially from someone who knew her as long as Xander did. She wasn’t sure she could keep from blowing things if he saw her around. However, Buffy said she should be close by just in case they needed to open the doors prematurely. Privately the Slayer wasn’t as convinced that Xander could handle Anya if she decided to get nasty with him.
But they’d locked the two of them together over two hours ago and things had been ominously silent ever since. Giles pointed out that it would be given the soundproofing but Buffy wasn’t exactly appeased. She decided to scoot outside and see if she could catch sight of anything through the windows. Giles had protested, saying the two deserved privacy, but Buffy had replied that she’d duck out the minute she saw anything sex related. “I just want to make sure Anya hasn’t gutted Xander or anything. Be right back!”
Xander watched as Anya clenched her fists and battered at the door. After a moment, she stamped her foot in apparent frustration. “I don’t believe it! Nobody’s answering and I know they’re out there. God, I wish I still had my powers. I’d break down this door so fast your head would spin,” she groused.
“Quit it, An. You’re obviously wasting your time.” Xander rubbed his head. All that pounding was giving him a headache.
“Ha ha, mister. It’s easy for you to be smug. You’re not locked out of your beloved store.”
“No, I’m locked away with a crazed ex-vengeance demon. I’m just the picture of calm, aren’t I?”
Anya tried tugging ineffectually on the door handle again. “Xander, this is ridiculous! I can’t stay cooped up in here! And neither can you! You’ve got work; I’ve got to tend to the shop!”
“Anya, I was given a promotion; my men can handle a couple of days without me. And Giles can run the shop…”
“Like hell he can. He’s strictly management. When it comes to making sales, I’m the driving force out there and he knows it! And I know more about the merchandise than he ever could. Let’s not forget the mistake he made when he sold those items to Glory.” Anya began banging on the door again.
Xander waited until she tired herself out before speaking. “You saw the note, Anya. We’re stuck in here for the next two days.”
“But there’s no place to sleep!”
“We’ve got the mats.” Xander pointed to the mats neatly piled against the wall.
“And what about food? Have you thought of that?” Anya demanded.
“They’ve got a mini fridge and the showers. You saw what that note said. We’re only going to be in here for two days so it’s not like we’re gonna starve to death. Willow saw to that so you might as well calm down.”
“I can’t believe they put Willow up to this,” she fumed. “I thought she wasn’t going to misuse her magic any more. I just wish I could create my own vengeance. I’d turn her into a toad or a rat like Amy so she couldn’t do any more damage!”
“All right, Anya, that’s it!” The yell from Xander took her completely by surprise and Anya spun around to see the brown-eyed man glaring at her. “Willow isn’t trying to hurt you. She’s trying to help us sort out our difficulties. Sounds to me like she’s really concerned about us…”
“You mean she’s really concerned about you. I doubt she’s got my well-being in mind,” Anya snapped.
“Granted. But she’s trying to help which is more than you’re doing. You’re just interested in leveling vengeance. How does that make her the bad guy?”
“Because it’s all about helping you and you’re the one who ran out on me!” Anya yelled back. “Do you know I went to all of them when I reappeared after you ran out on me and not a single one of them blamed you? They were so full of sympathy for you but none of them cared about how I felt. Willow, Tara, Dawn and Buffy are all your friends. None of them gave a damn that I was the one suffering!”
“Is that why you turned to Spike? Because your real friends weren’t trashing me but the demon who tried to kill Buffy, Willow and me was on your side?” Xander snapped.
“No. Spike was all about solace. He made me feel worthwhile and told me he liked honest women. You were always trying to muzzle me and correct me whenever I talked.”
“No, that’s not true. I wanted you to be honest. I just didn’t think you had to hurt people’s feelings or babble about our sex life all the time, that’s all. Besides, you didn’t care what Spike thought about you. You just wanted sex and he wanted sex. You used each other. So don’t talk now like the two of you were big friends.”
“Well, I won’t deny that. I’d been having sex for a long time. It’s tough to go without it all at once. Spike was very handy, limber, energetic and he smelled really good--”
“You know, I’m beginning to think you’re right. This was a stupid idea. They can’t possibly expect me to get back together with you.” Xander strode away from her angrily and sat down on one of the bleacher benches.
Anya’s eyes narrowed. “That’s what’s really bothering you, isn’t it? You hate me now just because I screwed Spike?”
“It’d be a pretty good excuse, wouldn’t it?” Xander countered. “I hated that Buffy went for demons over ordinary guys. So I’d be a pretty big whopping hypocrite if I thought it was okay to set up house with you after you’d done the same thing.”
__________
Buffy peered through the bottom of the window. She was sure the two inside couldn’t see her; they seemed thoroughly focused on each other. But things didn’t look good. Anya was walking up and down, waving her arms, looking absolutely pissed off while Xander was sitting on the benches, his shoulders slumped. They didn’t look anywhere near a reconciliation and Buffy began to think this might have been a bad idea.
Giles stood behind the counter, straightening up as the bell rang over the front door. “Hello and welcome to the Magic Box. How may I assist you?” He smiled invitingly at the woman in the front door. He could do this; it’s not as if he hadn’t worked the cash register before now.
It was a brunette woman in a shimmering green coat. She glanced around the store as if assessing its potential to provide what she needed. Then she nodded with a small half smile; apparently it met with her approval. “I was wondering whether you sold silver crosses.” Her voice had musical, lilting tones with a faint hint of an accent. It had a haunting quality that seemed to fade in and out as she spoke making it difficult for Giles to pinpoint its origin.
“Yes, we do, actually.” He gestured her over to the register and waved his hand at the various crosses and crucifixes on display.
She pored over them, a dainty finger stroking her chin while she considered them. Finally she pointed to a filigreed cross with tiny rubies sparkling among the intricate curlicues. “That one. I love those red stones. They’re so...inviting.”
Inviting to what? He’d learned not to question his customers’ tastes unless they proved too unusual. The blunder when he’d sold Glory those dangerous goods still rankled. But no other comment was forthcoming and he didn’t see anything particularly harmful in the purchase of a cross. He pulled the cross from its tray and dropped it into a small bag. “That will be $60 plus tax,” he told her, ringing it up on the cash register.
She smiled pleasantly and he felt his stomach flutter. She was much nicer than those other women who had been after him and he felt himself warming to her. As she passed him the money, he paused and sniffed the air. This close to her, he detected a palpable odor of garlic, far stronger than the jars Anya sold would be accountable for.
The woman noticed and smiled in embarrassment. “Oh, you’re noticing the garlic, are you?”
“Um, yes. Rather. Are you carrying it?” He glanced at the large shopping bag by her side.
“I’m afraid so. Certain recent incidents have made it necessary. I was attacked last night and I understand these make suitable repellants.”
“Surely pepper spray would be a better deterrent against attackers?” Giles queried.
“Not against these kind of attackers.” Her eyes glinted and Giles was astonished at the incredible rage welling up in their depths. “I’m lucky that small blonde woman came along and saved me.”
The answer clicked into place. “Heavens. That was you?”
She lifted her eyebrows in mild surprise. “Pardon? What do you know about it?”
“My fiancée told me about this late night encounter she had with a woman in a green coat. She rescued her from a pair of--”
“Vampires?” Her white teeth flashed in response to his dumbfounded look. “Oh, I know what those things were. It’d be hard to live in this town and not know about them, wouldn’t it?”
“Quite. Yet most of the people here seem to live in a state of deliberate blissful ignorance. How is it you’re aware of hellish bloodsuckers?”
She spread her hands in a self-deprecating gesture. “I’m not a witch or anything if that’s what you’re thinking. I just come from an old family. We’ve long been aware of things that go bump in the night. The difference is we don’t dismiss them as fairy tales when we grow up as so many modern people do.” She changed the subject abruptly. “So what is your fiancée? She took care of those creatures quite handily. Is she an immortal being of some sort?”
“Hardly. She’s also aware of the presence of the things that go bump in the night. She takes martial arts in order to deal with them.” Giles thought it best not to mention Buffy’s status as a Slayer. It wasn’t just his usual reticence on the subject. He’d been quite quick to tell Xander and Willow about it. But something whispered to him to be cautious and he said no more.
The woman tilted her head to the side and regarded him with an avid, unblinking stare. It was as if she knew there was more he wasn’t telling. She gave a knowing smile and murmured, “You know, in all this conversation I haven’t asked her name or yours. I’m Agnetha Icqueen.” She held out her hand and he shook it automatically.
“Rupert Giles.”
“Rupert.” She rolled the name in her mouth like a chocolate candy and the flutter in his stomach returned. “English?”
“Y-yes.” Damn, he was stuttering again. Really, this woman had the most remarkable effect on him. He usually didn’t feel this out of sorts unless he was talking to Buffy. For some reason he found himself on the other side of the counter. Giles wondered when he had removed himself from behind the register. The woman smiled again, her dark eyes twinkling, and the question vanished from his mind.
“And what’s her name?”
“Buffy. Buffy Summers.”
Her face went blank. “You’re joking.”
“I assure you I’m not.”
She brought her hand up to her mouth and giggled a bubbly laugh. “I shouldn’t mock. Her name could be Susie the Goblin Eater for all I care. She saved my life and that’s all that matters. Is she anywhere about the premises? I’m afraid the whole incident was so terrifying I didn’t thank her properly.”
“Ah, no. She’s looking in on some friends.” He resisted the urge to glance at the training room door.
“So when’s the happy day?”
“Excuse me?”
“She said she was your fiancée. Have you set a date?”
“Well, yes, we have. But that’s something I prefer to discuss with friends and family.”
She sat looking at him speculatively for a minute. She had the most remarkable dark eyes, he noticed distractedly. They were brown with a darker, almost black, ring around the iris. When the light hit them at a certain angle, they looked almost as red as the stones in her new cross. He wasn’t certain whether he liked them or not. But he couldn’t deny the stirring effect they had on his senses.
“She’s a really lucky woman,” Agnetha murmured. “I hope she knows that.”
“I’m a truly lucky man,” he countered.
She smiled and flung her arms around him. Giles started and automatically returned her embrace, patting her on the back. The next moment soft lips met his and her grip tightened around his shoulders.
It was the eeriest feeling. There was an erotic tingling that raced across his nerves, one that seemed to overpower every notion of the wrongness of this situation. In seconds, thoughts of Buffy shattered and flew apart, buried under the onslaught of sensation. The room seemed to stand still; all Giles could hear was the blood beating in his ears.
She drew back in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. I just--it just seemed like the thing to do. I forgot how emotionally withdrawn the English are.”
Giles swayed, feeling absurdly as if he might pass out. It took a moment for her words to register. “I-I…” He cleared his throat and tried again. “I prefer to think of us as emotionally--reticent,” he protested faintly.
Then he heard it. There was a stifled sound behind him and Giles turned his head to see Buffy staring at them in disbelief. The next moment, the blonde woman turned and bolted from the store.
“Buffy!” Giles disentangled himself from Agnetha’s arms and ran to the front door. Already, she was far down the block and with her Slayer speed he knew he had little chance of catching her. But he had to try and he set out on foot after her, leaving the store.
Willow looked out from over the balcony and rushed down the inner stairwell as Giles raced out. “Giles! Giles, wait! Where are you going?” She looked helplessly after him and only then noticed the bemused Agnetha. The woman hadn’t moved, staring after the departing couple with a curious stillness. She noticed Willow at last and stiffened. The two women locked gazes and then the woman in green ran towards the front door.
“Hey, you! Come back here!” Willow didn’t know what had upset her best girlfriend and the man she considered a surrogate father. But she was betting that strange woman had something to do with it. She had sensed power radiating from her, more than you would find in the average person. Before she’d had a chance to hone in on it, the lady had taken off and instinct told Willow she had to go after her.
But when she exited onto the street, the woman was gone. That green coat was like neon. The wiccan should have been able to spot it. However, frantic glances in all directions revealed no sign of her; it was like she’d vanished into thin air. “Okay, weirdness. Not good,” she muttered. She heard Giles yelling and debated going after him. But more customers were coming into the Magic Box and she had to tend to the register. She wavered in indecision and then walked back into the store, filing her brief encounter with that woman into the back of her mind.
Buffy pelted mindlessly down the street, only narrowly avoiding the various passer-bys. She could hear Giles yelling after her but she paid him no mind. How could he do this to her and with that woman? She had rescued that bitch and this was how she repaid her? Had she been seeing Giles? How long had it been going on?
She was crossing the street when the wooziness hit. Suddenly it was if she were seeing the world through a veil of water. Sounds swooped in and out of her hearing and she was vaguely aware that people were turning towards her, pointing and shouting. Buffy’s legs turned to rubber and she wobbled. Oh great. NOW WHAT?
Giles stumbled to a halt and stared about helplessly. He had lost sight of Buffy with the second street crossing and wasn’t sure if she had turned or not. Then he heard a commotion ahead of him and the screeching of cars. People were gathering into a knot, crowded around an unseen object, and it was as if an iron band were squeezing his heart. “Buffy?” He rushed to the crowd and tried to see over their heads.
Voices were coming from all directions. “Is she all right?”
“We have to get her out of the street.”
“No, don’t move her!”
“Was she hit by a car?”
“I don’t think so.”
“She was too! That van came out of nowhere!” A teenager on a bike pointed at a van driver.
“Hey, don’t blame me, buddy! I never touched her. If people are just going to run into traffic…”
“That’s not what happened. She just fainted in the street.”
“Don’t just stand there!” a woman yelled shrilly. “Somebody call an ambulance!”
“Excuse me! What’s going on?” Giles finally managed to push to the front of the crowd and halted, aghast, at the sight in front of him. Lying crumpled in the street was the diminutive figure of Buffy. Her arms were flung out as if she’d tried to stop her own fall. He knelt beside her and experienced a rush of relief to see her chest rise and fall albeit rather shallowly. He looked up and spoke to the milling group of gawkers. “You say she just fainted?”
“That’s what it looked like. I didn’t see a car hit her or nothing.” Agreements and disagreements came from various quarters but Giles ignored them. Scooping Buffy up tenderly in his arms he turned and began carrying her back to the Magic Box.
Willow was waiting for them. The redhead was shocked as he came in with Buffy lying limply in his arms. “Giles, what happened?”
Thankfully, Ms. Icqueen had vacated the premises. Giles thought her presence would complicate matters needlessly. “I’m not sure. She fainted, I think. Fortunately I got to her before she suffered any real damage. Could you lock the door and put up the ‘CLOSED’ sign?”
“O-okay.” Willow complied and then ran back to Giles, firing one question after another at him. “Giles, what’s going on? What happened? I heard you yell and came running down and I’ve been trying to mind the store which nobody told me I was going to be doing, by the way--”
He set Buffy flat on the big table and sighed. “Willow.”
“Giles?”
“Do shut up.” Her mouth shut with an audible click.
__________
Buffy swam up through the layers of darkness with a feeling that there was something nasty waiting for her. Well, she was the Slayer; she could handle anything. However, she thought this was going to be really bad and part of her shrank from awakening. There was fear, anger and a fair amount of annoyance. Hmmm, wonder what that was about… “Mmm…huh, what?”
“Buffy?”
She opened her eyes and blinked in order to focus her bleary vision. “Giles,” she mumbled. Then she remembered the scene she’d witnessed. She propped herself up on her elbows and glared at him, paying no mind to the inquisitive wiccan staring at them both.
“Buffy, please. Allow me to explain.”
“Explain? Explain what?” Willow’s eyes swung between an obviously angry Slayer and a very anxious-looking Watcher.
“Yeah, that’s what I’d like to know,” Buffy hissed.
“Buffy, I’d just told Ms. Icqueen that you and I were engaged and she, well, she was congratulating me…”
“By kissing you? Wow, I’m glad you didn’t tell her I was pregnant. She probably would have screwed you on the table.”
“YOU’RE PREGNANT?!?” Willow squealed.
Giles sighed and reached for his glasses. “Buffy, are you going to blurt out every secret in our lives? It’s going to make our marriage extremely precarious.”
Buffy sat up although she swayed quite a bit as she did so. “I’m sorry, Giles. But that’s the only thing I’m sorry for. Speaking of bad behavior I’m thinking it’s a lot worse to be kissing strange women than blabbing about additions to the family.”
“I wasn’t kissing her. She wanted to thank you for saving her.”
“Right. That’s why you were kissing her back,” Buffy spat.
“It was an automatic gesture. She was being rather forward, I must admit. But Americans are so, so blasted familiar. You talk to them for five minutes and they’re buying you beers and telling you the most intimate details of their lives. It’s shocking, really.” He shrugged irritably and rubbed his glasses until they squeaked. Actually he wasn’t sure that woman was an American. That ephemeral accent of hers would indicate otherwise. But this was his story and he was sticking to it.
Willow was trying to follow the conversation. “Buffy saved her? From what?”
“Two vamps who were trying to--well, you know,” Buffy finished uncomfortably. She didn’t want to get into everything that had happened. Luckily Willow was willing to assume the obvious.
“Oh. Then I guess she did want to thank Buffy. But Buffy’s right, Giles. You shouldn’t have kissed her. Kissing other women leads to badness and concussions from heavy shovels,” Willow warned.
“Very well. I admit my culpability if you’ll admit it was an innocent gesture on my part and not a show of seduction,” Giles conceded.
“Fine. But I catch you in liplocks with other women who ain’t family and all bets are off, mister.”
“Well, now that’s settled, let’s talk about the other news. I can’t believe you’re pregnant!” Willow hugged Buffy tightly, ecstatic that she’d been the first to know. She drew back and stared at Buffy’s stomach. “How long have you known? When’s the baby due? You’re getting married before the baby comes, right? Ooh, I can’t believe it! I’m going to be a…” Willow stopped and thought. “What am I going to be?”
“The baby’s godmother. She can be a godmother, can’t she, Giles?” Buffy asked.
“Technically a godparent is somebody who undertakes the infant’s religious instruction.” Seeing Willow’s crestfallen expression, Giles added kindly, “However, I see no problems with letting a child understand about the various forces of nature and magic. Considering what his parents do for a living, such grounding should be a vital part of his background.”
“He? Is it going to be a boy?” Willow asked.
“We really don’t know. It’s rather too soon to tell.”
“Yeah. We went to the doctor and I’m only a few weeks along. I don’t think the kid here even has a real head,” Buffy said, running her hand over her stomach.
Thinking about the child, Giles considered recent events. “Buffy, I’m worried about your fainting just now. Have there been any other episodes?”
Buffy’s eyes narrowed. “No, Giles, absolutely not. I’m thinking this was a one-shot dealie brought on by the stress of seeing my fiancé getting grope-y with other women. So don’t even think about trying to keep me at home just ‘cause I went unconscious in the street.”
He raised his hands in mock defense. “Wouldn’t dream of it.” He drew closer and rested one large hand on her stomach, rubbing in circles. “I take it I’m forgiven for my earlier infraction?”
The intimate gesture caused Buffy to shiver slightly. She resisted leaning into his touch, however, and pouted. “Maybe. But I think I’m gonna need ice cream and smoochies first. Lots and lots of smoochies.”
“Speaking of smoochies, how are things with Xander and Anya?” Willow tilted her head towards the training room.
“Last I checked things weren’t going so well. What if they need more than two days to sort things out?”
Giles privately thought that might be the case. But his long-time knowledge of Xander’s capabilities made him more optimistic than the others. “Xander is very capable when it comes to getting his point across. I believe he sees and understands a lot more than we give him credit for.”
“Oh, sure, I know that. But when it comes to his own problems, he might not be as seeing. People usually aren’t,” Willow added sadly.
Giles sighed. “Yes, that’s quite true.” He didn’t look at Buffy but she stiffened under his hand. Was she remembering Spike?
The three of them were silent as they considered the young man’s love troubles. “We’ll just have to trust Xander and Anya to sort this out,” Willow murmured.
“And, on that thought, we should re-open the store now and get cracking with the sales. No matter what happens, Anya is going to be super PO’d if they don’t make moolah while she’s AWOL.” Buffy jumped off the table. She staggered a little and Giles swiftly threw his arm around her. “Thanks, Rupert.”
“Ugh. I still have blisters on my feet from that sale we had. I am so glad you hired Anya for that, Giles. There is no way I ever wanted to take over this gig.” Willow grimaced and stared longingly at the training room door, the ominous silence doing nothing to soothe her anxiety.
Giles turned around the storefront sign in the window to “OPEN.” “Be that as it may, we all agreed to help when we settled for this plan. It’s only for another day. What could possibly happen in that time that we couldn’t handle?”
“If you’re saying ‘what’s the worst that could happen’ then you’ve probably jinxed us,” Willow accused, wagging her finger at him.
“Don’t be silly, Willow. You can’t jinx someone.”
“Says a man who works with an ex-vengeance demon,” Buffy pointed out.
“And lives on a Hellmouth,” Buffy and Willow said together. They looked at each other, twin lights of mischief lighting their eyes. “Jinx! Jinx!” they began chanting.
Giles strode past them, smiling wryly at their verbal antics as he went to stand behind the Magic Box counter. “Honestly, Buffy. You’re such a child sometimes. It’s hard to believe you’re going to be a mother in less than eight months.”
“That’s right. Me, Buffy the mommy. Sometimes it’s so hard to take in.” Buffy sighed and wrapped her arms around her stomach, a dreamy smile on her face.
“What are you going to name him? Or her?” Willow asked.
“One thing at a time, Willow. Like I said the baby isn’t more than a mass of protoplasm. What, you think I don’t know big words?” Buffy demanded when she caught the mild expression of surprise from Giles.
“Of course you do. I just wasn’t aware you could pronounce them,” he replied.
“Don’t tick me off, mister. You’re still on probation from Miss Grabby Hands.”
The doorbell chimed and Giles heaved an inner sigh of relief as the conversation was mercifully cut short. Now all he had to worry about was garnering enough sales to appease one brassed off ex-vengeance demon/store co-owner. Between her and his temperamental Slayer, he thought he was going to have his work cut out for him.

TBC
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What a Mother Wouldn't Do