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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
- 5
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- 7
“Mmmm….”
“I second that emotion,” Buffy murmured, curling tighter into Giles’ side. The sex on the couch had been great, even better than she’d expected. But they’d gotten too enthusiastic and wound up on the floor just as Giles had warned. At some point, they’d moved to the kitchen table and then upstairs to his bedroom. Giles had pleaded exhaustion a few hours later and Buffy had contented herself with moving over his prone body while coaxing him back to life with her mouth and hands. Giles may not have had Slayer stamina but he rallied very quickly after that.
“I’m thinking an outdoor wedding would be nice.”
“Wh--?” There it was again, that incredible ability of women to vocalize after sex and apparently about anything and everything that struck their fancy. Given their swift recuperative abilities, Giles often wondered why men considered themselves the stronger sex.
“It doesn’t rain much here. So I’m thinking we could risk it. Then it would keep away certain nasty pests who have sunlight allergies.”
Giles grinned, catching the reference at once. “Capital suggestion. Let’s advise the guests to come with stakes and holy water just in case.”
She giggled and swirled her fingers in random patterns through his chest hairs. “The perfect wedding gifts for a Slayer. Stakes and other accessories.” She lifted her head. “I’m still nervous about meeting your parents.”
“Not to worry. Mother will love you. The last time I visited her in England she grilled me mercilessly about you and she seemed satisfied.”
“She seemed--she knew you loved me?” Buffy’s gaze was astonished and a trifle worried both at once.
“I didn’t tell her that. But she’s a very perspicacious woman. Up until my tenure in Sunnydale, she’d contented herself with demanding when I was getting married. Switching the topic to you after awhile obviously meant she saw you in the role of my wife. I have no idea what tipped her off my feelings were--that way inclined.”
“Maybe she’s psychic.”
“Or maybe she just picked up on the way I wrote about you in my letters when you were alive--and how I stopped after you were dead.”
“She knew I’d died?”
“No, I didn’t tell her that. But I used to write letters home when I was a regular guest in Sunnydale. Showing up in England after I’d stopped writing about you must have been some kind of signal, I suppose. Well, mothers can be quite ingenious when it comes to wresting information from their offspring. I managed not to tell her everything about you. When you came back to life, I was glad I’d refrained.”
“So no awkward explanations to the folks going ‘Hey, remember that girl I told you was dead? Guess who’s back!’” This time Buffy’s laughter was joined by rumbling chuckles from Giles. Secretly the thought of Buffy’s last death always caused him a pang. But the fact that she could laugh about it without bitterness was proof that she had recovered her spirits and mental health. She would never be the innocent girl who’d entered the Sunnydale library--had it been only six years ago?--to ask him for a library book. But at least she was coping. He liked to think he had something to do with that.
Buffy’s laughter petered out and she sighed, a contented sound rather than one of muted distress. “I wonder if we can change Anya’s mind about coming to the wedding. Now that the duo of Anya and Xander is on the mend, maybe she won’t dig in her heels so much.”
“We could get Xander to ask her again without the pressure of our presence.”
“Ooh, good idea, Giles. If anybody can talk her into it, it’s Xander. He’s good at that.”
“Very. The man has an uncanny knack for getting to the heart of things. I hope Anya appreciates that in him.”
“I know I do. That’s really why I want her there. Maybe seeing us get hitched will make them both re-think their split. Too bad we can’t have a double wedding.”
“I have no regrets on that score. Planning one is difficult enough without having to juggle preparations for another couple.”
“Maybe you’re right. I still remember how manic Anya got the last time she wanted to be married. This time she’ll probably put Xander under lock and key until it’s time and then have him frog-marched down the aisle by a couple of her demon friends.”
The thought of Xander being led in chains and handcuffs to the altar was one bizarre enough to make Giles laugh.
“I love it when you giggle, Jellybelly. It’s so cute.”
This had the immediate effect of making him stop and Buffy was treated to a mild glare from her fiancé. “I’ll have you know I do not giggle. I have a very manly laugh. I guffaw, chuckle, snort and even titter on occasion. But I do not giggle like some schoolgirl.”
“I didn’t say the giggling was of schoolgirl quality. It was very macho giggling. And what’s wrong with having a schoolgirl giggle anyway? It’s better than having a girly scream like Weasley Wesley had.”
Giles sobered on hearing the former Watcher’s name. “Speaking of Wesley, Buffy, I was wondering…”
When he didn’t continue, she propped herself up on one elbow and peered down into his face. “Wondering what?”
“Well, I was wondering whether you wanted to let Angel know about our upcoming nuptials. I know he was a substantial part of your life and I don’t want you to feel you need to hide anything from him. And I’d rather not have him surprised by the news later. There’s no telling what he might do.”
Her eyes widened. Thoughts of her former vampire lover hadn’t really occurred to her for some time. The recent ugliness with Spike had pretty much pushed Angel memories to the background. “Gosh. Angel.”
“Yes. Angel.”
Buffy mulled it over in her head, wrinkling her nose in that adorable way she did when she was thinking or smiling. “I honestly hadn’t thought about him, Watcher mine. We don’t need him in our lives.”
“Quite.”
“But I’m not ashamed of being with you. And he did leave me so I could be with the normal guy. I guess it wouldn’t be too much of the badness to let him know that guy is you. And I don’t think he’d be upset Angel about it the way he would if it were, say, Xander or Riley.” She peered into his face again. “So how do you want to play this?”
“Well, I was thinking of letting Wesley know. Willow met him when she informed Angel of your death fighting Glory and says he’s quite a changed man.”
Buffy snorted. “Wesley? Whatever.”
Giles pushed on with his explanation. “She found him with a sense of maturity, confidence and humility he hadn’t possessed in Sunnydale. She didn’t get much out of Angel about him seeing how much he was devastated by the news of your death. But, from the short while she was in Los Angeles, she got a very favorable impression of Mr. Wyndham-Pryce.”
“And you want to invite Wesley to the wedding to show bygones are by going and that means letting Angel know,” Buffy guessed.
“Something like that. I also thought of it as being kind of a professional courtesy.”
“To Angel or Wesley? Never mind. I get it.” She lay down beside him again and was silent for so long he thought she meant to ignore the question. Then she murmured in a small voice, “Okay. We’ll invite Angel and his friends. Angel won’t get to attend because of the whole sunlight factor but I guess we can let him know. You talk to Wesley; I’ll talk to Angel. He’ll probably have a lot of questions and I don’t want to act like avoid-y Buffy over it. I want to convince him that this is true love and not some weird father-and-daughter thing that got out of hand.” She raised her head to stare at him again. “Oh my god!”
“What? What is it?”
“I just thought about your father.”
Giles tried to school his expression towards neutrality. “Yes?”
Buffy’s eyes narrowed at the attempted casualness of his voice. “You didn’t mention him when you talked about inviting your folks to the wedding. You said your mother would be turning handsprings. What about Daddy dearest?”
“My father is a Council member. He’d doubtless have issues about a Watcher marrying his Slayer.”
“Never been done before, huh?”
“It is rather without precedent.”
“And these issues would result in what? Are we talking hissy fit or letters to the Council suggesting I get my head examined or my Slayer skills tested again?”
“Well, marrying you would cause me to become an official American citizen. They might have legitimate concerns about that.”
“Of course. Switching allegiance from the land of tea and scones to rock and roll and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches would be a real killer for them.” Buffy smirked at the notion.
“Buffy, I’m serious. The Council has taken me to task before now about my questionable loyalties to you. This may be the straw that breaks their backs.”
“You thinking your dad might spill to them about the wedding and they’d make trouble for us? Would they really do that? Then maybe we should keep this wedding as low-keyed as possible. Should we split for Vegas? Or maybe just a civil service thing. That would be quicker and we could do it here…”
“Buffy, stop. Take slow cleansing breaths. I’m not saying the Council would make trouble. I only mention it as a possibility.”
“I know, I know. But I remember what these guys were like. What Squinting Travers was like. I don’t want to have to plan a wedding and deal with his mess at the same time, Rupert.” She wasn’t afraid of Travers. On his own he was just a nasty old man with a superior attitude that made her long to break his nose so that he’d look like the English version of Jack Palance. But with the Council behind him he could make trouble for Giles. He might even get him deported.
Frankly, Buffy didn’t see anything wrong with a Slayer marrying her Watcher. Surely the union meant that the Slayer would be even stronger with her Watcher backing her up to the fullest instead of sitting on the sidelines dishing out orders the way Wesley Screams-Like-A-Girl tried to do. But the Council had proven time and again that the Slayer was a replaceable cog in their mighty machine. Having the only working Slayer live to a ripe old creaky age might not be in their agenda.
“Buffy, do you really have your heart set on a white wedding?” The question was timid as if Giles didn’t want to risk hurting her feelings.
“Well, duh. I think about mom in her wedding pictures. She’s so beautiful and looks so happy standing beside Dad.” She frowned as she considered something. “Crap. Giles, I forgot about my dad.”
“Mr. Henry Summers? Of course, you’ll want him there,” Giles mused.
“That’s Hank Summers, actually. And wedding invites not of the possible since I don’t know where he is and he hasn’t spoken to me or sent me a letter in ages. There was just the one phone call when I was dead and that was it.”
“He called while you were dead?”
“Willow casually mentioned it once. She had to do a flying pass over the Buffybot to keep her from talking to him on the phone. I don’t know why she bothered. Dad hasn’t talked to me for so long he probably wouldn’t have known Ms. Plastiskin wasn’t the real deal.”
“Ah. So inviting him poses some difficulties.”
“Not really. I’ll just not invite him.”
Giles was surprised, both at the statement and her decided, flippant tone. “Are you certain, Buffy? He is your father. Don’t you want him to be a part of this?”
She propped her chin on his chest so she could look him in the eye. “Not especially. Don’t get me wrong, Giles. I’m not afraid of him stopping me from marrying you or anything. But he deliberately kept himself out of my life. For the last six years I haven’t heard from him or seen anything of him except the once when Billy Palmer was turning Sunnydale into his own personal Matrix. There wasn’t even a card on my birthdays. He’s too busy jetting around the world with his secretary to care about his old family. So let him stay out of it. He doesn’t get to share in the wonderfulness of you. If he turns up somewhere along the road, I’ll trot you out like any other proud wife and mommy. But until then, he can go his way and I’ll go mine.”
“If you’re sure--”
“Posilutely absotively.” Odd phrasing aside, Buffy seemed really serious and Giles was satisfied. There was still the matter of the Council to consider and after a moment he formed an idea. “What about two weddings?”
“Two weddings? The Anya-and-Xander-and-Buffy-and-Giles scenario again?”
“No, I meant for us. We could have a quick civil ceremony just for ourselves and then a proper wedding for you and our friends and family. The former would scotch any possible Council interference and the latter would be a lovely treat for the others.”
“Sounds like a plan, Watcher mine. So how soon should we do the civil thing?”
“As soon as possible. I’d like to get it out of the way and then we can get back to planning the details for the one with all our friends in attendance.”
“Done. Should we have two honeymoons or only one?”
“One is quite sufficient for my tastes, dearest.”
“Awwww. Come on, Jellybelly. We could whiz down to Vegas; rent a cheap room with all those mirrors. Maybe we could even get one of those videos made of you and me doing the nasty on satiny sheets,” Buffy teased.
“Or in a Jacuzzi. Although once the foam gets started we might not see much below the waist,” Giles countered with a sly grin.
“Ooh! Giles-and-Buffy splashage. Buffy like!” Buffy giggled and buried her head in his chest, rubbing her nose against one nipple and then blowing on it lightly. She followed this maneuver with a delicate lick of her tongue and heard Giles growl softly. His growls were nothing like the subterranean ones she used to get from Angel. But they were thrilling nonetheless and she felt herself getting hot and wet between the legs at the sound of it.
She rolled on top of him and sat on his soft cock, rocking back and forth gently. “Let’s do it, Giles. Let’s do it this weekend.”
“So soon?”
“It’s just a civil ceremony, right? It can’t take too much time. Forget Vegas. We can have it here and get started on the really spectacular wedding. Whaddaya say?”
“We’ll need to make sure all our papers are in order. W-we’ll…mmm…probably both have to take blood tests for diseases.” It was difficult to make plans while Buffy was swiveling her hips like that and in a moment the battle between coherency and burgeoning desire was well and truly lost.
“Fine, sure, whatever,” Buffy said, impatience coloring her tone. She rocked harder and heard Giles’s breath catch. When the cock between her legs began pressing urgently upwards, Buffy was sure Giles was ready for another go-around. She braced her hands on his shoulders and leaned forward. As she brought her hips up, Giles ran his hands up the quivering thighs until they landed on her slim waist. Guiding herself onto his shaft, she moaned low in her throat and began to grind down on him. “Gilessss….”
“Yes, love. Just there.” A hard squeeze from her lower muscles and his hips bucked into hers. “God!”
“Nope, just Buffy. But maybe you can see him before we’re through,” she gasped out.
He barked in laughter and then spun himself over quickly so that she was pinned under him. Gazing into her widened eyes, he purred silkily, “Maybe I can bring you back to Heaven a few more times.”
Her answering grin was delighted and mischievous at once and her willowy body arched towards his. “I can’t wait.”
__________
The civil ceremony was simple and the preparations surprisingly easy. Buffy had thought there would be delay brought on by bureaucratic tape, Hellmouth activity or the curse of some vengeance demon or other. But the whole business had been smoother than creamy peanut butter. She had wondered if this was a happy sign. Maybe she and Giles weren’t doomed. Maybe this was meant to be.
No maybe about it. You are now officially Mrs. Giles. Buffy stood in her plain blue-and-white short dress on the steps of Giles’s house and gazed at the official document one more time. There it was in black and white: her names and Giles and the stamp of a notary and witness for their union.
Her stomach rumbled and she patted it. “It’s okay, baby. Mommy is going to put something inside very soon that will make us both happy.”
Strong arms encircled her from behind her. “So soon, dearest? I’m definitely up for a little sport but couldn’t it wait until I carry you over the threshold?”
The familiar Buffy giggle rose to his ears and she turned in Giles’s grip. Swatting him lightly on his rump, she chided, “I was talking about food, Watcher mine. I’m all rumbly in the tummy. Mommy’s feeling cravings.”
He pulled away and gazed at her waistline. She was developing a bit of a belly although he thought it gave her a nicely rounded figure. The second wedding definitely would have to be soon however; Buffy had stated an aversion to waddling down the aisle in flat heels like a trailer mom-to-be. “Do you want something to eat first?”
“Maybe later.” Her voice lowered suggestively and she gazed at him from under her lashes, the moss green peeking out at him from behind the strands.
A smoldering look from him made her shiver. “I hope you’re up to the challenge.”
“Ripper naughtiness vs. Slayer stamina? Bring it on.” Her stomach rumbled again. “Do you have Cookie Dough Fudge Mint chip ice cream?” she demanded.
“Yes, dearest.” He fumbled for the keys to his door and then swung her body up into his arms.
“And the crunchy peanut butter?”
“Yes, darling.”
“And the Cheez Whiz?”
He shuddered at that phrase. He couldn’t believe he’d agreed to have a food item like that in the fridge. Only love would have forced him to stock such an abomination under his roof. “Absolutely.”
She continued to chatter as they ascended the stairs. “And the blueberries for the pancakes, the chicken wings, pepperoni pizza and baloney slices with pimientos…”
“It’s all been taken care of, my sweet. I’m thinking of having a mini fridge installed in the bedroom to satisfy that gigantic Slayer appetite so we won’t have to take too much time between bouts. Perhaps a bidet too for the washing up.”
Buffy swatted him again as he shoved open the bedroom door with one hip. “Ewww! We are not having a toilet in the bedroom even if it is for the washing of private Buffy parts.”
“It’s very cosmopolitan, Buffy. All the modern families are doing it. And I wouldn’t mind seeing you wash your private parts,” Giles said with a leer.
Buffy blushed and decided to overlook the last statement. “You can’t fool me, Mr. Giles. This is a French thing. Americans don’t go in for mini faucets in the bedroom. No wonder people think the frogs are icky.”
“It’s just a suggestion, Mrs. Giles.” He bent to kiss her lips.
When he’d finished with this thoroughly engaging activity, she breathed, “Say that again.”
“What?”
“Mrs. Giles. I can’t believe it yet,” came the soft whisper.
“Mrs. Giles. My sweet, lovely wife.” He traced her lips with brushing movements from his own and this time her lips parted under the pressure. The tip of tongue came out to meet his and the two brushed and stroked the bumpy surfaces of the other. For several moments there was no other movement or conversation and then their lips parted again.
When he pulled back, he was startled to see a suspicious glimmer in her eyes. “Buffy, are you all right? You’re not having second thoughts, are you?”
“No second thoughts. Well, yeah, there are a whole lot of thoughts up in the old Buffy noodle. But they’re happy thoughts. Really really happy thoughts. Part of me is so filled with joy I could burst and another part is wondering if this isn’t some delirious hallucination and I’m not still in my coffin going crazy from oxygen deprivation and am just imagining Giles goodness and Buffy bliss. There were nights when I’d wake up from nightmares…”
She shook her head violently. “No! No, I’m not doing this. I’m not ruining this happy moment.” She pressed up against him, her arms wound tightly around his neck. “Kiss me again, Rupert?”
“Gladly, my sweet.” He bent to kiss her again when they heard the phone ring downstairs. This time they both stiffened and Buffy scowled.
“I don’t believe it.” Buffy had told her friends about the ceremony because she hadn’t wanted them to interrupt her unless there was a dire Slayer-related emergency. She had stressed that she didn’t want them there because she hadn’t wanted to interrupt their lives with what was, after all, a short ceremony meant as a convenience to protect Giles more than anything else. Buffy had pointed out that the elaborate affair she’d had planned would require all their attention so it was best they save their energies for that.
Willow had been especially upset to be kept out of being a witness. But she’d had tests coming up and needed to devote her time to study. Dawn had wanted to attend but Buffy had started going into all the things she and Giles would be doing afterwards and that was enough to deter her younger sister from insisting. For her part, Anya still refused to have anything to do with a marriage ceremony that didn’t involve her being wed to Xander and Xander had refrained out of deference to her feelings. Buffy was hoping that by the time the more sophisticated wedding was enacted, Anya would have had time to change her mind.
So all her friends knew and the people in martial arts class had scheduled another instructor when she’d begged time off for a family emergency. So who could be ringing?
“Ignore it,” Giles murmured against her lips.
“Sure.” She kissed him back but the shrill insistent tones kept buzzing up through the floor. The answering machine clicked on and she sighed in relief. A female voice began speaking and she frowned again. Distance made the soft tones unrecognizable but she thought there was something familiar about the voice.
Giles could tell she was distracted and wished he’d closed the door before they’d started. “Buffy?”
“Nothing, Giles. It’s no biggie.” She reached around him and pressed her hand on the door to shut it. Then she heard her name and she frowned. “Huh.”
“What?”
“Th-that sounds like Willow.”
“Willow? Why would she disturb us? Didn’t you tell her today was our special day?”
“You bet. So if she’s calling it must be mundo important.” Buffy shook her head. “Forget it. Nothing can be more important than...” Buffy blinked and then swayed slightly, her hand coming up to her head.
“Buffy? Buffy, what is it?” Giles was suddenly worried. His new bride’s face had turned pale, her eyes unfocused. Then awareness snapped back into them and she stared at him, panting slightly.
“Oh, crap. Giles, I just got a call from Willow.”
“You did? But you didn’t--” Understanding dawned. “You mean she contacted you telepathically.”
“Yep. It was so weird, like she was almost in the room with me. That’s one freaky power she’s got.”
“Well, what did she say?’
“Um, it’s kinda bad news. Only maybe not, more unexpected.”
“Buffy, dearest, today of all days I would listen to your inane chatter for hours.”
“Hey!” She glared at him.
“However, I have the feeling this is important so please tell me so we may continue with our honeymoon.”
“She said...” Buffy took a deep breath and tried again. “She said my dad’s at the house.”
Giles couldn’t believe it. “Your father? He’s at the Summers home? Today?”
“Today even as we speak. He got a fit of conscience or something and just decided to drop in right out of the blue. He brought his secretary with him for some reason.” Buffy’s face twisted in a grimace at the mention of the woman’s presence.
Giles’s grip loosened although he didn’t release her entirely. This was unbelievable. The man who’d absented himself from Buffy’s life for the last six years suddenly reappeared on the exact day that she got married. It couldn’t be a coincidence; there must be magic at work. But who could have set up such a thing and why?
Maybe there was no rhyme or reason. As Buffy frequently said, being on the Hellmouth meant badness of the bizarre kind ranging from carelessly spoken wishes granted by sly vengeance demons to waking up as a Fyarl demon. Life here was full of random acts of unpleasant surprises.
He gazed into her eyes, the moss green now faded to gray with distress. “Oh dear.”
“No, I think I got it right with ‘oh crap.’”
“Do you wish to confront him, Buffy? I’ll understand if you don’t wish to at this moment. But we might as well get it over and done with,” Giles hazarded.
“He’s there at the house now with Willow. Soon Dawn will be home and it’ll be just the two of them trying to keep him away from me. It’s not fair to either of them. So I guess I’ll have to face him.”
She began pacing up and down. “I cannot believe this would happen now, today of all days! That’s it. The Hellmouth hates me and wants me dead.” She plopped her upper body onto the bed, letting her legs dangle over the side.
Giles sat beside her. “Darling, I know this has taken you by surprise. However, I must point out that if you’d gotten in contact with your father before now, you would have dealt with any objections he might have made and we wouldn’t be facing him as if he were a firing squad.”
Angry hazel eyes snapped at him. “Not helping, Giles.”
“Yet perhaps the situation can be salvaged.”
Propping herself on both elbows, Buffy looked up hopefully at him. “You mean it’s not all bad news?”
“No. Now that our marriage is a fait accompli, your father may rant and rail to his heart’s content. But he can’t separate us or even attempt to do so.”
“So that’s a plus. Glad there’s some silver lining to this stinky cloud.” She jumped up and extended her hand to her husband. “Come on, Giles. Let’s go face the daddy music.”
He grimaced and caught her dainty hand in his. “This is not my idea of a happy honeymoon. Usually one has dispensed with the in-laws at this point.”
“Ooh, that’s right. Dad’s your father-in-law now, isn’t he? That is kinda weird since you’re about the same age. Hey, maybe you can go over oldies music with him the way you did with my mom,” she finished brightly.
Giles scowled down at her although her gleeful expression showed she was thoroughly unabashed by the look. “You are never going to let me live down that band candy incident, are you?”
“Nope. Although I won’t mention it to my dad. He’s going to have enough to deal with knowing you and me are getting groin-y with each other. He finds out you got pelvic with Mom too, he’d hit the roof.”
“Thank you for sparing me that hideous scene, love.”
“No problemo.”
__________
Her stomach was doing all kinds of flippy floppy things as they approached the house on Revello Drive. These days it was only Giles who could produce that sensation--or the cravings brought on by the baby. Ack! Should she tell her father about the baby? No, not before she told her friends. Or maybe she could tell them all together. That would make her father more comfortable about having his little girl married to a man as old as he was. Well, that was the dream anyway.
In spite of her recent staunch refusal to let her father back into her life, Buffy couldn’t help a surge of desire to hear her daddy’s voice. She’d never truly come to grips with his absence from her life and was surprised at how strong the yen to see him was.
But I’m not going to let him ruin this for me. I’m just not. She wiped her sweaty hands on her dress. Feeling a large hand enclose one of hers, she smiled gratefully at Giles.
“Don’t be nervous, Buffy. You’ll be fine. We both will be.”
“Of course. No nervy Buffy here. I’m not afraid of anything as long as you’re with me.” And that was true. Thoughts of that and recalling that this was her husband standing by her side made the nervousness fall away. She stood straighter and fished in her pocket for the keys. The door swung open and she stepped boldly into the house.
Willow, her father and his blonde secretary [What was her name? Cindy? Cynthia? Sherry?] were seated on the living room couch. The redhead jumped up as she saw her. “Buffy! Hi! Your dad came and I left you a message but you didn’t answer and I’m really glad you’re here.”
Mr. Summers glanced up at her curiously. He’d found the red-haired woman to be rather cute but a real chatterbox. A few minutes with her and he wondered if she was the rabbity type of female he despised or whether she was hiding something. His questions about Buffy had been met with various evasions. Willow was avid enough when it came to talking about Buffy’s work. But talk about whether she had someone special in her life had made the woman a trifle stammery. What was going on? And who was the older man holding Buffy by the hand?
Mr. Summers stood up and extended his hand towards Giles. “Hello, I’m Hank, Hank Summers. I’m Buffy’s father. Who are you? Are you one of her martial arts instructors at school?” That didn’t seem a possibility. The man looked too old and worn to be a fighter of any sort.
“Actually, I used to be the librarian at Buffy’s old school Sunnydale High.”
“Yeah, that was before it got blo--I mean, destroyed,” Willow amended quickly.
Hank stared at his oldest daughter. “Your high school was destroyed? When did this happen? And why wasn’t I informed? You didn’t set it on fire like you did in Hemery, did you, honey?”
“How nice of you to bring that up, dad. And, no, it wasn’t my fault. It was a--gas leak. And we didn’t know where you were since you didn’t bother to keep in touch.” A touch of ice dripped into Buffy’s voice and Hank flinched slightly.
“I’m sorry about that, sweetie. But I’m here now ‘cause I’ve got some wonderful news. You remember Cathy, right?”
Oh, Cathy! That was her name, was it? Buffy gave the woman a blank look. “Not particularly.”
“Um, well. She and I…” He swallowed and laughed nervously. “Well, there’s no easy way to say it so I’ll just say it.”
When he still hesitated, the busty blond spoke up for the first time. “We got married two weeks ago. We just got back from our honeymoon and your father thought we’d drop in and tell you the good news. We thought this was too important to leave an impersonal message on your answering machine. I hope we didn’t come at a bad time.”
That was a cue if ever she heard one. Buffy flashed a bright artificial smile and wound both hands around Giles’s arm. “Nope. Actually your timing is perfect. I just got married today. Dad, I’d like you to meet my new husband, Rupert Giles.”
Buffy wished she had a digital camera so she could capture that look of stupefied idiocy on her father’s face. “M-married? You--Buffy, you got married? How? I mean, how did this happen?”
“It was the usual thing. We met, worked together for a really long time. It started out as friendship then one thing led to another and we realized we were in love. Then we decided to get married ‘cause, hey, that’s what people in love do, isn’t it?” Her eyes flicked back and forth between her father and his new bride as if daring them to say anything.
Giles barely held back a smirk at Buffy’s swift encapsulation of the path of their “romance.” The rocky road the Hellmouth provided had made things much more complicated than that. It was too bad Joyce wasn’t still here; she would have appreciated the irony of the present situation. He extended his hand and introduced himself without as much as a tremor in his voice. “How do you do, Mr. Summers. It’s good to meet you at last.”
Hank caught the fleeting expression and misunderstood. This guy looked like the proverbial cat that got at the cream and no wonder? He had himself a pretty young blond as his wife. Probably had married her to get his green card. The man was foreign, wasn’t he? His lips thinned and he rapped out, “How come your mother never said anything about this? I know we didn’t communicate much--”
“Wow, understatement with a side order of ‘duh!’ “ Buffy interjected.
“But we did talk sometimes and I believe she would have told me if our daughter was dating somebody old enough to be her father. That’s the sort of thing that would have upset her.”
Buffy couldn’t believe her father. “Look who’s talking! You take off and leave Mom, me and Dawn--”
“Where is Dawn, by the way? How does she fit into all this? Are you living under the same roof with my little girls?” This last was directed at Giles and Willow tensed as both men bristled. She wondered if she was going to have to use a spell to separate the two of them.
“Dawn’s just fine about this and don’t change the subject, Dad,” Buffy rapped out. “You leave and jet around the world with a girl only a few years older than me and then you think you can come back here and play the concerned father? It’s years late and several dollars short for that.”
She held Giles tighter and spoke slowly so her father couldn’t mistake her intentions. “Rupert and I are in love. We’re married. He’s part of my family now. In fact, he’s been part of my family for the last few years which is more than I can say for you.”
Buffy drew a deep breath and moved closer to her husband. “I lost Mom and that’s too bad because I know she would have approved of my choice. She learned to know and respect Giles the way you haven’t. It sucks so bad that she’s not here to talk sense into you. But because she’s gone you’re the only parent I’ve got left. I want you to be on board with this ‘cause you’re my Dad so you’re still family. But if you’re still clinging to the double standard issue then you can take Cindy…”
“That’s Cathy, actually,” the blond corrected with a thin smile.
“Whatever.” A hint of steel edged into her voice as she stared at her father. “We don’t need you and we haven’t needed you for a long time. But you can stay as long as you want if you only learn to accept us. If you can’t do that, then you can both go back to Majorca or wherever you were.”
Mr. Summers struggled with the concept of Buffy, his little girl, married and to a man as old as himself. Cathy rushed in to fill the awkward silence. “Well, Buffy, th-this is a lot to take in and you can’t expect acceptance from your father all at once.” Witnessing the mulish expression on the other woman’s face, she amended hastily, “Why don’t we all go out to dinner--all of us? The two of you, me, your father and Dawn can go to a restaurant and we can get better acquainted.”
Willow spoke up at this point. “Why not here? We can whip up something, I mean Buffy can because she’s a fantabulous cook and I’m no slouch in the kitchen myself…”
Sensing the onslaught of another case of Willow-babble, Giles interrupted before her verbiage could spiral out of control. “Actually, a restaurant sounds like a capital idea.”
“Neutral territory,” Buffy stated bluntly. “Sounds great to me. And since tonight is supposed to be my wedding night, so not wanting to face dishes in the morning.”
Hank’s jaws clenched at the idea of his child on her wedding night. Before he could say anything else on the subject, Cathy flashed a wide, bright smile that showed polished flawless dental work at the room in general. “Great! You pick a restaurant and time and we’ll be there tonight.” She wound her hand around Hank’s arm in an unconscious imitation of Buffy’s gesture. “Hank, honey, why don’t we let them sort this out? I’d like to get something from the kitchen. I’m so starved I could eat a cow.”
He blinked at her. “But you ate on the plane.”
Tugging him after her, she trilled a light laugh. “Airplane food! Like that’s supposed to be filling.”
She glanced back over her shoulder at Buffy and the older Summers girl was surprised to see the sympathy in her look. The woman looked as if she understood and Buffy wondered whether Cathy could feel anything for her dad like what she felt for Rupert. The other couple disappeared and the three in the living room let out a collective breath.
“Buffy, this is so bad. How could this happen and today of all days? When he showed on the doorstep, I wasn’t even sure who he was ‘cause I only saw your dad in pictures and it’s been a while since I looked at any. Then he asked for you and I nearly blurted out that you were off somewhere getting married. But I was pretty sure you wouldn’t want a stranger knowing that so I kept quiet and then when he told me I was glad I did ‘cause I thought it would be better coming from you.” Willow gulped and plopped down on the couch. “Okay, scared rant over. Shutting up now.”
“It’s okay, Wills. I was thrown too even with your wiccan warning. Thanks for that, by the way.”
“Y-you didn’t mind? When you didn’t answer the phone, I thought you and Giles might be, you know. I was scared I’d be interrupting the smoochies.” Willow blushed.
Part of her didn’t want to know if she’d come between Buffy and Giles at an intimate moment. But she’d glimpse something of the lust and frustration in Buffy’s mind when she sent her message and she wondered just what she had interrupted. The dark thought that she could spy on Buffy and Giles during an intimate moment had surfaced, far stronger than any urge to peek in on Anya and Xander while they might be similarly engaged. She wondered if she could be capable of that level of magic. It was tempting and would be so easy…
This was straying into bad territory, bad thoughts, naughty, evil thoughts. Down that road lay skinned bodies, flaming fireballs, hurt friends and world endage and her mind hurriedly shied away from it to focus on two of her best friends instead. “So what do you think your dad and Cathy are talking about in there?”
“No clue. She may be trying to talk Dad into leaving. No skin off my nose if she does,” Buffy replied with a shrug.
Giles wasn’t fooled by the pretended nonchalance. “If that was the case, Buffy, I’m sure she would have made some excuse to leave the house. Give the woman a little credit.”
“That woman is the reason my Dad stayed away from me and my family all these years.” The next moment she heaved a deep sigh and straightened her shoulders. “Okay, I’m being mundo unfair. For all I know she wasn’t intending to be a home wrecker. The ugliness that was the divorce was a long time coming. She probably just came along after. Maybe,” she ended grudgingly.
__________
Cathy looked at the kitchen in dissatisfaction. There wasn’t any closing door between it and the living room and she motioned for Hank to follow her into the backyard where there was less chance of being overheard. “Hank, you are not going to do this.”
“Do what? Get concerned when my daughter marries some guy I didn’t know about?”
“And whose fault is it that you didn’t know about it? You should have kept in touch with her, Hank. She’s your daughter. Your leaving must have cut deep. She’s trying to be brave about it but a girl needs her father.”
“Who are you to talk? You certainly weren’t keen on me keeping in touch with the ex and the kids when we got married,” Hank accused.
“That was in the early days, when things between us were still rocky because of the divorce. But afterwards I begged you to keep in touch with your children. And you wouldn’t.” Cathy crossed her arms and stared Hank down, daring him to contradict her.
“I-I know. But it was just so awkward facing them. And they were a part of my life that was closed, you know? I wanted to start over with a clean slate--with you, honey.” He reached for her only to have her step out of reach.
“Nice excuse, Hank, and I’ve heard it before so I’m not going to go over the old arguments. But things may have been over between you and Joyce. That didn’t mean you had to cut your children loose. Look at the way you’re acting now because of that! To you, Buffy has remained a little girl in your mind, like she stopped growing when you left, and now you can’t handle the fact that she’s grown up, moved on and found a man to love her.”
“But did it have to be some old guy like--?”
“There’s the pot calling the kettle black.” The irony fairly dripped from Cathy as she smirked at him. “He seems like a charming, wonderful man.”
“How could you tell? He barely said three words!” Hank felt a little miffed. Not jealous--no way was he jealous of an Englishman almost as old as he was. Older. He’s got a lot more wrinkles and less hair than I do.
But Cathy had a slightly dreamy look on her face, the kind she used to have when they were dating. It was unfair that women went nuts over foreigners like that. What, like an accent made a guy so special?
Cathy smirked at the slight sulky expression on Hank’s face. In spite of what he may have thought, she hadn’t stopped noticing handsome men simply because he’d married her. She was younger than he and good-looking guys still found her attractive. She just didn’t go chasing after them the way she used to. “Relax, Hank. I’m just pointing out that Buffy has good taste in her men. And when we get to the restaurant this evening, I’m sure we’ll get to know Mr. Giles a lot better. Then we’ll learn exactly what she sees in him.”
“She’s my daughter, Cathy.”
“And I’m somebody’s daughter, too, Hank. Or did you forget that?”
“That’s different! Your father’s dead!”
“How tactfully you put that. And if he’d been alive, I’m sure he would have had the same kind of hissy fit over you as a son-in-law as you’re having over Mr. Giles.” She held up a hand to forestall his protest. “It’s like Buffy said, Hank. You’ve been out of her life for most of the last six years. It’s as if you’ve been dead to her just like my father is dead to me. I know it’s not the same but it feels that way to her. Now you waltz back into her life without so much as an advance notice and expect her to welcome you with open arms. You’re being selfish and foolish if you can’t understand how she must feel about that.”
Hank felt guilty at that, an emotion he’d tried his darndest to stifle after he’d divorced Joyce and run off with Cathy. He hadn’t waited long before taking up with a younger girl and had thought cutting himself off from his old family would make the transition easier in the long run. Evidently it only made things easier for himself. He sighed. “I’m being an idiot, aren’t I?”
Cathy smirked again. “Yep. But you’re my idiot. Now, are you going to go in there and behave yourself?”
“Okay. But I don’t have to like this situation.”
“Nobody’s asking you to like it, Hank, and I think your daughter honestly doesn’t give a shit,” the other woman replied in blunt terms. “We’re asking you to act like a grownup.”
He shook his head ruefully. “Since when did you become so mature?”
“Oh, please!” she scoffed. “Don’t believe everything you hear about blondes!”
__________
Dinner at the restaurant was strained, to say the least. Buffy had thought Dawn would be ecstatic to come home and find the father who’d pretty much dumped them in their living room. But after the first flare of excitement in her eyes, her younger sister had been remarkably cool towards their absentee dad, a coolness that was gelling into ice as the evening progressed.
Perversely, since her sister was not on the daddy train, Buffy was doing her best to keep the conversation warm and flowing. Seeing that her father’s talk about his business was only boring Dawn, she turned to Cathy and probed into her life instead. It turned out the woman had a flair for design and owned her own business. Of course, her father had helped fund it but she had managed to get it up and running all by herself after his initial help.
This didn’t sit well with Dawn. “Really? So I guess that’s why you didn’t have any money left to shell over for Mom’s funeral, huh, Dad?”
“Dawn,” Buffy frowned.
“I mean, funerals aren’t cheap, you know. The casket alone cost over $1,000. We could have really used the help with the bills, too, after Buffy…”
“Dawn!” Buffy’s eyes snapped at her sister and Dawn belatedly realized she was straying into forbidden territory.
Hank noted the silent exchange and wondered what it meant. “After Buffy what, honey?”
“A-after she tried to go back to college. Then she realized even with a grant she couldn’t afford it and keep up with the house bills, so she dropped out and had to take a job working fast food.”
“Fast food?” Hank had no idea things had gotten that bad. “Buffy, why didn’t you tell me?”
“How? It’s not like I knew where you were.” In spite of her attempts to keep things on an even keel, Buffy wasn’t about to let her dad take a poke at her or question her managerial skills.
“But I did call you…”
Dawn knew he was referring to that one call that had been almost answered by the Buffybot. She tossed her long hair in disdain. “Yeah, but it was just the once. Way to care, Dad.”
Buffy smiled tightly as she brought up her menu again. “Dawn, now’s so not the time. We managed the way we always do. Who wants dessert?” she finished brightly.
Dawn folded her arms and ignored the luscious steak sitting in front of her. Hank Summers had generously offered to pick up the entire restaurant tab. Dawn had retaliated by ordering the most expensive things on the menu and then only picking at her food. “The only reason we managed is because Giles stepped in and gave Buffy a buttload of cash. That was a big load off our minds, I can tell you.”
His lips thinned. So that was the attraction? This man had paid his daughter’s bills and she’d married him out of gratitude? Overlooking the fact that Cathy may have been partially attracted to him for the same reason, Hank rapped out, “Money? This guy gave you money? Before you were married?”
“Dad, Giles was there for me, for us, and giving me money was actually the least of the things he did to help me. He helped me during those rocky early years in Sunnydale High--”
“You were together in high school? Buffy, you were only sixteen! What was this guy thinking?” Hank’s voice rose and other diners nearby swiveled their heads to look at them. Buffy was beginning to think this outing was a bad idea.
“You’ve got a dirty mind, you know that? It wasn’t like that. Giles was the librarian and occasionally I needed help with my studies. That’s what he did for me. That’s all he did for me. Okay, maybe he lent an ear sometimes when I came to him with emotional probs. But he wasn’t playing the dirty old man games. Mom would have put a stop to that damn quick if he had.”
“If she’d known, you mean,” Hank muttered, subsiding only when Cathy squeezed his arm in warning.
“The way she knew about you and Cathy here? Oh wait, none of us knew about Cathy,” Buffy replied with a poisonous smile. “It took you, what, all of two months to take off with her after you booted me, Dawn and mom to the curb. Maybe you’d been seeing her before the divorce. Maybe you decided to trade Mom in for a newer, fresher model the way lots of old guys do and now you’re just projecting on to my husband. I took psych, Dad. I know how that works.”
“Buffy, please. Your father is just concerned about you.” Giles thought it was time for him to speak up. He knew it was perilous to get involved in other people’s domestic disputes. But he was a part of Buffy’s family now so her problems with her father must perforce become his.
He clasped Buffy’s hand and spoke as quietly and earnestly as he could. “Mr. Summers, I understand how abrupt this whole thing must seem to you. When you last saw Buffy, she was a mere child of sixteen. In your mind, you’ve yet to make the transition between that image and the adult you see here. But I’ve had all of six years to watch her grow from a struggling, callow adolescent to the caring, sensitive, emotionally mature, adorable, radiant woman you see here.
“Before this year, there was nothing between us but deep friendship. It was only after a long struggle for the both of us that we arrived at the place that enabled us to love each other as adults. But, I assure you, I love your daughter as deeply, truly and wholeheartedly as you must love Cathy. I would die before allowing anything to hurt her. She is my life.”
Buffy blinked away tears at the heartfelt speech. Unable to think of a single thing to add to that, she turned Giles’s face towards hers and pressed her lips against his.
The kiss dragged on and on, the two newlyweds oblivious to the stares of the other people at the table. Cathy could feel moisture gathering between her legs and a blush creeping up her cheeks. She couldn’t remember Hank ever kissing her with such abandon. She dragged her eyes away to see her husband staring round-eyed at his eldest daughter.
Goodness, that is one incredible kiss. When’s the last time I got kissed like that? Never mind, Cathy. Time to get things back under control before the maitre d’ throws us all out for lewd behavior. “Well, I don’t know about you, Hank, but I’m certainly convinced your daughter is in good hands. And I’m ready for that dessert now!” She clapped her hands together sharply, breaking the spell. Mr. Giles and Buffy parted from each other, a dazed, blissed-out stare in both sets of eyes.
Buffy blinked a few times to bring herself back to her current circumstances. “Huh? Dessert? Oh yeah. Dessert is of the good. You want dessert, Rupert?”
“I thought I was having it.” The answer held a bit of wolfishness, the first sign of a glimpse behind the façade of the proper, prim Englishman he’d clung to all evening. Hank’s jaw clenched and Dawn made a face.
“Could you guys save it ‘til you got home? And make that your home ‘cause I don’t want to think about what the two of you are doing all night.”
“So don’t think about it. We got Xander to soundproof our room. You want to get into comfortable denial about us then, by all means, deny deny deny,” Buffy said airily, flipping her hand at her younger sister.
Cathy noticed Hank’s face was turning an alarming shade of red. She squeezed his hand in warning again and waved the menu in his face. “Hank, sweet, I think I want the seven-layer chocolate cake with the raspberry filling.”
“Ooh, me too, me too,” Dawn said as she bounced in her seat. Thoughts of chocolate treats usually were enough to reduce her to giddy juvenile behavior. The next moment she caught herself and stilled in her seat, striving for adult calm. “What about you, Buff? Want to pig out on creamy, chocolate-y goodness?”
“You betcha. And this time I don’t have to worry about you eating my share,” Buffy added.
Dawn stuck out her tongue and all three women voted for the cake. The men restricted themselves to the more manly choice of apple pie á la mode. Hank picked at his slice when it arrived. He was acutely aware of the women chatting animatedly between bites of cake and he used these precious moments of calm to order his thoughts. He’d been taken by surprise by this whole scenario and he didn’t like it one bit. He’d thought his new wife would be his ally in something as important as this; having Cathy side with Buffy on this was an additional shock.
Part of him was resentful about his new marriage being upstaged in this manner but that was a selfish thought and easily dismissed. What truly bugged him was realizing how much of Buffy’s life he had missed and it wasn’t just this Giles character.
Buffy had had it rough without him; Dawn’s sniping comments made that painfully clear. He’d neglected his daughters, neglected his duty as a father and, if that was the kind of man he was, maybe Cathy was right about him being selfish. If his daughter was happy--and that bit of tongue hockey at the table seemed to indicate it--then who was he to step in and interfere?
Her father, that’s who. He stifled the rush of hostility that came with that thought and took a good, hard look at his two girls. No, not girls. They were women, at least Buffy was. And she looked so happy, too. Her eyes were shining with the radiant moss green he could remember from her childhood instead of the dull, opaque gray that had been there all too often during the divorce.
Hank had to admit, the man was handsome--in a well-used, worn kind of way, he supposed. He had wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and thinning hair. But he looked like he kept himself in shape and he was big and rangy without that over-muscled, beefy look so many guys went in for these days. Hank couldn’t see any sign of artificial enhancements and he’d known a few men who’d opted for Botox to erase the passage of years. Guess plastic surgery just for gals was a thing of the past. This Giles didn’t go in for it, though, and Hank gave him grudging points for that.
The long-absent Mr. Summers noted the tender glances the other newlyweds traded, their hands straying to touch and caress each other’s as if they couldn’t remain apart physically for more than a minute. Dawn’s early comments about Buffy’s room being soundproofed flashed through his mind and he could feel his face flushing again. It wasn’t just love between Buffy and this guy. It was all the other stuff, things he used to do with her mother. He wasn’t ready to think about that and shut the lid on those thoughts in a hurry.
Buffy squeezed Mr. Giles’s arm with comfortable familiarity, smiling up into his face and laughing at his witty jokes. They loved each other. That was very clear and he’d be a fool if he made a fuss about it now. Buffy was happy, Dawn was ecstatic and, if he stood in the way of that, he was going to lose what precious little he had left of his family.
The rest of the meal was conducted with tolerant if not overly friendly conversation and Buffy breathed a silent sigh of relief. It looked like her father had come to terms with everything and wasn’t going to blow up again over her and Giles. She didn’t know what Cathy had said to bring him around and the woman didn’t volunteer the information. But she was profoundly grateful nonetheless.
After the bill was paid and they were walking outside, Hank turned to his two daughters. “Buffy, first off I want to apologize for everything I said at the house earlier.”
Buffy arched an eyebrow. “And?”
“And? Uh, well, I obviously haven’t been there for you when you needed me.” A loud snort came from Dawn at that comment. “But I’m here now and I can see that you’re happy, that you all are,” his gaze including Giles. “And I want to be a part of that. I-I’m happy for you, Buffy, I really am. I’m also proud as hell. You’ve grown up and turned into such a beautiful, capable woman.” He hesitated and added softly, “Your mom would be proud.”
Buffy had wanted to remain aloof as she heard her father out. In spite of her intentions, she could sense the tears pricking at her eyes. But she refrained from throwing her hands around her father and settled for a quick peck on his cheek instead. “Thanks, Dad. I really appreciate that.” She drew back and added, “So do you want to come for the real wedding?”
Her father’s eyes narrowed. “Huh? Real wedding? I thought the two of you--”
“That was the civil wedding, Dad. Buffy and Giles didn’t want to lose any time making it official after he and Buffy started getting all, you know,” Dawn blurted.
Mr. Summers’s tone turned decidedly frosty. “Oh, did he?”
She was so going to kill Dawn for blabbing. Couldn’t she let Buffy take care of things herself? “Nice one, Dawn. Do I talk about your love life? Remember Justin?” Buffy murmured meaningfully.
“Remember Angel? Remember Spike?” Dawn shot back.
“That was different. Spike was a mistake.”
“And Justin wasn’t? Why do you always get a free pass, Buffy?”
“Why are you always interfering?” Buffy pulled herself up short. “You know what? This isn’t about our drama, Dawn. It’s about Dad coming to terms with my life.” She turned to her father. “Dad, about our wedding…it’s not what you’re thinking. We had other reasons for having a civil ceremony than what Dawn wants you to think. But we’ve also decided to have ourselves a big, grand white wedding just like every girl dreams of…and I want you to be there,” she finished in a rush.
Giles’s eyes widened. After what Buffy had said to him, he was certain including her father in her wedding plans was definitely out. Now it appeared she had changed her mind again. Would he ever understand completely this fascinating, infuriating woman? Well, he had the rest of his life to find out…
“Y-you do?” The obvious yearning in Buffy’s voice drew her father and turned his heart into mush. As a little girl, Buffy always could wrap him around her little finger and now was no exception.
“I want to walk down the aisle in some fabulous, overpriced dress that I’ll never wear again and it’s customary for the man giving me away to be my dad. I’d really like it if you were there for me.”
That was a reminder of all the times he hadn’t been there but there was no accusation behind the words and he knew it. Hank swallowed and nodded. “Sure, honey. You want me there, you got me.”
Cathy spoke up at this point. “And we can go over wedding plans together, Buffy. It’ll be so much fun.” She glanced over at Hank. “And your father can help pay.”
“I can?”
“Of course! The father of the bride is supposed to pay.”
“B-but I just found out and--”
“Then it’s settled,” Cathy concluded brightly. “Don’t worry, Buffy. Your old man’s loaded.”
She winked at her husband’s bemused look and continued. “We’ll look over patterns, compare prices, send out the wedding invites, pick the bridesmaids’ dresses--”
“No lime green!” both Summers girls yelled at once and then looked at each other. They burst out laughing while Cathy smiled knowingly.
“Bad bridesmaid experience?”
“You’ve no idea,” Dawn muttered, a shiver rippling over her shoulders.
“Done. Scratch the lime green.”
Hank witnessed this exchange with something approaching bafflement and turned to Giles. “Do I even want to know?”
Giles hadn’t been a witness to the Xander-and-Anya fiasco although he decided not to bring that up with Mr. Summers. The man wouldn’t understand why the Englishman had left his daughter after Giles’s passionate avowal of devotion in the restaurant. He contented himself with a faint conspiratorial smile. “Best not to ask.”
Hank grimaced as he recalled the flurry of his and Joyce’s wedding. Thank goodness Cathy had decided to forego all that. He’d dug in his heels and exclaimed that one grand wedding in a man’s life was enough. He didn’t think he could survive a second one. Cathy had yielded but her disappointment had been obvious. Now it appeared she was taking the opportunity to unleash those matrimonial urges with his daughter. Oh boy.
He watched the women babble excitedly as they walked to their cars and allowed himself to lag behind them. He lowered his voice and spoke to his son-in-law. “Say, Giles. It looks like the girls will be at this for awhile. What do you say we find a bar and leave them to it?”
Giles wanted nothing better than to give in to the suggestion. He’d been caught up once or twice in wedding planning. Talk about caterers and decorations had left him stunned and weary and he’d found himself sympathizing secretly with Xander. No wonder the lad had bolted.
As if sensing his thought, Buffy glanced over her shoulder with a lascivious look and Giles recalled his own circumstances. “Uh, perhaps another time, Mr. Summers. This is my wedding night, after all.”
“Oh, yeah. Right.” Hank’s temporary feeling of fellowship vanished and he stuck his hands in his pockets. “Hey, Cathy, we should head back to the hotel. Buffy and Giles want some, uh, alone time.”
Cathy eyed the other newlyweds for a moment and fell back into step alongside her husband. “You know what, Hank? They’re not the only ones who could use a little alone time,” she purred as she drew one fingernail down Hank’s ear. She knew what this did to him and, sure enough, Hank’s eyes got a gleam to match Giles’s.
The younger Summers girl puffed out her lips in mock disgust. “Hey, people? Barely legal girl present, remember? Hold down on the PDAs, at least while I’m around. I just finished dinner and don’t want to rolf all over the sidewalk.” Dawn stopped by Giles’s car and tapped her foot in clear impatience to get away from her horny sister.
“Fine, brat. We’ll drive you back home and you can limit yourself to imagining all the naughty things we’re doing while you’re finishing up your homework.”
“I don’t have to imagine. I saw you two getting freaky on the couch, remember?”
When Buffy opened her mouth to retaliate, Giles squeezed her waist in warning. “Buffy, do you want to get into a pointless argument with your sister or would you rather come home with me?”
“Couldn’t we do both?” Buffy asked. “Except you’re right; she’s not worth it.” She slid into the front seat with Giles, ignoring her sister’s pout.
“Just wait until I start bringing guys home. See how you’ll like it when you walk in on the two of us,” she muttered.
Cathy hustled Hank to his car before he could make any comment. “Hank, just keep telling yourself: They’re all grown up now. They’re all grown up now.”
“But--”
She placed a finger against his lips. “Oh no. I don’t want you spending the night thinking of them. You’ll make me think I’ve lost my touch.”
He slid into the seat of his car and watched Giles’s vehicle pull away from the curb. If not for the woman at his side, he might have driven after them. It hurt to watch his daughters drive away from him. It made the separation curiously final in a way that all the years apart hadn’t.
Cathy’s tongue swirling around his ear brought him back to the present with a jolt. Well, there was something to be said for not having the kids around…

TBC
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What a Mother Wouldn't Do