Title: Until We Meet Again 4/?
Author: Adele
Disclaimer: The characters are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Sandollar Productions, Kuzui Enterprises, 20th Century Fox Television, the WB Television Network, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I do not mean to infringe upon any copyrights.

Buffy woke up the next morning to the blaring of an alarm clock. She would have turned it off, but she was held so tightly against Giles's chest she couldn't have moved an inch if she wanted to. Luckily, his arm shot out and he turned the offending noise off.

He rubbed her back and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before climbing out of bed. Buffy tried to quench the disappointment that he was getting up, but she knew he had a job and was a busy man. She rolled over onto her stomach, placed her hands under her chin on the pillow and sighed. Responsibility sucked.

Just as she was about to doze off she heard Giles come back into the room, and there was a flutter in her stomach as she sensed him crawling across the bed towards her. A gust of air brushed against her body as he lifted the comforter and settled himself under it with her. He built a nice warm cocoon around them, brought his chest flush against her side and laid his hand on her back, stroking softly with long slow sweeps.

Buffy grinned and turned her head around to meet his smiling face.

"Good morning," he murmured in a deep voice that made her shiver. "Slept well?"

Buffy nodded happily. "Yes, I did. And good morning to you too. Did you?"

Giles's smile softened. He let his eyes follow his hand as it brushed some hair from her face. "Very." He answered in that same low voice. "As a matter of fact, I can't remember the last time I slept as well as I did last night." He grinned and let his finger trail down her cheek as his eyes met hers. "Must have been the company."

Buffy beamed and rolled on her side so she was facing him. His hand on her back slipped to her waist, his fingers brushing against her naked skin, where her shirt had risen. Their gazes locked, and Buffy completely forgot what she was about to say.

Her hand came up to rest against his chest, and a heady tension filled the space between their bodies. His eyes were burning with an intensity she'd never seen before, and she suspected her eyes matched his, if her heart had any say in the matter.

She felt incapable of hiding her feelings for him anymore, and the way he was looking at her clearly said he felt something about her, too. Several moments passed as they seemed to have a silent conversation. Both searched and finally found what they needed.

She held back a gasp when she felt his leg brush against hers, and fisted her hand in his shirt when he started slipping his leg between hers while simultaneously pulling her closer to his body. Her body temperature seemed to have risen several degrees, and she leaned her forehead against his as his strong thigh placed itself between hers.

Her eyes opened when she felt the brush of his hand against her cheek, and she met his heavy lidded gaze. His pupils were dilated and his green eyes darkened when they met hers. Her breathing became shallow when he brushed her lower lip with his thumb, making sure to keep eye contact as he caressed her softly. Her lips parted and he closed his eyes with a low moan when her tongue brushed against the pad of his thumb.

Buffy inched closer to him, and brushed against his erection. His eyes opened, and the heat in his gaze almost melted her on the spot. He pulled her flush against him and rolled her on her back, laying half on top of her. Slowly he leaned his head towards her neck, and she shuddered as she felt his breath against her skin before his lips grazed her neckline. Her hand tangled in his hair and she pressed his lips more firmly against her neck.

He parted his lips and let his tongue brush against her skin. She wasn't able to hold back a whimper. Oh god, who is this man? She thought to herself, Never had she expected herself to ever be in such an intimate situation with him. Except maybe in her dreams. Had he not looked and smelled like her Watcher, she would have suspected she'd woken up in a stranger's bed.

The painful realization he wasn't actually her Watcher anymore, and hadn't been for several years, made her eyes snap open. She tightened her arms desperately around him as painful memories of his disappearance surfaced.

His kisses stopped and he raised his head and looked at her in question. "Buffy? Are you alright?"

She hated for this moment to end, but she needed to know. "Giles?" she whispered. "Where have you been all these years? Why did you disappear?" Her hand stroked his chin, and tears gathered in her eyes. "I've looked for you for so long."

Giles closed his eyes and rested his forehead against hers. He drew a deep breath. When he didn't answer, she pressed on. "Why did you cut yourself off from the others?" Her voice broke. "I couldn't find you when I got back, and nobody knew where you were."

He sighed and hugged her close before lifting himself off her. For a second, Buffy was worried he was going to leave, but he lay next to her and pulled her close. He rested his head on the pillow next to her. His eyes were pained and his voice shook slightly when he spoke. "When you died."

He trailed off, closed his eyes and swallowed, before opening them again. Buffy's heart ached when she saw the moisture in his, and she stroked his chest encouragingly. Giles covered her hand with his and let his thumb stroke back and forth. "The latter part of my life, Buffy, has revolved around you. You went from being my charge to . . . someone I cared deeply for. And when you died, my whole life fall apart."

Buffy listened with wide eyes, stunned that he put words to the way she'd felt when she came back and he was nowhere to be found.

Giles' voice dropped to a whisper as he continued. "I blamed myself for your death, because I wasn't there." Buffy started shaking her head, but he stroked her cheek to keep her from speaking. Buffy gave in and stayed silent. She suspected he needed to say this.

"But the worst came just a few days after your death. I realized I blamed the others since they were there. I was shocked by my own emotions. I had become a broken shell of the man I used to be. So I broke contact, asked them for time. But, even with time, I couldn't go on the way I had. I was haunted by the memories of you. Somehow everywhere I looked I would see, smell or hear something that reminded me of you."

Buffy swiped a tear from his cheek, and Giles attempted to smile wryly and failed badly. "How was I supposed to know that you are one woman who is incredibly hard to forget?"

Buffy, whose own eyes had misted up, laughed soggily and snuggled into his neck. She held him tight to ease both their pain.

Giles held her back and kissed the top of her head before continuing. "I left, traveled the world. I tried to keep myself busy, tried to erase my memory of you, but all I felt was emptiness. A never-ending emptiness. And the memory of you haunted me. Still has. Until yesterday."

He tightened his hold on her and whispered, "Oh god, Buffy."

Buffy stroked his hair as she whispered soothingly into his ear. "It's alright Giles, Shh, it's alright. I am here now. We both are."

Several minutes passed until he got a hold of himself. He whiped his cheeks, where the silent tears had fallen, and continued speaking. "Before I knew it, a year had passed since I'd spoken to them, and I felt so awful for doing what I did to them. Leaving them behind like that."

Buffy stroked his back soothingly. "You're only human Giles."

Giles laughed cheerlessly and whispered. "And even more so when it comes to you, dear. I lost all rational thought, and when it came back to me, I felt it was too late. Didn't want to disappoint them anymore."

He pulled her tighter and Buffy slipped her hand beneath his shirt to stroke his chest. "They've only said good things about you, Giles. They've been sad, but never angry at you for disappearing."

Giles was too choked to speak and just kissed her hair again. When he felt he had control of his emotions again he pulled back and looked at her. "By the way, do they know you found me?"

Buffy felt relieved that the painful conversation was over and raised herself on her elbow. "Yeah, I called them yesterday. All of them send you their love." Giles smiled when he heard that.

She stroked his cheek. "I do understand your actions, Giles. I really do. When I couldn't find you, I was devastated, and was ready shake heaven and earth to deal with my feelings. But real life kicked in and I just had to run to keep up with it. There was no time for anything else."

Her voice dropped into a whisper. "But I want to tell you something. When it was over, the first thing I thought about was you. I told Willow I would search the earth for you." She laughed breathlessly. "Thank god it didn't take me that long."

Giles laughed as well, a little shakily, and pulled her tightly against his chest. "Yes, thank god. I'm not sure how many days I would have managed more without you."

Buffy squeezed him and stroked his chest with soft tender strokes. They stayed like, resting in each others arms for a while, until Giles spoke again. "How did you find me Buffy?"

Buffy laughed. "Well first I went to Bath, and your old neighbor tipped me off to the British Museum. But they claimed they'd never heard of you when I called and asked about you."

Giles nodded. "It's been a long time since I worked there."

"So I literally searched everywhere in London for you." Buffy grinned. "Looked up every R Giles in the phonebook and stopped by every museum. Finally, I went to the British Museum in person and tried again. Still no luck. But then your old buddy Ashton Hirschfield swung by and gave me your location."

"Ashton you say?" Giles laughed and pulled her close. "He called me the day before you arrived. He actually got me the job at the Louvre, but we hadn't spoken in months. And usually he calls me because of business -- never to chat. But the other day when he called he was acting very strange. Wondering if I were busy and had I had a visitor lately. Now it all makes sense."

Buffy laughed as well. "Yeah, well, I made him promise not to tell. I wanted to give you a surprise."

Giles chuckled and slipped his hand underneath her shirt to caress her back. "You gave me the shock of my lifetime, you did."

Buffy raised her head. "Was it too much?"

Giles chuckled and stroked her cheek, and brought her head back down to rest on his chest. "It was perfect, love."

Buffy smiled, and realized how exhausted she felt after their talk. The feel of Giles hand stroking her hair soon lulled her to sleep.

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