Title: Texas Tea (47 of ?)
Authors: Mrsdrake and Ladyforash
Rating: FRAO
Pairing: Giles/OFC
Summary: Giles travels to Texas.
Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They belong to Joss, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB & Mutant Enemy. This is purely for fun.
Jessie belongs to Ladyforash.
Spoilers: Takes plase after season seven.
Giles drove Jessie into town to a small family owned restaurant. They were seated in a quiet spot near the back. Rather than a waiter, the owner came out to talk to them. She was a tall woman with short red hair.
"Rupert. It's been too long," she exclaimed.
"Holly, I apologize," he said. "I've been busy and spent time out of the country."
Holly turned to Jessie. "Who is this lovely young woman?"
"This is my fiancee, Jessie."
""You are a lucky woman, Jessie," Holly said. "Every woman in town would love to be in your place."
Jessie smiled politely at Holly. "Thank you. I know how lucky I am." Secretly she was starting to be very glad that Faith had taught her how to fight. She might need the skills to fight off all Rupert's admirers!
Holly seemed to know what Jessie was thinking. "Now that he's brought you here, the whole town will know he's off limits. Word gets around quickly in a small town like this."
She turned to Giles. "I've been trying out some new dishes. Would you like me to bring out a sampler platter for you? I'd love to have your opinion on them. Will you be having drinks tonight? Perhaps a bottle of wine?"
"No wine tonight, Holly," Giles answered. "The sampler platter sounds wonderful." He turned to Jessie. "Unless you'd like something different, Love."
Jessie relaxed and smiled. "No, that sounds wonderful. Maybe some lemonade to go with it?" They had lemonade here in England, right? She sure hoped so. It was her favorite. No beer for at least nine months! More if she nursed, she reasoned.
"Lemonade? Certainly," Holly said. She turned to Giles. "And, you?"
"I'll have lemonade as well. Thank you," he said.
Holly nodded and left to prepare their food.
Jessie reached across the table and took one of his hands in hers. "This is so lovely and quaint. I like the atmosphere, and Holly seems very nice."
Giles smiled. "Holly and I attended school together before I went to Oxford. We've remained good friends. All the dishes here are her own creations. She has a real talent for it. She is a wonderful pastry chef too. Perhaps she could cater the wedding, if that's alright with you, Love."
"Ask me again after dinner," Jessie teased. "Seriously though, I'm sure that would be lovely. I only really care about it happening soon, that your family is there, and my Pa is there. The details are just that...details."
Soon, Holly brought out food for both of them to try and lemonade to go with it. It all looked wonderful.
Giles tasted a bit that he found wonderful. He put a bit on his fork and held it close to her lips. "You must try this. It's exquisite."
Jessie leaned forward and took the bite he offered. "Oh, that is delightful," she said with a smile. "Why doesn't she have a bigger place? With cooking skills like this, she could be the next Betty Crocker."
"She feels it would spoil it. She likes the cozy atmosphere here." He noticed a bit of sauce that had dribbled down her chin. With a grin, he leaned over and licked it off.
Jessie blushed and then giggled. She sat back down and glanced around, relieved no one had seen the public display, but also a bit proud. She had a man that wasn't afraid of showing how he felt, and that pleased her. She looked up at him with a huge smile. "Holly is right, you know. I am the luckiest woman to have you."
"I think she's wrong. I'm the lucky one to have found you," he whispered.
Jessie smiled and took another bite of her supper. The fork lingered on her lips as she looked at him. "You better eat all your supper, Rupert, so we can go back home and both...get lucky."
Giles felt like a boy on his first date through the rest of dinner. They fed each other, played 'footsie' under the table, and giggled a lot as they talked about nonsense things. It was a wonderful night.
As they left the restaurant, they held hands, and he kissed her before opening the door to the car. "I can't wait to get you home," he whispered as he climbed in and started the car.