Title: Trust 2/9
Author: Eaglewolf
Email: auzzie98@hotmail.com
Note: BVTS/Dark Angel X/Over
Feedback: Always nice:)
Disclaimer: Joss and his playmates in the sandbox own it. It's getting crowded in there. Coz ya know things would be very different if I did:)
"Buffy! Are you okay?" Giles ran to her side surveying the mess of his favourite teapot, and checking Buffy over for potential injuries.
"Giles!" Buffy's eyes flashed with anger. "A KID, Giles?"
"Buffy, are you hurt?" He continued to check her over, looking for blood. Luckily there was only a tiny scratch on her arm. "That should heal fairly quick." Giles watched as the skin repaired itself, "quickly."
"GILES!"
He looked up into her eyes, and for a moment her breath was taken away. No man had ever shown as much concern for her before. Then he blinked and the moment was gone.
"I should have told you Buffy." His tone was low and regretful. He sighed and bent down to pick up the pieces of the teapot. He blinked back the tears pricking at eyelids. "I cannot express how sorry I am." He glanced up and was surprised to see her still standing there. He saw something soft in her gaze, and was momentarily taken back by it.
Giles was so enraptured by that look, he didn't notice as one jagged shard sliced through his skin and embedded itself deep into his hand.
"Giles! Your hand!" Buffy cried grabbing it in her own to examine it closely. She winced, "I think you may need stitches, being without the Slayer healing and all. Plus all that time in the emergency ward will give you time to explain things, 'kay?" Buffy had grown up a lot since her resurrection, she was no longer the selfish child she had once been.
Giles looked down as she examined his hand and he hissed in pain as he realised just how deep the cut was. He hissed again as Buffy wrapped a makeshift bandage around it. She then covered it softly with her lips and placed a gentle kiss on the wound.
"There, that will make it better." She said grinning.
"Err, yes. Th-thank you." Giles stuttered.
Buffy's eyes widened as she realised what she'd done. <<Oh my god! I just kissed Giles' booboo. Booboo?>> Buffy started laughing at the thought of Giles having a boo boo.
"Buffy? A-are you quite alright?" Giles asked as his hand started to throb.
"Sorry, Giles. It's just, I kissed your booboo. Then it struck me who you were. Giles. Mr Giles, super librarian and magic shop owner. Not some little kid who'd fallen and scraped his knee." She smiled and flicked her hair out of her face. "Now, I guess I'll have to drive us to the hospital and you can tell me about your.?"
"Son. Logan." Giles smiled, his pride was obvious. "So you're not too mad at me Buffy?" His heartbeat doubled time.
"Mad? Yes. Too mad to take you to hospital and get you cleaned up? No. You should have told me Giles. Why didn't you? We're a team - we need to trust each other." Buffy opened the door and signalled for him to go through it.
"I know. I tried to tell you all a million times, but something always came up. And then, well too much time had passed to bring him up." He kept his eyes down as he walked towards the Jeep.
Suddenly Giles felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to come face to face with Buffy who was still standing a couple of steps up so she was eye level with him. "We'll get through this you know."
Giles nodded, and turned to walk away when he felt her hand pull him back around. She tilted her head and smiled at him, then drew him to her for a hug. Giles wrapped his arms around her automatically as he relished the contact. He closed his eyes and soaked in the warmth that was Buffy.
Buffy broke the hug with a sound of dismay. "Oh I'm sorry Giles, your hand. We better get to the hospital."
"Yes." Buffy wasn't too sure, but he sounded almost disappointed.
**********
"So, you're Logan Giles?" Max asked as she tried to get her head around the new information.
"No. I'm Logan Cale. As much as Rupert has been there for me since my parents death.I'm a Cale through and through." Logan stared at the road ahead.
"Gotcha." She smiled, hoping that soon she'd be able to touch... she stopped her thoughts going down that road quickly.
"Max. There's something I need to tell you." Logan's tone was serious.
"Don't tell me? We're actually brother and sister, and you don't actually care?" Max tried to lighten the mood.
Logan took his eyes off the road to look at her.
"Sorry." She mumbled. "What is it?" Her demeanour changed in an instant.
"Manticore isn't the only evil in the world." Logan sighed and snuck a look at her. She was looking back at him concentrating only on him, a slight frown on her face.
"I know." She said, "There's plenty of bad guys out there. I just always seem to be able to trace them back to Manticore."
"Demons." Logan kept his eyes on the road.
"We all have our inner demons, Logan."
"Real ones." Logan tensed not knowing how Max would react.
"Manticore had some pretty demon looking things, Logan." She sounded unsure.
"Real demons. Hard to believe I know. But, that's what Rupert does. I guess I got the saviour genes from him."
"You sure it's ooky demons, and not just a different sort of Manticore? I mean you've seen some of the freak show."
Logan shook his head. "You'll see. Rupert has magical contacts, I'm hoping."
"Oh." Max shivered. "The virus."
Logan simply nodded.
She smiled at him. "I'll try anything once. Even if it turns out to be a load of steaming crap at least we tried. You never know."
"It might work." Logan whispered. "I love you Max. It's driving me crazy not being able to touch you."
"I know." Max turned her head to stare out the window.
**********
Buffy looked down at the steaming cup of coffee in her hands. Her head was spinning from everything Giles had told her. It was as if finally telling her had opened a flood gate within him. She now knew things about him that she'd never even wondered about before. Giles was someone's father. His son was older than she was. She'd been quiet in the Jeep as Giles had filled the void with information about Logan and his mother.
His voice invaded her thoughts. "Buffy? Are you okay?"
"Yeah Giles, I'm fine." Her eyes never left the coffee cup.
"Are you sure? You seem."
"I'm just kinda in shock, Giles. The way you were humming and hawing all night, I half thought you were going to tell me you were in love with me."
"Rupert Giles." The nurse called looking up from her clip board.
Giles sighed, stood and lifted Buffy's chin so that she was looking straight into his eyes. "I am."
The hot coffee just missed both of them as it spilled all over the floor.