Title: All The Relatives 4/14
Author: escargoat
Rating: pg-13
Disclaimer: I don't own. Joss, WB, FX, Fox, Mutant Enemy, etc ,etc own. I'm making no money off of this. I don't own the characters, nor am I acting as an agent on behalf of the afore mentioned entities. I am merely using their characters for my own amusement.

Buffy growled in frustration as she was rudely woken by a knocking at the door. Fortunately for the knocking person, Giles got up and answered it.

“Good morning, Rupert,” George greeted his younger brother.

“George,” Giles said in a questioning tone.

“I came to inform you that you and your charming fiancée may use the shower down the hall. There isn’t a lock, so we installed a hook by the door. Just hang your robe on it so that we know that it is occupied. I’ll let you get back to whatever it was you were doing.” George smiled pleasantly.

“It’s called sleeping. Go away,” Buffy mumbled out from underneath her pillow.

Giles smiled and closed the door on George’s face.

“You realize, Buffy, that you are an incredible woman.”

Buffy peeked blearily at her Watcher. “Giles, don’t give me compliments I can’t figure out when I’m still groggy.”

“I merely meant to say that even half awake, you have managed to trump my brother,” he explained.

Buffy grunted her acceptance of the compliment before she forced herself to roll out of bed. “Yeah, well anyone who has a weird system about the shower and bathrobes seriously needs to be insulted. Didn’t it ever occur to them to simply listen for the shower? Or, novel idea here, don’t go in if the door is closed?”

Giles simply smiled at his cranky slayer and grabbed his bathrobe. “Would you mind turning around?”

“Why?”

Giles simply stared at her in response. Buffy stared back and after a bit, her eyes widened, and she blushed deeply. “Oh, gotcha,” she said before turning around to give Giles some privacy.

Giles chuckled and slipped out of his nightclothes and into his robe. “You may turn around now Buffy. I believe that I am adequately attired.”

Buffy turned around and looked at Giles. “Nice robe,” she said for lack of anything else to say.

“Thank you,” he replied, somewhat amused.

“I wish I had packed one,” Buffy commented.

“You didn’t pack a robe?”

“Well, it isn’t exactly something I was planning on needing. Not exactly expecting it to be on the must list, you know?”

Giles smiled briefly and shook his head. “George can be a bit eccentric.”

“Yes, a good trait especially when added to his large ego and nasty attitude.”

“Yes, well, while I do admit that he is not the nicest person in the world, perhaps we should concentrate on the more important areas instead of fighting him on this point. I shall lend you my robe when I am done with my shower.”

Buffy grinned. “Oooh, sexy.”

Giles sighed and looked up at the ceiling. “Must you torment me?”

Buffy’s brow furrowed in confusion. “What’d I do?”

“Now really isn’t the time to assault my sexuality, Buffy”

“Who’s assaulting? I don’t see any assaults going on. Besides, if I wanted to pick on a Giles, I have a whole household to choose from. I honestly meant that if you were my actual boyfriend, I’d find that gesture romantically sexy. Now, go take your shower before you explode from all that blood rushing to your face,” Buffy said as she pushed her now blushing Watcher out the door.

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

A freshly cleaned Buffy skipped down the stairs to join the others for breakfast. She squeaked into her chair moments before Grace started serving.

“It is a pity you couldn’t have helped us with breakfast, Buffy. We could have used the help,” Grace said as she seated herself across the table from her youngest son.

“I don’t cook well. Giles cooks, I, um…”

“Buffy does her job,” Giles finished for her.

“Do you mean to say that you’re a house husband, Rupert?” George asked, scandalized.

“Well, that is to say,”

“Giles had a job, but after the school blew up, he hasn’t had the right opportunity come along,” Buffy supplied.

Nancy’s eyes lit with interest. “The school you were working in exploded? That sounds like an interesting story.”

“Not, not really. There was a..a gas leak. It exploded,” Giles said smoothly.

Arlene raised an eyebrow. “I must say that you have had a long run of bad luck with your jobs. Your father had informed me that you were once a museum curator. How on earth did you end up being a librarian in the United States? And then to be unemployed, and a man of your education…”

“Excuse me, but I don’t think that you know Giles well enough to judge him. Now, you may be family by marriage, but you don’t see me ripping apart what your husband does for a living. So, I’d ask you not to rip apart my fiancée’s life, of which you know nothing. If you want to pick on his wardrobe, be my guest. You’ve seen that. You have a right to an opinion. Otherwise, butt out lady.”

Buffy rose from that table and looked over at Giles. “I’m not hungry. I’m gonna go for a walk.”

With that, Buffy strolled out of the room.

“Well I never,” Arlene said indignantly.

Nancy sighed and wiped her mouth. “She is right, Arlene. We have been too judgmental of Rupert, and you have never met him before last night. It is no wonder that Buffy is so protective of him. If you’ll excuse me, I think that I should go and get to know my future sister-in-law a bit better.”

Nancy left the table.

Giles stared at his remaining family members. “So, delightful weather we’re having.”

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

Buffy was angrily strolling through the vineyards when Nancy caught up with her.

“You walk very fast. I had to run to catch up with you,” she wheezed when she finally reached Buffy.

“What, you need to impart some holier than thou wisdom to me?”

Nancy laughed between her gasps for breath. “I don’t really wish to be on the receiving end of your tongue. It is obvious that Rupert chose you for some reason other than your pretty face.”

Buffy crossed her arms and looked down at the ground. “So he keeps telling me. He always tells me how smart I am. I’m not really sure that I believe him.”

“Well, I can’t weigh in on your intelligence, but I can say that you are very loyal. Rupert needs that after the life he has had,” Nancy rejoined.

Buffy shrugged. “So what are you here for?”

Nancy shrugged back at her. “I always felt a bit guilty for abandoning Rupert so completely. I was young, and I was hurt by my father’s betrayal, but it wasn’t Rupert’s fault. Recently, my husband left me for a much younger… man. I think that I now know how Rupert felt when we cut all contact with him. I want to make it right.”

“Why aren’t you in there telling that to him then? I’m not the one you hurt.”

“Because you are the most important thing in the world to him. I could apologize for years to Rupert, but it would never mean more to him than if I treated you kindly.”

“I’m not really…” Buffy began.

“Nonsense. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. The way he devotes every breath to you. He cares for you, very deeply.”

“I guess I don’t know what to say,” Buffy hesitantly said.

Nancy began to walk again. “Don’t say anything. I don’t think that those sorts of statements can really be replied to unless you are truly inspired to do so.”

“I guess you’re right. I suppose now is the time that I ask you about your life and we have a bonding moment?”

Nancy laughed. “I never would have imagined that Rupert would have picked a woman with your sense of humor. He has always been so uptight and conservative. Did you know that he actually wanted to be a grocer when he was younger?”

“Or a fighter pilot,” Buffy added.

“True, true. I wanted to be a librarian, and I ended up marrying a grocer who used to be a fighter pilot.”

“Now that would be a bit of strange irony I could have lived without knowing. So this grocer ended up playing for the home team?”

Nancy nodded. “Gary told me he was gay about a year ago. I had known that he was having an affair. I just never knew that it was with another man. Iris didn’t take it quite as well.”

“I didn’t take it too well when I found out that my dad was having an affair with his secretary. I can relate.”

“Yes, but you haven’t channeled all of your energy into trying to become a wicca.”

“Your daughter is practicing magic?” Buffy asked as nonchalantly as possible.

“No, she just thinks she is. I know it’s a phase, but I do tire of the foul smells from the herbs she uses.”

“Yup, fouls smells a big no. That’s why I beat things up. I mean, that’s why I go to the gym and use the punching bag to relieve my aggression. Which, now that I think about it, doesn’t really get rid of foul smells because you sweat, and then you have to take a shower, but the smells lasts a shorter time, so I think I end up ahead.”

Nancy stopped and looked at Buffy. “Do you often ramble like that?”

“That would depend on your definition of often,” Buffy replied.

Nancy shook her head once again. “And I thought I knew Rupert so well.”

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

Giles watched his father pace back and forth in the small study that he had called his son into after breakfast. “I take it that there is a particular reason you asked me to join you in here,” he stated calmly.

Robert glanced up at his son. “This girl you are with, you aren’t really serious about bringing her into the family are you?”

“I don’t see that it would be any concern of yours.”

“Rupert, she’s too young and much too wild to be a member of our family. I realize that you are getting to the point in life where you wish to finally settle down, but really, you shouldn’t be marrying the girl that you picked out on one of your middle aged last grabs at youth.”

“I’ve already had my wild times, if you recall correctly, Father. I assure you that my relationship with Buffy is not some fly by night adventure to prove my male virility,” Giles contested.

“I suppose that I should have known better than to try to reason with you. I know that look on your face. I suppose that I should be glad that you haven’t followed in the footsteps of that idiot that I met in Los Angeles.”

“What idiot?” Giles inquired.

“Oh, Wesley what’s his name. Did you know that the blasted fool isn’t working for the council anymore? Apparently he was given charge over the current Slayer, but the simpleton was influenced by the girl’s previous Watcher who had been fired.”

Giles played with his glasses nervously for a second. “You don’t say?” He managed to get out.

“Yes. You should have seen his face when he saw me. He thought the council had sent me after him. What I really should have done is called Travers and asked if I could do anything about him, but I didn’t want to do anything to alarm your mother. You could do something, though. Why don’t you give the council a call? Maybe they will reassign you to somewhere else other than where you are now.”

“W..well I’ll have to think about that. I’d like to focus on one thing at a time right now,” Giles spoke quickly.

“Yes, I suppose that you do,” his father eyed his son carefully. Rupert was hiding something, but what? It could be any myriad of ideas. He would have to watch his son carefully to figure out what it was.

‘’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’’

That night, Buffy collapsed on her bed in their room and glanced over at Giles. “You are making that up. Your father asked you to rat out Wesley to Travers? The council really didn’t bring him up to speed did they?”

“Apparently not, I must say that I was in a bit of a conundrum trying to decide whether to be irate or burst out laughing.”

“I would have gone for the laughing bit. Really, I’m very proud of how you ‘corrupted’ poor Wesley.”

“Hmmm, if I recall correctly, I did have some help in that area,” Giles said back.

Buffy grinned in response.

They were silent for a while before she started again. “Did you know that Iris is trying to learn magic?”

Giles nodded. “She’s doing a very poor job of it from what I’ve gathered. I’m not surprised really, that sort of thing usually doesn’t skip a generation to go on to the next.”

“Does that mean that Old Mr. Giles can work mojo?”

“My father is skilled. He isn’t anywhere as good as I am…”

“Humble much?” Buffy poked lightheartedly at Giles.

“Merely certain of my abilities, I assure you.” Giles smiled back at her. His eyes studied her as she laughed.

Buffy noticed the way he looked at her and blushed. She couldn’t help but think about what Nancy had said earlier in the day. Of course, Nancy did not know anything about the Watcher-Slayer dynamic, but Buffy could not help but wonder, just for a moment, what it would be like if Giles really was infatuated with her. What would it be like if Giles really did love her in that way?

“Don’t tell me that I’ve finally found a way to win a discussion with you?” Giles asked after a bit.

“Huh?” Buffy said as she was pulled from her musings.

“You’ve been unusually quiet for the past few moments,” Giles provided.

“I was just thinking. Nothing important, just, you know, thinking.”

“Ah, in other words, you don’t want to tell me.”

“All that college really paid off huh?”

Giles looked up at the ceiling as if he was beseeching help from it. “You truly do vex me sometimes, Buffy.”

“Good,” Buffy said perkily before she crawled under her covers. “Goodnight Giles.”

Giles shook his head and smiled gently at her as he turned out the bedside lamp. “Goodnight Buffy.”

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