Title: Little Boy Lost 3/7
Author: Jadedragon
Email: blm55@bellsouth.net
Pairing: B/G
Rating: PG 13
Spoilers: Season 4. This takes place over the summer, before Season 5.
Disclaimer: Characters from BtVS are property of Joss, WB, UPN and Mutant Enemy. I'm just playing with them for a while.
Summary: Buffy finds Giles' son on the door step with a letter from his mother.
Feedback: Greatly appreciated.

As Hank drove toward Sunnydale, he thought about the conversation he had with Rupert Giles. He seemed to be genuinely concerned about his son and seemed the type of man who would take responsibility for his actions. He had not even asked about the amount of the estate, which was considerable, even after British taxes, and Mr. Giles had been very upset that his son had been left alone on his doorstep. Hank would have seriously hurt anyone who had treated Buffy that way. From what he could remember Buffy saying about Mr. Giles, he seemed a very stable, responsible man. That was much the way Ms. Whitsonby had described him.

Hank wondered what the Slayer would be like? He had read the journals that Ms. Whitsonby had given him to acquaint himself with the relationship between a Watcher and his Slayer. It seemed so archaic to have a man Mr. Giles age to train a young girl to kill vampires and other demons that he had always thought were fairy tales. But the relationships that could develop had been so compelling, so loving but too many times, all too brief. The young girls he read about all seemed to die so young, unless they developed a bond with their Watcher. When a bond had formed, they became a more through fighting team and in that situation both could live a quasi-normal life. He thought of one couple, in particular, Damien Locksley and Kimberly Strong. They had married when she was 17 and he 39. They had lived as husband and wife for over twenty years and had 3 children before she had been killed while expecting their fourth child. Damien had been shattered by her death and never fully recovered.

Would Mr. Giles and his Slayer be as fortunate? He pondered this as he pulled into Joyce's driveway, almost thirty minutes late. There was an old gray car pulling up to the curb in front of the house as he got out of his car. He looked over and saw Buffy getting out of the passenger side and a tall older man, who looked to be in his forties, getting out of the driver's side, both walking toward the door. They hadn't seen him and he studied them, they were talking very seriously about something and Buffy was very attentive to him. Hank reached back into his car, got his briefcase from the passenger's side and walked to the door as Buffy saw him and waved to him.

"Hi Dad, your late."

"That's par for the course, traffic was murder in LA. There were three accidents that I had to go around before I could even leave the city limits," he told her as they entered the house and he sat his briefcase down on a table in the foyer.

"Dad, this is Rupert Giles," she told him as they walked into the living room where her mother had directed them.

"Mr. Giles, it is a pleasure to meet you," he said as he shook Giles hand. "But, why are you here tonight, we were to meet tomorrow?"

"Buffy, Joyce and I thought we would have more privacy here than at Arnoldo's tomorrow," Giles told him, waiting for what he had said to sink in.

Hank looked at Giles, then Buffy and finally Joyce before saying anything as the meaning of what Giles had said slowly registered in his mind. "Buffy is the Slayer?"

"Four years and counting," she told her Dad waiting for his reaction.

Hank was in shock. He looked at Giles and could not believe that this man had been responsible for helping his daughter to survive the horrors he had read about in the journals he had been given. He sat down hard on the couch not saying a word. Joyce handed him a Scotch, which he downed quickly and handed the empty glass back to her.

"How?"

"Into each generation a girl is born..." Giles started.

"I know that. Why Buffy? Why my daughter?" Hank asked, anger clear on his face.

"I don't know, I don't think anyone really knows. The Council has found ways of identifying potiential Slayers early, in most cases and training her for her destiny. In Buffy's case, however, she was called before anyone had contacted her. Merrick, her first watcher found her and started training her. He was killed saving her life not long after he found her in L.A. When she moved to Sunnydale I was assigned to be her new Watcher and have been ever since."

"She knew!"

"What?" Giles asked Hank.

"Ms. Whitsonby, she knew who the Slayer was. She said that you were her second Watcher, that the first had been killed by a vampire that the Slayer later killed in a fire. Buffy, your old school?" he asked remembering the fire Buffy had been accused of starting at her old high school.

"Yes, Dad. Vampires invaded the dance and that was the only way I could kill them all."

His daughter, his only child, was like the young women he had read about, destined to live a very short life. She had already lived longer than most of the slayers he had read about. He would do everything in his power to make her life as long as possible. Hank remembered why he was there and thought about the bond that was mentioned in the codicil.

"Buffy, can I talk to you privately?" he asked his daughter.

"Sure Dad."

Hank stood up and guided his daughter to the dining room leaving Joyce and Giles sitting in the living room.

"Joyce, we were interrupted this afternoon before I could talk with you any further. Do you really think Buffy loves me?"

"Rupert, it's obvious to anyone who sees the two of you together, I'm surprised that you haven't seen it. I've both dreaded and expected this for quite some time. I want Buffy to be happy, but I always expected to have to chase the boys away, to catch her necking on the sofa with some guy her own age. I never thought I would be talking to a man in my age group telling him that my daughter loves him and for him to do something about it!"

"Joyce, I don't quite know what to say. Are you saying that you approve of us having a relationship?" Giles asked in a confused voice.

"I won't lie and say that I feel all warm and fuzzy about this. You're old enough to be her father and I feel like you have already stolen her away from me, but I want my baby to be happy and I believe that you are the only one who can accomplish that feat. But, just remember, if you hurt her, there is nothing that will keep me from tearing you apart."

"Joyce, I understand," Giles told her as he saw Buffy come back into the living room to tell him that her father wanted to see him in the dining room as she sat down in a daze.

**********

As Hank and Buffy passed the front door he reached for his briefcase and set it on the dining room table when they entered the room. He motioned for Buffy to sit beside him and he sat at the head of the table.

"Buffy, what do you know about the bond between a Watcher and his Slayer?"

"I know about the psychic bond, Giles and I share that. But Rebecca mentioned a bond in her letter to Giles and I think she was talking about something more."

"Yes, she was. Buffy, the bond Rebecca was talking about sometimes forms between a Watcher and his Slayer. This bond is deeper and more profound than the simple psychic bond usually found. This bond enables the Watcher and Slayer to become a more insync fighting team, usually leading to a more...adult relationship for the two, sometimes even leading to marriage. When this bond is formed, the Slayer has a much better chance of living a normal life span.

"So if Giles and I develop this bond, I'll live a longer life?"

"The chances are much greater if the bond develops, yes."

"How do we get it to develop?"

"Buffy it either has already developed, will develop or it won't. There's not much known about it from what I have been able to find in the research that I've done. I need to ask you a question, a very personal question...."

"Dad, what is it?" Buffy asked, seeing the hesitation in his eyes.

"Buffy, how do you feel about Mr. Giles? How do you truly feel?"

Buffy looked into her dad's eyes and could not lie to him.

"I love him, Dad, but he only thinks of me as his Slayer, his student."

"I need to talk to Mr. Giles now, would you ask him to come in and let me talk to him alone?"

Buffy nodded her head and went and sent Giles to talk to her father.

**********

Buffy sat on the couch by her mother in a dazed state. Her and Giles? She had fantasized about just that but never thought that anything could come of it. He was the most important person in her life.

Joyce looked at her daughter, seeing the dazed expression on her face guessed what her father had discussed with her. She didn't want to loose her daughter, but she would rather her be with a good man, and Rupert was that, than dead at the hand of a vampire or demon.

"Buffy, what's wrong? What did Hank tell you?"

"He asked how I felt about Giles and told me about the bond Rebecca mentioned in her letter. Mom, he told me that sometimes a strong bond develops between a Watcher and his Slayer. When this bond develops the Watcher and Slayer become a better fighting team, becoming closer and sometimes even marrying. This bond has been responsible for the Slayer living a longer life." she told her mother still in a bit of shock.

"Buffy," Joyce spoke to get her daughter's attention. Once Buffy turned to her, she continued. "Do you love Rupert?"

"Yes, Mom, I do, but he only thinks of me as his Slayer, his student. I tease him and make jokes at his expense to keep him at a distance because it hurts so much to be with him and want what I can't have. What can I do?" Buffy asked with tear filled eyes.

"Buffy, talk to him and tell you just what you told me. Give him a chance to tell you how he feels. I think he'll surprise you."

Buffy looked at her Mom with a questioning expression on her face. "What do you know that I don't know? What has Giles told you?"

"Buffy, you need to talk to Rupert, that's all I'll say." Joyce told her daughter as she thought about the wedding that would be taking place soon.

**********

"Mr. Giles, please sit here beside me. I have several questions to ask you before I can read the codicils to you, Buffy and Joyce." Hank told him as he motioned to the seat just vacated by Buffy.

"Why don't you call me Rupert. Is this about the bond?"

"Yes, Rupert, and call me `Hank'. Ms. Whitsonby felt that you would develop this bond with your Slayer. She knew you quite well and understood Watchers also. Rupert, I need to know how you feel about my daughter before I can go much further."

"I love Buffy, very dearly, but I don't think that the bond has developed nor will it. To her I am just a teacher, someone to come to for information and training," he told Hank the pain in his voice very clear. "She makes jokes at my expense all the time, and sees me as ancient."

"No, I don't think so. Many times I've found that jokes cover up the real feelings of a person. It's a way of hiding what she doesn't want you to see because she thinks that you'll reject her. The two of you need to talk before I read the rest of the will. Tell her how you really feel, show her the passionate man that Ms. Whitsonby remembered." Hank told him as he left the dining room to send his daughter to talk to her Watcher.

Buffy slowly entered the dining room seeing that Giles was standing by the window looking outside with his back to her. She studied the man she loved so much, scared that she was going to lose him by revealing her true feelings. What would she do without him in her life? It would be so, so lonely if he took Rupe and went back to England. As she watched he turned around and walked over to her.

Giles looked out the window and thought about what Joyce and Hank had said to him. Could Buffy really love him the way he loved her? Was she hiding her feelings scared he would reject her? She was his world. He didn't know what he would do if she turned from him and shut him out of her life. He turned and when he saw her, went to her.

Giles stood before Buffy and took her hands in his, leading her to the love seat by the window where he had been standing. He sat her down and looked into her eyes as he asked her "Buffy, what did you father say to you?"

"Giles he told me about the bond and how when it develops it can mean a longer life for the Slayer. He said the bond makes the Watcher and Slayer a better fighting team and that their relationship becomes more adult," Buffy told him as she looked into his eyes, trying to read what he was thinking.

"Did he ask you anything else?"

"He asked me how I felt about you?"

"What did you tell him?" Giles asked, hope clear in his green eyes.

"Giles, I told him that I love you, but you only thought of me as the Slayer and your student." She told him confused and scared of how he would respond, scared of losing him.

He looked deeply into her eyes before he said, "Buffy, my luv, I've loved you so long, I never thought that you could feel the same."

"You love me?"

"With all my heart," he told her as he took her face in his hands and gently bent to kiss her for the first time. It was a soft, tender kiss that both felt to their souls. The bond between them soared. They pulled back to look into each other's eyes. Buffy stroked his face with her fingers, looking into his eyes with all the love she had hidden for so long. She didn't quite know what to say with words but said everything she needed to with her eyes. Giles took her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing each fingertip before kissing her lips again. Buffy put her arms around his neck and drew him into her embrace. Time was meaningless for the two lovers, each experiencing the depth of love they felt for the other for the first time.

"Wow," was all Buffy could say as they broke from each other.

"Wow, indeed," Giles said as he looked into the eyes of the woman he loved. They sat looking into each other's eyes until Joyce and Hank came into the room to continue reading the will. When Giles realized that they had entered the dining room, he took Buffy's arms from his neck and led her back to the table to sit beside him.

Hank and Joyce saw the love between Giles and Buffy as they joined them at the table. Hank didn't even get out the first two codicils, only taking out the third.

"Rupert, Buffy," he addressed them to get their attention, "There were three codicils to the will. The first was written in case your Slayer was dead or had no feelings for you other than as a friend, the second was written in case there were feelings, but you were unsure of them and Rebecca had asked if you would live together for a period of six months to see if love would develop. In the third codicil, if Rupert and his Slayer develop the Bond and love each other, Rebecca asks that they marry and raise her son as their own." Hank handed the third codicil to Rupert and Buffy for them to read.

"Buffy, how do you feel about having a seven-year-old son?" Rupert asked her after reading the third codicil, bringing her out of her surprise.

"I've always wanted children, I just thought they'd be my own," seeing the pain in Rupert's eyes, she added, "but, I would be proud to call Rupert my son, just as I would be proud to call his father, my husband." she told him quietly as she caressed his face.

"Then you will marry me?" Giles asked.

"Isn't that what I just said?" she replied as she kissed the man who would be her husband.

NEXT