Title: Once In A Lifetime 7/24
Author: Karen Jephson
Disclaimer: Not mine, unfortunately. Want to adopt and treat them better
than their owners, but I don't have enough.
Feedback: Live for it.
Note: To Trich and Gail. Thanks for your nagging, your precise beta, and your
constant encouragement.
"Dawn!"
The younger Summers girl pulled her head back at her sister's sharp reprimand. "Are you sure it's not him?"
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yes, Dawn, I'm absolutely, positively sure that the man in the living room is not Giles."
"Bu-but how? They look so alike."
"That's because he is Giles, just not." Buffy frowned as she talked herself into confusion. An emotion she'd pretty much become used to in the past twelve hours. "Trust me, that man may be Rupert Giles, but he's not our Rupert Giles."
Dawn shrugged. "How could you tell?"
"Be-because he didn't act like Giles." Buffy turned so her sister couldn't see her blush. She finished setting the dining room table for breakfast, then returned to the kitchen for the milk and cereal.
"How?" Sometimes having a sixteen-year-old sister was a pain in the butt. When did she get so curious about everything?
"Just not Giles - like." Buffy sighed, then waived toward the living room. "Like now. Would Giles do that?"
Dawn turned back toward the man sitting in the middle of their couch. His arms were resting along the back as he looked curiously around him, probably comparing to his world. He looked very relaxed and unselfconscious, which was pretty good considering he was wearing Buffy's bathrobe. And from the exposed chest and legs, that was all he was wearing. "Oh. You're right, that 's not Giles."
Buffy smiled, relieved she didn't need to go into any more explaining. "Why don't you call him in?" She took her seat as her sister obeyed. She glanced up at their guest, hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt. He smiled gently at her before sitting in his own place.
"So what's the sitch?" Dawn grabbed the cereal before any of the others had a chance to blink.
"Xander's going to Giles' hotel room to get some clothes."
"I live in a hotel room?" The frown on his face showed this was not welcome news.
Buffy sighed. "You've been out of the country for a while. You're back now, but you haven't had a chance to find your own place."
"I don't live here?"
"No." Buffy hoped that didn't sound as sharp as it felt. She turned back to Dawn. "Willow's gonna come back with Xander, then we try to figure out what happened."
Dawn paused in lifting a spoon of milk-soaked cereal to her mouth. "I wonder what our Giles is doing now."
The other Giles answered. "I'd assume the same as me. Trying not to scream in frustration and work out how we managed to switch places."
.............................
"A spell?"
"Don't look at me!" Xander snapped at his friends in response to Willow's query.
Giles' lips twitched but he held back the smile wanting to escape. At least most things in this other world weren't much different to his. Except for one or two glaringly obvious things. He shifted on the couch, uncomfortable in this other Giles' clothes. They fit more snugly than his own, no loose lines to hide under. He suspected that Buffy did the shopping for him. He moved slightly when he felt her leg press against his thigh yet again. He could only assume she was unaware she was doing this.
"If it was a spell, I doubt if it was a random act. This seemed too specific. I think it would be more beneficial to investigate a-any anomalies in the weather, or any unusual planet alignments?" He looked toward Willow.
Willow nodded, but leaned further back into her chair. "I'll fire up the laptop as soon as Tara brings it. She borrowed.it for.one...of.." She trailed off as she noticed the colour drain from Giles' face.