Title: Thankfulness
Author: Karen Jephson
Rating: I suppose PGish really. The minimal smut is, well, minimal.
Spoilers: The awfulness of the final season.
Disclaimer: Though he ruined 'em, Joss owned 'em. I just like to kiss and make better
Summary: In response to a Gileswench fic challenge. It's thanksgiving, and Giles has to say he's thankful for something.
Dedication: For Wenchie and Koala, who for different reasons, I hope to put a smile on your faces.
Thanks: To Gail and Gylzgirl, my usual suspects. They watch my Britishisms, my Americanisms, and a certain yank just keeps nagging till I start writing. And to all Gileseans as they enter into this holiday. I hope you all find something to be thankful for.

"You never did say."

"Hmm?" Giles didn't look up from his examination of the specimen before him, his fingers gently running along the flesh as if it were a porcilen jar he'd found in a dig from Sumaria.

Buffy sighed gently, then shifted to make herself more comfortable. Her watcher was always meticulous in his research, and not so easily distracted. Not that she was complaining, but it was hard to have a conversation when he was distracted by other matters. "Remember? You promised Dawn you'd say what you were thankful for by the end of the day, and it's almost midnight. She told me I had to nag you till you said something."

........

It was the end of Thanksgiving; their first one since the destruction of Sunnydale. Each of them had to give one thing they were thankful for, that didn't include still being alive. Dawn had decided that they all needed to realize how much was still in their lives, instead of how much they'd lost. As self appointed rule-maker she also nominated her sister to go first.

Yawning after overindulging in the feast prepared by the males who'd volunteered for the task, Buffy had looked around the table at her friends. "I'm thankful to have a family who love me and will forgive me no matter how much of a beatch I am." Her eyes rested on the man opposite her, his gentle smile warming and reassuring her. "Dawn's turn."

"I'm thankful for my beatch of a sister. Cause without her I wouldn't be here, literally." Dawn wrinkled her nose at her older sister's juvenile poking of the tongue. "Willow."

The young witch smiled. "Yellow Crayons." She looked across at her oldest, bestest friend, a shared moment that would always be theirs. "Your turn."

Xander paused. "I'm thankful that I was born with two eyes." At the group's groans and complaints, Xander held up his hand. "Okay, okay. I'm thankful that Giles decided to cook dinner this year." He ducked as Buffy threw some leftover peas at him. "Giles' turn."

They all looked expectantly at the older man. He shook his head gently. "Not that there aren't things I'm thankful for, I'm just not ready to share them. Somebody else go first."

Kennedy, who'd amazingly stayed with the gang, and even more amazingly was still Willow's girlfriend put her hand up. "I'm thankful for Willow." A few eyes rolled at the romantic statement. "Cause if she wasn't around I wouldn' t be a slayer now. And you gotta admit, I'm a good slayer." She smiled around the table.

Buffy nodded in agreement. "A great slayer."

"The best," at a few looks around the table, "a-after Buffy of course. And Faith."

Andrew, who somehow still stayed with the group, despite their best attempts to leave him behind stood up, clearing his throat. "I'm thankful that the gods decided to give me a second chance."

"And a third."

"Fourth.."

"Fifth."

"Dawn, Xander!" At Buffy's rebuke, the two guilty parties smiled at each other.

Andrew's eyes took on a familiar glaze, and there were several silent, and a few not so silent, groans. "Also, I'm thankful that Episode III is out soon, and that.."

"My turn," Faith stood, demanding attention in her usual forthright way, "I' m thankful that slayer's children seem to somehow get some of that super-healing mojo." She smiled down at the dark-skinned man holding her hand. He shook her gently, encouraging her to sit down. Another surprise had been the way Robin had taken over Faith's life, and guided her into a more secure and reliable person.

Robin cleared his throat. "I'm thankful that for all their powers, the First and Caleb were so stupid." At the other's questioning looks, "Only a fool would uncover the one weapon the most powerful slayers, and witch," he nodded at Willow, "in the world could use to destroy you." There was a pause, and then a general cacophony of noise.

Dawn looked speculatively toward the head of the table. "You're not going to say anything, are you?"

Giles shook his head. "Not yet."

"But by the end of the day, you promise?" Giles nodded in agreement. She turned toward her sister. "And you have to make him, or else I'll force you to take all the junior slayers to see Pirates of the Caribbean again."

Buffy frowned at her sister. "Even you wouldn't be that cruel." At her sister's stubborn look, "Alright, I'll make sure he answers by midnight."

....

Giles sighed. "Is it really that late?" He moved his hands further along the flesh before him, humming in pleasure as it moved in response. He leaned down, his breath caressing the limb as he spoke. "I suppose it would be awful for you to have to suffer through that movie again."

Buffy caught her breath. "It wasn't the movie. It was all those girls sighing at Johnny Depp. I really couldn't stand that again."

Giles moved up, his nose taking in the new scent before him. A satisfied sigh escaped him as he moved toward his target. "In that case, I'm thankful that I'm a thigh man."

Buffy tensed as she felt his tongue on her damp flesh. "So am I." A moment of clarity pierced through her watcher-induced passion as she realized the insult delivered upon a certain part of her anatomy. "Hey!"

Fin