Title: Ribbons and Bows
Series: Magic Season (11/12)
Author: Kerry Blackwell-Dustin
Email: magicbox@whitehats.co.nz
Pairing: B/G, W/T, S/Dawn
Further disclaimers etc in part 0
Buffy was distracted from her shameless oogling of Hazel _still_ kissing Greg Falconer but a small tug at her hand. She looked down to see Miriam standing at her side, gazing up at her with wide eyes.
"You're not supposed to talk to strangers, Gran," she said in a worried little voice. "Hazel knows the rule."
Unable to help herself, Buffy smiled. She sat up properly and pulled Miri onto her lap. "This is a very special exception," she promised the girl. "His name is Greg and he's not a stranger anymore, okay?"
Miri thought about it for a bit, and then nodded. "Okay," she agreed. That problem solved, she could think about even more important things. "When can we open the presents, Gran?"
To Miri, presents were a simple thing. They came from Mommy and Daddy, from Gran and Grandad and all the aunts and uncles. Even better, Santa brought extras each year, all for Miri.
For Buffy and Dawn, who had been racing around like mad things the night before trying to find at least _something_ for all the unexpected arrivals, presents were a nightmare. A journal Buffy had been going to give to Rupert now bore a label with Tricia's name on it. Wesley's new belt from Susan was now destined for Michael and in desperation Dawn had found a large and unopened box of chocolates at the bottom of a cupboard and they had been wrapped for Melanie.
"Kid's too thin anyway," Dawn had proclaimed firmly. "You were always anorexic skinny when you were the Slayer too. Must be metabolism or something."
"Are you saying I'm fat?" Buffy demanded in an offended voice and Dawn just laughed and handed her the scotch tape.
"Wrap," she ordered and Buffy obediently did as she was told.
It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. At least no-one would be completely neglected. True, they hadn't planned on needing anything for Greg Falconer, but looking at him and Hazel, Buffy felt he probably wasn't going to care particularly. He had his gift, and he didn't show any inclination to let her go. However, since Hazel didn't appear to want to be let go, that worked out just fine.
In fact, the two of them were beginning to look like perhaps they'd been stuck like that for all eternity, wrapped in each other's arms and kissing. _Not exactly a bad way to go_, Buffy reflected with an amused smile, but she still had her granddaughter tugging at her sleeve and staring wistfully at the pile of gifts that dwarfed Dawn and Spike's tiny Christmas tree.
"Okay kids," she called firmly. "Break it up."
It took a while for the words to penetrate, but Hazel and Greg did finally come up for air. They both looked a little sheepish, but totally unapologetic and beyond happy.
Hazel giggled, a rich sound full of delight. "Ooops. Sorry, Aunt Buffy."
"You're not in the least sorry," Giles pointed out accurately. As Hazel blushed, he laughed. "Nor should you be."
"Presents?" Miri begged into the silence.
"Miriam!" Susan gasped.
Miri gave her mother a puzzled look, not understanding what she was fussing about.
"You don't just say things like that," Susan explained.
Miri was staring at the clock over the mantelpiece with great concentration. "But it's ten o'clock," she said when she was sure she had worked the time out correctly. "Ten o'clock and Christmas and no presents."
"She has a point," Willow commented. "Ten o'clock is a long time to wait when you're six."
"We'll open the presents soon," Wesley promised his daughter. "Just be patient a little longer, okay kitten?"
Giles guffawed. "This from the boy I once found in the living room opening his Christmas presents at something like two minutes after midnight?"
"I _did_ wait for Christmas Day," Wesley said defensively.
Not surprisingly, his parents laughed.
"Well," Dawn said firmly, "I'm with Miri. I think it's presents time. And it's my house so I'm the boss." She cast a firm look at Spike. "Not a word, mister," she added warningly before he could say anything.
He held up his hands in mock defence and she laughed. "Go and get everyone from upstairs to come and join us, would you love? And then we can investigate the goodies."
By the time everyone had gathered in the living room, space was at a premium. People were squashed into chairs, sitting on the floor and leaning on convenient pieces of furniture. As hostess, Dawn had been unanimously elected to hand out gifts from under the tree, a job she was more than happy to perform.
To varying cries of delight and horror, Brianna had come back downstairs with a camera that Angel had claimed with glee.
"He's Mr Trigger Happy," she explained apologetically to her mother. "He's been taking enough photographs to sink a battleship since I first started showing with Sionell. Once she was born it just got worse. This is 'Baby's First Christmas' and he bought a dozen rolls of film. Please Mom, just smile and don't strangle him or anything."
"I'll keep her under control," Giles promised magnanimously, ignoring the poke in the ribs he immediately received from his wife.
Brianna laughed and went to find a space for herself and Sionell, over on the other side of the Christmas tree.
It was the first year Jeremy was old enough to open his own presents - with a minor amount of assistance from Daddy - and soon brightly coloured paper was strewn across the floor and a little boy was running over everyone in sight with his new fire engine.
Buffy and Dawn's hastily assembled presents were well received by the visitors, even as they proclaimed they hadn't been necessary. At least, so Richard and Tricia had proclaimed. Melanie had just mumbled a grateful thank you and started in on her chocolates.
Angel's gag gift to Spike of a new blanket for sunlight trips fell flat when the vampire expressed great delight in the present and thanked Angel profusely.
Sionell, sleeping obliviously through the entire exchange, easily received the greatest number of gifts; most of these were from her doting father, closely followed by ones from her doting grandfather.
Buffy almost went blue from holding her breath when Giles got to her main gift to him. A part of her knew he would love it as much as she did, while another part was terrified she'd got it wrong. The fact that she hadn't given him something inappropriate since she was thirty-five counted for nothing against the irrational butterflies in her stomach.
He undid the wrapping with his usual care. He slipped a thumb under the flaps and carefully pulled off the scotch tape without damaging the paper any more than was totally unavoidable. He unfolded each crease in the paper until all he had to do was pull up the last flap to see what was inside.
Giles paused, and tossed a teasing look in Buffy's direction. She was perched on the edge of the seat now, watching him with an unwavering stare. She poked her tongue out at him and he smiled and obediently unfolded the paper to see what was inside.
For a long, long moment he just looked at it in silence. Then, to Buffy's horror, he began to laugh.
Buffy was horrified. "You don't like it," she whispered in a tiny voice. She sounded near tears. "You hate it, don't you?"
"What?" Giles was startled. He looked up from his gift to see tears on his wife's face. "Oh, Buffy love, it's beautiful. Just perfect."
She sniffled. "Then why are you laughing?"
Unable to help himself, Giles smiled. "Dawn," he called. "Can you pick out my present to Buffy? It's the one in the purple paper with the gold bow."
Dawn scrabbled through the remaining gifts until she found the one Giles had asked for and passed it to her sister without saying a word.
Buffy looked down at the package suspiciously.
"Open it," Giles said softly.
Uncertain, Buffy opened the gift with the same kind of care Giles usually used. Her normal method was to tear off the paper hastily, toss it to the floor and concentrate on the surprise inside. This time, she wasn't in such a rush.
Finally, she pulled of the last of the paper to discover what Giles had given her.
It was a watercolour print. It showed a typically English house, standing in a garden of flowers that made a riot of colour around the edges of the painting. Buffy recognised it immediately. It was the bed and breakfast where she and Giles had spent a wonderful week during their English vacation over the summer. They had gone for long walks, spent time in that beautiful garden reading and talking and laughing. They had spent a good deal of time in the lovely little pub down the road, made love to all hours in the charming bedroom they had been given and slept in without the slightest hint of guilt.
Giles must have sneaked off to the village's tiny art gallery to buy the print for her. Then he would have had to conceal it in his luggage to get it back to Sunnydale and found a safe hiding place for it until it was time to give it to her at Christmas.
Buffy knew all that because that was precisely what she had done when she had decided to give the exact same print to Rupert for Christmas.
Helplessly, she began to laugh. She looked up at her husband, love and laughter in her eyes. "Oops," she said with a giggle.
He gave her the most melting, amazing look in return. "Oops," he agreed cheerfully.