Title: The Rules Have Changed - part 1 of ?
Author: Michelle
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Summary: Giles is attacked and has an unusual way of dealing with it.
Spoilers: Set after the finales of Buffy and Angel.
Feedback: I love it, want it, and need it.
Website: http://www.drakeleather.com/bripper/index.shtml
Distribution: If you want it, you can have it. Just tell me where to find it.
Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They belong to Joss, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB & Mutant Enemy. This is purely for fun.
Author's note: This is written for the Ripper ficathon.
Many thanks to Elizabuffy and Beadtific. You helped a lot.
Buffy thought about how her life had changed since she left Sunnydale. They had defeated The First and destroyed Sunnydale. They had moved from place to place for a while. Eventually, she and Dawn had settled down in Rome. Giles had gone back to London to rebuild the Watchers' Council.
He called her once a week, and they would talk for hours. Council business took up the first half an hour or so. The rest of the time was spent talking about how they'd spent their week, what kind of trouble Dawn had been getting into and other mostly impersonal subjects. Occasionally, Giles would ask her if she was seeing anyone. He answer was always the same. "No, I'm not seeing anyone."
Things changed six months after that. For two weeks, she didn't get a call from him. She tried calling him, but there was no response. As she was thinking of traveling to London to check on him, he showed up on her doorstep.
"Hello, Buffy."
"Giles, what are you doing here?"
"I could leave if you'd like."
Buffy grabbed him and pulled him into a tight hug. "Don't you dare. I may never let you leave." She pulled back and looked at him. "Why are you here?"
"I've moved to Rome."
"But what about the Council?"
"I can just as easily do my work here as I can in London. I can travel back when needed."
"Why would you move?"
"Because I miss you, Buffy, and phone calls are not enough."
As it turned out, Giles' new home was within walking distance of Buffy's. They spent nearly every day together. Little by little, they realized they were developing a real relationship; they were in love.
Dawn soon went away to college, and Giles invited Buffy to move in with him. With Dawn's blessing, Buffy packed her things and moved them to Giles' place.
* * * * * * * * * *
They tried to take things slow, wanting to savor every moment they had together. Soon, it was not enough for Buffy, and she decided to take action. She planned the perfect evening. Telling Giles that she had to go shopping for 'girl stuff,' she headed out to the market. She wanted this night to be memorable. It was, just not the way she had hoped.
When she opened the door, she knew something wasn't right. She could feel it and looked around, expecting to find a demon somewhere. There were no demons. What she saw was far worse.
Later, she would only remember two things about that moment - the sight of Giles lying on the floor and the sound of the wine bottle breaking.