Title: When I Lay Me Down to Sleep (part 13/?)
Author: Neena (varscona_pal@yahoo.ca)
Pairing: Giles/Buffy
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: The characters and Buffyverse belong to Joss Whedon, Fox, Mutant Enemy, etc.  This little ficlet is for fun only.
Feedback: Pretty please?  I’m an addict!
Setting: Season 3, before Angel and Faith come into play.  Buffy’s in school, though.
Summary: Everybody needs to sleep, but even sleeping can be dangerous when you live on a Hellmouth.
Warning: non-consensual sex.  Violence.

“So, let me get this straight,” said Xander. “You want us to go up against a slayer and her watcher, who’ll be willing to fight to the death to protect this demon?”

“That’s about the size of it, yeah,” said Giles, taking off his glasses to give them a serious cleaning.

“No offence,” said Oz, “but do you really think we’ll be strong enough to take on you and Buffy?”

“That’s what we’re counting on,” said Buffy. “You’re a lot stronger than you think, plus you’ll have Wesley to help you.”

“No. This is absurd,” Wesley said. “You’re asking me and a handful of teenagers to defeat you—without hurting you—and we have no idea how the Preot will manifest itself once it’s born. It may have powers we know nothing about. And then there’s Buffy’s slaying duties. I’m assuming you’re expecting us to take over for her for the duration of the pregnancy? If you’d let me talk to the Council…”

“No!” said Giles emphatically. “We can’t risk bringing the Council into this. As far as they’re concerned, their slayer has been compromised, which will leave them with two options—perform the spell now, which would kill our baby along with the demon, or kill Buffy to make way for a new slayer.”

“And I’m not really big on either of those options,” said Buffy. “So…are we all on board?” she asked, looking at Wesley.

Wesley frowned, but nodded in agreement.

“Okay,” said Cordelia. “But if you’re crazy enough to go through with this, we’ve got to do something about your wardrobe. All I ask for is one afternoon in a mall with Buffy and a credit card.”

Xander smiled at her proudly. “That’s my girl.”

After the Scoobies had dispersed, Giles and Buffy were once again left alone in his apartment. They silently tidied up, each feeling the energy building up between them. Buffy prowled around him, casually brushing up against him each time she passed by with a dirty plate or a pizza box. Giles’ eyes followed her every movement—drinking in every detail—and she felt his gaze on her like hands exploring her body.

When the plates were cleared, they suddenly found themselves inches apart and fairly vibrating with the need to touch each other. It was almost impossible to say who made the first move, it happened so quickly. Their mouths came together greedily, both of them moaning as their pent up sexual tension released itself full-force.

Hands fumbled with clothing in their desperate search for bare flesh. In her frustration, Buffy finally ripped open Giles’ shirt, sending buttons flying in all directions, her fingers digging into his skin. Giles froze, her aggressive behaviour reminding him painfully of his early encounters with the Preot. Buffy didn’t notice his sudden discomfort—she was too lost in her own needs.

“Buffy, stop,” he said when her hands started wrestling with his belt. She didn’t hear him. “Buffy—stop!”

Her head snapped up at the sharpness in his voice. She saw the barely controlled fear in his eyes and was confused for a moment. Then she realised what she was doing to him and her eyes went wide with horror.

“Oh God, Giles! I’m sorry!”

“There’s no need to apologise,” he said, trying to soothe her. “You’ve done nothing wrong. But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still a little bit skittish. Can we…do you think we could take it a bit slower?”

“Well that’s a first.”

“What is?”

“A guy asking a girl to slow things down,” she said, grinning sweetly at him. “Seriously, though—we can go as slow as you need. Just promise you won’t take off on me again.”

“You have my word,” he said solemnly. “Oh, I nearly forgot—I’ve got to go. There’s an errand I have to run.”

“Already breakin’ the promises. You’re not instilling me with a whole lot of confidence here, Giles.”

“I won’t be long. Besides, you haven’t patrolled yet tonight—you can do that while I’m gone.”

They went their separate ways, each of them anxious to do what they had to do quickly so they could see each other again. Buffy practically ran to the cemetery and was really quite miffed when the demons didn’t just instantly appear, saving her the trouble of having to hunt them down.

After a few frustrating minutes of patrolling and finding nothing, Buffy’s mind started wandering. It inevitably wandered its way over to the subject of Giles. Of spending the night with Giles. Then it dawned on her that she already had spent a night with Giles and that she hadn’t spoken to her mom since. And even if she was okay with the whole Giles thing, Buffy knew she’d be mad if she didn’t at least touch base with her.

Buffy headed home, feeling oddly guilty for not thinking to do so earlier. Thinking back to their last conversation, Buffy wasn’t sure whether or not her mom understood exactly what her relationship with Giles was becoming. Buffy herself wasn’t too sure, for that matter. She knew she loved him, and she knew their attraction was mutual, but she didn’t know if he would still feel the same way once the demon was gone. She could be stuck with a baby and an extremely awkward relationship with a guy who thought of her like a daughter. She tried to push aside her nagging doubts and focus on the positives. Spending the night with Giles…

When she got home, she climbed in through her bedroom window out of habit. As she was descending the stairs, she heard voices coming from the dining room. By the time she got to the bottom, she could tell it was Giles in there talking to her mother. Even though she knew it was rude, she couldn’t tear herself away from their conversation.

“Sorry to come by so late,” he said. “I would have waited until tomorrow, but it’s rather important.”

“What is it? Is Buffy alright?” asked Joyce.

“She’s fine. I just wanted to ask you something, and I couldn’t ask you in front of Buffy.” He paused, and Buffy could almost see him fiddling with his glasses. “I take it you’re aware of my feeling for your daughter?”

“Your feelings?” asked Joyce. “That’s and interesting way of putting it. I know exactly what your ‘feelings’ are. And if this is about what happened between the two of you last night, I’d really prefer to not know the details. I agreed to let Buffy see you because I had no other choice—but that doesn’t mean I’m thrilled about it.”

“That’s why I need to talk to you. Nothing’s happened between us yet; Buffy and I have been able to fight the bond. But I know I won’t be able to fight it much longer.”

“I don’t believe this! Are you asking me for permission to have sex with my daughter? ‘Cause it’s a little late for that,” snapped Joyce.

“Actually, I came here tonight to ask your permission to marry your daughter,” said Giles. In the lengthy pause that followed, Buffy had to remind herself to breathe. She was so happy she wanted to scream.

“I needed you to know that I want to spend the rest of my life with her—if she’ll have me,” he continued. “Buffy is the most precious thing in my life—and if things were different, she’d spend the rest of her days none the wiser. But as it stands, we’re about to take our relationship to the next level, and I can’t do that unless she knows how much I love and respect her.”

“You don’t need my permission, you know,” said Joyce, but her tone had softened.

“Maybe not, but it would mean a lot to Buffy if we had your blessing.” There was another pause in the conversation and Buffy held her breath in anticipation.

“It took a lot of guts to come here and ask me that, didn’t it?” she asked.

Giles cleared his throat: “I suppose I also wanted you to know that I respect your relationship with Buffy, and that I have no intention of coming between you.”

“I appreciate that. And if it’s what Buffy wants, then I give you my blessing. For what it’s worth.”

Giles mumbled his thanks and gathered up his jacket. Buffy had to make a hasty retreat up the stairs to avoid them seeing her as they came out of the dining room.

Buffy had to force herself to go back out on patrol. When she got back to Giles’ apartment she was nearly giddy with anticipation. She took a deep breath before opening the door.

Giles was sitting on the couch reading, and he looked up and smiled as she came in.

“You were gone so long I was starting to worry,” he said. Buffy plopped down next to him and smiled at him expectantly. “I had a chat with your mother while you were out,” he added.

“Oh?” she asked, feigning ignorance.

“Yes. We both thought it might be best if you were to stay at your place tonight.” Buffy’s look of disappointment was so comical that Giles had a hard time not laughing.

“But…but I thought…” Buffy stammered, confused. She was starting to think he’d changed his mind. Maybe he’d got cold feet—or maybe he’d only said those things to get on her mom’s good side.

“Before you get all upset, hear me out. We talked earlier about slowing things down, and that’s all I want to do. I just don’t think I’m ready to take the next step. Do you understand?”

Buffy didn’t understand at all. She’d been on an emotional roller-coaster all day, and now she just wanted to scream, cry and laugh hysterically all at once. Instead, she bit her lip and nodded.

Giles sent her home, already regretting his deception. He wanted tomorrow to be perfect—a clean start to their future. He wanted their first time together to be more than just a quenching of their lust. But she looked so dejected…and he was already feeling the ache of withdrawal.

He made a quick phone call to Joyce, explaining why he’d sent Buffy home, and asked her not to spoil the surprise. She agreed readily enough, and as he hung up he glanced at his kitchen clock, surprised at how late it was. He went up to bed, knowing full well he wasn’t going to get a good night’s sleep. His mind was churning with thoughts of what tomorrow would bring.

Joyce awoke to the sound of Buffy screaming. It wasn’t the first time it had happened, but usually the screaming only lasted a few seconds—until Buffy was fully awake. This time, however, she kept screaming. Joyce ran to her room and nearly got winged by a flying alarm clock as she went through the door.

“Stay away from me!” Buffy yelled, her throat raw.

“Buffy, it was a dream. Whatever it was, it wasn’t real. Everything’s alright.”

“No!” she cried, and curled herself up into a ball near the headboard.

Joyce tried to comfort her, but Buffy wouldn’t let her get close enough. At a loss as to what to do, she hurried downstairs and phoned Giles.

There was no answer. She let it ring for a couple of minutes, but he didn’t come to the phone. Joyce cursed and hung up. She could still hear Buffy sobbing upstairs—a sound that she hated more than anything else in the world. She tried calling Giles again with the same result, and was about to get her coat and head over to his apartment when there was a rapid knocking at the door.

She opened the door and jumped back as Giles rushed in. He was white as a sheet—his eyes glazed and haunted—and he was still barefoot in his pyjamas.

“Buffy!” he said, grabbing Joyce by the shoulders and shaking her. “Is Buffy alright?” he demanded.

“She’s upset, but I think she’s okay. She won’t let me near her,” Joyce answered. He released her roughly, giving her a glare that made her recoil instinctively.

“Giles?” Buffy’s raspy voice came from the top of the stairs. She ran to him, and he engulfed her in his arms protectively. He rocked her, stroking her hair soothingly as he planted gentle kisses on the top of her head.

“Shh…I’m here now. Everything’s alright,” he cooed to her. Buffy gave a tremendous shudder and relaxed against him, her breathing slowing down to normal and the fear retreating from her eyes. Her mother stood by, watching the transformation in amazement. For the first time she truly grasped the depth of their bond. It was real, and it was frightening, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Buffy looked over at her mom and gave her a sad half-smile. “Did I hurt you?” she asked.

“No. I’m fine,” said Joyce. “Are you okay?”

“That was one hell of a nightmare,” she said, and Giles hugged her tighter. “But I know it was just a dream…I know you could never…” her throat tightened up on her and she couldn’t continue.

“It’s the Preot playing mind games with us,” said Giles, trying to explain. “In our dream it pitted you against us. You were…torturing Buffy. Literally trying to claw the baby out of her with your bare hands.”

“It felt so real,” Buffy said quietly and shuddered again.

“The Preot must see you as a threat. It doesn’t want anyone else near it, because we’re the only ones it can control. So it was trying to turn us against you. It was working, too,” said Giles. “I fear I owe you an apology for the way I behaved earlier—I’m sorry if I frightened you.”

“It’s going to get worse, isn’t it?” Joyce asked.

“I don’t know, to be honest,” he answered. “But I don’t think it’s safe for anyone if Buffy and I are kept apart much longer.”

Buffy tilted her head up at him; “So…your place or mine?” she asked bluntly.

Blushing furiously, Giles looked over at her mother. “Joyce, do you think I could have a word with Buffy?”

“Of course,” she said. “I’ll be in the kitchen making some strong coffee. I have a feeling none of us will be getting any more sleep tonight.” She made a discreet exit and Giles led Buffy to the living room. He sat her down in a chair and started pacing back and forth in front of her.

“Giles, would you stop that?” she said. “You’re making me dizzy. Never make a pregnant woman dizzy.” He stopped pacing and tried to shove his hands into his pockets before he remembered he was wearing his pyjamas and had no pockets to shove them into. He settled for wringing his hands. Buffy looked at him in amusement—it was so easy to get him flustered. And he looked so cute.

Giles kept his eyes down, studying his bare feet. “So much for taking it slow,” he murmured, smiling nervously at her over his glasses. “Buffy…I have something important I’d like to ask you.”

Buffy perked up instantly; “Then ask away—I’m all ears. Well, except for the bits of me that are other things—like my nose or my foot…Oh God! I’m channelling Willow!”

“Buffy,” he said, then took a deep breath and looked her straight in the eye; “Would you have dinner with me tomorrow night?”

“Dinner?” she asked, unable to hide her surprise and disappointment.

“Yes. As in formal dress, fancy restaurant, maybe a little dancing…A proper date.”

It wasn’t what she was hoping for, but she was warming up to it. Giles in formal wear. Dancing with Giles in formal wear. It had potential.

“Okay—I accept,” she said, giving him a big, toothy grin.

“Good, it’s settled, then. I’ll pick you up at six-thirty. That should give you plenty of time.”

“Time for what?” she asked.

“To pack,” he said, simply. “If you think I’m moving in here with your mother, you’re crazy.”

“You mean it? You want me to move in with you?”

“I think it would be best, yes,” he answered.

Buffy squealed with excitement and leapt into his arms.

NEXT