Title: In A Fix 1/3
Author: Sav
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Rating: R
Disclaimer: All belongs to Joss
Distribution: Dusty
Season: 5
(Giles home)
”Man Giles, what is all this crap?” Buffy asked as she
gestured towards the piles of books and crates and
other assortment of things she couldn’t even begin to
tell what they were. Giles turned to her from across
the room, a heavy, old and dusty book in one hand
while the other held a black leather jacket.
”This isn’t ‘crap’,” He answered, some what irritated. ”It’s...”
”Crap,” Buffy confirmed as she lifted a pair of knitting needles out of the crate then looked up at Giles, interrupting his explanation.
”Giles, why do you have a pair of knitting needles?” She looked surprised then he caught a hint of mischief in her eyes at finding such a thing in his personal items.
He knew she was just itching to tease him over it.
”Never you mind about those. And for your information, it is perfectly normal for a well educated man to learn how to take care of himself,” Giles told her defensively. He sent her a glare, then sighed when he saw her open her mouth to question him further about it.
How he was going to explain they were actually Harmony’s? How he ended up with them, was something he didn’t want to get into.
”Really? So, all stuffy, British men carry around a pair of-“
His glare made her giggle as he looked for a place to sit down.
”You simply enjoy teasing me, far too much.”
”Yeah, it’s one of my favorite pastimes.”
Giles smiled faintly as he looked around at the mess. They had been at this for nearly an hour and barely made a dent in the room.
”So, you really think this book is up here?”
”It should be. After you asked me back as your watcher, I started to unpack a lot of things and what wasn’t stored downstairs in the cases was put up here.”
”In all this mess?”
”If you insist on teasing and not helping-“
”All right, all right cranky. Sheesh, not more than 36 hours ago you were telling me how happy you were to be my watcher again,” Buffy said as she moved to go through another crate.
”Yes, well that was before you released that Syron demon in the graveyard yesterday.”
”Hey! I said I was sorry!”
Giles smiled to himself but Buffy caught his action in the mirror. She smiled too as she realized how much she had missed their banter.
”Hey, Giles? I think I found it,” Buffy said, holding up a book to him. Giles looked over the rim of his glasses at her, frowning.
”Buffy, what color is that?”
”Um, black?”
”Yes. What color did I say we were looking for?”
”Uh, tan?”
”Right”
Buffy stared at him for a moment waiting for him to answer if this was the book when he sighed and said.
”Do you see where I am going with this?”
”Tan isn’t the new black?”
”Buffy-“
”I’m joking, geeze. You use to have a much better sense of humor than this,” Buffy griped as she put the book down and grabbed another crate.
”I have a sense of humor!”
”Oh please!”
”I do!”
”Giles, you -“ Buffy’s words feel short as she screamed when something crawled out of the crate and across her lap then under the bed.
”Buffy?” Giles dropped the things in his hands an almost tripped getting to her. “What is it?”
”Ok, now that I feel like I’m ten. Sorry Giles. It was probably just a mouse. Don’t you have a pest control man?” Buffy asked accusingly as Giles rolled his eyes.
”I do,” he confirmed and helped her up. “So I highly doubt it was a rodent. The pest man was out here just last week.”
”Well maybe this one got away.”
”Perhaps,” Giles answered absently as he watched Buffy brush away some dust from her sweater.
”Giles?”
”Hmm?”
”I said, you wanna check it out?”
He raised an eye brow to her curiously.
”Check it out?”
”Yeah, Mickey.”
”I beg your pardon?”
Buffy laughed, shaking her head then climbed over some things and bent down to look under the bed. Finally as Giles watched her, it sank it as to what she was talking about.
”Oh,” he mumbled as his eyes wondered over her rear. ”My.” He sighed then ripped his eyes away an cleared his throat. Behave ol’ man, she’s a guest in your home Giles thought silently as he looked around for the flash light he brought up earlier.
”Uh, Giles?”
”Yes?”
”Uh...it’s n-n-not a mouse,” Buffy said as she got up an back away from the bed, tripping over some boxes as Giles caught her in his arms.
”Buffy, are you-“
”Run, Giles.”
”Run?”
”Now!”
”Buffy-“
”Now!” She said louder, then grabbed his hand and dragged him downstairs. “Giles, where’s the weapons chest?”
”Buffy, what on earth is-“
”Where is it?”
”Over there, I moved it yesterday while I was looking for our book,” he explained and pointed. Buffy ran to the corner and opened the beautifully hand-crafted chest Xander had made him for father’s day. As she rummaged through it, Giles looked up stairs at the sudden noise coming from his loft.
”Buffy? Do you plan on telling me what is going on anytime soon?”
”Giles what happen to that broadsword I got you for your birthday last year?”
”That’s my favorite sword. You’re not going to use my favorite sword on that thing, are you?”
”That’s the plan. Where is it?” she asked, turning back to him.
”It’s- wait. What the bloody hell is going on?”
”Well, it’s not Mickey, that’s for sure.”
”Then what is it?”
”Good question. Don’t really know. You’re the watcher, I’m the slayer. And from what I saw, that thing needs a good slaying. Once it’s dead, you can have at it and figure out what it was. Now where’s the sword?”
”In the cabinet behind you. Buffy-“
”Wait here, I’ll be right back.”
Before Giles could say another word, Buffy had his sword in her hand and she was up the stairs heading towards the room. But Giles wasn’t letting her face whatever that was up there alone. He went to the cabinet, grabbed another sword then headed up stairs behind her.
When Giles reached the top of the stairs, he found Buffy standing near the his bed with her sword at ready. When he came up behind her and touched her shoulder, she jumped and nearly took his head off as she swung the weapon.
Luckily the watcher was fast enough to block her move.
”Giles?!”
”Good lord!”
”What is wrong with you? I told you to stay downstairs!”
”I know what you said, however-“
”Shhh. Did you hear that?”
”What?”
”Shhh...”
Giles glared at her as she shushed him again. He remained silent as he watched her move towards the dresser in the room. Buffy was as quiet as she could be. She reached for the handle to pull it open. As she did, something inside moved and scampered into the back so that when the drawer was open, it was empty.
”Damn it,” the slayer mumbled as Giles came up behind her to peek into the drawer.
”I don’t see anything,” Giles whispered as Buffy jumped.
”Do you have to do that?”
”Do what?”
”Sneak up on me like that!”
”Well I certainly wasn’t doing it on purpose!”
”Well I don’t care. Stop it.
”You know-“
*Crash*
Buffy and her watcher jumped at the loud sound as a mirror on the wall across from them, fell and crashed to the floor, breaking into tiny pieces everywhere.
”Bloody hell!”
”Yeah, seven years of bad luck. Explains a lot about Sunnydale if you think about it,” Buffy said as Giles sent her a sideways glare.
”My mother gave me that mirror.”
”Oh. Sorry, Giles.”
”Buffy what is that thing you saw?”
”I don’t know! You’re research guy.”
”Yes, but if you wont tell me what it looked like, I wont be much help in -“
”Small, lots of teeth and red eyes.”
Giles looked at her for moment not saying a word.
”What? Are you serious?”
”Yeah. Why?”
”No reason,” Giles answered before turning from her. He stopped when he saw the little creature sitting at the bottom of the stairs on its hind legs.
”No reason? You don’t just look at me like I’m Linda Blair about to spit up pea soup and...why did you stop? Giles?”
”Is that, the um, uh, it?” Giles pointed to the creature in front of him with the tip of his sword.
”Yeah, that’s him. Looks little like that thing from those critter movies, doesn’t it? Kinda cute.”
”Cute?”
”I said, kinda.”
”You’re definition of the word cute, needs to be re-evaluated I think.”
”Oh? This from the man who thinks Darla had nice legs!”
”What?! I never said-“
”Oh don’t you dare try to deny it! Xander said-“
”Xander?”
”That’s right. He said you said that you thought Darla had a nice pair of steams and that she was nice bird? Why you were comparing her to a bird I don’t know but...”
”Uh, Buffy-“
”No, I’m not done. I mean, you get all huffy at me for liking Angel and here you are drooling over Darla...”
”Buffy the creature- Drooling?! I was not drooling!”
Buffy raised her eyebrow.
”A man can admire a woman’s-“
”Demon’s.”
”Woman’s, figure without-“
”D-E-M-O-N Giles. She was a...”
”Vampire. Yes all right. She was a bloody vampire, just like Angel. All right?”
”Is that what you like?”
”Pardon?”
”Is that what you like? A Vampire?”
”What are on earth are you rambling on about?” Giles asked irritably as he turned from her and walked down the stairs searching for the critter.
”Admit it Giles. You like them as much as I do. Did.”
”No Buffy, I don’t.
”Giles-“
In a huff, Giles turned and faced her. He was inches from her body as they stood at the bottom of the stairs.
”I don’t like, nor have I ever wanted to be with a vampire, Buffy. I was simply admiring her...oh bloody hell! Why do you even care?!”
”I care! I care a lot!”
”Since when?”
Buffy stepped back. Giles watched her as she looked down then back at him.
”I’ve always cared,” she said softly. “Just didn’t show it well.”
”Buffy-“
At the sound of another crash, this time coming from somewhere in the living room or kitchen, Buffy and Giles put their discussion on hold and ran into the living room. Looking around they couldn’t see anything wrong. Everything was deathly silent till something moved and clanged against a pan in the kitchen. Buffy and her watcher shared a look, then a nod, silently understanding that she would take lead and he would cover her back.
Buffy moved in front of Giles with her sword at ready as she entered the kitchen. She didn’t want to turn the lights on because the thing seemed to run from the light. At least this way, though it was hard for her to see, it would be out where she maybe had a chance to catch it an slay it.
Buffy scanned the small area while Giles stood in the entry way to the kitchen with his sword ready to strike. He looked around the somewhat lit kitchen, the only light coming in from the hallway as Buffy quietly made her way around.
”Careful, Buffy.”
Not answering him, Buffy continued forward as she saw two little red eyes watching her from the top corner of the cabinets in Giles’ kitchen. Giles racked his brain trying to remember if he’d seen this thing in any of his books previously. For the life of him he couldn’t remember it. He didn’t know how it got there or how to kill it or even what it wanted.
”Ok, now we can do this the easy way or...well I guess there is no easy way-“
”Buffy, just slay it.”
”Giles, do you mind? Let me do my job and you just stand there do yours.”
”Stand here and do mine? What do you mean stand here and do mine?”
”Giles, not now, ok?”
”You have been throwing around accusations for last thirty-six plus hours about my abilities as to-“ Giles’ words fell silent when something sharp pierced the side of his neck. At first he couldn’t move. He felt something warm and sticky slipping down his throat. He vaguely realized it was his own blood when he saw Buffy rushing at him and calling his name.
The next thing he knew, before he could even react, she was pulling the creature from his neck and throwing it to the ground. Giles watched as Buffy slammed the sword down but missed the thing as it scampered away, quick as lightening.
”Giles? You ok?”
He nodded silently to her and touched the side of his neck.
”We really must stop, ouch, bloody hell...all this arguing. Where did it go?”
”Are you sure you’re all right?”
Giles could hear the concern in her voice. He removed his hand to see how bad it really was. There was blood on his finger tips.
”Yes Buffy,” he told her gently and with a small reassuring smile. “I’m fine. Are you?”
”Yeah. Kinda pissed now though; he attacked my watcher.”
”Yes, well...”
They stood staring at one another for a moment, neither saying anything. Giles wasn’t sure what was happening but he was fairly certain something between him and Buffy had just shifted. When the creature attacked him, Buffy had looked panicked when she reached him and removed the monster from his neck...
”Giles, I...I wasn’t completely honest about why I came over here tonight.”
”You, weren’t?”
”No,” she answered softly, her eyes cast down to the ground.
”I...I’m afraid I don’t understand, Buffy.”
”I know, and I want to explain but-“
”Now isn’t the time?”
”Yeah.”
He smiled at her gently. With a nod, he let her know he understood and they would talk about it later.
”Let’s find this thing.”
”You think we can kill it?”
”If we can’t, I’ll research it and we’ll find a way. Together.”
Buffy smiled.
**
Buffy and Giles trailed the little beast down the hall to the bathroom by following the blood on the floor from the bite he took out of Giles neck. Sighing, Giles mumbled irritably as Buffy turned to look at him
”What?”
”I just had this carpet put in.”
Rolling her eyes, Buffy answered “Giles, priorities?”
”Do you know how expensive it was to put that in here? The labor alone was-“
”Giles, do you really want talk about this right now or-“
*bang*
”What was that?” Buffy asked in whispered tone. Giles shrugged his shoulders and stepped in front of her to open the door to the bathroom a little wider. He shone the flashlight in his hand into the room. Before either of them knew what was happening, the thing jumped out of the dark and attacked Buffy.
Giles called to her as he reached for the creature before it could do too much damage to her. He struggled for a few minutes with it before he was able to pull it off of her.
He quickly threw it to the ground and slammed his sword through the creature’s body. It let out a piercing scream.
”Thanks, Giles.”
Looking back at her, Giles smiled warmly before concern flooded his eyes. She was bleeding profusely even as she held her hand to her wound.
”We should get you to the hospital.”
”Guess your floors are never going to be the same,” Buffy joked as Giles half smiled.
”No, but you’re far more important to me than any floor. Come on.” Reaching for her hand, Giles lead Buffy out. She stopped him in the hallway.
”Wait. What are we going to tell the doctor?”
”What?”
”I mean seriously, Giles. Look at us. We look like Freddy came to visit us in our nightmares. What do we say? We both fell on the pitch fork in the barn?”
Giles chuckled softly and looked down at his shirt when she pointed to it. He was covered in blood an hers was starting to get just like his.
”Yes I suppose your right.” Stepping towards her, Giles took a closer look at her wound. “He seems to have missed your main artery and I suppose I could patch you fairly well with...”
”Good. Then it’s settled. We’ll take care of each other here. Then we can have that talk afterward, ok?”
With a gentle smile and nod of his head, Giles agreed.