Title: The Assistant, part 37
Author: Sweetdoggie (stirling_summer@yahoo.com)
Pairing: B/G
Rating: R
Summary: Buffy in England
Spoilers: season 4
Disclaimer: No permission has been granted to use the characters. They are owned by their creator, Joss Whedon, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB, and Mutant Enemy. This story is non-profit and is intended solely as entertainment. No copyright infringement is intended.
The days in England passed too quickly for all of them. Their time was full to bursting with meetings, training, and simply sharing togetherness. Merrick organized several expeditions to show Buffy the sights while Giles contacted as many of his old friends as he could find to introduce to his beautiful young wife.
Unbeknownst to either of them, Merrick had been quietly tracking down Olivia. He finally managed to plan an expedition where they were sure to run in to the gorgeous woman. He hoped Rupert would do the right thing.
The day was sunny and unseasonably warm for November in England, and Buffy thought it was beautiful. She could imagine what this place must look like during spring or summer. It would be so green with plant life that it would be almost embarrassing to somebody from the desert southwest. Turning to her husband she asked him if he would bring her back in the spring?
“Barring apocalypse, of course.”
“I’ll bet it’s beautiful here.”
“It’s very different from Southern California,” Rupert admitted. “Which is not to say that the desert is without its charms, it’s simply different.”
“I got that,” she grinned.
They were walking along a mezzanine between two shops, the rest of the party trailing behind them. Giles was looking at Buffy and didn’t see Olivia emerge from one of the shops. She saw him and did a double take.
“Rupert? Rupert Giles?”
He looked up. “Liv!”
She walked over to the group. “Ripper! I couldn’t believe my eyes. What are you doing back in England?”
Giles knew the time for confrontation was upon him. He looked down at his wife then back up at Liv. “I came with my wife to spend a bit of time with family, Liv.”
“Your wife! You actually got married? I can hardly believe it, old Ripper Giles married. Introduce me!” She looked at Joyce meaningfully.
Giles smiled slightly. What he was going to reveal would knock his old friend on her shapely rear. The thought wasn’t without appeal somehow. “Liv, you remember Merrick, don’t you?”
She looked at the older man with some distaste. “Of course, how are you John?”
“Why Liv, I couldn’t be better.”
Rupert continued. “This is Buffy’s mother, Merrick’s wife, Joyce.”
Joyce, her hands full of baby, smiled calmly at the other woman. She was aware of the tension but didn’t know the cause.
“The baby is Merrick’s son and this is Anna, his ward.”
Anna nodded calmly.
Giles turned back to Liv, smiling slightly at her confusion. “And this is Buffy. You’ve met before. She’s my wife.”
He felt Buffy relax at his words. She grinned cheekily at the former model. “Hey, Olivia. Good to see you again.”
Olivia’s mouth worked silently for a moment before she found her voice. She looked up at Giles. “I don’t understand. Buffy is your wife? She’s just a child.”
Giles smiled. “Yes, twenty years younger than me. I’m a very lucky man.”
“But, but how long have you two been married?”
“A year-and-a-half, roughly,” Giles told her.
Liv got a look on her face like she smelled something off. “Are you cradle robbing now, Rupert?”
“Just one cradle, Olivia,” he grinned. “I fell in love with Buffy when she was only sixteen. We tried to wait till she was eighteen, but, well, I found I couldn’t do without her.”
“Or me without him,” Buffy added taking his arm in hers.
Olivia looked at them both. “That’s just disgusting, Rupert. She could be your daughter!”
Joyce glanced over at her. “No, really. She couldn’t. I didn’t’ even know him twenty years ago.”
The others chuckled at the look on Olivia’s face.
“That’s not what I meant, Ripper, and you know it! I never thought you’d be led around by your todger!”
“Well, Liv, what can I say? I’m in love with a woman twenty years my junior and frankly, it’s bloody great!”
“Are you going to say that when she leaves you for another man? A younger man?”
“Why on earth would I do that, Olivia? I don’t believe in trading down. I’ve got the best man on the planet and I’m keeping him,” Buffy drew even closer to Giles.
Olivia shook her head. “I just never thought I’d see the day, that’s all. Ripper Giles with a child-bride.” She looked him over one last time. “Well, good luck and all that Rupert,” making it perfectly clear that she thought he’d need it. She turned on her heel and walked away.
Buffy looked up at her husband. She put her hands on his shoulders and pulled him down for a deep kiss that practically made him forget where they were. “Thank you, Rupert. I love you so much!”
He stood there looking rather shell-shocked. Merrick came up and patted him on the back. “Good show, Rupert. I knew you could make this right.”
Giles gazed at him, still reeling from the encounter. “Uh, thank you, John.”
Later that evening, Rupert sat in the living room pondering the events of the day. Buffy and Anna were out patrolling, Joyce had gone to put the baby to bed, and Merrick was sitting across from him still looking deeply satisfied.
“You set me up, didn’t you?” he finally asked the older man.
“I knew Olivia would be there today. I thought there might be a good chance that we would run into her.”
“And you trusted me to do the right thing and not ruin my life as I nearly did a few months ago?”
“Rupert, you were always one to learn from your experiences. Of course I trusted you.” Merrick mentally crossed his fingers.
Giles looked at the older man. “Hmmm. Well, I suppose things turned out for the best, at any rate. I wish Liv could understand, but she never will and I suppose it’s not important anyway.”
Merrick smiled. “I understand, my boy. Liv has been your friend longer than your wife has been alive. It’s hard when someone we know and love doesn’t understand a decision that is so terribly important to us, but it does happen. Either Olivia will learn to accept Buffy and her place in your life or she won’t, but the decision to do so is now in her hands.”
“You’re right, of course. I’m simply glad I was able to win back Buffy’s regard.”
“You never lost it Rupert,” Buffy said as she walked into the room.
He sat up, galvanized by her presence. “I didn’t know you were back from patrol.”
“Not a whole lot of patrolling in this little bitty town, sweetie. It’s been a great vacation.”
Rupert smiled and pulled her down onto his lap. “We’ll come back.”
Buffy snuggled up to him. “Good. Maybe, someday we could live here. I’d totally like that.”
“When we can, love, we shall do so.”
She laid her head on his shoulder and was soon asleep.
Merrick smiled to see them so. “She always could fall asleep at the drop of a hat.”
“You should try to get her up in the mornings, John. It’s hysterically funny. I sometimes think a herd of charging rhinos could trample through our bedroom and she wouldn’t even turn over.”
“She sleeps so soundly with you, Rupert, because she knows she’s safe with you. It’s quite a compliment.”
“I would give my life to keep her safe.”
“As would I, my boy. As would I.”
None of them saw Anna duck backwards into the doorway. She had envied Buffy her connection with Merrick and even with Giles and eagerly looked forward to establishing a bond with a Watcher of her own. She liked the hugs and the kisses she had seen the older girl exchange with her Watchers but till now she hadn’t realized that the bond was more than a nice way to ensure you always had a date. It really was a bond, a uniting of two people. In some ways, it was very frightening. It pointed out in yet one more fashion that she was a Slayer and would never know a normal relationship. She admired Buffy’s strength but wondered if she would ever have it for herself. Slipping quietly up the stairs to her room, she went to bed, thinking deep and somewhat disturbing thoughts.