Title: Let that be a Lesson to you…part 2/11
Author: Sweetdoggie
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.
They got the sleeping children semi-dressed and carried them to the car. Giles made a second trip back for the extra supplies. Anya and Tara were sleeping like logs on the back seat, still tucked up in their blankets. Xander was curled up in the middle of the front seat his head in Buffy’s lap and his feet in Giles’. Buffy held Willow in her arms.
Since Giles’ drove at about five miles an hour, the trip took fifteen minutes.
“You could have gone a little faster,” Buffy groused.
“Ah, already acting like a wife, I see. Nothing pleases you.”
Buffy growled at him and picked up Willow’s crate. She unlocked her front door and carried the baby inside, sat her down in the living room and went back for the others. Giles carried in the two girls and Buffy swept Xander up in one arm and four of the shopping bags in the other. They eventually got inside without mishap.
“Let’s put them in my room for tonight,” Buffy told him and walked upstairs.
He looked around her room with interest. He had been here a couple of times over the last few years, but it was still a place of mystery to him. It still sported the childish stuffed animals that he remembered and a few posters of rock stars. Apparently, Buffy was not a big fan of redecorating.
She looked at the room, sizing up it’s potential for baby dangers. “How about we push the bed so that the side is against the wall and lay the kids out crossways on it? That way the head and footboards should stop them from rolling off in the night. I think I know where my old bed rail is in the basement. That will keep them from falling off on this side. You start getting them ready for bed and I’ll go get it.”
“Get them ready for bed? Can’t we just lay them down and be done with it?”
“No. They all, well, except Willow, need to be woken up and taken to the toilet. I do not want baby pee in my bed, thanks.”
“But, but you should do that. I’m sure the girls won’t want me to, to escort them to the toilet for heaven’s sake!”
“Giles, they’re all just babies and they need help. Let the girls pull down their pants and then lift them up. Hold them so they don’t fall through and wipe them when they’re done. Same for Xander. Don’t give them anything to drink. We won’t worry about brushing teeth tonight.”
“Good Lord!” he muttered as she left the room. He was a Watcher not a parent and surely this sort of thing was better done by females? Which one to take first? Finally he settled on Tara because she was the closest. He picked her up and carried her into the bathroom.
“Tara dear, you need to wake up and, and use the facilities.” He knew his face was as red as a beet.
The little girl in his arms slowly opened her eyes. “Daddy?”
He felt his heart melt just a little. “Urhrumm. While not technically accurate, that appellation shall suffice for the time being,” he informed her. “Now, um, please use the toilet like a good girl.”
She dropped her pants without a second’s hesitation and climbed up on the seat. In a moment she was finished. He wadded up some toilet paper and gently patted her between her legs. “Good girl.” After helping her back up with her panties, he held her while she washed her tiny hands before carrying her back to the bed. The operation was repeated successfully with Anya, but Xander was simply too little to get up on the seat by himself. Giles finally resorted to holding him as he stood on the edge of the toilet and more or less aimed toward the bowl. He cleaned up the mess and took the sleepy toddler back to the bedroom where the other two were already deep into dreamland.
Buffy came back upstairs carrying a metal bed rail that she wiped down with a paper towel. “It was a little dusty, but there’s nothing wrong with it.” She showed him how to stick it under the mattress. Turning off the light, she left the door open and together they stepped out of the room.
“Boy, I’m bushed!” she told him when they were downstairs again.
“So am I. I’m also hungry. Do you have anything we could fix for dinner?”
She waved him into the kitchen. “Eggs? Toast? I think I have some microwavable sausage. I’m not up to serious cooking tonight.”
“No, nor am I.” He sat down at the kitchen table while she bustled around getting the food together.
“Scrambled OK?”
“Most satisfactory. I need to go back to my apartment and get some books for research. Will you be all right here with just the children for a little while?”
“Yeah, should be. Just don’t stay away too long, all right?”
“No longer than I need to get some books and perhaps a change of clothing.”
“Good idea,” she complimented. “No telling when we’ll get the guys back to normal. We could be in for a long haul as parents. Tomorrow, we need to buy car seats, diaper bags and high chairs for Xander and Will. Anya and Tara can probably make do with booster seats. I think the playpen is going to be a necessity. Some more toys wouldn’t hurt either.”
“Make a list while I’m gone,” he suggested.
They ate supper and Giles did the dishes while Buffy ran up to check on the kids. They were all still sleeping but Willow was wet and needed a change. She tended to her needs then realized that a diaper pail was definitely going to be added to her list. She washed her hands and came back down to see Giles putting the last of the dishes away.
“Well, I’ll be back as soon as possible, Buffy.”
“OK, watch for vamps. The last thing we need is for one of us to get injured.”
He nodded. “Very true.”
He was as good as his word and was back in an hour. Buffy had made up the bed in her mother’s old room for them. She wanted both herself and Giles to be able to leap up and tend the babies if necessary.
They had a bit of an argument about the sleeping arrangements when he returned and found out that she expected them to sleep together. “Buffy, I shall be perfectly fine on the couch.”
She looked skeptical. “You might be, but what happens when the kids need to get up and go to the bathroom or get scared or any of a hundred things that require your presence? Giles, we’ve known each other for six years and I think we can control ourselves in the same bed.”
He flushed. “What about your reputation?”
“The one that’s going to make people wonder where four kids under the age of four suddenly came from, you mean?”
“Oh, yes, well, I see.” He put his overnight bag down on the bed. “Ah, would you mind if I take the side next to the night stand? I want to read for a while yet.”
“Fine with me,” she told him. “I’m going to go shower, check the babies and then sleep for about fifteen hours. Do you want a shower?”
He flushed. “I shall take one before coming to bed.”
“OK, I was going to suggest using the master bathroom. Mine is too close to the kid’s room and might wake them.”
He nodded and watched her walk off. He was going to sleep with his Slayer. Old Travers would burst a blood vessel at the very thought, no matter how platonic. Giles grinned and gave a low, wicked little laugh before opening his bag and removing clean garments. Maybe pretending to be Buffy’s husband and the father of four children would open her eyes to him as a man, God knew, nothing else seemed to be doing it. He’d had real hope when she was so jealous over Olivia several years ago, but the trauma of her mother’s illness and death had put paid to that. Now he had an opportunity that was Heaven sent to force her to perceive him differently and he intended to take full advantage of it.