Title: B & B Weekend 7-8
Author: Gileswench
Contact: gileswench@yahoo.com
Feedback: Constructive criticism always welcome. Praise abjectly sought.
Disclaimer: It all belongs to Joss, Mutant Enemy, etc., etc., etc. I just let them have all the fun Joss won't. I own nothing except my twisted mind which you really don't want. Please don't sue.



"Y'know, I was worried before that you would want to do something really kinky this weekend."

Buffy lay cradled in Giles' arms softly stroking his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair.

"Was...was what we did...too much for you?"

"If you'd asked me to do that before, I probably would have been weirded out. But I liked it. Who'da thunk?"

"You know I would never try to push you into doing something that makes you uncomfortable. You can always refuse if anything I want to try is...well, a little..."

"Too kinky? Believe me, I'll stop anything I don't feel like I can do. Pushover is not exactly on my resume."

"Of course not, Buffy. I just want to make sure you know that I won't be hurt if you don't want to play out one of my little fantasies."

"Okay. Now, is the guilt-induced lecture over?"

"That wasn't guilt. It was sensitivity, I'll have you know." Giles' tone was slightly huffy.

"No it wasn't. You think you're corrupting me. Maybe you are, but I'm enjoying every minute and as soon as I'm not, I'll let you know. I'm a big girl, and you're not taking advantage of me. At least, not in any way I don't want."

She leaned in for a leisurely kiss, which was returned with great enthusiasm.

"So, Rupert, how many times have you pulled that strawberry trick over the years?"

Giles laughed. "I hope you don't plan to be jealous of every woman I've made love to in the past thirty years."

Buffy sat up, startled. "You mean you've done that with everyone?!"

He pulled his love back down to him and looked into her eyes.

"Of course not, Buffy. In fact, it's been rather a life-long fantasy for me. Thank you for making it come true."

"You mean...?"

"I've been wanting to do that for a great many years, but I was waiting for just the right woman."

"So, was it worth the wait?"

"Absolutely. I couldn't have done that with just anyone. I don't share myself easily, you know. But you, you break down my every defense. From the first moment we met, you've gotten round me in a way nobody ever has before. You walked into that library and turned my life upside-down, and I never want it to be rightside-up again."

"I love you too, Rupert."

*****

"Ripper's here? And you didn't tell me?"

"Oh don't sound so self-righteous, Liv. What was I supposed to say?"

"You could have mentioned. Is she...is he alone?"

Ethan laughed out loud. "Not a chance in Hell. Of course she's here too. They've finally seen the bloody light. At least for a bit."

"And what do you mean by that?" Olivia stood and began to dress.

"I mean that the last I saw of them, Buffy was running away, as usual, and Ripper was in a state of abject self-induced misery. Of course I gave him the benefit of my not inconsiderable experience. By this time they've no doubt made it up. Don't be silly, Olivia; come back to bed."

He stood and ran his hands along the woman's arms, but she shrugged him away.

"Leave me alone, Ethan."

"So suddenly I'm not good enough for you? And all because dear Rupert is on the premises? Don't make me laugh."

"I knew this was a mistake the instant I agreed to come here with you."

"Yet you said yes."

"I wasn't thinking straight."

"Oh that's rich, luv. Keep on lying to yourself if you must, but don't try it on me. You've never been able to decide between the two of us. Well you can't have Ripper, so you might as well be with me for a while."

"You're a bastard, Ethan Rayne."

"So I've been told. And you, my dear, have lost the game to a chit of a girl." Olivia flinched. "Oh, so that's what's bothering you so much, isn't it. You can't stand being beaten by that child. And you still don't understand: you can't have Ripper because he's long gone. It takes a great deal of effort to get him to come out and play. I know. It's become my life's work and even I can't manage it more than once a year. All that's left is Rupert. You wouldn't want him, Liv. He's far too moral and gloomy for you. Might as well stick with an unrepentant old bastard."

Olivia crossed to the bottle of wine on the dresser and poured herself a glass. Her hand shook as she lifted the glass to her lips.

"Oh and much as I hate saying 'I told you so'...wait, I tell a lie - I love saying that - I did in fact tell you so when you showed up on my doorstep. You had to tell him to choose between you and her. Now that was a stupid move if ever I saw one. Not that there was anything you could possibly have done anyway. She'd have won no matter how patient you were, but you could have found a much more graceful way to make your exit."

By this time, Olivia was in tears sitting on the edge of the bed, sipping her wine between sobs.

"Truth hurts. Come here and let me lie to you for a while, Liv." Ethan's tone was oddly sincere.

*****

When Buffy and Giles had dressed and gathered up their belongings from their picnic site, they walked back to the inn talking and laughing in a thoroughly relaxed manner. Both felt they had reached a new level of trust in their relationship, thanks to the magic square.

They had just stopped for a long, loving kiss when they heard a man clearing his throat in front of them.

"Hi, Daddy." Buffy refused to be embarrassed at his appearance.

"Where have you been? I told you we were going to have a talk." Hank glared at Giles and spoke gruffly in an attempt to make the Englishman uncomfortable. It didn't work.

"I'm sorry, had we set a time? At any rate, I suppose we could have that talk now, if you like." Giles' tone was mild, but his eyes glinted like steel in the afternoon sun.

"What do you think you're doing with my daughter?" Hank demanded.

"I have no intention of discussing this matter so publicly. If you insist on embarrassing yourself and Buffy, you could at least choose to do so behind closed doors. Would you prefer that we speak in your room or ours?"

"Look, Daddy, why don't you and Rupert talk in our room? I'll take a walk in the rose garden."

"Are you sure, luv?"

"Take as long as you need." She reached up to kiss Giles. "Come find me when you two have decided how many goats I have for a dowry."

Giles chuckled and took the picnic basket from Buffy as her father stared at them in bewilderment.

"Goats? Dowry? What the hell are you talking about?"

'Oh, and Daddy? Maybe if Crystal's feeling okay you could send her out here. She and I need to talk too."

Hank suddenly felt intimidated by his own daughter. He disliked the sensation intensely. Still, it was the first sign she had given that she might accept his new marriage, so he nodded.

"You'll like her, Buffy, once you get to know her."

Giles squeezed Buffy's shoulder gently as he led Hank back into the building.

*****

"We really must get to work researching now, Cordelia" Wesley admonished somewhat breathlessly as she began to nibble his earlobe.

"But this is so much more fun."

"Yes, but we still haven't figured out what this demon is that is threatening Buffy and Mr. Giles in your vision."

"If I didn't see it in any of the books earlier, what makes you think I'll find it now?" She moved her kisses in a southerly direction.

As Cordelia's lips reached his rapidly hardening cock, Wesley decided research could wait a while longer.

*****

Giles folded his arms across his chest as he leaned lightly against the doorframe. His even gaze made it clear that he had no intention of either making the first move or going on the defensive.

Hank was unused to being so thoroughly outmaneuvered before he began. In his line of business, bluster usually threw people off their guard, allowing him to manipulate them easily. It was clear that this man had opted out of the game. Unfortunately for Hank, he didn't know another.

"So what are you doing here with my daughter? You're too old for her."

"We are enjoying a romantic weekend at a lovely inn."

"You admit your having sex with her? I can't believe it!"

"I would never have been so crude as to mention the physical side of our relationship - especially to her own father." Giles continued to answer in an even tone that Buffy would have recognized as dangerous.

"How old are you, anyway? And how long has this been going on?"

"As Buffy said earlier, I'm forty-six, and 'this' has been going on for about three weeks."

"Oh yeah? Three weeks? You worked at her school, didn't you? Maybe I'll just call the principal and see what he has to say about the two of you."

"Feel perfectly free to do so. Of course it will do you no good since the principal who was in charge while Buffy attended Sunnydale High is now deceased, and I am no longer employed there., largely due to the fact that the school no longer exists. I can, however, suggest that you talk with Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris."

"Who the hell are they?"

"Your daughters' best friends. You could also ask Joyce about it."

"Joyce?"

"Yes, Joyce. You do recall her, don't you?"

"Of course I do; we were married for seventeen years."

"I'm happy to see you remember that."

"Don't start with me, buddy! I'm her father..."

Giles laughed outright.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Summers, but I'm afraid I find your attitude utterly ludicrous. All this concern from the man who has missed Buffy's last three birthdays. You didn't show much care for how she was doing then, did you? She's spent time in hospital without so much as a phone call or a get well card from you. She ran away from home two years ago, and you did nothing whilst I followed every lead, however hopeless, to try to find her and bring her home. You weren't there to comfort her when her first love left. You weren't there to praise her for her SAT scores, to answer her questions about life and love, to help her make decisions and deal with their consequences. Joyce and I did those things. If she is now making choices you don't like, you have no right to comment since you were never there to guide her in a direction you would like better. You may be her father in the biological sense, but that is all. If you wish to be her father now, it will take a great deal of effort on your part. Frankly, I doubt that yo
u have the guts to try. If you haven't, then do us both a favor and stay out of Buffy's life. That is, after all, what you're best at."

By the end of the speech, Giles' voice dripped with a venomous scorn, and Hank's head hung in shame.

"She's my little girl. How do I get her back?" Hank sounded genuinely distressed.

"You don't" Giles returned bluntly. "She's not a little girl any longer. She's a woman. If you wish to know the woman your daughter has become, you've a long road ahead of you. It is worth the effort, though."

*****

Crystal Summers approached the rose garden with some trepidation. She wasn't sure she wanted to talk with Buffy. Then again, she was curious. Hank hadn't told her much about his life before they met, and she wanted to know why that was.

She wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt and sat next to Buffy on a stone bench.

"Um, hi. I guess you wanted to see me?"

"Crystal, yeah, hi. I thought maybe while our menfolk are duking it out over me, that maybe we could have a chat. Get to know each other a little bit."

"Sure."

The two girls looked awkwardly at one another, unsure how to begin.

"So...you married my Dad."

"Yeah."

"And...you're having a baby."

"I guess so."

"Well, that establishes just about everything I already knew about you. What did you know about me?"

Crystal shrugged. "Not much, really. Hank told me he had a daughter, but I thought you'd be younger."

"Yeah, well, it's easy to forget that somebody you haven't seen in over two years has gotten older."

"Two years? He hasn't seen you in that long?"

"Two years, seven months, and thirteen days if you're into keeping score. It was supposed to be just us for a weekend, but then a client needed to see him, and he sent me home early."

"Yeah, he still gets those calls. But he's really busy and he's just trying to make a good life for us..."

"Look. He's my father, and I'm always gonna love him, no matter how much he doesn't deserve it, but don't make excuses for him. I've seen him three times in last almost four years. And Sunnydale isn't that far from LA. He hardly ever answers my letters, and he never takes my phone calls. Mom keeps telling me he adores me, but I'm thinking the evidence is starting to mount up for the prosecution."

Crystal began to blink furiously to hold back the tears threatening to escape her eyelids.

"He...he's really a good guy. You just have to understand..."

"You're his wife. That's your job. Now, what about the kid?"

"What do you mean?"

"What are you planning to tell Junior there when Daddy can't make it to his soccer game because he got a phone call that was more important?"

"But, it'll be different for us. He promised."

"He's made lots of promises. To me, to Mom, to all kinds of people. I've never seen him actually keep one that isn't business-related."

"Why are you saying this? Why are you being mean to me?" Crystal finally let herself break down. In an instant, Buffy had an arm around her shoulders and was speaking more gently to her.

"I don't want to be mean. I don't want to hurt you. Believe it or not, I'd like us to be friends. Hey, I got a sibling coming, and I want to know him or her as the case may be. That won't happen unless we can figure out a way to make Daddy behave like he cares about something besides money."

"He cares about me. He told me so."

"He told me so, too. Crystal, don't let the whole marriage be about him. You're a part of it too, and so's the baby. I'm scared that he's gonna walk all over you, and that you'll let him. Love isn't supposed to be like that. Trust me, I know."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you need to make sure you know what you want and that you get some of it. Stand up to him. I know it isn't easy, but you have to."

"But that'll make him mad. It's not as hard for you. You guy doesn't look like he'd hurt a fly, or even raise his voice."

"Don't let the mild-mannered front fool you! Rupert has a temper on him. And some of the most painful things he's ever said to me, he didn't raise his voice at all. He also regularly abuses sarcasm, and he's a lot tougher than he looks. And speaking of looks, he's got this glare that we all call 'the hairy eyeball of death' behind his back. Fells strong men at twenty paces. If I know Rupert, Daddy's getting very well acquainted with that glare right now."

"But if he's that mean, why do you stay with him?"

"Mean? Rupert? Nah, he's just someone who can take care of himself. There have been a bunch of times when he could have yelled at me for hours, 'cause I really, really deserved it, but he didn't. And he does really sweet things for me, just out of the blue. Like there was this one day last week when I had this incredibly crappy day and he surprised me with a single white rose and a foot massage. He said I looked like I needed something nice to happen, so he made it happen."

"That sounds real nice. I wish Hank would be that way."

"Maybe he can be. But he's got to know you need that or he'll never do it."

"But what do I do?"

"First thing, figure out what you want from him. Second thing, start demanding it. Third thing, make sure there are consequences when he bails on you. And fourth thing, have someplace to go if it doesn't work out. If you ever need it...you could always come crash with me and Rupert for a while. I meant what I said; I want us to be friends. Just do me one favor."

"What's that?"

"Don't ever ask me to call you 'Mom'. That would be the uber freak."

PART 8

After Crystal left to figure out what she really wanted from her marriage, Buffy continued to sit on the bench thinking.

In particular, she found herself wondering about her phrasing of her invitation for Crystal to come stay with her and Giles if she needed to. She and Giles didn't have an 'our place'. She lived in the dorms, and he in his bachelorish loft apartment. Why had she put it like that?

Her musing was interrupted by the approach of a man.

"Rupert?"

"No, Buffy. It's me."

"Oh. Hi, Riley. Where's Katie?"

"She's...taking a little nap right now. She's kinda tired."

"Oh. Look, Riley, I'm sorry about this morning. I was so...I'm not sure there's a word for it, but I really was and it was bad, and I'm sorry."

Riley sat next to Buffy. "Look, I know you pretty well, and I think I know what happened."

"And that would be, Oh Mighty Psyche Major?" she teased.

"Okay, you're the Slayer, a warrior. Well, unexpected things happen, you tend to assume 'threat to humanity', and go on the attack. You didn't expect me to be here, and you didn't expect Katie at all. And since there were no weapons allowed at the breakfast table, you made a verbal attack with the best weapon in your arsenal: sarcasm. How'm I doing?"

"A little too well" she answered sheepishly.

"And I got news for you, Buffy; I wasn't expecting you to be here either. Certainly not with Giles."

"I think that's the first time you've left off the 'Mr.' on that."

"You want to tell me how long that's been going on?"

"Couple weeks."

"Why him, Buffy? I don't get it."

"Why you? Why Angel? Actually, out of the three of you, I think Rupert makes the most sense."

"Still lost on that."

"See, with Angel, well, he was a vampire and then there was the whole 'one moments' happiness' clause in the curse. We had to hold back. We could never let go with each other. It hurt all the time and we both got majorly cranky and we fought constantly. And there was all this guilt. We couldn't ever let it go. So, Angel left for my own good, and probably his. Then I met you. For the first couple months I couldn't tell you anything about me. Then I could give you a sort of Readers' Digest version, but I could never tell you everything. Not to mention you were secret identity guy too, so you couldn't tell me everything either."

"Yeah, but we did come clean eventually."

Buffy shook her head. "That's just it. We never did. At least I didn't. We talked and talked, but we never said the stuff that needed saying if it was gonna last. I was always holding back so I wouldn't shock you. And every time I did shock you, you said I didn't."

"When did you shock me?"

"How about when I told you Oz was a werewolf? And then when I let you in on the sitch with Will and Tara and you couldn't look at either one of them without blushing for almost a month. And when Xander was working on the phone sex line..."

"Okay, okay, I get it. So maybe I'm a little more...socially conservative than most of your friends. I really did try."

"See, that's just it. Rupert never has to try to catch up with me and the Scoobies. He gets it all. Well, maybe not the techno beat music I use for my aerobics, but everything else he gets. And he puts up with the music. That's not to say we never have any problems. We had a doozy of a fight after breakfast, which was totally my fault for being so snarky about Katie, but once we both had a chance to cool down, we talked. I mean really talked, no holds barred. And we figured it out, and we dealt. If I had been with you and we found out Angel had a new girlfriend, I would never have been able to say what I really needed to, and you would have pretended a simple apology made it all better. I need to be with someone I don't have to censor myself for. That's why Rupert."

Riley nodded, albeit confusedly. "I'm never gonna completely get you, am I?"

"I doubt it. So, why Katie?"

"She's great. She's just so down to earth. I admit, I enjoyed the ride, but I never knew which way was up with you. Every time I knew where I stood, the ground fell out from under me. That doesn't happen to me now. Maybe it's not as exciting, but I like the feeling."

"So no romantic nights saving the world together?"

"Romantic, yes, but a little more selfish than that. Now it's more sit in front of the fire and don't get covered in vampire dust and green demon blood kind of romantic evenings."

"Nice work if you can get it."

"Well, it works for us. So where's 'Rupert'?"

"That's right, you haven't heard. My father is here with his child bride - and I mean that literally - and he's taken Rupert aside for the traditional grilling of the boyfriend with a special marinade of hypocritical ranting about his age. And I've shocked you again, haven't I?"

Riley shook his head a little too adamantly. "No, no, not at all. No shock here...and you can see right through that, can't you?"

"Like a window."

They shared a wry smile.

"I guess I should go and find Katie."

"Yeah. Riley, tell her how sorry I am about this morning."

"Actually, she didn't get it. Her radar doesn't register sarcasm."

"Still."

"She'll probably still be asleep anyway. We didn't get much rest last night."

"I understand, what with the honeymoon and all."

"It wasn't that - not that we didn't...I'm just gonna shut my mouth now. See the couple in the next room, they were at it all night long, really loud. I've never heard anything like it."

"What room are you in?" Buffy asked with a feeling she didn't want the answer.

"Rose Room." Buffy screwed her eyes shut in embarrassment. "And you're in that next room, aren't you? Wow. You never...with me...Giles??"

"We'll try to be quieter tonight."

"At least I don't have to ask why anymore."

*****

"See, Betty? It's all happening just like it's supposed to. I bet they'll be ready before the weekend's out."

"I think you're right, Chip. Now don't get overexcited. You've blown it by telling before, and I don't want all my hard work going to waste."

"Don't worry, honey. I've learned my lesson."

*****

"Cordelia, luv, wake up. We have work to do." Wesley gently nudged the sleeping girl beside him. When that didn't rouse her, he kissed his way from her shoulder to her ear, until she woke, smiling and captured his lips with her own.

After several sweet, hot kisses, Wesley felt Cordelia reach again for his penis, but he removed her hand.

"What? Don't you want to?"

"Cordelia, we have work to do."

"Just once more? Please? I promise I'll look for the demon afterwards."

"No. What if it comes looking for them while we're making love? How would we explain to Angel that we let Buffy and Mr. Giles die because we couldn't keep our hands off one another?"

"I think you just can't get it up again. No, that's not it." She wriggled against his hard length. "So what's the prob?"

"Cordelia, please. As entertaining as it would be to break the world record for copulation, we are here on an assignment. Now stop doing that."

By this time, she was licking one of his nipples.

"Just this one more time, I promise." She looked at him with her big, brown eyes as she swiped her tongue across the hard nubbin.

"We...we can't."

"Why not?"

"We're out of condoms, all right. It wouldn't be safe."

"We're what? You only got three? You thought that would last a weekend? God, Wesley! Get your butt out of bed and go get us some more."

"But Buffy said..."

"Wait a minute. What does Buffy have to do with this? Don't tell me you got them from Buffy."

"I...I got them from Buffy."

"You idiot! Now she knows!"

"Well, after last night, I rather felt it was tit for tat. We certainly know far more about her sex life that we ever wanted to."

Cordelia leapt from the bed and began gathering her clothes.

"God, Wesley! I can't believe you did that to me!"

"What on earth do you mean? I thought you said you didn't care what people thought about us."

"Duh! I don't care what people think. This isn't people; this is Buffy."

"I really don't see what the difference is." Wesley slid out from the covers and caught Cordelia by the shoulders. "Would you please explain it to me?"

The girl fought the urge to lean back against him.

"She's ruined so many things for me. If it wasn't for her, I would have never looked at Xander. Then I did, and he started looking at Willow, and I was left with nothing. All my friends laughed at me, especially when he dumped me. I ended up with a huge spike through my guts, and Harmony Kendall laughing in my face, the way we used to laugh together at total losers. And there hasn't been anyone really since Xander. I mean, sure, I go on dates, and I've even had sex with guys, but there hasn't been anyone for real, somebody I'd want to stay with, since Xander. Now there's you, and I don't want to blow it. But if Buffy knows, something's gonna go wrong. It always does for me around her."

Wesley wrapped his arms around Cordelia as she broke down.

"I'm not going anywhere, Buffy or no Buffy. Don't you know that I'm not Xander? I'm not going to leave you. You captivate me. You make me want you in ways no other woman ever has. I'd be a blind fool to let you go."

He began to kiss the tears from Cordelia's cheeks. Slowly, she began to melt into him and allow the comfort to reach her.

*****

Buffy sat lost in thought, when a pair of masculine arms wrapped themselves around her from behind.

"Hey", she smiled leaning against Giles as he kissed the top of her head.

"Hey to you, luv."

"So, how'd it go? You teach my Daddy a lesson he'll never forget?"

"I sincerely hope so. At least he's no longer threatening to have me arrested, so I think he's figured out that you've passed the age of consent."

"Now that's what I call progress."

"I don't want to get your hopes up too high, Buffy, but he seemed to truly regret not knowing you anymore."

"I'll believe that when I see it."

"That's probably wisest. How did your talk with Crystal go?"

"Left her chewing on some serious food for thought. Daddy won't know what hit him. Then I had a chat with Riley. Guess what? I found out who's in the room on the other side of ours."

"Oh dear."

"Ain't that the truth? Still, we had a good talk. I think he's totally behind me now."

"Who's in front of you?"

She turned to face him, draping her arms around his neck. "Only you."

They kissed deeply, their tongues mingling and teasing one another. When they pulled back, Giles looked in wonder at Buffy's passion- darkened eyes.

"What in heavens' name did I do to deserve such joy?"

"You were Giles."

"I love you, Buffy."

"I love you, too, Rupert. Do you think we could take that bubble bath now?"

Giles laughed. "My God, woman, you're insatiable!"

"What's the matter? Not up to it?" she teased.

"Oh, I think I can rise to the occasion" he returned with a twinkle in his eye.

"I dare ya'."

"You're on. Only a coward turns down a dare. And only the greatest of fools would turn down such a delicious one."

They rose and headed back to the inn, arms about one another and flirting all the way.


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