Title: Slayer Central chapter 13
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.



"Here you are, Crystal."

Giles handed the girl the steaming mug and watched her swallow gratefully. Buffy sent a silent thanks to her husband with her eyes. He returned it with a gentle brush of his fingers across her cheek and a smile.

Ms. Pennington cleared her throat.

"Now then, Miss..." she looked inquiringly at Crystal.

"Mrs."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Mrs. I'm not Miss anything. I'm Mrs. Crystal Summers. And we met before."

Ms. Pennington consulted her notes.

"Ah yes, you live with Mrs. Giles' mother, don't you?"

"Yeah. That's right."

Ms. Pennington added to her notes.

"I must say, this is an unusual family. What are you doing sleeping with Mrs. Giles, Mrs. Summers?"

"I was...attacked. I was scared. I didn't want to be alone tonight."

"And so Mr. Giles just offered to sleep on the sofa?"

"No. That was my idea," Buffy interjected. "And it's the first time since we were married that we've slept apart. Not that either one of us got much sleep so far" she added wryly.

*****

Cordelia lay wide awake. Again.

Sleepless nights had never been a habit for her. She knew the danger of puffy eyes and dull complexion that lurked in not getting adequate rest.

She knew that she could sleep if she would only relent and return to Wesley's arms. If she only could.

But how could she?

With a deep sigh, she turned to her side and focused on relaxing her muscles. She began with her toes, then her ankles and up to her knees. Just as she prepared to relax her thighs, she heard a slight sound at the doorway and a quiet step moving off down the hall.

After a moment's consideration, Cordelia decided she had better see what the sound had been. On the Hellmouth, even an innocuous sound could spell danger.

She slid out of bed and padded to the door.

There was an envelope with her name written in Wesley's oddly scrawling hand.

She opened the note.

Dear Cordelia, (it read)

You know that I love you. Further, I believe that you love me in return. I know that you are frightened by these feelings. Up to this point, I have been terribly frustrated by your fear. Now, however, I begin to understand it. You have been hurt badly by men in the past, and feel that loving me can only lead to more heartache.

I can assure you that this will not be the case, but I know that mere words are not enough. You need to trust me.

To that end, I take my cue from the princesses in fairly stories and ask that you regard me as a prince come to beg for your hand. Set me three tasks to test my faith and resolve. If I fail even one, then I will leave the field for a better man to follow.

Should you decide not to test me, I shall, of course, leave you in peace. But Cordelia, if there is any chance that you can love me, please give me the chance to prove myself worthy of the gift.

Love always,

Wesley

"Damn you Wesley. Just when I think you can't be any more perfect, you do something like this" she muttered. "So, three tasks, huh? Better make 'em count."

With that, Cordelia slid back into her bed, and was asleep within minutes.

*****

"Three tasks? What are they?"

"That's up to Cordelia. She is the one whose trust I must gain, therefore she must tell me what will make her trust me."

Angel shook his head.

"I never thought I'd see you so whipped, Wes."

"I'm not whipped. I'm proving myself. Like a knight of old."

"Wes, I knew some knights in the old days. Trust me, they were nothing but drunks."

"Knowing what sort of company you kept when you were alive, I'm not surprised."

"You know you're setting a dangerous precedent, Wes."

"How's that?"

"The girls here will all think you've done something really romantic. They'll all want someone to do the knight errant thing for them."

"I doubt that Giles will need to do any such thing. As for Willow and Tara, which would be the knight and which the lady? And if Hank Summers should return, I'd love to see Crystal make him do her bidding just once."

"And I gotta admit; I'd love to see what Anya will make Xander do."

The two smirked as they tried not to laugh too hard.

"I must admit, I'd like to see that myself."

Vampire and Watcher joined in gales of helpless giggles.

*****

At last Giles let Ms. Pennington out the door and shut it a bit more firmly than he might have done for any other visitor. He leaned his forehead against the wood for a moment, the despair nearly palpable in his stance.

Couples the country over convinced Immigration of the reality of their sham marriages every day. Why couldn't he and Buffy prove the depth of their real love to this one miserable woman?

Where did she develop her unfailing instinct for the perfect moment to appear and see exactly the sort of proof she was looking for that they had married in name only?

What the hell were they going to do when she decided she had enough evidence to deport him?

"Not gonna happen."

Giles started at Buffy's voice behind him on the stairs.

"What are you doing down here, luv? You know you're not supposed to be out of bed."

He hurried to her side and lifted her into his arms. With a quick kiss, he moved them to the sofa and settled her on his lap.

"You were all depressed when Ms. Pennybitch left. She's not gonna win, Rupert. She hasn't got a leg to stand on...or she won't as soon as I can Slay again."

"As appealing an idea as that is, I think she technically qualifies as human."

"So no Slaying her? Darn. What use are superpowers if I can't use them for the public good?"

Giles brushed a lock of hair out of Buffy's face as he smiled at her.

"Darling, you must know that our case is doing rather badly..."

"I know. She saw the dates on our birth certificates and wigged. And I know she thinks I'm doing it with Crystal now, and I know I barfed on her shoes..."

"I thought you might have done."

"It wasn't on purpose. I swear. Look, the thing is, we're for real. Everyone in this house knows it. Mom knows it. Daddy knows it, if we can ever find him. Hell, even Riley knows it. If Ms. Pennington can't get it through her head, then we'll just have to live in England. Are there Hellmouths in England?"

"Nothing as bad as the one here. I think it's affecting our luck in this."

"Stop it. No bad thoughts tonight."

She hugged him close. Giles responded by wrapping his arms tightly around her and burying his face in her shoulder.

"I can't lose you, Buffy. If they send me away..."

"Then I'll follow you just as soon as I can. But they're not gonna send you away. Hey, as long as we keep telling them the baby's yours, don't they have to let you stay til they can prove it one way or the other? And since it is yours, that'll be the end of that."

She began to nibble gently at his earlobe and carress the hair at the back of his neck.

"What are you doing, love?"

"Has it really been that long that you don't recognise it when I seduce you?"

Giles sucked in a deep breath as he felt her fingers pet his nipple through his tee shirt.

"Darling, you know we can't do this."

"We can't, but I can to you. It's okay for you to get a happy, and I intend to give you one right here, right now."

"In the living room? What if someone comes in?"

"Tell them to get a camera so we can send photographic evidence to Ms. Pennington."

She swallowed his chuckle in with her kiss.

"Whatever are we going to do about this exhibitionist streak of yours, luv?"

"You're going to lie back and enjoy it."

Her lips met his with fire as her fingers trailed down his body to his rapidly growing erection, fondling it through the silk of his pajama pants. With her other hand she litfted his shirt so she could take one tightened nipple between her lips and suckle at it.

*****

Xander stifled his groan of completion and kissed Anya hard before pulling out and pulling up his boxers. She quickly straightened her nightgown as she slid off the kitchen table.

"That was very naughty," She giggled quietly.

"And very nice," Xander agreed. He leaned in for a kiss, but stopped when he heard a slight moan from the living room. He signalled for Anya to stay quiet, and tiptoed out.

A second later he was back.

"Come on, An. Let's go back to bed."

"What was it?"

"You don't want to know. All I'm gonna say is, we aren't the only ones who decided to christen a room tonight."


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