Title: Yule Traditions, Past and Future 7/11
Author: Gileswench
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.
Giles watched as his son - his son! - played contentedly with a pair of plastic trucks, smashing them together and yelling, then laughing merrily. The child looked up occasionally and grinned at him.
"Dominic? Um...would you like a biscuit?" he asked. He wasn't certain he was doing the right thing, but he'd never been left in charge of a small child before. The whole situation had him in something of a panic.
"Bickit!" Dominic yelled.
"That sounds like yes to me," Giles muttered.
"Bickit! I wanna bickit!"
"Alright, don't worry. I'm getting it." He went to the kitchen, closely followed by Dominic who seemed determined to prove the strength of his lungs by continuing his demands for the offered treat. "Patience, please," Giles coaxed. When the child began to wail, he turned. "Oh for Heaven's sake! I'm getting it!"
Dominic's chin began to wobble precariously. Giles looked down into the stormy green eyes peering out of the small, dark face. He felt utterly helpless.
"No, no, please don't cry," he said desperately. "I'm getting your biscuit." In a lower voice he added, "Bloody hell."
At long last, he managed to make his way to the platter of Christmas cookies he'd made the previous day. He handed one to Dominic. The boy stopped crying and sat down to gnaw on the cookie.
Giles dropped into a chair and stared at Dominic as if he were an alien life form.
"What the hell do I do with you?" he asked.
He looked up, startled, when the kitchen door opened. Buffy and Olivia walked in together.
"Mummy!" Dominic shrieked, dusting the floor with gingerbread crumbs.
"Oh, Rupert!" Olivia groaned as she picked Dominic up. "You didn't give him sweets this close to dinner!"
"One biscuit," he protested. "How much damage can that do?"
"You'd be surprised," Buffy said. "One time, when Dawn was four, she found where Mom hid the Easter candy. Not pretty."
"But he hasn't had that much. And it did quiet him."
The two women shared a disgusted look.
"There speaks a man who knows nothing about sugar rushes," Buffy said. "We'll be lucky if he falls asleep tonight. And we know he won't eat his veggies." She squatted next to the boy. "Hey, Dominic," she said, really looking at the child for the first time. "Do you like carrots?"
"Yuck!" he said clearly, spraying more cookie crumbs on the carpet.
"He's terribly fond of spinach, though, oddly enough," Olivia said. "That has to be from his father, because I've loathed the stuff all my life."
"You've just never had it..."
"Prepared properly," Buffy and Olivia parroted back.
"Don't go there, Giles," Buffy added. "I've tried it your way, and I have resigned myself to the fact you think it's great. You can have your spinach. I'll stick to my Brussels sprouts."
"Speaking of vegetables I wouldn't feed a dog," Giles grumbled. "Sprouts are utterly vile."
"Not to change the subject," Buffy said, "but where's Aunt Min?"
"Having a bit of a lie-down before she begins ringing the relatives with the news of my impending marriage."
"Oh." She turned her attention to the other woman. "Hey, Olivia, want to show Dominic the kittens?"
"I do believe that's my cue to leave you two alone," Olivia smiled. "Come along, Dominic. Let's go see the kittens, shall we?"
She took the small, sticky hand with a slight, amused grimace and headed out to the barn with her son. Buffy and Giles watched the pair go, then turned to one another. When Giles seemed hesitant, Buffy moved to his side and wrapped her arms around his middle.
"Hey," she said. "Sorry I was so...y'know, earlier."
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to warn you what was coming." He rubbed her back comfortingly. "If I'd had any notion, I would have told you."
"Yeah. I know. But this is your crisis and I shouldn't have made it about me."
"But it affects you as much as it does me. This changes a great many things. We'll have to work out how often Dominic comes to us, how much money to send Olivia for his maintenance..."
"I'm glad you put it like that. The how much, how often, and not whether. But this is still up to you how you deal. Your kid. Your little hunk of Giles DNA. Not really a Buffy issue...unless my disappearing act has convinced you I'm not mature enough to help you be even a weekend dad. Not that I'd blame you if you decided I wasn't stepmom material. I mean, look at the brilliant job I did with Dawn."
Giles took her face in his hands.
"Buffy, Dawn turned out wonderfully. She's a strong, independent young woman with a good future ahead of her. She has that future because you gave it to her. You made mistakes, yes, but you did a number of things right, as well. The one I'm worried about is me." He pulled away and stuffed one hand into his pocket while the other went unconsciously to the back of his neck. "I don't know how to behave with small children...what to...do with them. How to entertain them."
"It's not so tough," Buffy shrugged. "He's a boy. He probably likes things that make noise and blow up. And candy. Of course, he's also a Giles, so I'm betting swords, horses and books will go over pretty decently, too. We only just met him today, y'know. We'll get to know him, Rupert."
Giles stopped pacing and looked up, startled.
"What did you call me?"
"Rupert. That's...that's okay, isn't it? I mean, we're talking about raising a kid together. Don't you think it's about time I started calling you by your first name?"
"Actually, you have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear you call me that."
"You know, you could have just said 'hey, Buffy, why don't you call me Rupert now', and I probably would have done it...after a little teasing."
"Yes, well, you know me." He flopped into a chair, beckoning Buffy to come join him. When she was ensconced in his lap he buried his face in her hair. "I'm not certain I can do this alone."
"Yes, you can. But you don't have to. You have me, for what it's worth."
"That's actually worth a great deal." He caught her hand and kissed it softly. "So...do I take it you'll still have me, even with a child and an ex-girlfriend to cope with?"
"Gee...let me see. We faced the Hellmouth and the Watcher's Council and my many deaths together, but a kid...? I dunno, Rupert, this might just be the scariest thing of all," she quipped. "You're right. I'm gone."
In reality, she hugged him tightly. His arms tightened around her, too.
"Will you still be with me tonight?" he asked.
"You went to the drugstore?"
"Buffy, dearest, you're in England now. We call them chemists here. Do try to keep up."
"Okay, okay. Fine. Chemist. Did you go there?"
"Yes, I did."
"And did you get the love gloves?"
"Again, yes."
"Then I say yes, too. Nookie tonight. And whenever you say the word, I'll move my stuff across the hall to your room."
"Our room."
Buffy shivered happily.
"I like the sound of that," she said. "And we can talk about maybe someday throwing caution to the wind and merging DNA together?"
"You mean...you really do want a child?"
"Well, not necessarily right away. I think we should get to know Dominic a little better first. And maybe spend a little time getting used to being together as a couple. And research. Y'know, read some books, talk to some parents. But, yeah, in a couple years or so, I think I'd like that. If you would."
"Let's...see if I can learn how to be a father to one first, shall we? I've never been a parent before."
"Sounds like a plan to me."
She leaned in and kissed him. It was a soft, sweet kiss, and it was quickly followed by a second, then a third.
"Oh my heavens!"
Buffy scrambled off of Giles' lap at the exclamation. He practically leapt to his feet.
"Bloody hell!"
"Language, Rupert!" Aunt Min scolded. "Really. Such behavior!"
"Aunt Min...for goodness' sake..."
"And what of Olivia and your son? You can't mean to desert them now."
"I have no intention of deserting anyone."
"And how you can lead this poor child on is beyond me."
"Um...poor child?" Buffy asked. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm not a kid, Aunt Min. Giles isn't leading me on, and he isn't just ditching Dominic, either."
"Well he can hardly marry both you and Olivia."
"No, I can't," Giles said, "but I'm not the one who said I was marrying anyone. If I recall correctly, that was your idea."
"But Rupert..."
"Aunt Min, please." His voice gentled. "Things aren't as simple as you'd like them to be. I know that there was a time when things wouldn't have been so...tangled. The fact is, though, that I don't want to marry Olivia. What's more, she doesn't want to marry me, either."
"But the boy must have a father," Aunt Min insisted.
"And he's got one," Buffy said. "We just need to work out who gets him when and all that stuff. We'll all raise him together."
"Well, I must say it's all very irregular." Aunt Min sniffed and shook her head. "It wouldn't have happened in my day. Does that mean the wedding is off?"
"For now, yes," Giles said as he slipped an arm around Buffy's shoulders. "For the future...well, we'll have to see, won't we? But Buffy and I aren't ready to take that step yet. We'll let you know when we are."
"Now," Buffy said, "that's all settled. So, I guess I'd better get started on dinner." She gave Giles one last squeeze and headed for the kitchen.