Title: A Week in
the Life…
Author: Froxyn
Rating: FRAO
Pairing:
Buffy/Giles
Timeline: One
month after Pictures of the Past.
Synopsis: Lucas
has a dream, Evan has a birthday, Giles has a discussion with someone who
thinks that the time has come for certain revelations.
It was the
‘Fortnightly Get-Together’. Originally,
it was to be the ‘Monthly Get-Together’…but,
Four couples and
eight children, soon to be nine children…a lot of people to have under one roof
at one time each fortnight. When he had
voiced his concern,
Giles didn’t have the
heart to tell her that once he left home, his family didn’t have get-togethers
fortnightly…and his family had been a fair bit smaller. Instead he had just smiled and agreed to the
proposed ‘Fortnightly Get-Together’.
And tonight was the
second.
Anya smiled as
Michael cuddled River. “You’re very good
with babies. You should have one.”
Michael looked up
quickly and then glanced at Ethan.
“Er…well…that’s a bit difficult given the situation.”
“Why?”
When everyone stared
at Anya, she rolled her eyes.
“You guys think I’m a
complete idiot sometimes, don’t you? I
know that two men can’t produce a baby…but, they could get a surrogate
mother.” She huffed.
Giles grinned as Evan
climbed up on his lap. Xander reached
over and kissed Anya’s cheek, whispering one of the many reasons that he didn’t
think she was an idiot into her ear.
Buffy rubbed her swollen abdomen and smiled when Evan gently patted it.
Oz watched the three
older girls play quietly together as
“Have you guys ever
thought about it? Having a baby, I
mean?”
Michael placed a kiss
on River’s forehead and smiled as she closed her eyes. “We’ve talked about it over the years…”
“And?” Anya prompted eagerly.
Ethan cleared his
throat and looked around at the children around the room. “I truly do love them…each and every one of
them…”
Evan grinned and
waved at Ethan. “Love you too!”
Ethan chuckled and
gave the boy a wink before continuing.
“But…I’m not father
material.”
“You’re not much older
than Giles…and they’re having another baby.”
Anya responded, a puzzled tone in her voice.
Ethan smiled
warmly. “It has nothing to do with my
age, Anya. Some men are born to be
fathers…some aren’t.”
Anya looked at
Michael. “Were you?”
“Born to be a
father?” Michael smiled as Anya
nodded. He shook his head slowly and
shifted River in his arms. “No. An uncle, yes. But…not a father.”
Rayna turned around
and flashed a brilliant smile at Michael.
“And you’re a good uncle!”
Michael looked at the
little girl and returned her smile.
“Thank you! You’re a wonderful
niece.”
Rayna blushed
lightly, giggled, and turned back to the game she was playing with Haddie and
Maria. Xander cleared his throat and
gestured towards his older daughter.
“She, uh…has a
tendency of listening when you think she’s not.”
Buffy glanced at
Lucas, who was busy showing Jake the way to make a ‘proper paper airplane’, and
laughed. “Yeah, we had one of those
too.”
Xander smiled, the
memory of Lucas overhearing a conversation between him and Anya concerning
Buffy shifting into his mind. “Yeah, I
know.”
Evan leaned up and
whispered in his father’s ear. Giles
smiled and nodded. “Of course, Ev…go
ahead and ask.”
Evan climbed down
from Giles’ lap and walked over to Xander, putting his small hand on his
knee. “Xannie?”
Xander chuckled at
the nickname Evan had given him. “Yeah,
Evvie?”
“I was wondering if I
could have a glass of water?”
Xander tilted his
head in thought. “Wouldn’t you rather
have some apple juice?”
Evan’s eyes lit
up. “Chunky or smooth?”
“I think he means
cloudy or clear…but, chunky works too I guess.”
“Oh.”
Xander ruffled Evan’s
hair and grinned. “Well, the Xan Man
knew what he meant…and I picked up some chunky apple juice for you today.”
Evan smiled brightly
and happily followed Xander into the kitchen, telling him all about the tennis
lessons that he was going to start taking soon.
Anya furrowed her brow and looked back at Buffy and Giles as she leaned
back against the cushions on the couch.
“I thought kids his
age played soccer, or t-ball, or…pee-wee football…”
“Pee-wee
football…” Giles huffed. “Thankfully that doesn’t exist here…yes, you
have the U7 tag rugby, but…”
He paused as everyone
seemed to be amused at his ramble.
“Anyway…he wants to play tennis.
If that’s what he wants to play, that’s what he can play.”
“What if one of them
wants to play football? American
football, I mean.”
He studied her for a
moment and then smiled. “I realize that
you’re teasing me. I just don’t
understand American football. However,
if one of our children wanted to play…I wouldn’t say no just because I don’t
understand it.”
“Have you ever
watched a game?” Oz asked, tilting his
head. “I mean…besides a Sunnydale High
game. Because, Sunnydale? Not the best football players around.”
“No, I haven’t.” Giles admitted.
“You should come over
and watch one with us. And…is it just
me, or do you find it interesting that we’ve never had this conversation
before?”
Giles just laughed,
gesturing towards the sleeping baby in Michael’s arms. “I think it’s my turn now.”
Ethan grinned. “Never could keep you away from a baby…”
Giles returned the
grin as Michael transferred River into his arms. “And…never could get you close to a
baby…until a few years ago.”
“Things change,
mate.” Ethan stated happily, smiling as
Michael sat back down beside of him.
“Yes, they do.” Giles agreed softly, gazing down at River as
he placed her on his thighs…her head resting just under his knees. “You look so much like your big sister.”
River yawned,
blinking her eyes open for just a moment before falling back asleep.
* * *
Giles had seen the
flash of desire in Buffy’s eyes as they looked at each other across the dinner
table. He had looked away quickly,
feeling a sudden rush of arousal sweep through him. The last thing he wanted was to have an
erection in front of his children.
His face reddened as
his mind conjured up a soundbite of Haddie’s innocent voice asking ‘why is your
lap hard, Daddy?’. Braden looked up and
noticed his father’s skin discoloration.
“You okay, Dad?”
“Hm?” He met Braden’s eyes quickly and nodded. “Yes, I’m fine…why would you ask?”
Braden shrugged and
loaded his fork with mashed potatoes, which he had drowned in ketchup…a habit
he had inherited from his mother. “I
don’t know…you look a bit red.”
Buffy snorted a
laugh, causing Giles to glare at her as he spoke to his oldest son. “No, I’m fine. Your mother just put a little extra chilli in
my potatoes…as a joke.”
Braden laughed. Braden’s laugh was infectious…always had
been. Within a minute, all four of the
children were laughing uncontrollably.
Buffy and Giles followed as well…with Buffy casting an apologetic glance
to her husband.
Giles grinned as he
gave her a nod of acceptance and went back to his dinner, carefully avoiding
the potatoes…just in case one of the children should ask why he was still
eating them.
* * *
Giles’ eyes darkened
as Buffy climbed on top of him, his hands moving to her hips and resting his
thumbs against the sides of her abdomen.
She smiled down at him, rocking her hips against his…relishing the
sensation of his thick shaft sliding across her clitoris.
“Sorry…about
earlier…”
He smiled and then
groaned softly as she reached down and rubbed her thumb over the head of his
cock. “S’alright…Christ…do that again…”
She complied with his
request and grinned as his hips arched off the bed. “Giles?”
“Yeah?” He gasped, his accent slipping as his hands
tightened on her hips, increasing the pressure of her warm heat against his
erection.
She felt a shiver run
through her. One word, spoken in a
slightly rougher accent…it was amazing what that did to her. She licked her lips and covered his hands
with hers.
“It’s been awhile
since I’ve tied you…”
“It has.” He agreed with a smile, his eyes darting to
the bedside table. “Middle drawer…you
should find all you need.”
She raised an eyebrow
at him. “Planning this, were you?”
He slid his hands
from her hips, his eyes sparkling with desire.
“Hoping, perhaps…”
“And when did you
have time to put stuff in the drawer?”
His eyes darted to
her heavy breasts. “When you were in the
shower.”
She moved off of him,
grinning as he groaned when she gave his erection a hard stroke before
releasing him. She knelt and leaned
over, bracing her weight with one hand on top of the bedside table as she used
her other to open the drawer.
The temptation was
too much for him to take. He gave in,
rolling towards her and dragging his tongue over her left ass cheek. She jumped, clearly startled, and then gasped
as his hands squeezed her cheeks before spreading them. She hissed in pleasure as he flicked his
tongue against her anus.
With a gentle bite to
her right cheek, he pulled away and rolled back to his prior position. She quickly emptied the contents of the
drawer, tossing the items onto the bed before turning back to face him. Her eyes were drawn to his groin, his left
hand stroking his cock as his right gently kneaded his balls.
“Jesus…” She whispered lustfully.
He stopped his movements,
rubbing the palm of his right hand over his thigh…his left still wrapped around
his erection. “Buffy…”
She blindly reached
for the soft leather strap as she stared into his eyes. “You…should get comfortable now.”
He smiled as he gave
his cock one more stroke before releasing it.
“How do you want me?”
“It’s up to you…”
He swallowed as his
eyes roamed over her body. “I think I’m
fine where I am…”
She grinned and
gestured towards the headboard. When he
lifted his arms above his head and wrapped his fingers around the spindles, she
straddled his stomach and leaned forward.
He groaned as she secured his wrists to the headboard with the leather
strap.
She met his eyes and
stroked her fingertip down his cheek.
“Okay?”
He nodded slowly,
shuddering as her finger traced his bottom lip.
“You’re already so wet…”
“Mm-hm…” She rotated her hips, spreading her moisture
over his stomach. “Legs down, babe…”
He took a deep breath
and lowered his legs back to the bed.
“Buffy, please…”
“No teasing tonight,
Giles.” She whispered and then
repositioned herself over him. “I want
to fuck you so hard…are you okay with that?”
“Oh fuck yes…” He growled, holding his hips still as she
grasped his erection, slipping the head inside of her. “Now…fuck me now…”
She stared into his
eyes and then, with a single nod, she slammed down on him. He pulled against his bindings, groaning
loudly as she quickly lifted and slammed down again.
“Ssh…” She gasped, choosing a hard and fast
pace. “Not so loud…kids…”
He bit his lip to
stifle his groans, his hips moving with her.
He would’ve asked her to stuff his mouth full with something…her tongue,
a breast…but knew that it would be impossible given her current stage of
pregnancy.
His teeth bit into his
lip, drawing blood as he tried to keep from screaming in pleasure. Watching him writhe beneath her…seeing the
drop of blood…feeling him thicken within her...it all threw her over the edge. She leaned back slightly, her right hand on
his thigh as she came violently, flooding his thick cock as she covered her
mouth with her left hand to stifle her loud groan.
“Buffy! Christ…”
He moaned, dangerously close to his own orgasm. He sucked in a sharp breath when she suddenly
moved off of him.
She didn’t say
anything, but smiled at his groan of frustration. And then she sucked his cock into her
mouth. She smiled inwardly as he cursed
and bucked his hips against her mouth.
She sucked hard,
cupping his testicles in her right hand and gently massaging them. She looked up as his back arched, his hands
pulling at the headboard as he started to lose complete control. She slowed down, gently running her tongue
along the underside of his erection.
It was then that he
lifted his head and looked down at her through eyes nearly black with
desire. His chest heaved, a bead of
sweat rolled down the side of his face.
“Finish it,
Buffy. God…let me come…”
She answered him with
a wink and increased her pace again.
Within a few strokes, he was sliding into her throat with ease. When he felt her move her finger between his
ass cheeks, he groaned. When he felt her
nudge her finger into him and past his sphincter, he hissed and then called her
name.
And when her name
left his lips, his cock exploded in her mouth.
She swallowed
greedily, her hand moving from his balls to his stomach. She rubbed his skin soothingly as she eased
back. He shuddered as the cool air took
the place of her warm mouth around him.
“Untie me…” He gasped breathlessly as she moved up his body.
Within seconds, his
hands were free. He immediately wrapped
his arms around her and covered her mouth with his. He groaned as he tasted both of them on her
tongue. He gasped as she tore her mouth
from his and glided her lips down his neck.
When he felt her
mouth close over the scar on his neck, he knew that the night wasn’t over yet.
Lucas quietly pushed
his parents’ bedroom door open, the light from the hallway illuminating his
path to his father’s side of the bed. He
paused only briefly before placing his hand on Giles’ shoulder.
“Daddy?” He whispered softly, glancing at the other
side of the bed when his mother shifted slightly.
Giles opened his eyes
and looked at his son. “Lucas? What’s wrong?”
“Had a dream.” He whispered, running his hand through his
hair in a gesture reminiscent of his father.
“I’m sorry I woke you up.”
Carefully pulling his
arm out from Buffy’s head, he sat up and shook his head. “It’s alright, Lucas. Let’s go into the living room, yes?”
Lucas nodded
quickly. “Yeah. Don’t want to wake Mum up too.”
Giles smiled and
ruffled Lucas’ hair. “No, we don’t.”
Climbing out of the
bed, he leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Buffy’s forehead. She shifted in her sleep, but didn’t
wake. With a smile on his face, he moved
over to his dresser and pulled a t-shirt out of the second drawer.
He stifled his groan
as he slipped the shirt over his head.
His muscles screamed at him, but he merely smiled once the initial blast
of pain faded. He wouldn’t have traded
the time he’d spent with Buffy that evening for anything.
Lucas looked at him
in concern when he limped towards the door.
“You okay, Dad?”
Giles nodded and
gently ushered Lucas into the hall, closing the bedroom door behind them. “I’m fine, just must’ve slept wrong.”
Lucas seemed to
accept his father’s answer and led the way to the living room. He sat down on the couch and furrowed his
brow as Giles gingerly lowered himself to the cushions next to him.
“Aren’t you going to
make tea?”
Giles smiled and
shook his head. “I think I’d like to
hear about your dream first.”
Lucas sighed heavily
and lowered his eyes. “It’s about Evan.”
Giles’ smile
disappeared. He paid no attention to his
screaming muscles as he turned to face Lucas.
“What about Evan?”
“I don’t know if my
dream…I don’t know if it was just a dream or if it’s something that’s gonna
happen.” Lucas sniffled, meeting his
father’s eyes.
Giles felt his heart
begin to race. “Lucas…”
“There was this
helicopter…and it was flying over our house…”
Giles furrowed his
brow. “Helicopter?”
“Yeah, and…there were
a lot of people here. And all of the
sudden, the helicopter swooped down…”
Lucas waved his arm through the air, imitating the motion of the
helicopter in his dream. “And then it
was gone and Evan was laying on the ground and not moving and…”
Giles grabbed his son
quickly as he became increasingly upset.
He held him against his chest and lovingly rubbed the boy’s back.
“It’s okay,
Luke.” He whispered, pressing a
comforting kiss to the top of his head.
“Ssh…it’s okay.”
“Do you think it was
real?” Lucas mumbled into his father’s
chest, curling his fingers into the front of Giles’ t-shirt. “I mean…why would a helicopter attack Evan?”
Just as Giles was
getting ready to respond, Lucas lifted his head, his eyes drawn to Giles’ neck.
“Dad? What happened?”
“What happened?” Giles looked down at his son in
confusion. When he saw where Lucas’ eyes
were focused, he raised his hand and touched his fingers to the raised skin on
his neck. “Oh…well…”
“Did you get bitten
again?” Lucas asked quickly, his eyes
widening.
“No…well…no.” Giles answered nervously. “Sometimes…not often…but sometimes, um…”
He paused, not
knowing exactly what to say. He didn’t
want to tell his son that his mother and clamped her teeth over the scar and
sucked as hard as she could until he was begging her to come. And so, he gave his son an answer that could
very well be plausible…to an eight year old boy whose mother was the Slayer and
his father was a Watcher.
“Your mother and I
were training and…we were using staffs.
I didn’t duck in time, and your mum’s staff hit me in the neck.” Giles unconsciously rubbed at the scar, which
he assumed was a lovely shade of purple at the moment, and nodded as his son
stared at him. “I, uh…but, I’m
fine. I just…well, I bruise easily is
all.”
Lucas thought over
his father’s words and then shook his head slightly. “Okay…but, my dream…do you think it’s real?”
Giles lowered his
hand from his neck and smiled warmly.
“No. Well, I think it was a real
dream, of course. But…I think it was
just that…a dream. I can’t imagine that
a helicopter would swoop down from the sky to hurt Evan…or any of you.”
“Good.” Lucas exhaled deeply. “It just seemed so real, you know? And it
scared me…and…you said to talk to you about them if they scared me…”
Giles nodded slowly,
his smile shining in his eyes. “I
did…and I’m very glad that you remembered.”
Lucas smiled and
leaned back against the cushions, his eyes suddenly looking very tired. “It seems all silly now.”
“It’s not silly if it
affects you, son.” Giles responded
gently, lovingly stroking the boy’s hair.
“And the most important thing is that you feel better about the
situation now. You do feel better now, don’t you?”
“Yeah…” Lucas answered, covering his mouth to hide
his yawn.
Giles grinned and
carefully stood up. “Come on…if you
don’t get back to bed soon, you’ll fall asleep on the lounge.”
Lucas took a deep
breath and stood up, stretching his arms over his head as they started walking
towards the hall. He breathed a heavy
sigh and looked up at his father.
“Maybe you guys
should take it a little easier in your training.”
“Can’t do that.” Giles offered softly, hoping that Lucas
wouldn’t ask about the redness that Giles could feel climbing up the back of
his neck. “After all…she is the Slayer. It’s imperative that she keeps up a…”
He trailed off as
Lucas shook his head and waved his hand.
Giles saw the gesture as very reminiscent of Buffy when she was a
teenager trying to dismiss him during one of his long and rambling
speeches. He chuckled and gestured down the
hall to Lucas’ bedroom.
“Go on then, back to
bed.”
“See you after the sun’s
up.” Lucas mumbled sleepily, turning
suddenly when he reached his bedroom door to look at Giles. “I love you, Dad.”
Giles smiled warmly
at him. “I love you too, Lucas. Sleep well.”
Lucas nodded, yawning
as he walked into his room and closed the door behind him. Giles absently rubbed his neck, switching off
the hall light as he stepped into the bedroom he shared with Buffy.
Buffy rolled towards
him, draping her arm over his stomach as soon as he lowered himself beside of
her. “Where were you?”
Giles smiled and
slipped his arm under her neck. “With
Lucas…he had a dream.”
Buffy lifted her head
and stared at him through sleep-glazed eyes.
“Everything okay?”
“Yes, love. It was a dream…I highly doubt we have to
worry about a helicopter attacking anyone.”
“Huh?”
He chuckled and
carefully pulled her back down. “I’ll
explain in the morning…sleep now.”
“Mmkay.” She muttered, falling back to sleep quickly.
It didn’t take long
for him to follow her.
* * *
Giles opened his eyes
to find Buffy smiling at him, her fingers lightly stroking his chest. He smiled back and groaned as he shifted his
body.
“You okay?”
“Mm-hm. Just a bit…sore.” He grinned, lifting his hand to the side of
her face as he lowered his voice to a whisper.
“It’s been a while since we’ve taken turns fucking one another.”
Her eyes darkened
slightly. “The kids are up…”
“I assumed they
were.” He smiled when he felt a tiny
nudge against his side. “Declan’s awake
as well.”
“Yeah.” She glanced at the bruise on his neck and
cleared her throat. “Um…I seem to have
gotten a bit…overzealous last night.”
He chuckled, leaning
up to place a light kiss on her lips.
“Just a bit.”
“The kids are gonna
ask…”
“Yes, they
will.” Giles nodded in agreement,
carefully pushing himself up and leaning against the headboard.
When she sat up
beside of him and sighed, he reached out and placed his large hand over her
swollen abdomen. She looked down,
smiling as she watched him gently rub her stomach…her smile growing when she
felt Declan kick at his hand.
“Lucas asked about it
last night.” He stated quietly, smiling
as Declan kicked again.
Buffy’s head snapped
up, her smile fading as her eyes widened.
“What? He saw it? What did you tell him?”
“I told him that you
bit me in the heat of passion.” He
looked up, rolling his eyes as her mouth dropped open. “Oh for God’s sake, Buffy…as if I’d tell him
something like that. I told him that we
were training and you hit me with a staff.”
Buffy stared at him
incredulously. “And he actually believed
that?”
“I doubt it.” He chuckled, throwing the blanket off of his
body. “But he didn’t question it.”
She watched him climb
out of bed and then followed him. “And
you couldn’t come up with anything better than that?”
He sighed, looking
into the mirror and inspecting the dark purple mark on his neck. “Buffy…he asked if a vampire bit me
again. What was I supposed to say to
him?”
“He did?” She asked softly, walking over to him and running
her hand up his back as he nodded. “He
worries…they all do. So do I.”
He turned, glancing
at her lips before looking into her eyes.
“I made you a promise years ago, love.”
“About?” She prompted, her hand resting on his
stomach.
“Vampires…and them
biting me.”
Buffy’s hand slid up
his chest, over his shoulder, coming to a rest on the back of his neck. “That was about you letting a vampire bite you.
Not about a vampire attacking you.
Completely different things, Giles.”
“Point taken.” He whispered, leaning down and brushing his
lips across hers. “But in my haste, you
hitting me with a staff was all I could come up with.”
“It’ll have to
do.” She replied, capturing his lips
again and quickly deepening the kiss.
He slid his left hand
into her hair, allowing her to set the pace.
Just as her tongue slipped into his mouth, the bedroom door swung
open.
They pulled apart
quickly to find Braden grinning at them.
“You’re awake.”
Giles narrowed his
eyes. “And you didn’t knock.”
Braden’s grin
softened. “Sorry. I wasn’t sure if you were awake…and Haddie
was about two minutes away from coming in herself. I thought if you were awake…well…”
He trailed off and
shrugged a shoulder.
Giles’ glare turned
into a raised eyebrow as Braden peeked out into the hall and announced that
their parents were indeed awake. Buffy
coughed lightly to conceal her laughter.
Haddie ran into the
room and stopped as she stared at her father.
“What happened to you?”
Giles smiled as Buffy
explained their ‘training incident’.
The rest of the week
had been frantic. Giles had dealt with a
rogue Slayer stationed in
Buffy had had to deal
with a small clan of Illuminati that had decided to take up residence in
downtown
Giles had smiled and
then pulled out his journal to take down the details of the incident. Xander and
These two incidents,
while stressful and time consuming, were a breeze compared to what was to occur
on the weekend. Fifteen children, in
addition to the children of the Scoobies, were going to be at the Giles’.
Evan was turning
five.
It was Saturday
morning…four in the morning to be precise…and Buffy was in the kitchen, busily
wrapping gifts as the cake baked in the oven.
Giles watched her with a smile on his face. She had always made a big deal of the
children’s birthdays…and he had let her because it reminded him of his own
mother.
His mother had always
done something special with her son on his birthday…and most of the time his
father hadn’t been involved. In fact,
the only birthday that he had a clear memory of his father was his tenth.
And he didn’t
particularly enjoy the memories of his tenth birthday.
Buffy looked up and
noticed the pensive look on his face.
“Hey…what’s wrong?”
“Hm?” He shook his head lightly to clear the
memories and offered her a smile.
“Nothing’s wrong, love.”
“You looked…” She thought and then shrugged a
shoulder. “Not as happy as you should
look on our son’s birthday.”
He sighed softly and
pulled the box containing a state of the art junior-sized tennis racquet
towards him. “I was just thinking about
my birthdays as a child…and how my father wasn’t really around for them. Except for one.”
Buffy leaned forward,
reaching over to take his hand. “You are
not your father. And you’ve been
there for every single one of the kids’ birthdays.”
Giles nodded slowly,
giving her a soft smile and gently squeezing her hand before setting to the
task of wrapping the gift. “Mum always
made the day as special as she could though.
Much like you do for our four.”
“Five.” She corrected with a grin.
Giles grinned back
and shook his head in amusement. “You
can’t really count Declan in the birthday department yet…as he hasn’t had one.”
“No, he hasn’t.” She agreed and handed the scissors to
him. “But, he will.”
Giles gracefully
wrapped the gift, taping it closed before tying an orange ribbon around
it. They chatted softly as they finished
with the presents, each either wrapped in orange paper or having an orange
ribbon and bow. After all, orange was
Evan’s favourite color.
When he yawned, she
smiled and kissed his temple as she stood up.
“Why don’t you go to bed?”
He shook his head and
pushed his chair back. “No…I’ll be
okay. We don’t have much more to do…”
She laughed gently
and opened the oven. “Looks like all we
have to do is wait for the cake to cool enough to frost…”
He smiled, watching
her place the chocolate cake on the cooling rack. “Any ideas of what you’d want to do to pass
the time?”
She snorted as she
looked over at him. “Horny?” When he narrowed his eyes at her, she
grinned. “Sorry…aroused?”
His eyes darted to
her breasts before returning her gaze.
“Always.”
Her grin softened and
she ran her fingers through her hair.
“Would, um…would you read to me instead?”
He raised an eyebrow
as he stood and made his way over to her.
“Are you alright, love?”
She sighed and leaned
back against his chest as he slid his hand to her stomach. “This is the part of pregnancy that I don’t
like…”
He bent his head and
placed a soft kiss at the juncture of her neck and shoulder. “Oh?”
“You know…the part
where you want me but I don’t physically feel like doing anything?”
He chuckled gently and
turned her in his arms, cradling her face between his hands. “Buffy…I’m fine. We’ve been through this before…”
“I do want you.” She whispered softly. “I just…”
“Ssh.” He murmured, lowering his mouth to hers. He kissed her slowly, moving his left hand to
rest on the side of her abdomen.
When he felt her
fingers comb through his hair, he gently broke the kiss and smiled at her. “I know you want me, Buffy. I also know that you’re nearing four months…”
“I can…suck you…”
He narrowed his eyes
as he shook his head lightly when he saw the concern in her eyes. “No.
Buffy, that’s…I don’t remember you being this worried before.”
Buffy sighed heavily
and lowered her hand to his shoulder as she glanced at the prominent bulge in
his jeans. “You’re hard…”
“Yes.” He whispered, tilting his head as he regarded
her. “And that’s something that happens
quite often when I’m around you…or when I think about you…which is most of the
time. I’ve never expected you to take
care of it each time I have an erection, Buffy.”
“I know, but…”
“No buts.” He interrupted softly. “What would you like me to read?”
Buffy stared at him
in confusion. “Huh?”
“You asked me to read
to you…but, you didn’t say what you wanted to hear.” He replied with a warm smile.
“Oh. Um, what about…” She gestured vaguely and he grinned.
He took her hand and
led her to the living room. “Pick a
book…”
She looked up at him
and placed her free hand on his cheek.
“I really love you, Giles.”
He smiled adoringly at
her, turning his head just enough to kiss her palm. “I really love you as well. Now…pick a book, darling.”
Buffy moved towards
the nearest bookshelf and pulled down the first book she found. It didn’t matter what he read…as long
as he read. Giles chuckled and made
himself comfortable on the couch, taking the book from her as she curled up
next to him.
* * *
Neither of them were
sure of how it came to be that twenty minutes later, Giles was groaning softly
as Buffy’s hand firmly stroked his erection.
All Giles knew was that he had been reading something about a strange
mist that concealed the creatures attacking a northeastern
And not long after
the main character and his son were trapped in a supermarket, Buffy’s fingers
had started gliding along his inner thigh.
He couldn’t remember where he had been in the story when she knelt
beside of him and pressed her lips against the side of his neck. But, at the moment, that detail didn’t
matter.
The book fell to the
floor and his left hand moved between her thighs. She shook her head and lifted her mouth to
whisper into his ear.
“No…”
“Buffy, I – ”
“This is for
you. Please…I feel anything but sexy at
the moment. And…I want to do this for you, not for me. Okay?”
When he started to
protest, she tightened her grip on his erection and sighed as he groaned. “Know that I want you, Giles. Know it, but understand that I just…I can’t
right now…I’m sorry…”
His eyes met hers as
his right hand covered hers, moving with hers as she continued to stroke
him. “Christ, don’t be sorry…I do
understand, love…I swear, I understand.”
She looked down at
their hands and smiled. “That
looks…hot…”
He nodded as he
followed her gaze. “Mm.”
Buffy licked her lips
and looked into his eyes. “You…should take
your shirt off.”
“Hm?” He murmured softly. “Why?”
She turned her hand
slightly so that her thumb ran along the underside of his cock. She grinned as he inhaled sharply, his
erection thickening in her hand.
“Because you’re going
to come soon. And…I want to see your
come on your chest…” She leaned forward
and bit his left nipple through his t-shirt.
“Bloody hell!” He growled, pulling his hand from hers and
tugging the shirt over his head.
As he tossed the
shirt to the side, their eyes met. “I
love you.”
She smiled at him,
his gravelled voice letting her know exactly how close he really was. “I love you too. And once I feel a little better, I have every
intention of showing you just how much I love you.”
His fingers grasped
the arm of the couch as his head flew back.
“Fuck…Buffy…”
“That’s it,
babe…” She whispered urgently, stroking
him harder. “Come for me. You’re so close…just let go…”
He rolled his head
towards her, staring at her through passion-glazed eyes as he lifted a trembling
hand to her cheek. He opened his mouth
to speak, and then clenched his eyes shut as he groaned, his orgasm finally
crashing over him.
Buffy licked her lips
as he shuddered and then came, splattering his chest and stomach with
semen. “That’s it…”
His chest heaved as
he forced his heavy lids open. “What,
uh…how did that happen?”
She smiled and gently
released his softening cock. Leaning
forward, she ran her tongue over his chest, cleaning the cooling fluid from his
skin. She placed a warm, sucking kiss on
his sternum and then met his eyes.
“You read to
me.” She shifted into a more comfortable
position, which entailed her basically straddling his thighs, and draped her
arms over his shoulders. “You know how
much I love for you to read to me…”
He chuckled softly,
sliding his hands up her thighs. “That
wasn’t necessary, you know.”
“Yeah, I know.” She nodded and moved her right hand to his
chest, tracing the thorned circle-shaped scar with her fingertip. “I think you should think about having this
tattooed…”
He snorted a laugh
and moved his hands to tuck his warm cock back into his jeans. “Oh yes…that’s at the top of my ‘to-do’
list.”
She shrugged a
shoulder, glancing at the scar on the right side of his chest before resuming
her light touches over the thick band of scar tissue. “I’ve seen pictures of tattoos integrated
with scars…they can look really nice.”
“Mm, I’m sure they
can.” He placed two fingers under her
chin and gently tilted her head up slightly.
“But, I would prefer not to accentuate certain imperfections.”
He pressed a
lingering kiss to her lips and then lightly patted her outer thighs. “Come on…we need to frost this cake. And then…we should probably try to get some
sleep. I have a feeling that tomorrow is
going to be fairly, um…”
“Hectic?”
Giles smiled and gave
her a wink. “One of the many adjectives
that could be used.”
She laughed softly
and then slid from his lap. She
stretched as he leaned over and picked his shirt up from the floor. Hearing her whisper his name, he looked at
her questioningly.
“You can leave that
off. If you want…”
He shook his head in
amusement and dropped the shirt onto the couch as he stood up.
Ethan grinned as he
nudged Giles’ shoulder. “What’d you get
up to last night?”
Giles rolled his eyes
and tilted his head towards the table overflowing with presents…the cake
centered perfectly amongst them. “Care
to hazard a guess?”
Ethan chuckled and
shook his head in amusement. “Leave
anything at the shops at all?”
“Not all of those are
from us. Some are from his brothers and
sister…some are from his friends…some are from the rest of the family.” Giles smiled and leaned against the railing
on the back porch. “Most are from us
though.”
Ethan looked out into
the yard, smiling as the large group of children played. He gave a wave when Anya looked up at him and
grinned.
“Good thing your yard
is as big as it is.”
“Mm-hm.” Giles watched as Michael gave
“Huh?” Ethan turned his eyes to Giles quickly. “Things are great, why?”
“Just making
sure.” Giles replied. “He’s just been really quiet at work this
past week…”
“Oh.” Ethan laughed softly. “He was just trying to stay out of your
way. What with the decommissioning and
such…nothing’s wrong at all.”
“Ethan!”
Ethan looked over at
the steps, his smile growing as he knelt down.
“Happy birthday, Evvie!”
Evan giggled and ran
into Ethan’s arms. “I have a orange
cake! Didya see it?”
“I did.” Ethan gushed.
“Is it orange inside as well?”
“Nope! It’s chocolate! Daddy and Mummy made the outside orange
‘cause orange is my fav’rite color.”
Ethan playfully poked
Evan’s stomach through the orange t-shirt he was wearing. “I never would’ve guessed…”
Evan giggled and
looked up at his father. “Present time?”
Giles chuckled and
gave him a wink. “Soon. But…go find Callie, I think she might have
something for you.”
Evan turned and ran back
down the steps and raced into the yard calling Callie’s name. Ethan stood back up, grimacing as his left
knee cracked, and arched an eyebrow at Giles.
“Callie might have
something for him?”
“Buffy tied a small
gift to Callie’s collar for him to find.”
Giles said with a smile.
Ethan’s response was
interrupted by Buffy coming out the back door.
His eyes widened slightly as he glanced at her stomach. Buffy narrowed her eyes and pointed her
finger at him.
“You say one word,
I’ll hit you.”
Ethan laughed gently
and shook his head. “I wasn’t going to
say anything. It just…it’s always amazed
me how quickly your pregnancies move along.”
“Well at least you
didn’t ask if I was sure I’m not having twins.”
Buffy grumbled as she handed Giles a cup of tea.
Ethan furrowed his
brow. “What?”
Giles took a sip of
the tea, brushing the fingers of his free hand over Buffy’s very swollen
abdomen. “Anya…need I say more?”
“No…no, you
don’t.” Ethan chuckled, watching Giles
gently rub Buffy’s stomach. “How much
longer now?”
“Technically six
weeks.” Giles answered quickly.
“Technically?”
Buffy nodded, smiling
as Evan untied the small box from Callie’s collar. “Pretty sure that Declan’s gonna be a little
early…by a few weeks.”
“Declan?” Ethan questioned, the corner of his mouth
tugging into a smile.
“Shit.” Buffy murmured, sending Giles an apologetic
glance.
Giles merely smiled
and lifted his hand to brush his fingers through her hair. “It’s alright, love.”
Buffy looked at Ethan
and sighed. “Don’t tell anyone…”
Ethan’s smile
grew. “There was a time when you’d
threaten me. ‘Tell anyone and I’ll kick
your ass’ type of thing…”
“Yeah, what can I
say? I’ve mellowed…” She glanced out at the yard and narrowed her
eyes. “Braden Rupert Giles, get down
from there!”
As she stormed down
the stairs, Ethan laughed heartily.
“Oh yeah…she’s
mellowed…”
Giles took another
sip of his tea and handed his cup to Ethan.
“I’d better go help her. She’ll
have my head on a platter if I don’t.”
Ethan snorted as
Giles took off, catching up with Buffy quickly.
He took a sip of the tea and sighed happily.
* * *
Buffy stood
underneath the tree, hands on her hips as she stared upwards at her oldest
child. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Buffy, love…” Giles stated softly. “He’s a boy…it’s a tree…”
Buffy turned her head
and stared at her husband. “And there
are twenty other children here who will try the exact same thing if they see
him up there.”
Braden scrambled down
to the lowest branch and then jumped down to the ground, a black plastic
helicopter in his hand. “Sorry,
Mum. Javed threw this up in the tree…I
was just getting it down for him.”
Evan’s young friend
smiled as Braden handed him the toy. He looked
up at Buffy, his smile wide and blinding.
“I sorry Missus Evan’s Mummy. It
was a assident.”
Buffy smiled down at
him. How could she stay annoyed with any
of them when Javed was so adorable?
“That’s okay,
Javed.” She ruffled the boy’s thick, black
hair and grinned as he took off, proudly showing his toy to the rest of his
friends.
“I really am sorry,
Mum. I wasn’t trying to teach the
little’uns anything. He was just really
upset…”
“Just…say something
to one of us first next time, okay?” Buffy
shook her head and smiled, running her fingers through his hair. “You look so much like your father the
older you get.”
“Mum…” Braden groaned playfully, mischief shining in
his green eyes.
Lucas’ distinctive
cry broke the playful banter. All three
turned as one just in time to see Lucas tackle his youngest sibling to the
ground as the rest of the children looked on in confusion. Giles took off quickly, kneeling on the
ground next to them as Buffy followed as fast as her heavily pregnant body would
allow.
Evan groaned and
pushed Lucas off of him, his green eyes darkening as he stared at his older
brother. “Luke!”
Giles looked at
Lucas, surprised to see fear in the boy’s eyes.
“Lucas?”
“Come on guys, it’s
time for hide and seek.” Oz called out
helpfully, gathering the other children together…and away from Lucas and Evan.
Buffy smiled
appreciatively at him…to which he gave an enigmatic smile and a nod.
“What’s wrong,
Luke?” Braden asked softly, sitting on
the ground next to his obviously upset brother.
By this time, Haddie
had made her way over and was gently patting Lucas’ shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Ev…I
thought…” Lucas sniffled and took a deep
breath as Evan sat up and brushed the dirt and grass from his shirt. “Are you okay?”
“Well, my shirt’s
dirty.”
“Lucas, what was that
about?” Buffy asked softly, lovingly
rubbing Evan’s back.
Lucas pointed to a
discarded toy and sighed heavily.
“That.”
Evan looked over and
furrowed his brow. “A choppercopter?”
“Ah…” Giles stated softly, attracting Lucas’
attention. “A swooping helicopter?”
“Stupid toy
helicopter.” Lucas grumbled. “It looked real in my dream.”
Braden grinned,
playfully nudging Lucas’ shoulder. “You
dreamed that a helicopter attacked Evan?”
“Shut up, Bay.” Lucas sighed as Braden giggled softly.
“Oh, come on,
Luke. You gotta see the funny side of
this.”
Evan stood up and
brushed the dirt from the knees of his jeans.
After a moment of scowling at his older brothers, he grinned and
launched himself at Lucas.
And just like that,
the crisis was over. The three boys
playfully wrestled with each other…Haddie rolled her eyes and took her father’s
hand.
“I’m having a tea
party with Katie, Daddy…wanna come?”
Giles swallowed and
glanced at Buffy. She gave him a gentle
nod and then leaned into him, kissing his cheek.
“Go on. Tell her I said hi.”
“I love you.” He whispered as Haddie tugged his hand,
urging him to stand up.
“I love you
too.” She smiled as he stood up and then
helped her up. “Presents and cake in
about half an hour, okay?”
He nodded and, after
another look over at their sons, smiled and followed Haddie over to the small
table she had set up. Noticing the three
other girls sitting around the table, he looked down at his daughter.
“Can your friends see
Katie, Hadley?”
“Nope.” She answered cheerfully, looking up at
him. “But they have their own imaginary
friends.”
“Ah…” He murmured softly.
* * *
“So, what was all the
commotion about?” Willow asked, biting
into a shortbread cookie.
Buffy snorted a soft
laugh and sat down, rubbing her hand over her thigh. “Lucas had a dream last week that Evan was
attacked by a helicopter. Javed’s threw
his toy helicopter up in the air and Lucas…panicked a little.”
“Oh…poor little guy!”
“Yeah…he was really
worried that something bad was going to happen.” Buffy said, smiling as she watched her three
boys pick themselves up from the ground and join the rest of their friends. “But, I think Ev has forgiven him.”
Willow nodded in agreement
and looked over at the tea party table Xander had built for Haddie a year
earlier. She grinned as she watched
Giles accept a tiny teacup from his daughter.
“Giles got roped into
a tea party, huh?”
Buffy sighed softly,
watching Giles smile towards a seemingly empty spot next to Haddie. “He, uh…someone wanted to talk to him.”
Willow furrowed her
brow as she turned to look at Buffy, who was still watching Giles
intently. “Huh?”
“Katie.”
“Oh.” Willow responded quietly. “You okay with that?”
Buffy rubbed her
stomach as she looked at Willow. “Of
course, I am. She’s his daughter…I’d
never deny him a chance to talk to her.
We just…we wish that Haddie was old enough to understand that Katie is
more than a friend…that’s all.”
Willow gave a sigh of
relief and handed Buffy a glass of ginger ale.
* * *
Giles smiled as
Haddie relayed the latest message from Katie.
“Yes, Evan has
already decided that he’s either going to be a tennis player or a librarian.”
Haddie laughed as she
listened to Katie. “She says that he’s a
decisive boy.”
“Ah, yes…much like I
was at his age.”
“He has your
eyes…just like the rest of us.” Haddie
smiled and shook her head. “Except for
Braden. He’s the only one who has the
brown spot like Daddy has.”
Haddie seemed to
study the ‘empty’ spot intently. So
intently that Giles became a little nervous and glanced at the other little
girls sitting at the table. They were
caught up in a conversation about Sparkle pony, which relieved Giles when he
heard Haddie’s next statement.
“You have the same
color of eyes that we have too.”
Giles looked across
the yard towards Buffy, only to find her deep in conversation with Willow. He jerked backwards when he felt a cool gust
of air circle around him. He inhaled
sharply when he heard Katie’s voice whisper in his ear.
“It’s time…”
Haddie furrowed her
brow. “Where’d she go?”
“What?” Giles asked as Haddie looked around.
“She’s gone…”
“It’s taking all of
my energy to talk to you. She can’t see,
or hear, me now…we need to discuss this soon.”
Giles swallowed and
gave a gentle nod.
He felt her disappear
as quickly as she had appeared to him.
He looked down at Haddie and curled a strand of her hair around his
finger.
“Perhaps she was
needed elsewhere.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Haddie replied distractedly before shrugging
her shoulders and edging her way into the conversation her friends were
having.
“Have fun,
darling.” Giles whispered, giving her a
kiss as he stood.
She looked up at him
and smiled brightly. “Cake soon?”
He smiled and gave
her a wink. “Soon…you won’t miss it, I
promise.”
She winked back and
then turned back to her friends. Giles
rubbed his hand over the side of his neck and started on his way over to Buffy
and Willow.
* * *
Buffy had wanted to
ask Giles what was bothering him as soon as he had left Haddie’s tea
party. But, he had shaken his head…it
wasn’t the right time.
And so, she had
waited.
Through the cake and
ice cream. Through the opening of
gifts. Through the light dinner with
their friends. Through the childrens’
bathtimes, the bedtime stories…
And she was tired of
waiting.
“Giles?”
He turned the
television off and placed the remote on the coffee table. “Hadley is picking up on certain things.”
She raised an
eyebrow. Apparently he was tired of
waiting as well.
“Certain things?”
Giles took a deep
breath and turned towards Buffy. “She
noticed the color of Katie’s eyes…that they’re the same color as…”
“Yours.” Buffy finished for him softly.
He shook his head
slowly. “Ours. Mine and the childrens’. Katie…well, Katie focused all of her energy
to talk to me. She said…she said that
she thinks it’s time.”
“Time? Time for what?” She questioned quickly.
“For, uh…for Haddie
to know the true relationship between her…and, um…Katie.”
Buffy’s eyes
widened. “What? Why?”
“I’m not sure. Katie wants to discuss it soon. I…I’m not sure I agree with her. But, I’m also not sure that I disagree. Perhaps it would be beneficial to Haddie…”
“How? How would knowing that someone she’s been
talking to for a few years now is her sister…who’s…”
“Dead.” Giles whispered when Buffy trailed off. “It’s alright to say the word, love.”
“She’s six years old,
Giles.”
Giles nodded, his heart
aching at the sadness in her voice. “I
know.”
Buffy was quiet for a
few moments, her mind quickly working through different thoughts. Finally she took a deep breath and looked
into Giles’ eyes.
“Can I be there? When you talk to her, I mean…”
“Of course.” Giles answered quickly, lifting his hand to
the side of her face. “I wouldn’t dream
of having it any other way. Haddie is
our daughter…a decision such as this…well, it can’t be made by just one
parent.”
Buffy’s eyes
glistened. Giles rubbed his thumb along
her cheek.
“Ssh…don’t cry, my
love. This isn’t something that’s going
to happen tonight. Tonight…” He smiled lovingly as he gazed into her eyes. “Tonight we spend trying to find room for all
of Evan’s birthday presents.”
Buffy chuckled wetly
and leaned into his touch. “And…to go
through the final plans of the guest house that Xander’s going to build for
us.”
“Oh?” Giles asked, genuinely surprised.
She nodded and
gestured towards the cardboard tube on the desk. “He brought the blueprints over today.”
He smiled and leaned
towards her, pressing a warm kiss to her lips before standing.
Katie hovered in the
corner, an adoring smile on her face as she watched her father open the tube
and spread the paperwork across the coffee table.
“It’ll all be
alright, Dad. I promise.” She whispered…and then faded away.
Buffy shivered
lightly, causing Giles to pull the afghan from the back of the couch and drape
it over her shoulders. She whispered a
gentle ‘thank you’ and then turned her attention back to the blueprints.
He watched her
lovingly, adoringly, as she turned the papers clockwise. He smiled as she looked at him, obviously
waiting for an answer to a question that he hadn’t heard.
“I love you.”
Her furrowed brow smoothed
as a smile appeared on her lips. “I love
you too.”
As he leaned in to
kiss her again, she decided that maybe tonight could just be about them…
~ End