Fred glanced over at Giles, then over at her parents. She knew that her mom and dad just wanted to spend time with her since she was moving again soon, but at the same time, she didn't want Rupert to feel like he was being smothered by all the attention. Then there was the number of times that they had almost been caught. She had a feeling the more time the spent at the house, the more dangerous it would be.
"Actually, I don't think we'll be back tonight," Fred told them. "I'm not sure how long our shopping trip is going to take, and I don't want you guys to have to hold supper just for us." She could tell her mom was a bit disappointed, though, so she decided to make a compromise. "Tell you what. Rupert's probably going to be running me around for the rest of this week since I have some last-minute things to take care of before we go back on Sunday morning. The shippers'll be here Friday, so that's going to be a busy day anyway, but I promise you that we'll have dinner with both of you here on Saturday night. Okay?"
Trish nodded. "That sounds great. You two have a nice afternoon together."
"Thanks, Mom." She gave both her parents a hug, then took Rupert's hand and headed outside with him. "Hope you don't mind what I did in there. I figured it was the path of least resistance, and it gives us lots of time to spend together the rest of the week."
Giles watched as Fred handled her parents with grace. When they went outside, and to his car, he nodded. "It sounds reasonable. I do like spending time with your parents but I fancy spending even more time with you," he said with a smile.
They got into the car and Giles started the engine. "Andrew sent the directions to me this morning while you were in the shower," he said as they pulled out of the long driveway. "He said it is the best jeweler in town, unless I wanted to drive all the way into San Antonio. No offense but I don't think I want to drive there again until it's time to leave. I got lost three times trying to get away from the airport and to the farm."
When they got to the paved road, Giles turned right and started toward one of the suburbs of San Antonio. "Did you go to school here or did you go elsewhere? I went to school in Bath until I was ten, then I went to a boarding school and then the academy. Never did like boarding school. The headmaster believed in spanking and I seemed to be in his office at least once a week," he said.
"Well, since I'm with you, you'd probably be all right, but yeah, it's probably best not to try to go into San Antonio right now. We're hitting the lunch hour anyway, so it's going to be busy," Fred told him, wondering where he might have gotten lost but deciding not to ask.
Instead, she listened to him talking about going to boarding school, the idea of Rupert being sent to the office so often a bit incongruous with the scholarly man she knew now. "I can't believe you were ever that bad," she said in amazement. "But yes, I went to school here. Actually, if you look down the road were going to pass up here on left, you'll see my high school. I liked it all right, I guess, but I was a bit of a...outsider because some of the other students thought I was too smart, and besides that, I was a bit in conspiracy theories at the time, which is not the best combination when you're in high school, especially around here. After I graduated, I went to California to attend UCLA because of my scholarship, and things were better there because I was working with other smart people. Well, at least it was better until..."
She shrugged and shook her head, not wanting to bring up Seidel again. That part of her life was behind her now. The man was gone.
"Anyway, that was my long-winded way to say, yes, I went to school here." As they took another turn, heading for the store that Andrew had recommended, she rested her head back and looked at him. "What was the Academy like? I've heard a little bit about it, but not much. It sounds so different from the schools we have here, which of course it would considering what you're taught, but you know what I mean."
"I wasn't bad per say," Giles said with a grin. "Half of the stuff wasn't even my fault. I just ran around with the wrong crowd of eleven-year-olds. The school had a rather large science lab and we used to sneak into it and use the burners to burn things. There was even a few times where mixed a bunch of chemicals together just to see what would happen." He paused when he remembered who he was talking to. "Which was very wrong of us. You still love me, right? Even though I was bit of a deviant?"
When Fred started talking about being an outsider, Giles frowned and took her hand. "I would've like you if I went to school with you. Probably would've taken you behind the football stands a few times." He winked at her and turned another corner.
"The academy? Well, it was different from regular school. You start when you're thirteen and leave when you're seventeen. You study demons, demon languages, how to interact with Slayers and potentials, and combat," he explained. "You live and breathe the supernatural for four years. Nothing else. And during your last year, one of your final exams is facing a vampire. It's very controlled though and nothing like the real thing. And I do believe they drug the vampire before letting you face them."
When Giles saw the jewelry store come into view, he smiled. He pulled into the parking lot, glad to see it wasn't that busy. "I was thinking about getting your father his own battle axe. Do you think your mother would mind?" he asked, getting out of the car.
"Of course I still love you," Fred told him. "Truth be told, I had my share of chemistry mishaps when I was younger. Remind me to show you the scorch mark on the back porch the next time we're back at the house."
She smiled when he said that he probably would have liked her had they been in school together. She had her friends of course, but none of them had actually shown an interest in her beyond that and the sharing of their conspiracy theories. The idea of making out with Giles behind the stands definitely had an appeal.
She couldn't imagine, though, having gone through the type of schooling that he had gone through as a teenager. Just the studying and research she had done over the last couple of years had been grueling enough, so having to immerse himself in it as a teenager must have been absolutely daunting.
When they reached the jewelry store, Fred felt her eyes pop out. This was the most expensive and reputable store in the entire area. They were going shopping here? She felt her heart skip a few beats as she got out of the car.
Then she realized he was speaking to her, something about getting her father a battle axe. She remembered the sight of her father holding the axe earlier and smiled, taking Rupert's hand as they walked to the store entrance. "I know my dad would love it after the look on his face today. As for Mom...she'd probably end up stealing it to use as a behavior deterrent on her school bus, knowing her." She had never realized her parents could be so lethal until they had been faced with demons and helped fight them.
When they entered the shop, Fred stopped short just inside the door, looking around in amazement. "Wow. Never been in a place like this before."
The shop was rather large and the moment they walked in, a saleswoman stepped forward. “May I help y’all?” she asked in a soft tone.
“Um, yes,” Giles said, smiling over at Fred. “We’re in the market for an engagement ring.”
The saleswoman nodded and led them over to the display case. Giles looked down and was amazed at the large selection of rings. Some of them were a bit ugly but he kept his mouth shut and didn’t point them out, just in case Fred liked them. “As you can see,” the saleswoman said, “we have a large selection of diamond engagement rings. If you find something you like and it’s not in her size, we can have it fitted. Someday service.”
Giles nodded, not knowing what to say. He’d never bought a ring for anyone before and didn’t know what Fred would really like. He wanted her to pick the ring out on her own, without him standing by, telling her what to do. “The ring is for Fred,” he said, squeezing her hand. “I would like for her to pick it out.”
“Of course, sir,” the saleswoman said. She motioned for Fred to step closer to display case.
“Pick out what you want, love,” Giles said before placing a kiss on top of her head. “I’ll be over there right.” He released her hand and took a seat across the room before picking up a magazine and flipping through it.
Fred leaned over the case and looked at the rings, feeling a bit overwhelmed by the selection available. Every so often, she would look over at Rupert, wondering what he would like and what he might pick out if he had been the one deciding. She grimaced at a few of the rings that the woman pointed out to her - they were way too big or guady.
Shaking her head, she continued studying the rings. Finally, she asked the woman to take out the ring that she wanted to look at more closely. It had a diamond center with what almost looked like two sets of leaves inlaid with smaller diamonds coming up the ring band.
"Rupert?" she asked, looking over at him. She really wanted his input in this, so she waved him over. "What do you think of this one?"
Giles, who was reading an article about some skinny actress, looked up when Fred called his name. He stood from the chair and walked over to where Fred was standing. Looking down at the ring, he smiled. It looked perfect on her. “I think it’s beautiful,” he said as he kissed her forehead.
“Will you be buying this ring?” The saleswoman said as she looked at the other time. Giles was sure the woman worked on commission and probably wanted them to buy a more expensive ring. But if Fred wanted it then he was going to get it for her.
“That’s Fred’s decision,” he said, looking over at her. “Is this the one you want, love?”
Fred looked down at the ring. It fit her finger, which meant it didn't need to be sized, and it really was the only one of all the rings that jumped out at her and that seemed to really be "hers".
"This is the one I want," she told Rupert, smiling up at him.
The saleswoman nodded and put away the tray of rings she had been trying to sell Fred on - the most expensive rings in the display she had noticed. She then held out her hand for the ring, and Fred slid it off her finger to hand it back over, hating to do so but knowing that she'd get it back soon.
After the saleswoman had put it in a ring box and written up the receipt, she placed it on the counter in front of Giles. "Is there anything else we can help you with today? Wedding rings, perhaps?"
Giles paid for the ring and watched as the saleswoman put it in a box. He had wanted Fred to wear it out of the shop but he supposed he could put it on her when they got to the car. Picking up the receipt and box, Giles looked up at the saleswoman and shook his head. “No. We’ll go to someone in England for that. Since it’s where we’re getting married,” he said. The saleswoman sighed as Giles took Fred’s hand.
He walked her out of the store and opened the car door for her. Once she was inside, Giles shut the door and went over to the driver’s side door. He climbed in and looked over at her with a smile. “Let’s make this official, shall we?” he asked as he held the box up. He carefully opened it and took the ring out of its felt base.
“Fred, will you marry me?” he asked as he held the ring up. He smiled a little and took her hand into his. “I hope the answer is yes or I’ll have to give this ring to someone else,” he added with a cheeky grin.
Fred raised her eyebrows at his threat to give the ring to someone else. "You wouldn't dare," she said with a laugh. "And yes, the answer is still yes and always will be."
Once Giles slipped the ring on her finger, they looked down at it for a moment then up at each other. Leaning forward, Fred kissed him deeply, finally pulling back when they needed some air.
"Come on. I think I know where we can find a set of bleachers by a football field."
***** The rest of the week passed by quickly and with little incident. The furor over the incident with Siedel disappeared from the news, and with them, the couple of reporters who had been trying to track down Fred for an interview. After Fred's visa arrived, the shippers came on Friday and took Fred's belongings away to send to England. And Fred's mother spent most of the time they were at the farm on Friday cooing over her daughter's ring.
Early Sunday morning, they got up and after checking out of the hotel, headed to the airport to fly to Boston to catch their flight to Heathrow. Everything went fine, and they reached England around 10 o'clock in the evening.
When they came out through Customs, Fred felt like she just wanted to go straight home with Rupert and collapse into bed and sleep. However, as her eyes passed over the crowd, she suddenly realized that probably wasn't going to be possible.
"Ummm, Rupert," she said, tugging on his shirt. "Look."
Standing in the line of greeters were Willow, Andrew and Xander - all of them holding up a sign that said, "Congratulations!"
Giles was happy to be back in England. He was excited about working with Fred and was anxious as to what she was going to do with the lab. He knew she was bound for some amazing things. Once they passed through customs, he turned to go toward the front doors, wanting to go home and snuggle with Fred. But she tugged on his shirt and he looked where she was pointing.
“Bloody hell,” he muttered when he saw Andrew, Xander and Willow. Giles pondered going the other way but Andrew started to wave and he knew they’d been seen. Taking Fred’s hand, he walked over to them and gave Andrew a stern look.
“She did it!” Andrew said, pointing at Willow. “She threatened me with her witchy ways if I didn’t tell her the dirt.”
“How did she know there was dirt to be have?” Giles asked.
Andrew shrugged and slinked back a bit as Xander stepped forward and slapped Giles on the shoulder. “The big man’s finally getting some again. Always like it when you’re getting some, Giles. Makes you nicer and less stuffy,” Xander said.
“And once again you’ve proven your tact of knowing when not to keep your mouth shut, Xander,” Giles mumbled.
“So, now that you’re all happy in love, can I have a raise? Eye patches aren’t cheap,” Xander said.
“Who cares about a raise?” Willow asked as she stepped forward. “I want to see the ring! Oh, and Buffy and Dawn are coming tomorrow. We told them too.”
“Why not talk an advert out in the local bloody paper?” Giles asked.
“Oh, we will. You marrying a hottie is front page news,” Xander said with a grin.
"Actually, I don't think we'll be back tonight," Fred told them. "I'm not sure how long our shopping trip is going to take, and I don't want you guys to have to hold supper just for us." She could tell her mom was a bit disappointed, though, so she decided to make a compromise. "Tell you what. Rupert's probably going to be running me around for the rest of this week since I have some last-minute things to take care of before we go back on Sunday morning. The shippers'll be here Friday, so that's going to be a busy day anyway, but I promise you that we'll have dinner with both of you here on Saturday night. Okay?"
Trish nodded. "That sounds great. You two have a nice afternoon together."
"Thanks, Mom." She gave both her parents a hug, then took Rupert's hand and headed outside with him. "Hope you don't mind what I did in there. I figured it was the path of least resistance, and it gives us lots of time to spend together the rest of the week."
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They got into the car and Giles started the engine. "Andrew sent the directions to me this morning while you were in the shower," he said as they pulled out of the long driveway. "He said it is the best jeweler in town, unless I wanted to drive all the way into San Antonio. No offense but I don't think I want to drive there again until it's time to leave. I got lost three times trying to get away from the airport and to the farm."
When they got to the paved road, Giles turned right and started toward one of the suburbs of San Antonio. "Did you go to school here or did you go elsewhere? I went to school in Bath until I was ten, then I went to a boarding school and then the academy. Never did like boarding school. The headmaster believed in spanking and I seemed to be in his office at least once a week," he said.
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Instead, she listened to him talking about going to boarding school, the idea of Rupert being sent to the office so often a bit incongruous with the scholarly man she knew now. "I can't believe you were ever that bad," she said in amazement. "But yes, I went to school here. Actually, if you look down the road were going to pass up here on left, you'll see my high school. I liked it all right, I guess, but I was a bit of a...outsider because some of the other students thought I was too smart, and besides that, I was a bit in conspiracy theories at the time, which is not the best combination when you're in high school, especially around here. After I graduated, I went to California to attend UCLA because of my scholarship, and things were better there because I was working with other smart people. Well, at least it was better until..."
She shrugged and shook her head, not wanting to bring up Seidel again. That part of her life was behind her now. The man was gone.
"Anyway, that was my long-winded way to say, yes, I went to school here." As they took another turn, heading for the store that Andrew had recommended, she rested her head back and looked at him. "What was the Academy like? I've heard a little bit about it, but not much. It sounds so different from the schools we have here, which of course it would considering what you're taught, but you know what I mean."
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When Fred started talking about being an outsider, Giles frowned and took her hand. "I would've like you if I went to school with you. Probably would've taken you behind the football stands a few times." He winked at her and turned another corner.
"The academy? Well, it was different from regular school. You start when you're thirteen and leave when you're seventeen. You study demons, demon languages, how to interact with Slayers and potentials, and combat," he explained. "You live and breathe the supernatural for four years. Nothing else. And during your last year, one of your final exams is facing a vampire. It's very controlled though and nothing like the real thing. And I do believe they drug the vampire before letting you face them."
When Giles saw the jewelry store come into view, he smiled. He pulled into the parking lot, glad to see it wasn't that busy. "I was thinking about getting your father his own battle axe. Do you think your mother would mind?" he asked, getting out of the car.
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She smiled when he said that he probably would have liked her had they been in school together. She had her friends of course, but none of them had actually shown an interest in her beyond that and the sharing of their conspiracy theories. The idea of making out with Giles behind the stands definitely had an appeal.
She couldn't imagine, though, having gone through the type of schooling that he had gone through as a teenager. Just the studying and research she had done over the last couple of years had been grueling enough, so having to immerse himself in it as a teenager must have been absolutely daunting.
When they reached the jewelry store, Fred felt her eyes pop out. This was the most expensive and reputable store in the entire area. They were going shopping here? She felt her heart skip a few beats as she got out of the car.
Then she realized he was speaking to her, something about getting her father a battle axe. She remembered the sight of her father holding the axe earlier and smiled, taking Rupert's hand as they walked to the store entrance. "I know my dad would love it after the look on his face today. As for Mom...she'd probably end up stealing it to use as a behavior deterrent on her school bus, knowing her." She had never realized her parents could be so lethal until they had been faced with demons and helped fight them.
When they entered the shop, Fred stopped short just inside the door, looking around in amazement. "Wow. Never been in a place like this before."
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“Um, yes,” Giles said, smiling over at Fred. “We’re in the market for an engagement ring.”
The saleswoman nodded and led them over to the display case. Giles looked down and was amazed at the large selection of rings. Some of them were a bit ugly but he kept his mouth shut and didn’t point them out, just in case Fred liked them. “As you can see,” the saleswoman said, “we have a large selection of diamond engagement rings. If you find something you like and it’s not in her size, we can have it fitted. Someday service.”
Giles nodded, not knowing what to say. He’d never bought a ring for anyone before and didn’t know what Fred would really like. He wanted her to pick the ring out on her own, without him standing by, telling her what to do. “The ring is for Fred,” he said, squeezing her hand. “I would like for her to pick it out.”
“Of course, sir,” the saleswoman said. She motioned for Fred to step closer to display case.
“Pick out what you want, love,” Giles said before placing a kiss on top of her head. “I’ll be over there right.” He released her hand and took a seat across the room before picking up a magazine and flipping through it.
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Shaking her head, she continued studying the rings. Finally, she asked the woman to take out the ring that she wanted to look at more closely. It had a diamond center with what almost looked like two sets of leaves inlaid with smaller diamonds coming up the ring band.
"Rupert?" she asked, looking over at him. She really wanted his input in this, so she waved him over. "What do you think of this one?"
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“Will you be buying this ring?” The saleswoman said as she looked at the other time. Giles was sure the woman worked on commission and probably wanted them to buy a more expensive ring. But if Fred wanted it then he was going to get it for her.
“That’s Fred’s decision,” he said, looking over at her. “Is this the one you want, love?”
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"This is the one I want," she told Rupert, smiling up at him.
The saleswoman nodded and put away the tray of rings she had been trying to sell Fred on - the most expensive rings in the display she had noticed. She then held out her hand for the ring, and Fred slid it off her finger to hand it back over, hating to do so but knowing that she'd get it back soon.
After the saleswoman had put it in a ring box and written up the receipt, she placed it on the counter in front of Giles. "Is there anything else we can help you with today? Wedding rings, perhaps?"
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He walked her out of the store and opened the car door for her. Once she was inside, Giles shut the door and went over to the driver’s side door. He climbed in and looked over at her with a smile. “Let’s make this official, shall we?” he asked as he held the box up. He carefully opened it and took the ring out of its felt base.
“Fred, will you marry me?” he asked as he held the ring up. He smiled a little and took her hand into his. “I hope the answer is yes or I’ll have to give this ring to someone else,” he added with a cheeky grin.
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Once Giles slipped the ring on her finger, they looked down at it for a moment then up at each other. Leaning forward, Fred kissed him deeply, finally pulling back when they needed some air.
"Come on. I think I know where we can find a set of bleachers by a football field."
*****
The rest of the week passed by quickly and with little incident. The furor over the incident with Siedel disappeared from the news, and with them, the couple of reporters who had been trying to track down Fred for an interview. After Fred's visa arrived, the shippers came on Friday and took Fred's belongings away to send to England. And Fred's mother spent most of the time they were at the farm on Friday cooing over her daughter's ring.
Early Sunday morning, they got up and after checking out of the hotel, headed to the airport to fly to Boston to catch their flight to Heathrow. Everything went fine, and they reached England around 10 o'clock in the evening.
When they came out through Customs, Fred felt like she just wanted to go straight home with Rupert and collapse into bed and sleep. However, as her eyes passed over the crowd, she suddenly realized that probably wasn't going to be possible.
"Ummm, Rupert," she said, tugging on his shirt. "Look."
Standing in the line of greeters were Willow, Andrew and Xander - all of them holding up a sign that said, "Congratulations!"
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“Bloody hell,” he muttered when he saw Andrew, Xander and Willow. Giles pondered going the other way but Andrew started to wave and he knew they’d been seen. Taking Fred’s hand, he walked over to them and gave Andrew a stern look.
“She did it!” Andrew said, pointing at Willow. “She threatened me with her witchy ways if I didn’t tell her the dirt.”
“How did she know there was dirt to be have?” Giles asked.
Andrew shrugged and slinked back a bit as Xander stepped forward and slapped Giles on the shoulder. “The big man’s finally getting some again. Always like it when you’re getting some, Giles. Makes you nicer and less stuffy,” Xander said.
“And once again you’ve proven your tact of knowing when not to keep your mouth shut, Xander,” Giles mumbled.
“So, now that you’re all happy in love, can I have a raise? Eye patches aren’t cheap,” Xander said.
“Who cares about a raise?” Willow asked as she stepped forward. “I want to see the ring! Oh, and Buffy and Dawn are coming tomorrow. We told them too.”
“Why not talk an advert out in the local bloody paper?” Giles asked.
“Oh, we will. You marrying a hottie is front page news,” Xander said with a grin.
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