Hidden Truths (11/14)
Buffy and Dawn accompany Giles back to London.
This chapter is rated FRT.
Two days later, Giles followed Buffy and Dawn onto the plane. As Buffy glanced towards the first class section, he lowered his lips to her ear and whispered softly.
“One of these days, we will fly first class. I had thought about it for this trip...”
She looked up at him and smiled warmly. “It’s a three hour flight, Giles. It would’ve been a bit ridiculous to pay for first class tickets.”
Giles returned her smile, chuckling as Dawn announced dibs on the window seat. He stood in the aisle, his legs pressed against the armrest of his seat as he carefully lifted their carry-on luggage into the storage area above the seats.
Buffy took the middle seat, rolling her eyes as Dawn began to chatter as she stared out the window. She turned as Giles lowered himself into the seat next to her and placed her hand on his thigh.
He cleared his throat and quickly placed his hand over hers when her fingers moved over the inside seam of his jeans. “Buffy…”
She met his eyes and sighed wistfully. “Part of me really wishes that this flight was longer than three hours.”
Lacing their fingers together and resting their hands on top of his thigh, he tilted his head in a silent question. She grinned and motioned towards an incessantly chatting Dawn.
“Four hours and she’d be asleep. She’ll stop talking as soon as we take off, but she won’t go to sleep on a flight that’s under four hours.”
“Oh…” He answered softly, his brow furrowing in uncertainty.
She chuckled and leaned towards him, lowering her voice to a whisper only he could hear. “If she was asleep…we could…do things. If you wanted to, I mean.”
He inhaled sharply, darting his eyes to Dawn before swallowing. “Buffy…”
Grinning, she watched him shift in his seat before she gently placed a blanket on his lap. “At least the thought appeals to you.”
He squeezed her hand before releasing it and, after moving the blanket into a more comfortable position, reached for a magazine in the pocket of the seat in front of him. “More than you can imagine, love.”
She gave him a wink and rested her head against his upper arm, closing her eyes as he flipped through the magazine and Dawn kept up with her chatter. As the plane began to taxi, Dawn took a deep breath and continued to stare out the window, her chatter coming to an abrupt end.
Giles sighed softly and kissed the top of Buffy’s head. When she didn’t react, he looked down and smiled to find that she had drifted off to sleep. He chuckled and shook his head, carefully replacing the magazine into the seat in front of him before resting his head against the back of his own seat.
* * *
After they had loaded their luggage onto two separate trolleys, Giles led Buffy and Dawn through the busy airport. Giles couldn’t help but smile at the conversation going on behind him.
“Why can’t I push it?”
Buffy snorted. “Because I’ve seen how you drive a shopping cart.”
“Well, I’ve seen how you drive a car.” Dawn countered quickly.
“Yeah and cars and carts are so much alike, Dawn.”
Giles chuckled and glanced over his shoulder at them. “Are you two going to bicker the entire ride home?”
Buffy grinned brightly at him. “Probably.”
Dawn surveyed her surroundings and shook her head. “I always forget how huge this airport is.”
“One of the busiest airports in the world.” Giles stated proudly as he made his way through the doors.
“Aren’t we getting a taxi?” Buffy asked as Giles started towards the carpark.
“No. I drove myself to the airport, with Willow and Ethan following closely behind. My car is over there…somewhere.” He stated, gesturing towards the sea of cars in the parking lot.
Dawn laughed heartily. “Somewhere?”
Giles grinned and pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Huge airport, huge carpark. I have a vague idea of where it is...I, uh…I was in somewhat of a hurry when I left.”
Buffy smiled adoringly at him. “Were you?”
Licking his lips, he gave her a small nod. “Add to that the fact that I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly…”
She glanced past him and smiled. “There it is.”
“So it is.” He whispered softly as he followed her.
Dawn chuckled as she brought up the rear. Xander was going to love this turn in their relationship.
* * *
Dawn had insisted on calling Willow on the drive to Giles’ house. Buffy had wanted to listen to Dawn’s side of the conversation, but found that she was having a difficult time concentrating. Giles’ voice singing softly along with the music on the radio…along with his fingers tracing indistinct shapes on her thigh…made concentrating on anything else nearly impossible.
Dawn ended the call just as Giles turned onto his street. “Willow and Ethan are coming over in a little while.”
Buffy shook her head slowly. “That’s something I’m still not used to hearing.”
“What’s that, love?” Giles asked softly.
“Willow and Ethan. I mean…how does that work?”
Giles offered her a tender smile. “Much like Buffy and Giles. It just…does. I’m not even sure how it came to be. I knew they were spending a fair amount of time together discussing magick and addiction…and the next thing I knew, Ethan was standing in front of me telling me that he was fairly certain that he had fallen in love with her.”
Buffy looked at him curiously. “And you didn’t question it?”
He pulled into the driveway and shook his head as he killed the engine. “Who am I to question love? At least he didn’t wait years before he told her.”
Buffy lifted her hand and caressed the side of his face as she leaned into him. “At least you finally told me.”
Dawn rolled her eyes as they kissed. “Okay, someone hand me the keys and I’ll start taking the bags in.”
Giles chuckled as he broke the kiss, pulling the keys from the ignition. “Perhaps this should wait until later…”
Buffy sighed as she opened the car door and climbed out, turning her eyes to her sister. “And why did I insist on you coming with us?”
Dawn grinned as Giles opened the trunk and began unloading their luggage. “Just make sure that my room is as far away from yours as possible.”
Giles blushed heavily and tossed the keys to Dawn. “If you’d be so kind as to unlock the door?”
As Dawn ran off towards the front door, Buffy moved closer to Giles. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
He tilted his head slightly and looked into her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Us…the baby…Dawn living here.” She sighed heavily. “I mean…you know what a mess I can make. Dawn puts me to shame. And then there’s the fact that we’ve pretty much started a family before we had our first date and - ”
He cut her off quickly with a kiss, his arms moving around her as he slowly deepened the kiss. When he felt her fingers comb through his hair, he relinquished her lips and sighed.
“I want nothing more, Buffy.”
Looking into his eyes, she saw his sincerity and smiled in relief. “Good…because I’m pretty sure this is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”
He returned her smile before gently rubbing her abdomen. “Come on, let’s get these bags inside and I’ll make some tea.”
“I like it when you do that.” She whispered.
“What? Make tea? I do that rather often.”
“No.” She shook her head and swallowed as her eyes glistened. “When you touch the baby. I like it when you touch the baby.”
“I remember hearing something one time about a child recognizing its parents’ touch while still in the womb. I…I want our child to know my touch…my voice.” He sighed softly, brushing a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “I want our child to know that I love him or her.”
She leaned into his touch and he smiled.
“And in response to your earlier question. Yes, I’m sure that I’m ready for this. I’m ready for us, I’m ready to deal with whatever messes you and Dawn make…and I’m ready for this baby, Buffy. You’re right in saying that we’ve started a family before we’ve even had a date, but…this baby was conceived in love.”
He bit his lip nervously and ran his fingers over the slight swell of her abdomen. Most people wouldn’t suspect that she was pregnant, but the people who truly knew her…who loved her…they would know. Had she been wearing something similar to what she was wearing now instead of the baggy jeans and sweatshirt she’d been wearing when he had arrived at her apartment in Rome, he would’ve known instantly.
“When should we tell people?” He asked softly.
She took a deep breath and answered in a tone that stated she was just as nervous as he was. “Willow will know as soon as she sees me.”
He met her eyes and offered her a gentle smile. “I was thinking the very same thing.”
She started walking up the path towards the house, sliding her hand into his as she looked up at him. “You okay with telling them tonight?”
He nodded silently, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. There was a question that she’d been wanting to ask for a couple of days and she figured that she might as well ask now.
“Giles?”
“Hm?”
“Do you want a boy or a girl?”
He smiled lovingly at her as they climbed the stairs to the porch. “Yes.”
She furrowed her brow in confusion for a moment and then smiled in relief. “So…it doesn’t matter to you?”
“Health is most important to me, Buffy. And as long as you and the baby are both healthy…I’m happy.”
She stopped at the front door, unconsciously tightening her grip on Giles’ hand. He grimaced and dropped the bag he was carrying.
“Buffy!”
Realizing what she’d done, she let go of his hand and quickly apologized. He shook his head and looked into her eyes, his filling with concern.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She answered quickly and then lowered her voice. “It’s stupid.”
“I highly doubt it’s stupid.” He answered quietly. “Please…tell me what’s wrong.”
She exhaled deeply and gestured at the door. “The last time I walked through your front door…I was trying to figure out a way to tell you I love you. The best I could come up with was saying that English people are weird and then pretty much sexually assaulting you.”
He gave her an understanding smile. “That was the last time. This time…we’re walking in together, knowing that we love each other…and I’m rather sure that I didn’t mind the sexual assault.”
She rolled her eyes as he said the last part with a wolfish grin. “Giles…”
He bent down and kissed her softly. “Seriously now, Buffy. We both know what that was about. Granted, we didn’t then…but, we do now. And that is the important thing. We were both in love and clueless as to how to express it to one another. Clueless…and afraid.”
He licked his lips and gently pushed her over the threshold. “I’m not afraid anymore, Buffy. I know what I want…and I know how to say what I want.”
She glanced down and smiled when she noticed the growing bulge in his jeans. “Want to tell me what you want at this very moment?”
“Yes…” He hissed as his eyes darkened.
He kicked the door closed and moved quickly, forgetting about the luggage for the moment. Pushing her back against the wall, he groaned and lowered his mouth to hers. As Buffy began tugging his shirt out of the waistband of his jeans, he thrust his tongue into her mouth.
“Hey, Gi…” Dawn stopped mid word and spun around quickly.
Giles mentally cursed himself for having forgotten that Dawn was anywhere around. He blushed deeply as he stepped away from Buffy and ran his hand through his hair.
“Um…”
Dawn shook her head, still facing away from them, her smile heard in her voice. “No, no…it’s okay. Um…I was going to ask if you wanted tea, but…”
“Dawn.” He spoke softly.
She turned back towards him and allowed her smile to be seen. “Pretty obvious that it’s not tea you want right now. And that’s cool. Um…maybe I’ll just get a train into town…have a look around for a while. I mean, if that’s okay with you guys.”
“I, uh…of course, it’s alright. But, Dawn…this is your home as well as mine and Buffy’s. I’ll endeavour to be more careful in the future. I’m sorry if I’ve embarrassed you.”
Dawn grinned and glanced at her sister. “You didn’t embarrass me, Giles. Kinda took me by surprise, but I’m not embarrassed. In a way…I think it’s kinda sweet.”
Buffy raised an eyebrow, causing Dawn to chuckle. “Well, not sweet in that I almost saw more of you two than I ever want to see. But, sweet in the way that…you guys really love each other. So, I’m going to give you some time alone…maybe call Xander and see if he wants to meet me in the city…”
“Are you sure?” Buffy asked cautiously.
Dawn grinned and walked over, kissing Buffy’s cheek. “I’m positive. Have fun.”
She laughed and placed a quick kiss on Giles’ cheek as his face flushed again. As he slowly met her eyes, her laughter ebbed and she smiled warmly.
“I’m really happy that you two finally came to your senses.”
Giles gave her a shy smile. “Thank you.”
Dawn glanced at the clock as she turned and grabbed her purse. “Okay, it’s almost two…if I call Will and tell them to come over around six, will that give you enough time?”
Giles’ eyes widened and his blush deepened even more as Buffy answered for them with a grin.
“Just.”
This chapter is rated FRT.
Two days later, Giles followed Buffy and Dawn onto the plane. As Buffy glanced towards the first class section, he lowered his lips to her ear and whispered softly.
“One of these days, we will fly first class. I had thought about it for this trip...”
She looked up at him and smiled warmly. “It’s a three hour flight, Giles. It would’ve been a bit ridiculous to pay for first class tickets.”
Giles returned her smile, chuckling as Dawn announced dibs on the window seat. He stood in the aisle, his legs pressed against the armrest of his seat as he carefully lifted their carry-on luggage into the storage area above the seats.
Buffy took the middle seat, rolling her eyes as Dawn began to chatter as she stared out the window. She turned as Giles lowered himself into the seat next to her and placed her hand on his thigh.
He cleared his throat and quickly placed his hand over hers when her fingers moved over the inside seam of his jeans. “Buffy…”
She met his eyes and sighed wistfully. “Part of me really wishes that this flight was longer than three hours.”
Lacing their fingers together and resting their hands on top of his thigh, he tilted his head in a silent question. She grinned and motioned towards an incessantly chatting Dawn.
“Four hours and she’d be asleep. She’ll stop talking as soon as we take off, but she won’t go to sleep on a flight that’s under four hours.”
“Oh…” He answered softly, his brow furrowing in uncertainty.
She chuckled and leaned towards him, lowering her voice to a whisper only he could hear. “If she was asleep…we could…do things. If you wanted to, I mean.”
He inhaled sharply, darting his eyes to Dawn before swallowing. “Buffy…”
Grinning, she watched him shift in his seat before she gently placed a blanket on his lap. “At least the thought appeals to you.”
He squeezed her hand before releasing it and, after moving the blanket into a more comfortable position, reached for a magazine in the pocket of the seat in front of him. “More than you can imagine, love.”
She gave him a wink and rested her head against his upper arm, closing her eyes as he flipped through the magazine and Dawn kept up with her chatter. As the plane began to taxi, Dawn took a deep breath and continued to stare out the window, her chatter coming to an abrupt end.
Giles sighed softly and kissed the top of Buffy’s head. When she didn’t react, he looked down and smiled to find that she had drifted off to sleep. He chuckled and shook his head, carefully replacing the magazine into the seat in front of him before resting his head against the back of his own seat.
* * *
After they had loaded their luggage onto two separate trolleys, Giles led Buffy and Dawn through the busy airport. Giles couldn’t help but smile at the conversation going on behind him.
“Why can’t I push it?”
Buffy snorted. “Because I’ve seen how you drive a shopping cart.”
“Well, I’ve seen how you drive a car.” Dawn countered quickly.
“Yeah and cars and carts are so much alike, Dawn.”
Giles chuckled and glanced over his shoulder at them. “Are you two going to bicker the entire ride home?”
Buffy grinned brightly at him. “Probably.”
Dawn surveyed her surroundings and shook her head. “I always forget how huge this airport is.”
“One of the busiest airports in the world.” Giles stated proudly as he made his way through the doors.
“Aren’t we getting a taxi?” Buffy asked as Giles started towards the carpark.
“No. I drove myself to the airport, with Willow and Ethan following closely behind. My car is over there…somewhere.” He stated, gesturing towards the sea of cars in the parking lot.
Dawn laughed heartily. “Somewhere?”
Giles grinned and pulled his keys out of his pocket. “Huge airport, huge carpark. I have a vague idea of where it is...I, uh…I was in somewhat of a hurry when I left.”
Buffy smiled adoringly at him. “Were you?”
Licking his lips, he gave her a small nod. “Add to that the fact that I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly…”
She glanced past him and smiled. “There it is.”
“So it is.” He whispered softly as he followed her.
Dawn chuckled as she brought up the rear. Xander was going to love this turn in their relationship.
* * *
Dawn had insisted on calling Willow on the drive to Giles’ house. Buffy had wanted to listen to Dawn’s side of the conversation, but found that she was having a difficult time concentrating. Giles’ voice singing softly along with the music on the radio…along with his fingers tracing indistinct shapes on her thigh…made concentrating on anything else nearly impossible.
Dawn ended the call just as Giles turned onto his street. “Willow and Ethan are coming over in a little while.”
Buffy shook her head slowly. “That’s something I’m still not used to hearing.”
“What’s that, love?” Giles asked softly.
“Willow and Ethan. I mean…how does that work?”
Giles offered her a tender smile. “Much like Buffy and Giles. It just…does. I’m not even sure how it came to be. I knew they were spending a fair amount of time together discussing magick and addiction…and the next thing I knew, Ethan was standing in front of me telling me that he was fairly certain that he had fallen in love with her.”
Buffy looked at him curiously. “And you didn’t question it?”
He pulled into the driveway and shook his head as he killed the engine. “Who am I to question love? At least he didn’t wait years before he told her.”
Buffy lifted her hand and caressed the side of his face as she leaned into him. “At least you finally told me.”
Dawn rolled her eyes as they kissed. “Okay, someone hand me the keys and I’ll start taking the bags in.”
Giles chuckled as he broke the kiss, pulling the keys from the ignition. “Perhaps this should wait until later…”
Buffy sighed as she opened the car door and climbed out, turning her eyes to her sister. “And why did I insist on you coming with us?”
Dawn grinned as Giles opened the trunk and began unloading their luggage. “Just make sure that my room is as far away from yours as possible.”
Giles blushed heavily and tossed the keys to Dawn. “If you’d be so kind as to unlock the door?”
As Dawn ran off towards the front door, Buffy moved closer to Giles. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?”
He tilted his head slightly and looked into her eyes. “What do you mean?”
“Us…the baby…Dawn living here.” She sighed heavily. “I mean…you know what a mess I can make. Dawn puts me to shame. And then there’s the fact that we’ve pretty much started a family before we had our first date and - ”
He cut her off quickly with a kiss, his arms moving around her as he slowly deepened the kiss. When he felt her fingers comb through his hair, he relinquished her lips and sighed.
“I want nothing more, Buffy.”
Looking into his eyes, she saw his sincerity and smiled in relief. “Good…because I’m pretty sure this is the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.”
He returned her smile before gently rubbing her abdomen. “Come on, let’s get these bags inside and I’ll make some tea.”
“I like it when you do that.” She whispered.
“What? Make tea? I do that rather often.”
“No.” She shook her head and swallowed as her eyes glistened. “When you touch the baby. I like it when you touch the baby.”
“I remember hearing something one time about a child recognizing its parents’ touch while still in the womb. I…I want our child to know my touch…my voice.” He sighed softly, brushing a tear from her cheek with his thumb. “I want our child to know that I love him or her.”
She leaned into his touch and he smiled.
“And in response to your earlier question. Yes, I’m sure that I’m ready for this. I’m ready for us, I’m ready to deal with whatever messes you and Dawn make…and I’m ready for this baby, Buffy. You’re right in saying that we’ve started a family before we’ve even had a date, but…this baby was conceived in love.”
He bit his lip nervously and ran his fingers over the slight swell of her abdomen. Most people wouldn’t suspect that she was pregnant, but the people who truly knew her…who loved her…they would know. Had she been wearing something similar to what she was wearing now instead of the baggy jeans and sweatshirt she’d been wearing when he had arrived at her apartment in Rome, he would’ve known instantly.
“When should we tell people?” He asked softly.
She took a deep breath and answered in a tone that stated she was just as nervous as he was. “Willow will know as soon as she sees me.”
He met her eyes and offered her a gentle smile. “I was thinking the very same thing.”
She started walking up the path towards the house, sliding her hand into his as she looked up at him. “You okay with telling them tonight?”
He nodded silently, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. There was a question that she’d been wanting to ask for a couple of days and she figured that she might as well ask now.
“Giles?”
“Hm?”
“Do you want a boy or a girl?”
He smiled lovingly at her as they climbed the stairs to the porch. “Yes.”
She furrowed her brow in confusion for a moment and then smiled in relief. “So…it doesn’t matter to you?”
“Health is most important to me, Buffy. And as long as you and the baby are both healthy…I’m happy.”
She stopped at the front door, unconsciously tightening her grip on Giles’ hand. He grimaced and dropped the bag he was carrying.
“Buffy!”
Realizing what she’d done, she let go of his hand and quickly apologized. He shook his head and looked into her eyes, his filling with concern.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She answered quickly and then lowered her voice. “It’s stupid.”
“I highly doubt it’s stupid.” He answered quietly. “Please…tell me what’s wrong.”
She exhaled deeply and gestured at the door. “The last time I walked through your front door…I was trying to figure out a way to tell you I love you. The best I could come up with was saying that English people are weird and then pretty much sexually assaulting you.”
He gave her an understanding smile. “That was the last time. This time…we’re walking in together, knowing that we love each other…and I’m rather sure that I didn’t mind the sexual assault.”
She rolled her eyes as he said the last part with a wolfish grin. “Giles…”
He bent down and kissed her softly. “Seriously now, Buffy. We both know what that was about. Granted, we didn’t then…but, we do now. And that is the important thing. We were both in love and clueless as to how to express it to one another. Clueless…and afraid.”
He licked his lips and gently pushed her over the threshold. “I’m not afraid anymore, Buffy. I know what I want…and I know how to say what I want.”
She glanced down and smiled when she noticed the growing bulge in his jeans. “Want to tell me what you want at this very moment?”
“Yes…” He hissed as his eyes darkened.
He kicked the door closed and moved quickly, forgetting about the luggage for the moment. Pushing her back against the wall, he groaned and lowered his mouth to hers. As Buffy began tugging his shirt out of the waistband of his jeans, he thrust his tongue into her mouth.
“Hey, Gi…” Dawn stopped mid word and spun around quickly.
Giles mentally cursed himself for having forgotten that Dawn was anywhere around. He blushed deeply as he stepped away from Buffy and ran his hand through his hair.
“Um…”
Dawn shook her head, still facing away from them, her smile heard in her voice. “No, no…it’s okay. Um…I was going to ask if you wanted tea, but…”
“Dawn.” He spoke softly.
She turned back towards him and allowed her smile to be seen. “Pretty obvious that it’s not tea you want right now. And that’s cool. Um…maybe I’ll just get a train into town…have a look around for a while. I mean, if that’s okay with you guys.”
“I, uh…of course, it’s alright. But, Dawn…this is your home as well as mine and Buffy’s. I’ll endeavour to be more careful in the future. I’m sorry if I’ve embarrassed you.”
Dawn grinned and glanced at her sister. “You didn’t embarrass me, Giles. Kinda took me by surprise, but I’m not embarrassed. In a way…I think it’s kinda sweet.”
Buffy raised an eyebrow, causing Dawn to chuckle. “Well, not sweet in that I almost saw more of you two than I ever want to see. But, sweet in the way that…you guys really love each other. So, I’m going to give you some time alone…maybe call Xander and see if he wants to meet me in the city…”
“Are you sure?” Buffy asked cautiously.
Dawn grinned and walked over, kissing Buffy’s cheek. “I’m positive. Have fun.”
She laughed and placed a quick kiss on Giles’ cheek as his face flushed again. As he slowly met her eyes, her laughter ebbed and she smiled warmly.
“I’m really happy that you two finally came to your senses.”
Giles gave her a shy smile. “Thank you.”
Dawn glanced at the clock as she turned and grabbed her purse. “Okay, it’s almost two…if I call Will and tell them to come over around six, will that give you enough time?”
Giles’ eyes widened and his blush deepened even more as Buffy answered for them with a grin.
“Just.”