Life on a Hellmouth (74/?)
Life on a Hellmouth - Chapter Seventy-Four
Buffy opened the front door of her mother’s house, narrowing her eyes when she heard Joyce’s voice.
“She’s not a child anymore. You need to accept that.”
“Mom?” Buffy called cautiously, taking Giles’ hand and leading him into the living room.
Buffy stopped suddenly and stared at the two people standing in the room. “Uh, I think I might have misunderstood you this morning. I thought you said there was a letter from my father…not that my father was standing in your living room.”
Hank Summers smiled brightly and walked towards her. “Hi, Buffy. You look…” His eyes dropped to her stomach. “Pregnant?”
Buffy placed her hand on her abdomen. “Uh, yeah…I am.” She looked at her mother, who was obviously in a high state of frustration. “Mom?”
“There is a letter. Apparently, in the letter it states that he’s coming for a visit…this weekend.”
Hank grinned at his daughter. “It must’ve gotten lost in the mail.” He glanced down at her stomach again. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make it to the wedding. I was in Madrid on a business trip.”
Buffy rolled her eyes and looked up at her husband. “Told you.”
“You got married two months ago, right?”
Buffy nodded, her smile returning. “Yeah, we did. Well, almost three months now.”
Hank finally looked at Giles and narrowed his eyes before turning them back to his daughter. “So…where’s your husband?”
Joyce shook her head in exasperation. Buffy stared at her father incredulously and gestured to the man standing behind her.
“Giles…this is my father, Hank Summers. Dad…this is Rupert Giles, my husband.”
Giles stepped forward, offering his hand to his father-in-law. “Mr. Summers, it’s nice to finally meet you.”
Hank shook Giles’ hand limply, his mouth opening in shock. “You…you’re married to my daughter?”
Giles smiled as Buffy slipped her arm around his waist. “Indeed, I am.”
“And…you got her pregnant?”
Giles smile faded, his eyes narrowing. “I prefer to think of it as Buffy and I creating a life together. But, yes…”
“Is that why you married her? You got her pregnant, so you married her?” Hank’s voice rose slightly, warning Buffy that his anger was growing.
Giles stared at the man, his eyes darkening slightly. “No. I married her because I’m in love with her. In fact, we were married before she fell pregnant.”
Hank shook his head in disbelief and met Buffy’s eyes. “Are you having twins? Triplets?”
Buffy laughed quickly. “No! Thank God. Just one happy little boy.”
“You look more than two months pregnant. You have to be at least four…if not more.” When Buffy started to protest, Hank turned around and glared at Joyce. “And you are okay with her sleeping with a man old enough to be her father?”
Joyce crossed her arms over her chest. “I think I’d be more surprised if she weren’t sleeping with him. He is her husband.”
Giles smirked, but was able to stifle his chuckle. Hank just shook his head in annoyance.
“You know what I mean, Joyce.”
Joyce rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know what you mean. And no…I wasn’t okay with it at first. But…Rupert has proven time and time again how much he loves Buffy. They completely adore one another, Hank. So, yes…I’m perfectly okay with her choice in husbands.”
Hank returned his glare to Giles. “How old are you anyway?”
“I’ll be forty-five this year.” Giles replied calmly.
Hank’s eyes widened. “You are old enough to be her father! How can you even think about having sex with her - ”
“Hello Pot, I’m Kettle…nice to meet you.” Buffy interrupted sarcastically.
“Just what do you mean by that, young lady?”
Buffy almost laughed at the stern tone of her father’s voice. Instead, she sighed dramatically. “How old is your current ‘secretary’, Dad?”
Hank blushed lightly. “That’s completely different. She’s…”
“My age? Yeah, I thought so. And…you’re actually three years older than Giles. So…who’s the bigger cradle-robber here?”
“What did he do, brainwash you or something?” He looked back at Giles and noticed the soft smile on his lips. “What the hell are you smiling about anyway? You take advantage of my daughter, get her pregnant, and then trick her into marrying you!”
Giles shook his head. “I’m smiling because my wife has a unique way of saying things. And…for the record, I have never taken advantage of Buffy, I did not trick her into marrying me…and, for the last bloody time, she was not pregnant when I married her. I understand that all of this may come as a shock to you, but had you bothered to get in touch with Buffy when you received the wedding invitation…”
Hank’s eyes flickered with sudden rage, his hand balling into a fist.
Joyce shook her head frantically, calling out her ex-husband’s name as he quickly swung a punch towards Giles. Giles didn’t flinch and Hank’s fist stopped a good seven inches away from Giles’ face. Hank’s eyes widened in surprise to find his daughter’s hand wrapped tightly around his wrist.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Her eyes blazed with a sudden anger as she pushed his arm away.
Hank immediately grabbed his wrist, rubbing the now aching joint. “How did you…”
“You were going to hit him? In my mother’s living room? What are you thinking?”
Giles placed his hand on her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. “It’s alright, darling.”
Buffy shook her head quickly. “No, it’s not alright. He was going to hit you!”
Giles gave her a gentle smile. “Yes, I gathered that. And, thank you for your quick reflexes.”
Hank shook his head in disbelief. “How did you do that?”
Buffy blew out an exasperated breath and pointed towards the couch. “Sit down. I guess it’s time to learn about the last four years of your only daughter’s life.”
Joyce and Giles exchanged a quick glance as Hank dutifully sank onto the cushions of the couch. Giles gently turned Buffy towards him.
“Are you sure about this?” He asked quietly.
“No. But what I am sure about is that I can’t have him using you as a punching bag. And…unless we tell him the truth, he’s never going to believe that you married me because you love me. He’ll always think you only married me because I’m pregnant.”
“But, you weren’t - ”
She placed her hand on his chest and sighed. “We know that, honey. He doesn’t. And…unfortunately, I can understand why he doesn’t. I mean…do I look like I’m only almost three months pregnant?”
He placed his hand on her abdomen, smiling when their son kicked. “No…”
She covered his hand with hers and took a deep breath. “So, it’s kinda necessary that we tell him.”
Giles nodded in agreement and leant down to give her a soft kiss. “Let’s tell him then.”
* * *
An hour later, Joyce handed Giles a cup of tea and offered him a smile. Giles tilted his head in a silent expression of thanks and took a sip. Buffy’s hand rested lightly on Giles’ knee as her father stared at her.
“So…vampires are real?”
“Way real.”
“And you kill them?”
Buffy gave him a small smile. “I like ‘slay’ better. It doesn’t sound as bad.”
Giles chuckled softly and Hank looked at him curiously.
“And you’re a…Watcher?”
Giles took another sip of his tea and gave a slight shake of his head. “I’m Buffy’s Watcher.”
Hank nodded slowly and looked at Joyce. “And you knew about all of this?”
Joyce shrugged a shoulder. “Not at first. But I’ve known for the last two years or so.”
“Dad, I didn’t tell you before because I didn’t want you to worry. But, after your reaction today…” Buffy sighed and reached for Giles’ hand. “Giles and I are very much in love and we’re having a baby and…I need you to either accept it or stay out of our lives.”
Hank’s eyes began to glisten and he looked away. “I don’t…this isn’t an easy thing to just accept, Buffy.”
“I know.” Buffy replied softly. “But, if you can’t…you need to leave.”
Hank cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “When is the baby due?”
“Two months and six days.” Giles answered quickly, earning him a bright smile from his wife.
Hank nodded absently. “Will he be like you?”
Buffy shook her head. “Slayers are only female. However, Giles comes from a long line of Watchers. If our son is interested in following his father’s footsteps, he’ll be a Watcher as well.”
“I…” Hank stood up and rubbed his palms against his jeans. “I need to think. I should probably go.”
“Yeah, okay.” Buffy stood up and hugged her father gently. “Don’t go out after dark, okay? Sunnydale’s not really safe…I mean, it is built on a Hellmouth.”
Giles stood as well and handed Hank a cross that he had pulled from his inside jacket pocket. “Should you go outside after nightfall, carry this with you. It’s quite effective at momentarily stunning a vampire. It should give you enough time to run, at the very least.”
Hank nodded numbly and made his way to the door. He paused briefly, looking at the three people standing in the living room. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words formed. Instead, he opened the door and walked outside, closing the door softly behind him.
“That went well.” Buffy muttered softly.
Giles pulled her into his arms and lovingly rubbed her back. “As well as can possibly be expected.”
He chuckled softly and moved a step back from her. Joyce raised an eyebrow in a silent question. Giles smiled brightly and gestured towards Buffy’s protruding stomach.
“Your grandson is awake.”
Joyce ran over to her daughter, immediately putting her hand on her stomach. She grinned as she felt the movement underneath her palm.
Giles smiled happily at the sight before picking up his cup of tea and taking a sip.