Telling Giles "Knock" "You knock." "Why do I have to knock?" "Buffy..." "Oh, all right." Buffy said, before hesitantly rapping on Giles apartment door. She waited about two seconds before she turned around and started walking down the walkway. "Buffy!" Willow cried out as she saw her friend heading away from Giles' apartment. "What? He's obviously not home, Will. Come on." Buffy said, before she heard the sound of somebody clearing his throat behind her. She swiveled around and saw Giles, framed in his doorway, dressed in a bath robe and he had a towel draped around his neck. "Buffy...Willow...come in." Giles said, as he held open his apartment door. "Did we catch you at a bad time Giles?" Buffy asked, looking for any excuse not to be here at this moment. "Yeah, I mean, we could, you know, come back later. At a more decent hour. I mean, it's so early and...shutting up now." Willow stopped her nervous babbling when she noticed the look that Giles was delivering to her. In truth, it was about eight o'clock in the morning so it wasn't as if they had gotten him out of bed. "Not at all. I assumed there was some reason I heard the two of you squabbling on my doorstep. I assume that you are going to tell me. Would you both like a seat?" Giles asked, as he gestured them over to his couch, then ran his fingers through his wet hair and sighed. He paused as he watched the two of them settle on his sofa, then look at him innocuously. "Ah, would either of you like a cup of coffee?" Giles offered, not sure he was ready to face whatever they were here to tell him. "That would be very..." Willow started to say, craving a cup of coffee. "No!" Buffy cut in before Willow could finish the sentence, shooting a wide eyed look to her lover. "No thanks Giles. Herbal tea would be nice if you have any." Buffy said, smiling innocently up at him. "Willow?" Giles inquired, wondering why Buffy was suddenly speaking for both of them. "Herbal tea would be nice, Giles. Thank you." Willow replied, looking a little ashamed of herself, though Giles couldn't fathom why. "Well, all right. You two relax, and I'll bring the tea to you shortly." Giles answered, before he went into the kitchen to prepare the beverages. "Willow!" Buffy exclaimed, after Giles had gone. "I forgot. I'm sorry." Willow said, her expression apologetic. "I know. I'm sorry too." Buffy said, apologizing for snapping. "But no caffeine. We are on a caffeine free diet. No caffeine for Buffy or Willow, right?" Buffy asked, rubbing a frown line off of Willow's forehead. "Right." Willow sighed before she smiled slightly. They had both decided that they weren't going to take any chances with this baby, and that meant giving up anything that might be potentially harmful to the baby. That meant no alcohol, although Willow hardly ever drank anyway, and no caffeine. As a way of supporting Willow, Buffy agreed to give it up as well, so both of them were on a coffee free diet. They had only been off caffeine for a couple of days, since they had found out about the baby, and it was already making Buffy cranky. "Well, here you go." Giles said, as he entered the room, handing a cup of peppermint tea to the two women. Giles put his own cup of Earl Grey tea on the coffee table, then sat down gingerly in his arm chair and took the opportunity to study the two women as they drank their tea. He could automatically tell that something was up between the two women. Buffy had that look that she got when she was worried about something. The set to her face was hard and tense and her mouth was set in a thin line. Willow looked...well radiant actually, although Giles could tell that she too was worried about something. He waited for the soothing effects of the peppermint tea to kick in before he decided to question them. "So...Buffy...Willow...Is there anything I can help you with?" Giles asked, genuinely concerned about them. Buffy glanced a look at Willow, who shot a raised eyebrow look back at her. They had decided to split the telling thing up fifty/fifty, so that neither one of them would bear the brunt of telling the good news. Willow got to tell her parents, which she was still dreading doing, and Buffy got her mom and Giles. They decided they'd handle Xander together. It would probably take both of them to pound the news into the hard headed scoob's head. Now that Buffy was faced with a very curious Giles, she wasn't quite sure how to go about breaking the news to him. So, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then blurted out, "Willow's pregnant, Giles." Giles was very glad that he hadn't been sipping his tea at that moment or he probably would have been wearing it. "Are...are you sure?" Giles sputtered, glancing wildly between the two girls who were both nodding their heads. "I'm positive. I've already been to my doctor." Willow answered, nervously. Buffy took Willow's sweaty hand in her already sweaty one and waited to see what Giles would say. "Xander?" Giles asked, not sure that it was important but for some perverse reason he couldn't help himself from asking. Willow shook her head no at the question. "Not Oz?" It was half question, half statement, as he tried to narrow the options down. Somehow Giles knew it wouldn't be that simple. "No, Giles. Not Xander and not Oz." Buffy answered, her blue eyes holding the answer to his question if he dared to look at them. "There's something that I didn't tell you about that spell you researched. Willow cast it and it worked." Buffy answered, watching Giles eyes grow round as the implications hit him. "Are...are you saying that...you...and...and Willow..." Giles stuttered to a halt as he saw matching nods. "Oh dear God." Giles cursed as the picture fell completely into place for him. Giles stood and started to pace, making Buffy and Willow feel as though they were at a tennis match watching him. "Buffy, how could you be so irresponsible." Giles said finally, stopping to stare at the wide-eyed Slayer. "What?! Me?" Buffy exclaimed, unsure how she had earned the Watcher's look of reproach. "Yes. YOU. Willow had an excuse, she was under a very powerful love spell at the time. What is your excuse?" Giles asked, his incense growing as he imagined Buffy taking advantage of her ensorcelled friend. Buffy's eyes went round as she became incensed at her Watcher's accusations. "Well, except for the fact that I'm crazy about her, the fact that I've wanted her for as long as I can remember, and the fact that she made it very difficult to turn her down that night...I Love her. How's that for an excuse?" Buffy exclaimed, her defensiveness rising. Seeing that she needed to intervene between the Slayer and her Watcher, Willow rested her head on the Slayer's shoulder and squeezed her hand gently to get Buffy to relax some, then turned her attention to the pacing Watcher. "Giles, look...we obviously didn't plan for this to happen." Willow said, indicating Willow and Buffy's positions on the couch. "But it is something of a miracle wouldn't you say? I mean, how often does something like this happen?" Willow asked, her unoccupied hand resting gently on her stomach. "Buffy and I are going to have a baby, Giles. I can't think of anything more wonderful. Can you?" Willow's green eyes entreated Giles' brown ones. Giles ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily. "Well...I guess congratulations are in order?" Giles asked hesitantly, a bit of a bite still in his tone. Buffy's blue eyes twinkled at him as her mouth grew a big grin on it. "Thanks, Giles." The unveiled warmth in the two women's eyes unraveled the rest of his ire and he sat down heavily in his chair. "I'm sorry. This is a bit of a shock, I must say." Giles said, shaking his head in bemusement. "Imagine how I feel." Buffy said, wryly, her blue eyes flashing merriment. Giles chuckled and nodded. "I imagine you would be. This...this is truly unprecedented." Giles said, staring at the two women in wonder. "I suppose you'll be wanting to write all about us in your Watcher's handbook." Buffy teased Giles gently. "Very amusing, Buffy. Do...do your parents know?" He asked, wondering if they had broken the news to Joyce and the Rosenberg's. "Not yet...We figured you'd be the easiest to tell so we started with you first, just to see if we could tell how bad it's likely to get." Buffy replied, the sparkle in her eyes letting him know that she was joking. "Ah, I'm the guinea pig. I see." Giles said, warm knowledge resting in his brown eyes. "What Buffy means is..." Willow started, giving Buffy the look of shame. "We thought it would be easier to tell them if we got your support first. We both look to you like a surrogate dad, and...well, we know that you'll be there for us if we need anything." "Absolutely. Anything...anytime. You just let me know. All right, Willow?" Giles asked, his tenderness for the two women showing through. Willow smiled, and got up to hug him. "Thanks Giles." She said, squeezing him tightly. "Yeah. Thanks, Giles." Buffy grinned, as she watched her Watcher and her lover hug. Buffy couldn't imagine this going any better. Now, she had the support of her Watcher and friend, she felt confident that she and Willow could get through anything. Even the birth of their child. The end(Till next time) Continue to the Next Story in the Series |
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