A Giles/Joyce fic.

Continues season 3 from Band Candy onwards as though Giles and Joyce had actually started seeing eachother instead of doing the avoidy thing. Season is essentially the same but with obvious tweaks. And don't worry-you don't get an entire repeat of the episode-just the parts that are important. Each chapter is going to be a different episode and the Giles/Joyce thing will progress more and more as it goes on. And if you like (and I get enough reviews. hint hint.) I will go on to do season 4 as well...

So enjoy and please feedback and review. I love to hear what all you guys reading this out there think! Thank you!

Her footsteps sounded incredibly loud. Abnormally loud. As though they were purposely increased in volume to give away her presence there. She shouldn't even be here should she? No, of course not- the idea was completely ridiculous. She could quit while she was ahead, should quit. Just go home now while she still could. After all, what if Buffy were here? Sure, she said she was just going out on patrol...but sometimes she reported back to Giles didn't she? That's what she'd said. So what if she was here now? Returned from patrol? How would she explain why she was here to her daughter? And Rupert- erm, Mr Giles- may not even be here anyway. He sometimes went on patrol with Buffy, didn't he? So that left the question of why she was here at all when there were so many negative points to it?

She knew the answer to that though. Because she hadn't stopped thinking once about what happened the previous week. Maybe that seemed a little obsessive but she couldn't help it. She remembered the feel of his warm, rough hands over her cool, bare skin as he bent her back over the car hood, pushing up her top, her skirt...There she went again. Thinking on it. In fact her mind had been on little else lately. She had been focusing on those...memories to the point of fantasy and obsession. So was that why she was here? To end the obsession? Or to venture the possibility of fantasy being turned to reality? She shook her head 'no', arguing with herself.
So what if she had been so turned on that night it was a surprise she was able to erm...turn off...at all? So what if that weekend had carried on, and the two of them had slowly become less and less influenced by the Candy, that she found herself wishing that they could have carried on like that? With each other? So what that after they had full returned to their normal selves on Sunday, she had looked longingly at the remaining chocolate bars...wondering if they could come to some use? So what if those romance novels she'd made a habit of reading over the years started having very familiar people as the main roles?

Well, she was here now. Outside the library doors. No turning back or was there? To go in or not to go in, that was the question. She sighed. Well, they needed to talk anyway didn't they? She'd seen him twice in as many days since the Band Candy Incident. Each time it had been at the store and each time they had headed in completely opposite directions, pretending they hadn't seen one another though it was obvious they had. So they needed to talk. About what happened. To clear the air if anything. So she should just go in anyway and see what the outcome was. What was the worst that could happen anyway? Why was she so nervous anyway? She wasn't a lovesick teenager...this week...so why was she stood outside the library, switching from foot to foot nervously like a school girl wondering if the football captain was going to ask her to Prom. She took a big gulp to try and calm her nerves (It didn't work) and shoved the library door open before she could change her mind.

As soon as she stepped into the room she came to a sudden stop. She saw Mr Giles was indeed there, but he wasn't alone. And it wasn't just Buffy with him. Faith was there also and some woman Joyce didn't recognize. The group were too engrossed in conversation to even notice that Joyce had walked in.

"The fact is," The unfamiliar woman said in a clear British accent that sounding even more RP than Giles', "there is talk in the council that you have become a bit too...American"

"Him?!" Joyce couldn't help but ask incredulously at the same time as her daughter. After all, Giles couldn't be more British if he tried. Even when he reverted to his teenage self the previous week, he hadn't adopted a single Americanism. In fact, if she thought about it, he had become even more Pro-England, if in a more working class sense. At the sound of her voice though, the group were alerted to her presence and they all turned to look at her.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" Buffy asked in a confusion that quickly turned to worry and concern, "Is everything okay?"

"Y-yes, it's fine," Joyce told her, "I just need a word with Mr Giles..." She said,not quite making eye contact with the man in question, but she saw in her peripheral vision that at this admittance he looked over at her in interest. "But you're clearly busy," She added, taking in the entire scene before her, "and it's erm...it's late so I'd better..." Joyce excused herself and went to leave back the way she had come.

"No wait," Giles called out, before she could exit and she stopped, trying to figure out whether this was a good thing or a bad thing, "I need to talk to you too," He told her, "Could you, ah, could just wait a few moments?" He asked and Joyce nodded calmly, though inside her nerves were shivering wrecks. She knew why she wanted to talk to him, but now she couldn't help wondering whether or not he wanted to talk about the same thing. She hoped so. Or did she? Argh, she just didn't know anymore.
Giles gestured at a spare seat at the table everyone was gathered at and Joyce walked over to the chair, and calmly sat in it, desperately trying to cover up the fact that she was so jittery with nerves.

Then, everyone was silent.

"Ms Post?" Giles prompted, looking at the woman Joyce had never seen before. Post raised her eyebrows and in a failed attempt at subtlety threw a look Joyce's way that clearly said 'excuse me, but I don't think we can talk in front of her'. "Oh it's quite fine," Giles assured the woman, "Buffy's Mother knows all about her, uh, ah Slaying"

"What?" Ms Post was incredulous,"Mr Giles, a Slayer's identity is to be kept highly secret- not shared amongst family"

"Oh, I have friends who know too," Buffy added peppily, digging the knife purposely in and Faith smirked. Gwendolyn Post sighed.

"Very well, it's of no matter," She told him before carrying on with the conversation from before Joyce's arrival, "A demon called Lagos is coming to the Hellmouth," She gave a look of condescending Giles' way and Joyce immediately found herself taking an intense dislike to the woman, "Mr Giles, an illustration of Lagos if you please?" Post requested.

"Oh, uh," Giles fumbled around the numerous books piled on the table, in a panicked rush to find what she had asked for and he accidentally knocked one of the larger texts off the side of the table, but Joyce thankfully caught it before it hit the floor. She handed it to him with a smile. A smile that he gratefully returned.

"Perhaps later," Post smirked, clearly enjoying how uncomfortable Giles was feeling, "Now Lagos seeks the glove of Myhnegon. No record of this glove's full power exists, but we do know that it is highly dangerous and must not fall into the hands of the demon. Lagos must be stopped"

"Well what do you propose?" Giles asked, wondering whether the new Watcher had a specific plan in mind of how to defeat the demon.

"Well, if it's not too radical suggestion, I thought we might kill him" Post replied condescendingly and Buffy glanced over at her Mom for a moment just in time to see her roll her eyes dramatically and impatiently at the woman. It occurred to Buffy that Teen Mom hadn't quite yet left the building fully. Worrying, "I suggest," Post continued, oblivious to the look Joyce had thrown her, "two Slayers at full strength for a co-ordinated hunt" She looked to everyone for a response and found Buffy to be looking at Faith pointedly while Faith herself looked at Post with an even stare. No one in the room was impressed. "We believe the glove to be buried in a tomb somewhere so Lagos will be headed for the cemetery"

"There's more than one," Joyce couldn't help pointing out, just as she couldn't help enjoying adding the impracticality for Post.

"Excuse me?"

"There's more than one cemetery in Sunnydale," She explained further.

"I see," Post admitted, refusing to let the information make her falter, "Very well, how many?"

"Er, twelve within the city limits" Giles informed her and Post took a deep breath to keep her cool.

"Well, we'll just have to take them one at a time," She told them, "Anything in your books Mr Giles that might pinpoint the exact location of the tomb would be useful, but then, we cannot ask for miracles."

Giles forced himself to look away from the woman, she infuriated him so much that he felt if he continued to keep her in his line of vision he would be forced to commit a violent act he couldn't possibly held responsible for. He took a deep breath to try and calm himself down and as he did so he caught Joyce's eye. She smiled a small smile at him and he found himself automatically smiling back and he felt a odd warm sensation in his belly. Something that could only be described as a tingle feeling, definitely a good feeling and something he hadn't anywhere near felt since he had first started courting Jenny. He briefly wondered why Joyce was there at the library and what exactly it was that she wished to talk about and he truly hoped it was the same thing he did.

"We will begin tomorrow at sunset" Post announced "Faith" Faith jumped a little at her name being spoken in such a commanding tone. She looked over at Buffy who raised her eyebrows in response, showing she was helpless to help in this particularly situation. Faith was all on her own for this one "With me, please" Without waiting for an answer Post left the library and with helpless glances from Buffy, Joyce and Giles, Faith got up and followed.

"That was bracing," Giles said simply and Joyce found herself smirking.

"That's one way of putting it..."

"Interesting lady," Buffy nodded in contemplation, "Can we kill her?"

"I think the Council might frown upon that," Giles admitted with a sigh that clearly showed he wished the Council wouldn't frown on such things. It was, after all, a very appealing idea.

"Well, should we get gone?" Buffy asked her Mom as she got up out of her seat, momentarily forgetting that her Mom was in fact there to speak to Giles.

"Actually...Buffy-" Joyce struggled around for an acceptable and believable explanation but her daughter caught on before she could finish. Or rather she thought she had caught on.

"Right," Buffy nodded, "Organizing my life without me. Got ya. See you tomorrow Giles," She left the library at a care-free pace, completely clueless about the awkward atmosphere she was leaving behind.

Silence reigned for a good minute or so, before Joyce eventually found her voice again.

"Well, erm..." She started, but almost immediately faltered. Now that she was here she had absolutely no clue what to say. Not that she had any clue before- why had she even intended to say anything? The phrase 'Leave well enough alone' came to mind right about now.

"Mrs Summers," Giles said, attempting to take charge of the conversation, bring direction to it. Kick start the discussion they both wished to have.

"Joyce," She automatically corrected him and he nodded in acknowledgment.

"Right. Joyce." He said her name, as though reaffirming it and testing it on his tongue, "Well, then you must call be Rupert" He told her and she smiled, if a little weakly. damn nerves.

"I feel we need to talk about...about happened," Joyce started, feeling more and more nervous with each word she spoke. She just prayed to god her cheeks weren't going red, revealing her nerves to anyone who glanced at her.

"Yes, quite," Giles agreed, "You see-" He began, but in her anxiousness to get it over with, Joyce started to speak over him until he was forced to stop talking himself and listen to her.

"I just think it's stupid of us, a-and immature and also, well, it's impractical to keep avoiding one another like we have been doing" She told him and Giles sighed.

"Ah yes," He agreed half-heartedly, attempting to hide the fact that inside he felt a little saddened. Okay, maybe a lot saddened. After all, she hadn't come to talk to him about a possibility of what the kids referred to as an 'us' or anything at all like that...she just wanted to move on. Marvelous. Move on. La-di-dah.

"I mean we're both adults," Joyce was still talking, slowly revealing to Giles where Buffy had inherited the ability to talk or babble as it were, so much, "not teenagers...so we should be able to deal with this like adults and face up to what we know and-" Joyce broke off as she realized what words she had been about to say, but she stopped herself just in time before she said 'and what we feel'. She felt her cheeks get warm and she knew she was blushing and really hoped he didn't notice.

"You're right," Giles agreed and began to say what he knew she wanted to hear, was probably for the best to say, but wasn't what he was genuinely thinking, "I'm sorry about what happened-"

"Sorry?" Joyce asked, obviously offended by the word, "Oh"

"Why? What? What's the matter?"

"Well of course you'd feel that way. It was stupid thing we did and-" Joyce started to babble again but Giles cut in.

"Wait a moment, are you saying you're not sorry it happened?" He asked her, confused but also with hopes rising.

"Well, I don't think sorry is quite the word..." Joyce reasoned with a slight embarrassed shrug, "That implies regret and...I don't think 'regret' is really how I feel...but..."

"I wasn't trying to say I regretted it...well, I do but not for what happened so much as, rather well...how it happened, but," He sighed, praying that she was on the same wavelength as him and that he wasn't making a fool of himself for nothing, "What I'm trying to say, Joyce, is that..."

"What...is it you're trying to say?" She asked him, looking directly at him. He looked up from gazing self-consciously at the library floor and caught her eyes completely and he instantly felt ridiculously nervous. Her brown eyes were...searching...but warm and...he shook his head as if to clear it.

"What I am trying to say...is well, I know we haven't always seen things the same way, over the years. I could say that it's due to your, eh, your not understanding the duties of the Slayer...but in some respects maybe I never took into full consideration your role in all of this...and t-that was ah unfair...of both of us...and...bloody hell," He took off his glasses in frustration, pinching his eyes together for a second as though clearing his sight would help clear up his jumbled words. Glasses still in hand, he looked at Joyce as he started up again, "The point of the matter is...over the, the years I've come to care for you quite a bit...more than a bit actually," He confessed to her, nerves shining through clearly and as though conscious of this he put his glasses back on as if to give him something to do besides focus entirely on the situation at hand.

"Rupert, I didn't think that-" Joyce began to speak, but Giles was apparently on a role now and he carried on talking regardless.

"Well, with that and, well everything I suppose...I've been meaning to ask you...but I've just never had the uh, well...and then time has never been quite right has it? But well, ah, now that you're here I suppose now would be as good a time as any so...what I'm trying to say Joyce is-"

"Are you asking me on a date?" Joyce asked bluntly, before ducking her head shyly, "Oh I'm sorry," She apologized, "I'm not usually so blunt. I think I'm...maybe it's nerves or something...but I'm sorry"

Giles wondered whether unpredictable bluntness followed by immediate embarrassment was meant to be so very endearing and attractive in a person. "Well, y-yes," He finally admitted, "Actually that was the ah, general point of it all yes. A date. That I should like to ask you out on one..." He braced himself, fearing what her reply would be. Of course, she wasn't going to laugh in his face, she wasn't that type of person, but the thought of her asking why on earth he said what he did was enough to make him want to retreat to his small office now. Instead though, he found Joyce smiling at him in answer to his question.

"Then...I should like to say 'yes'," She replied, a small, slightly-nervous smile playing at her lips and she glanced briefly downwards at the floor. It was only a moment though before she looked back up and saw Giles was smiling back at her now.

"Ugh," Willow groaned as she and Xander researched in the library late on into the night, "It's late and I'm tired, what does he want from us anyway?" She and Xander headed further into the library stacks.

"The number of a qualified surgeon to remove the British flag from his butt?" Xander quipped in reply, but because he was still a little off after Giles' snapping at him that the quip came out more nasty-sounding than he actually intended. The two stopped as they came to the shelf of books they had been assigned to almost all night and there was evidence of them being there for so long- along with books splayed everywhere on the floor there were also numerous food wrappers. The two slid down to the floor, resuming their seats among the debris.

"My eyes are all blurry," Willow complained. And her head hurt. She rubbed her temples to try and ease the coming headache and hoped she wasn't inheriting her Mom's migraines. Then, Xander eased over and started rubbing her temples soothingly and she sighed in pleasure.
"Stop" she told him but her heart just wasn't in it.

"Right. Stop now." Xander echoed, but carried on massaging her temples, "And no means no so…erm, stop" He dropped his hands to his side. He picked up a random book to begin research again, determined to distract himself from Willow when she grabbed the sides of his face and planted a hard kiss on the lips. Xander soon responded and put his hands around her to pull her closer to him and they kissed passionately. Knowing they shouldn't, but somehow not really caring.

Suddenly they heard footsteps and the two jumped apart to see Giles stood there.

"Willow, Xander…" He said and the two in question quickly jumped to their feet trying to cover up that anything had been going on. However, Giles was so engrossed in a book he was carrying the two doubted he had noticed anything at all. "You can stop your, uh, studying. I've got what I need"

"What have you got?" Xander asked playing it cool and playing an interest to cover up for what he and Willow had recently gotten an interest in.

"Uh, the probable location of the glove of Myhnegon" He told them, "It's housed in the Von Hauptman Family Crypt."

"Down at Restfield cemetery. I know where that is" Xander admitted as book guy once again came up with the knowledge.

"That's erm great Giles," Willow told the watcher enthusiastically, "How did you find it?"

"I looked" It was an honest answer but there was definitely a tone of sarcasm to it. "Now do you mind looking into this, or at least finding Buffy to tell her?" Giles asked.

"You're not going yourself?" Xander asked.

"No, erm, I've got somewhere to be" Giles told them, not wishing to disclose any other information.

"Post woman on your back huh?" Willow asked, having heard a lot of information on the woman from Buffy.

"Something like that" Giles replied before wandering off and Willow and Xander looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

Joyce looked around at the restaurant she was waiting in, losing herself in her thoughts as she did so. Glancing at her, one might have presumed she was admiring the design and architecture of the restaurant, and even though it was lovely, it wasn't quite what she was thinking about. What she was actually thinking about was whether she should just leave now, before things got embarrassing.

They had agreed to a date. Why? And why in a dinner-for-two restaurant where there was no escape from the other in awkward situations? Oh god, why did they do it? Sure, they were attractive to each other, well she definitely found him the 'very' side of hot for want of a better term, but was that really enough? Yes, they couldn't hide they liked each other in that way anymore as their teenage hormones had given that much away but...but that was all wasn't it? Just because you were attracted to someone didn't mean you would get along with them or be able to start a relationship with them. He was Buffy's Watcher and she was Buffy's Mom who hated everything a Watcher stood for. So there was one thing they didn't agree on and...what about if their political beliefs were different? And they started arguing outrageously at the table? Or what if-

"Joyce?"

"Oh!" Joyce turned to see Giles had arrived, having been led to the table by a waiter, "Hi...Rupert. I'm sorry, I didn't see you arrive...I was just..."

"Thinking?" He filled in with a knowing smile and she nodded.

"A lot," She admitted, picking up one of the menus the waiter had placed in front of them.

"Would you like something to drink while you decide your order?" the waiter asked and the two looked at the drinks menu in almost perfect synchronization.

"Just a white wine please," Joyce requested and the waiter noted it down before turning to Giles.

"Red," Giles asked and with that, the waiter left.

"Well, our wine tastes don't match..." Joyce murmured quietly, but loud enough for him to hear.

"Not necessarily," He told her, "I'm fond of white wine...but to some extent I do believe on a date I should retain some ah...masculinity"

"And you think red is more macho?" Joyce found herself teasing.

"Considerably," He said seriously, but he was obviously teasing back. There was a moment of silence as the two looked each other, before they both realized what they were doing and they immediately picked up their menus. Joyce could yet again feel her nerves not being up to their best again and strongly wished she could control them better. Instead, she was thankful she had the intricately designed menu to focus on. Giles seemed to be doing the same.

"Well, my strong suggestion is not to have the paste," Joyce spoke up as her eyes fell on the Pasta dish list. Giles though looked over at her in confusion and she went on to explain, "It always looks so romantic in the movies but in reality-" She stopped, aware that she had used the word romantic when she wasn't quite sure she wanted romance for this. She'd been there and done that. This was two adults, getting together, enjoying one another's company...with potential benefits, but certainly not romance. Right? "Well, what I mean is...it ends up being just really messy" She smiled nervously and was relieved when he smiled back in understanding. "Spaghetti down your chin...and...well, none of it is really very flattering"
At that Giles couldn't help but laugh at her honest humor and he swore he could literally feel the ice breaking. Not that there was any ice to begin with so much as...really cold water.

After that it became easier and easier to talk freely and the two soon found themselves not only talking but flirting openly. They spent over three ours over dinner, the conversation covering from the food, to Sunnydale in general to a more cultural variety of topics. Giles knew Joyce was an educated woman, after all she would have to be to be able to own her own gallery, but he hadn't fully expected for her to be such a delightful conversationalist when it came to the study and discussion of different cultures. Surrounded by Buffy and her friends almost twenty-four/seven, Giles rarely found anyone he could talk to about such things that were fascinating to him, but dreadfully dull to teenagers, and had, over the years, resorted to talking to himself or making very expensive long-distance phone calls. But Joyce was just as intrigued by different cultures and their histories as he and he immensely enjoyed the stimulating conversation she prompted and he couldn't help feeling he'd been missing out for three years.

As seems to go with all dates for people over the age of twenty one, they went onto to talk about life and previous loved ones- leading on to Joyce's ex-husband in particular. Joyce confessed over the fact she felt she herself was as much to blame as he, which didn't make his leaving any easier, but when she seemed to lean to the suggestion he had cheated on her, she became uncomfortable and abruptly changed the subject. Giles, feeling the same uncomfortable feeling discussing lost loves such as Jenny, didn't prod for more information.

Eventually though, through inevitable and natural progression, the conversation turned to Buffy, which Giles was wary of talking about since he knew it would doubtlessly lead to Buffy's duties as a Slayer and therefore Joyce's intense disagreement on that front. However, Joyce had merely been pleasantly surprised when she discovered how Giles wasn't full-time Watcher and so didn't see Buffy as merely the Slayer, but also a teenage girl and had, himself, given consideration to Buffy's life beyond High School and past Slaying.

"I never considered that you may have thought about that," Joyce admitted and he shrugged ever so slightly.

"It can't be helped. I see her at school everyday, and I can't help wondering sometimes- where does she go from here? I know that she can't turn her back on being the Slayer...but I don't want it to hinder her having an education or even a career. As it has hindered mine. I don't mean to say Buffy's a hindrance," He hurried to explain, "It's just that...well, it has been very difficult for me to start other...well, relationships for example because there is always someone else that comes first in my life."

"Like a parent," Joyce murmured, looking into her glass and Giles looked at her in shock mixed with confusion at the comment, "You can keep telling yourself they're almost an adult, that after all those years of raising them you can attempt to get your own life back. And when you think you've just got it...you'll drop it in a second at the sound of a simple 'Mom, I need you'. It's something you can't fight...it's a part of you, who you are now"

Giles was thrown, taken aback, by how freely Joyce seemed to have compared his relationship with Buffy to that of her own. She had likened him to a parent and that was...well, he could think of no greater compliment to receive.

"I sometimes don't know whether it was better not knowing about the Slaying," Joyce carried on, "At least then I just thought she was a rebellious teenager and I knew how to deal with that...now, she does so many things, so many scary things...that it makes her older than she is. I sometimes feel, in the way she thinks about the bigger things in life, that she's older than me. And I don't know how to handle that..." She sighed, "So I force myself to settle for enjoying when she's home...when she's my little girl again"

"She'll always be your daughter Joyce," He told gently and sincerely, "You'll always be her Mother, the one she turns to. Nothing can change that, not even her being the Slayer"

"And her being the Slayer won't ever change either, will it?" She replied, and Giles sat up straight in his seat, stung by the remark. "Oh, I'm sorry Rupert," She replied with sincerity, "I didn't mean to...I know you don't..." She sighed, "I am grateful, you know that. For everything you do for Buffy. I'm not saying I'm happy with her 'role', very far from it in fact, but...I do sleep a little easier. Knowing you're there...looking out for her"

"Joyce..." Giles said quietly, entirely touched by her words. To have not only acceptance, but gratitude from Joyce for his role in Buffy's life was more than he could have ever hope for. "I don't know what to say..."

"Then don't," She told him, "I've said what I needed to...maybe it would be best to venture no further, hmm?"

"Well, thank you" He eventually said and she smiled.

"You're welcome," She told him as he smiled warmly back.

For a time, the two instinctively held the warm gaze, saying nothing. Eventually though, the two realized what they were doing and how intimate it actually was and they quickly broke the eye contact, looking down at their now empty dessert plates.

"Shall we ask for the check?" Giles asked.

"Y-yes," Joyce told him, all too aware of the intense gaze the two of them had just shared, "I'm ready" She told him and he signaled for the waiter to bring the bill. When it was brought to them he immediately took the bill himself despite the fact that Joyce had been reaching for her purse.

"I'll pay for this," He told her.

"But-"

"No," He interrupted her firmly with a smile as he placed the appropriate bills on the plate.

"So," Joyce said as the two stood up, collecting their things, "this has been...nice."

"Very nice," Giles agreed, but ventured no further in voicing his thoughts which was what prompted Joyce to say what she did.

"Okay, I'm going to ask this question now because if I don't we're both going to regret we didn't and that is just a way for us both to become lost and confused...and a little rejected I think...and I-I need to ask you now before I lose my nerve," Joyce babbled on and Giles had to put his full focus into concentrating on what she was saying to be able to decipher any of the words. Joyce took a deep breath as she prepared to ask her question, "What is this?"

"Pardon?" Giles asked, completely confused by the question.

"I mean what is it that we have here?" She elaborated, "I mean I'm old enough to know not to look for true love in this relationship and I know not to expect too much...at all actually, but what exactly is it? Is it a one-off date? O-or just a friendship...or are we d-dating? Or what? Because, I think I would like to know first" Checking the contents of her purse were in order suddenly became high priority and when she looked up expectantly and anxiously for an answer to find him stood directly in front of her. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips. An action that both surprised Joyce and pleased her. The kiss was warm and she embraced it fully and when he pulled away she was smiling.

"Dating I believe is the term..." He told her suavely before suddenly and unexpectedly losing his laid back, confident attitude, "Th-that is if you wish, if it's what you w-"

"It is," She told him honestly, as she hooked her through his and he led her out of the restaurant. "It is"

"Now, that's decided," Giles said, "What do we do about the others?"

"Others?" Joyce frowned in puzzlement.

"Buffy. Her friends," He elaborated, "Should they know?"

Joyce bit her lip for a moment in contemplation. It was a very complicated question…but she needed to give a simple answer.

"For now I think it'd be better for both of us...to keep it quiet" Joyce decided, "At least till we know what's going on" Joyce joked as the two reached her car. The two stopped. "So I guess this is goodnight" She said and he nodded in agreement and as she put the keys in her car door the two kissed again. Joyce was beginning to really like this feeling. She didn't know whether this realization pleased her or frightened her.

"So I'll see you soon?" Giles asked as Joyce got into her car.

"Very soon" she agreed as she turned the keys in the ignition…. and the engine did nothing. She groaned in exasperation and dropped her head onto the dashboard. She hated calling emergency car services more than she hated her car not working.

"Would you, uh, like a lift?" Giles offered and she nodded silently knowing she was now going to be carless for nearly a week.

"I'm beginning to understand why Buffy always complains so much about this car," Joyce said as she and Giles drove along a quiet Sunnydalian road in his slow, slow Citroen. "I think we would have got going faster in my car..."

"Your car had to be towed to the garage," He pointed out.

"Exactly," She retorted, prompting a smirk from both parties.

"This is a perfectly serviceable car," He told her.

"I'm sure it is...thirty years ago,"

"Very quick," He told her approvingly.

"I try," She replied with a smile, before closing her eyes with a grimace as the car made a worrying screeching sound as Giles braked to stop at the crossroads red lights. As if there for a purposely strong visual for decisions, one road led to Revello Drive, the other to Giles' house. Enjoying her time with Rupert, Joyce made a quick decision, "Can we go back to your place a bit?" She asked and Giles looked little shocked by the suggestion, "I don't mean-, what...well, it's just I don't quite want to go home yet. Home means Buffy, which means...I have to start pretending this didn't happen and I would like the night to go on a little bit longer. If that's alright? It's just it's nice to have real adult conversation about things I like for once...it's, uh...it's really lovely"

The lights turned to amber, "Of course...it's up to you," She told him. The lights turned green. Giles indicated for the road that would led to his own house.

"I don't think I've ever been here before," Joyce said as they pulled up outside Giles' apartment, "I think I've only ever seen you in the library..."

"Don't tell me," He said to her, "You always subconsciously presumed I lived there"

"In a way..." She admitted, "So, Mister Giles is your home the warm and cosy type or is it a bachelor pad you're about to introduce me to?" She teased, something that was coming with ease now. Early on in the night, the two had been awkward with one another, unsure of what they should and shouldn't say. Now conversation flowed beautifully without pause, they were comfortable enough to tease and joke with one another and when Giles put his hand against Joyce's back to gently direct in the direction of his home, the contact no longer prompted either to jump and startle.

"You will, I am afraid, Mrs Summers, have to decide that for yourself," He told her as he put the keys in the front door to find he had in fact left it unlocked, "Thank God vampires need an invite," He half-joked. He pushed the door open, and ever the gentlemen, let Joyce through first. She went to switch on a light, but found the flat was already brightly lit and the woman from before, Post, was stood waiting there impatiently in the living room. Joyce's happy vibe left her completely and she struggled to mask a sigh as she stood there awkwardly in the room, knowing that the presence of this woman put an official end to her and Rupert's date. "I presume this isn't a casual call," Giles surmised with a sigh that almost matched Joyce's.

"It is Slayer business Mr Giles," She looked over at Joyce, "Watcher discussion"

"I suppose that's my cue to leave," Joyce smiled tightly, heading back over to the door through which she had just came, but Giles put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her going any further.

"You don't have a car," He pointed out simply and Joyce shrugged slightly.

"It's okay- Sunnydale isn't a very large town. I'll walk." She told him, but Giles didn't seem very happy about this.

"Small town with an abundance of vampires," He pointed out straight-forwardly, "I drove you here and so I will drive you home"

"Mr Giles, we really need to get to work," Post pressed annoyingly and Joyce had to resist from rolling her eyes at her again.

"Well then, Joyce stays until I can take her home," Giles told the other Watcher firmly and Joyce was about to argue the point, but the look on Post's face at this decision made it worth the stay.

Ten minutes later and the Watchers were still researching when Giles finally found the book he was looking for and Joyce leaned over for a peak.

"Ah yes, there we are," He pointed out the relevant information on the page, "There's a wood engraving. See? The Glove of Myhnegon"

"Yes," Post agreed, sounding unimpressed, "engraved by Father Theodore of Wolsham"

"Yes"

"Based, I believe, on very sketchy and unreliable folk legends," Post informed the two, "The pictures are fun to look at Mr Giles, but one really ought to read the nice words as well"

This time Joyce really did roll her eyes. This woman was too stereotypically British for words. She was Mary Poppins...if Mary Poppins had been Evil. Post caught the look Joyce threw her way just as the kettle that had been put on for tea started whistling and Giles got up to make the drinks.

"I know you must find me tiresome, but it's insidious really," Post informed her and Joyce, not trusting herself to remain polite with this woman, merely blinked in response before getting up to help Giles with the tea. Post watched the couple suspiciously, knowing there was definitely something going on between the two. They were too comfortable with other, sharing glances and looks, and working in almost perfect harmony in the kitchen. If she were still with the Council she would have been forced to report this kind of behavior, as it were though...she no longer answered to he Council. "A person slips up on the little things and soon everything's gone to hell in a hand basket," She carried on, taking the cup of tea that Giles passed her. "For example...this.." She gestured generally t the two as she got her own brand of tea from her handbag.

"This?" Joyce echoed, her voice slightly higher than usual.

"Mr Giles," Post said, speaking directly to the Watcher in a disappointed tone. "A Slayer's mother- really"

Joyce's jaw dropped open in shock and indignation. She quickly closed it, realizing this wasn't a particularly good look.

"I assure you-" Giles went onto argue, but Post continued to talk as though he hadn't spoken a word.

"And Buffy, the Slayer herself..."

"What's wrong with Buffy?" Joyce asked, going on the immediate defense though it was decidedly leaning towards more an attack.

"I assure you Mrs Post" Giles told the woman, "Buffy is both dedicated and industrious and I am fully in control of my slayer"

Just then Giles' apartment door burst open and Xander came storming in.

"Giles!" He said loudly, "We have a huge problem. It's Buffy"

Both Joyce and Giles looked uncomfortable under Post's stare. It was then that Xander actually noticed Joyce was there. He looked on in confusion.

"Mrs Summers? What are you doing here?"

"He's right through there Mrs Summers," The Nurse told her in the hospital corridor, before rushing on over to a bed-ridden patient who was calling for her attention. Joyce stepped into the ward and saw Giles lay in bed, one side of his head heavily bandaged. He looked over in her direction briefly and smiled when he saw her.

"Hi" she said softly, walking over to him.

"Hi" He managed to reply, though talking was evidently a struggle as was focusing on her actual image apparently, as he kept squinting, trying to gain some focus.

"I told you I didn't like that woman," Joyce said simply.

"Woman's intuition strikes again, eh?" He smiled.

"Something like that"

"Are you okay?" He asked her and her eyes widened in surprise and disbelief.

"The man who almost had his head caved in is asking me if I'm okay?"

"I'm concerned" he told her sincerely and it touched her.

"That's very sweet." Joyce told him, stroking the fringe of his hair off his face in a loving gesture that was a little too much for so early on in the relationship, but given the circumstances neither seemed to really notice or care "Stupid, but sweet"

"So welcome to the life," He joked, referring to all the events of the past week.

"It's not without it's ups and downs…and well loopdiloops," She admitted with a small shrug.

"And now you're going to sadly and slowly back away?" He acknowledged sadly. Joyce however, nudged him aside slightly so she could sit up on the bed.

"I didn't say I disliked loopdiloops" she told him, leaning over for a kiss just as she heard Buffy walk into the ward.

"Giles?"

Joyce leapt off the bed at such an impressive speed that Giles wondered briefly whether Buffy's excellent reflexes were partially inherited from her Mother, and the two tried to act as though nothing had happened, which technically it hadn't, but still. Buffy spotted them and headed over.

"Mom? You came to see if Giles is okay" Buffy noted, "That's nice"

Totally oblivious. Joyce sighed a sigh of relief-hopefully her daughter had inherited her denial ability.

"And I should be off now, actually. I'm needed at the uh, the gallery" She told the two and went to leave. "I'll see you soon" she was talking to Buffy but she was looking at Giles