A/N: This chapter is pretty episode heavy, lots of conversations taken from the episode (but it's necessary.) which means I do not own them, or the character obviously, I mean this is FAN FICTION after all, and a few were altered to fit the plot of my story. I'm sure you'll know the difference between what's mine and what belongs to the wonderful writers of the Buffyverse. All rights belong to Mutant Enemy.

Episode setting: Season four episodes - Something Blue.


Past Struggles, Future Worries.

"Well?" Buffy snapped, her arms folded over her chest.

Giles looked towards the bathroom, where they tied up Spike. He really didn't want to have this conversation with the vampire around. The others had left an hour ago when the tension between Buffy and Giles had become too suffocating and Giles couldn't blame them, if he could leave he would.

"I'm waiting. Why the hell didn't you tell me Angel was in town?"

"Because he didn't want you to know." Giles sighed.

Buffy stared at him. He saw the gleam of hurt in her eyes, and his stomach dropped. Turning, Giles strolled causally over to the kitchen counter and the brandy Anya had left sitting there. Pulling a glass from the cupboard he poured himself a large one, throwing it back so it scorched his throat, hopefully dislodging the lump there.

"He didn't? Or you didn't?" She asked; eyes narrow and accusing.

Giles took a sharp intake of breath, turning to glare at his lover. "Why wouldn't I want you to know?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe you're jealous." She didn't know why she was so mad? Or who she was really mad at? But Giles was here, Angel wasn't, so he was getting the brunt of her anger. "You were always jealous of Angel, even when I chose you."

Giles stared at her in a gaping silence. He couldn't deny that he was jealous, then and now. But the accusation put into words opened a wounded he thought heal. "And do I have a reason to be jealous?" Giles puzzled, watching her closely.

Buffy's eyes grew wide. "No!"

"Don't I? Then why are you so upset?"

"Because you lied to me?"

"Like you lied when Angel came back from hell."

"That was….." she shook her head. "That was different."

"Was it? You lied to protect him, we lied to protect you."

They both fell silent for a long moment, just watching each other. Finally Buffy sighed and dropped down on the nearest chair.

"I just….wish I'd known." she murmured sadly. "Despite every thing, he's still my friend. I would have liked to say hello."

Giles poured himself another drink and took a seat across the table from her, head down, staring down at the dark liquor. "You'll never be just a friend to him Buffy." he whispered painfully. "And he'll never be that to you." he sucked in a breath, taking a large gulp of his drink. "You two share a connection. He was your first….everything."

Buffy's head snapped around to stare at her boyfriend, her gaze racking his features, seeing the uncertainly, the hurt and the doubt. Her chest ached at the sight, pushing herself out of the chair she walked around to hover over him, her fingers combing gently through his hair. When he leant back to look up at her Buffy slipped onto his lap, her hands cradling the sides of his face. "I can't chance my past Giles, and he was a large part of that."

"I know." he whispered.

"But I made my decision."

"But would you have made that same decision if Sam….?" his gaze shifted to the cot.

Buffy followed his gaze and felt the doubts pulling at her insides. She didn't want to lie to him. She wasn't sure things would have turned out this way if she hadn't gotten pregnant. If she hadn't have gone to Giles after sending Angel to hell. She couldn't say what her life would have been if she'd taken another path. But she hadn't, and she didn't wish she had. Buffy turned her gaze back to Giles, turning his head to look at her. She couldn't tell him, not properly, what as in her heart. So instead she kissed him, putting everything she felt into that single kiss. Giles arms looping around her, pulling her tight against him. Buffy holding on as if afraid to loose him.

~Don't Lie~

Buffy was still being haunted by her conversation with Giles days later. He wished she could say that if she hadn't gotten pregnant that she'd have still ended up with Giles, but they both knew the truth. She would have gone back to Angel, because no matter what happened or who she was with there was still a part of her that would always love him. Giles knew that, and that's what made everything so much worse. Things had been strained between them for days, and they hadn't been made any better by Spike constant presence. The sooner he would out of their lives the better.

It hadn't just been tense with Giles; Willow seemed more on edge than usual. She'd thought her friend was finally getting over her break-up and was ready to move on, but she's been distant of late, and there hadn't been any sign of Riley in days.

Speak of the devil. Buffy smiled to herself as she strolled through the college foyer and found him helping hang a banner for the Lesbian Alliance. Buffy smiled as he finished and turned to see her.

"Hey, Buffy"

"Is there something you wanna tell me?"

"What?" Riley frowned.

Buffy turned her gaze to the banner.

"Oh…" Riley chuckled. "Yes. I am a lesbian."

"Well, it's good that you're so open about it." She replied with a serious face, but the amusement with in her eyes.

"Oh, hey. How's Willow? I haven't seen her around much. - I was thinking…" he glanced nervously down at his feet.

Buffy smirked. "Careful, don't strain anything."

Riley laughed nervously. "Right, yeah…well the weathers been so nice lately…."

"It's California, it's always nice." Buffy grinned.

"Yeah, I guess it is. I'm still getting used to the sunshine in December thing. No snow or icy wind. It's a little….weird."

"We had snow once. Last year…wait, no year before."

"Right, yeah. I remember that. Weird."

"That's Sunnydale. It's on the signs. Sunnydale, come for the sunshine, stay for the weird."

Riley laughed.

"Anyway, what were you thinking?"

"Oh, uh….Willow…"

"You were thinking about Willow?" Buffy said with bright wide eyes.

"Yeah, I mean….like….as friends…."

"Riley, you don't have to pretend with me, you know. I've kinda already worked out that your like….interested."

Riley blushed. "I'm that obvious?" hanging his head.

"I'm really observant."

Riley frowned. "Didn't you ask what the class assignment was three times yesterday?"

"And by observant I mean forget everything that isn't Willow related."

Riley smiled and nodded. "Right. - Well, do you think that she…Willow would be up for say….a picnic."

"Shouldn't you ask her?"

"I've tried calling by she's not answering my calls and she keeps ducking out of class before I can say anything."

Buffy frowned. "She's avoiding you?"

Riley shrugged. "I figured she was busy with classes and stuff. - So you think she's avoiding me?"

"No! No….I mean….I don't think….I'll talk to her. Get her to call you."

Riley smiled. "Thanks.

Buffy watched Riley rush away with a goofy grin, her inside tied tight with concern. She really was going to have to talk to Will, 'cause Riley was a great guy and she really needed to move on.

~Don't Lie~

Buffy decided the best way to talk to her friend was to drag her along on patrol. Walk, talking, kill a few vampires. Perfect girl time.

"There really nice, and fun. With food and sunshine."

"I know what a picnic its Buffy." Willow laughed.

"Right, so you like them right? Picnics."

Willow shrugged. "I guess. - Hey have you and Giles spoken to your mom yet."

"Not yet, she's staying another week at my aunts." Buffy announced with relief. "…..so picnic?"

Willow paused, turning to stare at her friend. "Are you and Giles still fighting over the whole Angel thing?"

"No! - No…" she scoffed. "We're fine. Everything's fine."

Willow didn't look at all convinced. "Buffy."

"Okay so we've been a little…off lately. But you know, Angel coming back like that, it opened up some old wounds for both of us. - I think he still expects me to turn around and run back to him." Buffy shook her head. "Which is ridiculous. I….Angel and I are over."

"But you still care about him?"

"Of course I do. I mean he was my first….everything. Kinda. - But Giles is who I chose to be with."

"Because of Sam?"

"What? No. - I….I don't know. I want to say…." she shook her head once more. "….I mean, if I'd really wanted to be with Angel, I could have right? I mean, Sam or no. Angel would have been fine with it. He would have made a great dad. - But I didn't, I chose Giles."

Willow looked at her thoughtfully. "Have you told him that?"

"No. - It's always so hard talking about this stuff. He's like….Giles, you know."

"He's your boyfriend Buffy; you need to talk to him about it."

Buffy exhaled dramatically.

"And then you have to tell your mom."

"Yeah, yeah." Buffy huffed. "So, what about you and Riley?"

Willow stiffened. "Uh?"

"You and Riley. He says your avoiding him."

"You spoke to Riley about me?" she snapped angrily.

"He asked how you were and we got talking. He was thinking about asking you out for a p…."

"A picnic? So you're what, seeing if the coast is clear for him?"

Buffy frowned. "No? What? No - Of course….Willow, he really likes you and I know you like him. - And Oz has been gone for a while…."

"I know! God, you don't think I know that? I'm just not ready!" Willow snapped furiously. "Stop pushing!" she yelled, turning to storm away.

"Will! Will! I just meant…." Buffy sighed miserably as Willow vanished around a corner heading back to the dorm.

~Don't Lie~

"What's wrong?" Giles asked the moment she walked through the door looking and feeling tired.

Buffy strolled over to the couch and dropped down, careful to avoid Sam's feet has he sat on his fathers lap. The little boy held out his arms and Buffy took him, smiling down. Suddenly the weight she'd been carrying most of the night was gone. She sighed with relief, her head dropping onto Giles shoulder.

"So, what's wrong?" he murmured against her hair, his arm coming around her shoulders.

"Had a fight with Will?" Buffy mumbled as she played and smiled as Sam.

"A fight? About?"

"Riley. - I was just saying that she might want to go out with him. He's nice and he likes her….but she flipped out."

"Maybe she's not ready to move on so soon?"

"It's a picnic, Giles, not an engagement. She can't keep waiting for Oz to come back."

Giles sighed, nodding against her hair. "I know. Give her a little bit more time."

"Hey! You planning on feeding me at some point!"

Giles growled. "He hasn't shut up all fu….flipping day. - I swear the next time he…."

"Hey, I can hear you you know!" Spike yelled from the bathroom.

"Where's the stake?" Giles growled pushing himself off the couch.

Buffy's hand snapped out to pull him back down. "Just ignore him." she whispered, pulling him into a slow kiss.

"Jesus, if you two are going to start screwing on the couch, at least let me watch. It's no fun without the visual."

Buffy pulled away with an eye roll. "I'll see to it. May as well find out what he knows." she pressed a kiss to Sam's head and handed him over.

"Don't forget my blood!" Spike yelled.

Buffy sent Giles a look before strolling into the bathroom and sitting down on the edge of the tub.

"So, you saw their faces but you can't describe them?"

Spike clenched his jaw, turning to glare at her. "We've already been through this…."they were human. Two eyes each, kind of in the middle."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "And the lab?"

"Underground." he sighed warily. "I came out thought an air vent. I don't know exactly where." he huffed. "I'm done. Put the telly on. - It's about time. Hope you got it warm enough." Spike snapped as Giles strolled into the bathroom, a mug of warm blood in one hand and Sam cradled in his other arm.

Giles handed the blood to Spike with a frustrated sigh before stepping back to lean on the basin, as Buffy fed him through a strew. Sam's pale green eyes fixed on Spike.

"I don't know why you're so dainty all of a sudden…" he smirked, glancing past Buffy to Giles. "You've done this for Angel. You must have."

Giles back stiffened, his gaze narrowing.

"Ok." Buffy yanked the mug away.

"Hey! Give it!" Spike yelled around the strew hanging from his lips.

"That's it. The invalid-amnesiac routine is over." Buffy said firmly, folding her arms over her chest. "The kitchen is closed until you tell me something useful about the commandos."

"I'm trying to remember. It was very traumatic." Spike whined.

"How long are you gonna pull this crap?"

"How long will I live if I tell you?"

Giles clenched his jaw, taking a step forward. "Spike, we have no intention of killing a harmless um….creature, but we have to know what's been done to you. We can't let you go until we're sure you're impotent…."

Buffy couldn't help but giggle, turning to smile at Giles, who was fighting his own laugh.

"Hey!" Spike glared.

"…Or…sorry, poor choice of words. Until we know that you're…."

"Flaccid?" Buffy finished with a chuckle.

"You are one step away, missy." Spike warned.

"Giles, help! He's gonna scold me." Buffy said in a little girl voice, a smirk painted across her face.

Spike lunged forward, but the chains Giles had secured him with held him in the tub. Buffy stood with her hands on her hip unimpressed, and somewhat bored.

"You know what?" Buffy said, with a softer voice, moving to knee down beside the bathtub. "I don't think you want us to let you go. Maybe we made it a little too comfy in here for ya."

"Comfy?" Spike scoffed. "I'm chained in a bathtub, drinking pig's blood from a novelty mug. Doesn't rate huge in the Zagat's guide."

"You want something nicer?" Buffy said, dropping her voice a little more, almost seductive, before leaning back and exposing her neck. "Look at my poor neck, all bare and tender and exposed. All that blood just pumping away."

Giles looked at the ceiling for a moment, before rolling his eyes at Sam. "Oh please." he turned and headed for the door.

"Giles, make her stop!" Spike called helplessly.

"If those two don't kill each other, I might lend a hand." he said to Sam had he headed back to the couch, dropping down with the boy in his lap.

Sam grinned babyishly up at his father and Giles pulled him in closer.

"She's a terrible person your mum." he laughed.

The phone rang and Giles groaned as he got up to answer it. "Willow? Willow what's wrong? - Of course." he lowered the phone to his chest. "Buffy!"

Buffy rushed out from the back room. "What?" she asked in a panic.

"It's Willow." he said quietly, holding out the phone. "She's crying."

"Will? What's…yeah, sure? I'll be there as soon as I can." she hung up and grabbed her coat. "I've got to go. I'll be back as soon….."

"It's fine, go." he waved his hand at her.

~Don't Lie~

Buffy didn't get back to Giles and Sam until the next day, having decided to stay with Willow and help her through her grief. She guessed Willow hadn't really come to terms with Oz leaving until all his stuff was gone and it was clear he wasn't coming back. Buffy had felt guilty for not really seeing it, not seeing the pain her friend was truly in, and trying to force her to move on with Riley.

She walked down the steps into the courtyard of Giles apartment building with that weight on her shoulders again. Only this time didn't ease upon seeing Giles and Sam.

"How's Willow?" Giles asked from the table where he was feeding Sam his breakfast.

She pressed a kiss to both of their head before taking a seat. "Terrible. I hadn't realised how much she'd been burying. She's a wreck."

Giles nodded sadly. "I'll get there." he sighed, lifting a spoon to Sam's lips.

"I think I need to spend more time with her, for a while. - Maybe stay at the dorm some more."

Giles frowned but nodded. "When does you're mum get back?"

"Saturday afternoon." She looked sadly at Sam. They'd had such a wonderful time being together as a family. She really didn't want it to end. It doesn't have to. Her mind pointed out. Just tell mom and move in. Like it was that easy. It can be. "We need to talk to mom." Buffy said suddenly, drawing Giles head up with a snap.

"Pardon?"

"We need to speak to my mom about us. I don't want this anymore."

"This?"

"Being away from you and Sam. I want us to be together, properly."

Giles smiled. "I want that too."

"So we'll talk to mom. When she gets back." Buffy nodded confidently.

"Deal."

The pair shared a warm promising look before Buffy reach for the spoon to finish feeding Sam.

~Don't Lie~

Giles headed to the dorms hoping, that afternoon with Sam, planning on taking Buffy out for lunch.

"Giles? What are you doing here?"

"I…we were looking for Buffy."

"Oh…she's still in class." Willow said, smiling sadly at Sam.

Giles looked around the room shifting awkwardly. "So….how are you….?"

Willow sighed. "She told you didn't see? - Of course she told you. I'm…." she shrugged. "I….had an idea." Willow suddenly announced in a desperate change of subject. "About Spike. I was thinking about a truth spell…." she scrambled off the bed and rummaged through her bag. "I got the motherwort….I was going to…."

Giles moved around the buggy to stop in front of the young woman. "Willow, I don't think….It might not be wise for you to do magic alone right now. Your energy's too unfocused." he said with concern.

"Well, that's not true. I'm a little off, sure. I mean I did this spell to have my will done, I was hoping it would make me feel better, but it just went kablooey. - But I'm not incompetent."

"I just meant, you're grieving, so it might be wise to take a break from doing spells without supervision."

"So I get punished cos I'm in pain?"

"It's not punishment. I'm saying it because…."

"Oh, you care. Yeah. Everybody cares." Willow snapped. "But nobody wants to be inconvenienced. You all want me to take the time and go through the pain, as long as you don't have to hear about it."

"Now that's not fair." Giles snapped.

"Isn't it? Cos I'm doing the best I can, and it doesn't seem to be enough for you guys." Willow said desperately.

"And I see how you could feel that way. I do…."

"No, you don't. You say that you do, but you don't see anything!"

Giles head spun, his breath catching for a second. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes, a small headache starting behind them. "Erm….Ohh, sorry. Erm…Sorry. Perhaps I'd better be going. - Tell Buffy we came by if you see her." He grabbed the stroller and pulled open the door. "Let's talk about this later." he said as he back out of the room. "Bye."

He rolled the stroller down the hall and had to apologize to three people on the way. He decided it might be safer to call a cab and go home before his migraine really started.

~Don't Lie~

Buffy walked back into the dorm room a couple of hours later to find Willow cleaning out Amy the Rat's cage, looking miserable. "What's wrong?"

"Giles." Willow sighed.

"What about him."

"We had a fight?"

Buffy frowned. "He was here?"

Willow looked up, smiling apologetically. "Yeah. Sorry. - He came by with Sam, I think he was going to take you out for lunch but then we argued."

Buffy sighed sadly, wishing she'd been there. "What about?"

"Magic."

"What about it?"

"He says I shouldn't be practicing."

Buffy frowned.

"I mean, I'm going through something. I just don't see why he was getting down on me."

Buffy headed for her bed, pulling off her jacket as she went. "Giles just worries. Spells can be dangerous. It doesn't mean he thinks you're a bad witch."

"I am a bad witch." Willow pouted.

"No. you're a good witch.

"I'm not kidding anyone. If I had any real power, I could've made Oz stay with me."

"Will, you wouldn't have wanted him to stay…"

"I didn't have the guts to do the spell on Veruca and my 'I will it so' spell went nowhere." Willow huffed. "The only real witch here is fuzzy little Amy."

Buffy glanced over at the rat on Willow's bed. "I think you're being too hard on yourself."

"She's got access to powers I can't even invoke. I mean, first she's a perfectly normal girl, then poof, she's a rat. I could never do something like that."

Buffy sighed, getting to her feet as the phone began to ring. "Hello? - I'll be right there." she sighed as she hung up. "Spike escape."

"And you're going? Now?" Willow frowned.

"Sorry, duty thing."

"Well, I mean, what's the rush? Spike can't hurt anyone, right? And I figured, since I'm kinda grievey and you're not staying at Giles, we could, you know, have a girl's night. Eat sundaes and watch Steel Magnolias, and you can tell me at least I don't have diabetes."

Buffy reached into her nightstand for her stake and holy water, shrugging into her jacket, before grabbing her bag from under the bed. "Will, I can't hang out with you until I get Spike back to Giles, you know that. Okay, I'll be back as soon as I can. I promise." she rushed out of the door, barely hearing Willow's parting words. She felt guilty for abandoning her friend, but she could just let Spike vanish. They needed him, as much as she hated to admit it.

He ran down the steps and out into the cool night and skidded to a halt at the sight of Spike standing in the middle of the lawn, seemingly just waiting for her. "Thought that was gonna take longer."

"Me, too." Spike groaned. "Must have got…turned around." he rushed away and Buffy followed after him. "Hang on, this…." he looked around. "…This…this is it. Wait….No. Yes!"

"What are you talking about?" Buffy frowned.

"The lab. Commando lab. The door was right here where I escaped."

"I don't think so." Buffy's brows knitted tight together, watching Spike disbelievingly as he dropped to his knees and began to pull up the grass and dirt.

"Open up! I'm gonna kill you!"

"Spike, there's nothing there."

"Let me in! Fix me."

"Okay, drop the act." Buffy sighed warily, reaching down to grab Spike's arm.

"Get off!" he snapped, yanking away.

"Ok, that's it, I'm gonna gag you."

She hadn't expected him to attack her, so the punch to the face knocked her for six. The only consolation was that he was in more pain that she was, but she had to dish out her own punishment as she punched him in the face, before grabbing the rope from her backpack and tying him up.

~Don't Lie~

Giles stared into the mirror, his eyes had been stinging all afternoon and the headache hadn't eased. Almost everything was a blur, which was how Spike had managed to escape, taking advantage of his distraction. He reached for the eye drops as he heard the ruckus from the living room telling him Buffy was home with Spike.

"Giles, I accidentally killed Spike. That's ok right?"

Giles clenched his eyes tight as the drop coated his eyeballs. "Er….just a minute." he called back. He pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to force the migraine under control. After a few minutes he took a deep breath and opened his eyes, slipping his glasses back on, but they didn't seem to help, everything was still a blur. He turned and headed for the door, following the sound of Buffy and Spike's arguing. "If the two of you could remain civil long enough to…" he drew to a halt in the archway, staring confused at the sight of Spike on bended knee.

"It's just so sudden. I don't know what to say?"

"Just say yes, and make me the happiest man on earth."

"Oh, Spike. Of course it's yes!" Buffy grinned, leaping to her feet and into Spike arms, kissing him passionate.

"What the holy hell are you doing?" Giles yelled, seeing clearly enough to know his girlfriend was making out with the frustrating twat of a vampire. "Get your damn hands off her!"

"Oh Giles." Buffy gasped, looking guilty. "Oh…" she pulled away from Spike. "I'm so sorry. I know you'll never believe what's happened!"

Giles glared at the pair, his mouth hanging open.

"Look, I know it's a bit of a shock, and all, but…" Spike shrugged, smiling apologetically. "…you know she's always had a thing for the dark side and your all….well, tea and scones."

"Spike." Buffy scolded, rushing forward.

"I'm just saying."

"Buffy…."

"Look I know, I….it's all so sudden, and I…." she smiled back at Spike. "I love him."

Giles just stared at her, shaking his head. "Buffy, seriously. Spike?"

"Hey?"

He grabbed her arm, dragging her into the kitchen. "Buffy there's something wrong. You can't….this isn't you."

Buffy looked up at him sadly. "Giles, I know this is going to be hard for you, but you've got to accept that it just wasn't going to work for us. - But you don't have to worry, you'll still be my watcher and you'll still see Sam all the time. We won't stop you."

Crying from the other room caught their attention and Giles rushed over to snatch his son out of Spike arms. "Leave him alone."

"Hey, he's gonna have to get used to me eventually."

Buffy came up to the vampires side, slipping her arm around him. "He'll love you, just like I do." she smiled, leaning up to kiss him again.

Giles stared between the pair, a tight knot forming in his stomach and a sick feeling in his throat. With Sam in his arms he carefully made his way back to the kitchen, snatching up the phone.

"Willow, it's me. Something's happened. I need your help. I can't see very well. Everything's blurred. I'm certain it's a spell of some kind, because…." he glanced reluctantly over a Buffy and Spike, his jaw clenching tight. "…well, it seems something else is going wrong. Horribly wrong. Buffy's…..saying she's going to marry Spike. I need you to come over and help me figure this out." he hung up and looked blurrily down at Sam, who had stopped crying the instant he'd taken him away from Spike.

"It's alright, son. We'll figure out what's wrong with Mummy. Aunt Willow will be here soon. It's all just…..a big huge magical mix-up. He's not going to be…..she's not going to….." he shook his head. "I won't let that happen."

Taking a deep breath he carefully made his way back out of the kitchen to the couch, Sam held tightly in his arms.

"…and again, you're registering as Mr and Mrs Big Pile of Dust."

"Stop it! This is our wedding and you're treating it like a big joke!" Buffy whined.

Giles ignored the tight clench of his insides. It wasn't real. It was just a spell.

"Oh, pouty!" Spike teased. "Look at that lip. Gonna get it."

"If you kiss her one more time, I'm going to stake you!" Giles warned with a harsh angry tone.

"Giles." Buffy sighed sadly. "I'm sorry. - He's right; we shouldn't do this in front of him. - its wrong." she nodded.

Spike sent the watcher a glare. "Fine."

Giles turned and rested his head back against the couch, Sam lying peacefully on his chest. He once more pinched the bridge of his nose, praying for this whole nightmare to be over soon. The couch dipped beside him and he peered out from beneath his hand to see Buffy sitting beside him.

"I'm not crazy, and I know that you probably hate me right now."

"I don't hate you, Buffy." Giles said, lifting his head.

"You don't." she smiled warmly. "I'm so glad. It's important that we be civil at least for Sam's sake."

"Oh for God's sake! This is nonsense. Something is making you act this way. Don't you realise what you're doing? "

"Living the dream." Buffy grinned.

"He's gonna have to take time to get used to it, pet."

"Shut up. - Buffy…." Giles reached for Buffy's face, pulling it back to meet his eyes. "….this is all just a spell. You have to remember that. As soon as Willow gets here, we're going to fix it."

Buffy huffed frustratingly. "Giles, it's not a spell. I just realised that I love Spike."

Giles glared over at the vampire who was grinning smugly at him. "No you don't."

"Yes, I do!"

Giles groaned loudly.

"Come on, Rupert, you always knew she was gonna leave ya, she a young virile woman, she needs someone who can keep up with her, someone who can take the punches and dish them out…."

Giles leaned dangerously forward, his eyes narrow. "You lay one finger…."

Spike smirked again. "Oh I'll lay more than a fingers." he winked.

"Spike!" Buffy snapped. "Stop it."

Spike shrugged and slouched back into his chair, smiling to himself.

"I'm sorry Giles. - But he's right; it's just going to take some getting used to, for all of you. - I mean you guess weren't happy about me and Angel at first either."

Spike and Giles both glared at her.

"You weren't gonna say that name!" Spike snapped. "Just 'cause he let you moon over the twat, doesn't mean I will."

Buffy looked guiltily between the pair. "I wasn't mooning. I'm over him, I loved Giles, he knew that. Didn't you?" Buffy defended.

Giles looked at her, but didn't say anything.

An uncomfortable tension settled among them.

"So…uh….Why don't we talk about where we're gonna register?" Buffy said trying to break the tension.

"Well where would Angel like to register? And uh….can we have the photographer Angel would have wanted? And the flowers Angel would have liked?"

"Hey!" Buffy snapped, leaping to her feet. "You think I don't live with the shadow of Drusilla over my head? That I'm not wondering if you're gonna be thinking of her on our honeymoon, when you're making sweet love to me."

Giles shot out of the sofa with a pained groan only to fall back down again. Buffy spun around and rushed over to him. "Giles? - Giles are you okay?" she reached to pull Sam away from the watcher as he settled awkwardly on the couch staring at the ceiling. She cradled the little boy to her shoulder as she shook Giles shoulder. "Giles?" panic in her voice. "Giles, talk to me, are you alright?"

"I rather think not." he said finally. "I seem to be rather….rather blind. Completely, in fact."

Buffy gasped, waving a hand in front of his eyes. "What? How could this happen?" panic and concern ringing in her voice.

"A spell, I believe. - The same one that…."

"Well, we'll fix it. Don't worry."

Spike got to his feet, going though Giles's book. "What you want is a general reversal spell. We're gonna need supplies."

"Are you helping me?" Giles frowned.

"You may be her ex, but your still her watcher, and Sam's dad so, like it or not, we're family…kinda."

"See? This is how it's gonna be. Spike'll even take care of you and Sam while I'm at the magic shop." Buffy helped him sit up, handing Sam back to him before walking away.

Giles reached out for her, but she was already gone. He could hear the distinctive sound of kissing behind him and groaned, pressing his lips to Sam's head, murmuring to the boy. "It's all going to be okay."

~Don't Lie~

It took Buffy almost an hour to return from the magic stop with the supplies. She strolled into the apartment and made a b-line for Spike, dropping down into his lap and pulling a wedding cake topper out of the bag, while humming the wedding march. Giles was just thankful he didn't have to see it, cause listening was painful enough.

"So the plan is to cure my total, incapacitating blindness tomorrow, is it?" Giles asked frustratingly, laying flat out on the couch with a cool wash cloth over his eyes, and Sam sleeping on his chest.

"They were out of Tagis Root at the magic ship. They'll have more tomorrow. I'm on completely on top of it. - Aren't they a perfect little us?"

"I don't like him. He's insipid. Clearly human." Spike complained.

"Ohh, red paint. We could smear a little on the mouth? The blood of the innocent."

"That's my girl."

Giles clenched his fists. "Stop that right now! I can hear the smacking!" he snapped angrily. If it wasn't for his total blindness he would have stake the bastard hours ago. In fact he was wondering why he hadn't done it days ago.

Buffy groaned. "Honey, we need to talk about the invitations. Now, do you wanna be William the Bloody or just Spike? Cos either way, it's gonna look majorly weird."

"Whereas the name Buffy gives it that touch of classic elegance." Spike laughed.

"What's wrong with Buffy?"

"Such a good question." Giles murmured.

"Well, it's a terrible name."

"My mother gave me that name."

"Your mother. Yeah, she's a genius."

"Hey!" Giles snapped a little too loudly, waking Sam who instantly started to whine.

"Don't you start in on my mother."

Spike opened his mouth to argue, just as the front door flew open.

"Board up the windows and barricade the doors." Xander announced rushing in, Anya at his heels.

"What's going on?" Giles asked, carefully lifting himself up, Sam clutched tightly to his chest, now crying.

"Demons. They keep coming and coming." Anya informed them.

"I think we lost them, but I couldn't see." Xander added in a rush of words. "Spike!" he yelped. "He's all untied! - Which you probably alrighty noticed."

"Xander, calm down okay. If you lost them, that'll give us time to figure this out." Buffy said, turning to Spike. "Maybe the demons have something to do with Giles being blind."

"Giles is blind?" Anya asked, brows raised in surprise, as Xander waved his fingers in front of the watchers face.

"Stop whatever you're doing. You smell like Fruit Roll-Ups."

"This is the crack team that foils my every plan? I am deeply shamed."

"Spike's right. We really should get organised." Buffy nodded.

"Why are you holding hands?" Anya frowned.

"They have to hear it sooner or later." Spike said smiling down at Buffy, who slid her arm around his waist.

"Spike and I are getting married!" Buffy squealed.

Xander looked from the pair to Giles. "How? What? How?"

"Three excellent questions." Giles groaned.

"What are you looking at?" Spike mumbled, pulling Buffy close.

"The man I love."

"Wow now!" Xander yelped. "Giles….do something."

"And what would you like me to do, I'm blind and she's….insane."

"Hey!" Buffy gasped.

"He's just jealous." Spike said, pulling Buffy into a kiss.

"Can I be blind, too?" Xander asked, making a gagging sound. "Wait. Married! I know something. What is it?" Xander stared at the couch cushions, shuffling through his thoughts. "Everything's so familiar. Work, brain, work! Oh! Oh, oh! Willow!"

"Mm…" Buffy dragged her mouth away from Spike. "What about Willow? Honey, get off."

"Something about Willow and her griefy poor me mood swings. So, so tired of it."

"I don't have to be nice about her any more?" Anya asked hopefully.

"Well we're all tired of it, but what does that have to do with what's going on?" Buffy huffed.

"She told me I was a demon magnet and you two should get married."

"And that I didn't see anything." Giles gasped.

"She did a spell." Buffy announced angrily.

"Yes. To have her will done. Whatever she says is coming true." Giles clarified.

"And you both were affected. I probably only escaped because I'm the slayer." Buffy gasped. "Some kind of natural immunity."

"Yeah right. You're marrying Spike because you're so right for each other." Xander scoffed.

"Xander."

"That's it. You're off the usher list." Spike informed him angrily.

"Look, people, Willow is out there and she probably doesn't know what she's doing." Giles interrupted.

"We gotta find her."

"Before somebody gets really hurt." Buffy said with real concern.

~Don't Lie~

Giles sat waiting. Blind he couldn't go with the others to find Willow, and someone needed to stay with Sam. - And it wasn't exactly safe having Xander around now that he was attracting demons everywhere he went. He didn't want to be angry at Willow. He knew she was going through a lot, but he was. She'd risked all their lives tonight. Not to mention the pain she'd forced on him having to listening to Spike and Buffy discussing a future together. He knew it wasn't real. He kept telling himself that, but that didn't stop the ache that was settled in his chest. Losing Buffy was his worst nightmare, whether it was to death or another love. He'd felt so incredibly lucky to have gained her affections in the first place.

Giles sighed to himself, and rested his head back against the couch cushions, his hand rubbing lightly on Sam's back. He'd never expected to have a family if he was honest. - Well, he'd hoped for one once, with Jenny, but after her death, he'd never expected to feeling that strongly about anyone. What he felt for Buffy had always been there, but he was her watcher, older than her. He hadn't fooled himself into thinking that anything was going to happen. In fact he'd been thoroughly ashamed of him. - Still was a little. But he didn't really care, he loved Buffy, deeply, he didn't want to lose her ever.

He inhale sharply as the pressure lifted off his mind, and his eyes stopped burning. Slowly he opened them and breathed a sigh of relief when he could look down and see the sleeping face of his son.

~Don't Lie~

Buffy pulled back from Spike and their kiss, the horror of the situation slowly spreading over her features as she stared down at him. Her stomach rolled with the memories of what she's spent most of the evening doing. Of Giles. "Urgh! Spike lips! Lips of Spike." she was going to be sick. Violently sick. God, Giles. What must he be thinking? Would he ever touch her again?

"Oh! Bloody hell!" Spike yelled, rolling away from her, scrambling to his feet to spit on the floor.

Buffy raised her eyes to see Willow stood in the corner, an apologetic smile on her face. "Hi, guys." she waved.

"Hi guy! Hi guy!" Buffy snapped. "Willow do you have any idea what you did!"

Willow lowered her eyes shamefully. "Sorry. - I didn't know it….Sorry."

"I kissed Spike!" Buffy yelled with a disgusted cringe. "In front of Giles. - I told him I was going to marry Spike. - I dumped him!"

Willow bit her lip.

"He knows it was just the spell." Spike said matter-of-factly. "He'll get over it."

"Shut up Spike! - Willow, you could have gotten Xander killed. You almost destroyed my relationship, and not to mention blinding Giles! What if we hadn't been there when he went blind and he was holding Sam and fell. You could have gotten my son hurt!"

Tears pooled in Willow's eyes. "I…I'm sorry. I can't…." she sniffled. "I just wanted the pain to go away."

Buffy watched her friend closely. "Well it won't. You just have to suffer through it." she knew she was being harsh, and unforgiving, but she couldn't help the anger.

There was a tense silence as they all stared at Buffy, expecting her to say it was alright, that all was forgiven. But she could find the words right then. She needed to get back to Giles, make sure he was alright, be with her family. Taking a breath she spun on her heels and marched out of the crypt.

She practically ran back to Giles place, crashing though the door. Giles got up to meet her.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so so sorry. I didn't mean any of it. I don't love Spike. I can't stand him. I love you. You know I love you, right?"

Giles smiled, walking slowly towards her. "I know. I love you too. - But…."

Buffy frowned, panic in her eyes. "What?"

"Go scrub your mouth." he cringed, his nose wrinkling.

Buffy exhaled slowly, her shoulders slumping with relief. Nodding she ran off to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth five times, rinsed her mouth out seven, then scrubbed again another two before finally returning to the living room to find, Sam in his crib and Giles waiting for her on the couch.

He got to his feet as she entered, meeting her half way. He pulled her into his arms and brought his lips down to hers, holding her tight. Buffy's arms curled around his neck, holding on for dear life as she moved her body against his. It was desperate, the way she clung to him, the way she kissed him. Like she was trying to prove that everything she'd done was meaningless.

Giles pulled away slowly, looking down into her glistening green eyes, his thumb rubbing gently at her cheek. "Where's Willow?"

Buffy swallowed. "I don't know. I left her with Xander and Anya. I couldn't…." she shook her head. "I was angry."

"She didn't know what she was doing."

"She knew exactly what she was doing, she just didn't expect the consequences."

Giles smiled sadly. "She's hurting. She wasn't thinking straight."

"How long are we going to keep making that excuse."

Giles dropped his head to press against hers. "As long as we have to. - She's your best friend Buffy."

Buffy sighed. "I know. - I just can't talk to her tonight. - Tomorrow. I talk to her tomorrow."

Giles nodded gently, taking Buffy's hand before and leading her to the bedroom.

They reached the bottom of the stairs when there was a knock on the door and it opened cautiously, Xander's head popping around. "Huh, guys, sorry to interrupt and all, but….what exactly are you going to do about Spike."

Buffy looked up at Giles before turning back to Xander. "I'll find him tomorrow."

Xander nodded and moved to slipped away.

"Xander!" Giles called.

"Yeah?"

"How's Willow?"

Xander looked between the pair sadly. "Miserable. Guilty."

Buffy sighed, her stomach tying up in knots. She let go of Giles hand and moved to the desk. "Is she back at the dorm."

Xander nodded. Buffy picked up the phone and dialled her dorm. Willow answered after a while.

"Hello?"

"I'm sorry." Buffy said, her throat tight with tears.

"No, I'm sorry. I…."

"It's fine. Really. I'll see you tomorrow when you come over."

"Sure. Night Buffy."

"Night Will."

Buffy hung up her phone, and headed back to the stairs where Giles was still waiting. Taking his hand she shot a smile to Xander. "Night Xan."

"Night Buff."


A/N: Thanks for reading and reviewing. I'm slowly getting though this damn story.