"Ripper." Eve said in a tone of total admiration and reverence as she smiled up at him. Giles mind blanked for a moment as he studied her face, her expression. She looked so innocent. As if she did and didn't know why he was called 'Ripper' at the same time. It was disturbing to say the least. Even more so with the others standing right there- watching every exchange.

Swallowing past the lump in his thoat, he glanced as Oz and the others and gave quick instructions for them to leave and meet him back at his house later. After school. Hopefully when he had a better idea of what he was dealing with.

Xander and Willow both looked like they wanted to protest- afraid that Buffy- er, Eve would disappear again if she wasn't watched carefully. But in the end they gave up on whatever arguments were hanging on the tips of their tongues and grabbed Oz and Cordi and got back in the van after promising to meet back with him after school.

Then left.

Giles watched them drive away until they were well out of sight, his grip on Eve's wrist tightening a little bit from anxiety before he released his hold on her and said in his most authoritive tone, "Get in the car Eve. We're going to leave now."

Eve tipped her head back and looked at him, then looked back at the flowers with a look that could only be described as hungry or wanting, then asked. "Can I bring a flower or two with me?"

Giles/Ripper mulled over the simple request as he narrowed his eyes at her.

He could still feel the steady hum of power in the air around her, and knowing it was there made it easy to deny her her request. At least for the moment. Eve's expression became shuttered and she sighed and looked longingly back at the flower bed then back to him as he was climbing into his car.

To be honest, she knew why he had said no to the flowers. He had made it perfectly clear on a number of occassions that she wasn't to use her life energy to prolong the life of anything. Because using the magicks to do so may very well take years off of her life. But being who she was, she used the magic quite often to heal, repair and prolong a lot of things.

She simply couldn't help herself.

And the spell had never appeared to have any adverse affects before. Sighing again she walked over to the passenger side of Giles car and climbed in and nearly jumped out of her skin when he reached across her and tugged some sort of binding and fastened it in place with a click before he bothered to move the vehicle.

Dear god, this girl tries my patience. Giles thought. "You should always buckle up when in a car Eve. For safety's sake-" He said as he glanced over at her as she pulled and tugged and even at one point during the drive started to chew on the seat belt before saying with a frown, "But maybe you don't recall any of that."

Eve stopped chewing on the seat belt after a moment or so and let it drop away from her mouth with a muttered, "Bleh. This thing tastes funny. Like decaying demon flesh."

It was on the tip of his tongue to say, "Good god have you been eating demon flesh?" When he noticed that she grasped the belt in a white knuckled grip on it with both hands. As if she were afraid that it was going to strangle her or something if she didn't hold onto it. Forgetting his question for the moment he took a hand off of the wheel, and reached over and pried one of her hands free and held it in his own.

"The seat belt isn't going to hurt you-" He said gently, trying to calm her obviously frayed nerves as he pulled into the drive way of his home and parked the car then reached down and with another clicking sound- set her free. "And now you can get out of the car." He said as he unfastened his own seat belt and quickly opened the door and climbed out of the car then closed the door and stood expectantly with his arms crossed over his chest...waiting for her to follow.

Eve looked out of the front window at him, then ducked down in the seat and glared at him, making Giles sigh and swear as he walked around to her side of the car and open the door for her. "Come along Eve."

"No."

"Excuse me, but did you just say no?"

"You're not deaf Ripper."

"My name is Giles. Not Ripper. Now please, come out of there." Giles said, trying to remain calm and indifferent to the fact that she kept calling him by his former name. But Eve apparently had some other ideas in mind. Some very peculiar ideas.

She turned her body towards him and gave him a sweet smile then demanded a kiss from him if he wanted her out of the car. Giles eyes widened as he flushed and sputtered. Good god, no!

He couldn't touch his slayer! Not like she wanted him too. It was like defiling a holy relic or something. It just wasn't done. Eve held her arms out to him as a look that reminded him of a lost child's seeking the warmth and comfort of one of it's parents, crossed her face. Buffy- His slayer. She was suffering and trying to make sense of the reason why. He knew it, could feel it in his heart and soul.

And as wrong as it was, he wanted to help her even if it lasted for just one brief moment in time. Feeling his moral resolve waver he stepped in close to her, crowding her smaller body as her arms wrapped around his neck, and lightly- very lightly- as if he were handling fragile glass, he brushed his lips across hers and jerked slightly when he felt a sharp jolt of lust that nearly sent him to his knees.

Groaning he palmed the back of Eve's head and pulled it so that it rested against the crook of his shoulder as he slipped his arms around her slender body and lifted her up out of the car.