Chapter 11: Reconnection

A ray of early morning light peaked through the curtains, and Buffy valiantly fought a losing battle against the rising consciousness that threatened to end her sleep. It was the first real and restorative sleep she'd had in days, and conceding the battle, she admitted that she felt pretty good. That, and the body she was curled up against felt pretty good too. Stretching into him she let out a soft moan and wrapped her arm around his middle. Burying her face into his chest, she inhaled his comforting scent. He smelled right, her Giles.

She was so relieved when he agreed to share the bed with her again. It hadn't take much to convince him. Two nights on the sofa was about as much as he could take. That and they had both been reluctant to go separate ways, the day and evening having been extremely emotional for both. When they'd entered the bedroom together, he had seemed a little hesitant, so she'd given him a head start by taking extra time in the bathroom to clean her face and brush her teeth. After finishing with her routine, she'd found him in bed waiting her with that shy, half smile tugging at his lips as he pulled back the duvet for her, and she'd gave him a reassuring kiss before settling herself into his side and allowing sleep to take over.

Giles snuffled and shifted in his sleep, turning into her. His casted right arm was elevated on a pillow above them while his left hand trailed down her side and over her rear, drawing her in closer to his body. When he seemed to have her where he wanted her, he let out a soft sigh and started to run his fingers back up her side and over her back in a gentle caress.

God, how she'd missed him! His touch felt so good and she bit her lip as her body started to react. Buffy couldn't help but run the palm of her free hand over his shoulders and chest, reacquainting herself with the solid strength hidden beneath his soft cotton shirt. He let out a soft sigh as his body arched into her touch and he slipped his leg between hers. She could feel his morning erection hot and hard and insistent against her thigh, causing the arousal deep within her belly to ignite like wildfire. When his hand moved up to the back of her neck and he gently directed her head towards his, Buffy looked up into his jade eyes and found the same level of desire dwelling deep within them.

"Good morning," Giles greeted softly.

"Hi," she returned with a smile.

His gaze wandered down to her mouth as his tongue peaked out to wet his lips just a heartbeat before he placed the most tentative of kisses on hers, barely a flutter of a caress. His eyes came up to search hers again, finding relief and longing within and he pressed his lips met hers again, this time with a little more pressure. Unable to stop, he peppered her lips with kisses again and again until he introduced his tongue to hers in a lazy, unhurried, and sensual kiss. When it ended, he took her bottom lip between his teeth and gently nibbled it before letting go.

"Giles?" she asked hesitantly, her breathing shallow and her body tense with yearning.

"Shhh," he admonished, taking her lips once more as he kissed his way along her jawline and to her neck. "I am making love to my wife."

"God," she whispered, before taking his chin in her hand and directing his mouth towards hers, capturing it with a searing kiss. Her tongue darted out to dance with his as her hand wandered over his jaw and into the soft hair on the back of his head. When they broke apart, she pressed his forehead against his, her breathing shallow. "Do you… do you remember?" she asked her expression hopeful.

He shook his head, his green eyes expressing his regret, but then he tilted his head playfully and the corner of his mouth twitched with amusement, "But if you kiss me like that again, I just might."

"Giles!" she admonished with a laugh.

He laughed with her, feeling freer than he had in… he really didn't know when considering he'd lost the last six years, but he definitely knew that he never wanted to feel as lost as he had this past week ever again. With Buffy by his side, he knew things were going to be fine. Actually better than fine.

"I love you, Buffy," he said sincerely, carefully moving the lock of her hair that fell into her face behind her ear. "Memories or no, I do know that for a fact."

Her eyes glistened with happy tears. "God, I love you too, Giles." Leaning in, she caressed his lips with hers, a gentle, yet sensuous touch, conveying all her love, but it quickly built in intensity as lips, tongue, and teeth explored and teased, and their hands danced along each other's bodies. A moment of clarity hit her and she gently pulled away from him and asked, "You sure want to do this? If… if you need time to adjust to all this, it's okay."

"I… I want this. I want you, Buffy, but I know I am not exactly… the man you married, and if you need more time, just say the word," he said, shifting on the bed to allow them to have the conversation without the distraction of their heated bodies yearning for the touch of the other.

It was a simple truth. He wasn't the man she married… but things were more complex than that. Giles loved her and was in love with her. And even though he wasn't the Giles of her present, he was the man who would become hers. He'd read several his diaries, had accepted her faults and failures and had acknowledged his own, and deemed them bygones, something to stay buried in their complicated past. And whether he ever regained those memories or not, he wanted her, and he wanted Tommy and their baby.

Cupping his cheek, she brought him closer to her and kissed him softly. "I don't need time," she answered. "I want you."

"That's settled then!" Giles laughed with joy and pulled her towards him as he rolled onto his back. "From what I read in the diary, you particularly like this position."

Buffy giggled as she straddled him. "Heh, you only read the one entry."

"Fine, I particularly like this position," he amended, looking up at her appreciatively. "Plus it's easier at the moment," he added as he rested his casted hand against her hip.

Buffy leaned over and shoved his t-shirt up his torso, kissing her way up his chest as she exposed his flesh. He sighed beneath her attentions and dragged his fingers up her thigh and over her hip to the waistband of her sweatpants.

"Up," she murmured and pulled the t-shirt off. The bruises on torso still looked nasty, but she could see evidence of healing. "Everything, okay?" she asked, as she carefully trailed the tips of her fingers over his chest and sides.

He nodded and tugged at the hem of her shirt. "Take it off."

Buffy reached down and pulled the shirt over her head, exposing her breasts to him.

He shook his head. "I didn't do you justice in the diary entry," he murmured reverently. "Words fail to describe how beautiful you are."

"I wasn't pregnant then," she laughed and cupped her breasts for him. "They're a bit bigger than normal."

He laughed with her as he raised himself up to a sitting position and took a stiff, pink nipple into his mouth. Buffy arched into him and he brought his left hand up to palm and tease at her other breast. Adjusting for the change in position, Buffy moved her body to get a better perch on his lap, rubbing her heated core over his rock hard erection.

Releasing her nipple, Giles let out a groan. "Christ, Buffy!"

"God, you feel so good," she moaned, grinding herself against him a few more times.

"Keep that up and I am going to make a mess," he panted, nipping at her chin.

Buffy gave him a quick kiss and moved off of him, slipping out of her sweats and then removing his. She stood before him and his breath caught in his throat. Moving towards the edge of the bed, he reverently placed a soft kiss on her raised belly. His child… their child safely nestled within and growing inside her.

"Oh, my love," he sighed as he wrapped his arms around her, drawing her near and nestling his head between her breasts. He couldn't help the tears that pricked his eyes.

Buffy felt the raggedness of his breathing and kissed the top of his head before kneeling down before him. Looking up, she took his head between her hands and pulled it down to kiss his forehead, then his eyes, the tip of his nose, and finally, smiling up at him, she brushed her lips over his.

"I love you, Giles," she stated before kissing him again a little harder.

"I didn't know…" he said, his eyes wide as he searched her mossy green ones.

"Didn't know what?"

He caressed her cheek. "I didn't know I could love someone like this."

Knowing he needed to voice his thoughts, Buffy tilted her head and asked, "Like how?"

"With all that I am."

It was a simple declaration, but not an easy one for him. She had known Giles for eleven years now and she knew how guarded he'd been and how difficult it had been for him to give himself wholly. Over the years he'd loved her as his Slayer and as a friend, he'd loved her as a partner and as a member of his ragtag little family. Of course, some time after Sunnydale, that love had changed again and his heart no longer belonged solely to him, and when he'd finally gotten down on one knee and proposed, he'd told her that he loved her completely. That every part of him loved every part of her, with all that he was and all that he ever would be.

"God Buffy," he declared, as though it was all so new to him. And she supposed that to him it was. "I want to be the man you fell in love with. I want to be the one who is worthy of being your husband and the father of your children."

"Oh, Giles!" Buffy stood quickly, her eyes never leaving his, and the moment before she took his lips in a searing kiss, she answered, "You are!" Her tongue invaded his mouth, tussling with his as her arms wound their way around his neck, her right hand plunging into his soft, greying hair and pulling him closer to her. "Move back on the bed and settle yourself against the pillows and headboard," she instructed, her voice heavy with need.

Giles did as he was told and watched her climb onto the bed and crawl her way towards him, like a regal lioness stalking her prey. It was damnably sexy. He was so hard, his cock hot and thick with his need for her.

"I am so wet for you, Giles," she whispered as she straddled his thighs.

"Show me," he breathed.

She reached between her legs and slowly touched herself, her fingers sliding easily between her folds before she brought them back to circle her clitoris. She moaned and bit her lip and Giles swore heartily under his breath as she pleasured herself.

Deciding she had teased him enough, Buffy brought her hand up, showing him the two fingers that glistened with her nectar. He took her hand in his and brought her fingers to his mouth, licking at them and sucking them clean, his eyes holding hers as he did so.

"You taste divine," he stated as he pulled her to him for a long, sensual kiss, allowing her to taste herself on his tongue.

"Please, I am so ready," she whimpered.

He held himself steady for her, intently watching their union as she enveloped his cock deep within her welcoming heat.

"Christ!" he growled when they were fully joined.

"Everything okay?" she asked as she nuzzled her nose against his, savoring the feeling of completeness with him.

He placed a tender kiss on her lips. "Perfect," he breathed. "I love the way you feel around me…"

"God, how I have missed you" she answered.

Buffy set a slow and steady cadence for them as curious hands and lips traversed the planes and curves of each other's bodies, touching, tasting, and teasing one another. Being able to express her love for him and to touch him was an amazingly wonderful and cathartic experience after the uncertainty she'd faced in the wake of his fall, and she reveled in connecting with her husband again.

As she undulated against him, Giles watched the emotions play over her face, utterly humbled by the love he saw reflected in her eyes, and he relished the joy of being able to banish his doubts and fears and show her how much he loved her through his words, his touches, and his actions. Eventually emotional reconnection succumbed to physical need and, as the intensity between them built, their pace increased until they followed one another into oblivion, Buffy collapsing onto Giles' chest.

He held her close while they waited out the aftershocks and for their breathing to return to normal, soft little kisses and caresses keeping them connected. When she moved off of him, they settled down into the bed and she curled into him, her head resting on his right shoulder and her fingers drawing random designs in his damp chest hair.

"Lazy morning sex isn't something we get to indulge in much anymore," she mentioned wistfully.

"No, I imagine not, not with the little one," he replied, placing a kiss against her temple. "So, I haven't had a chance to ask… if we live in London and we effectively run the Council, tell me what we are doing renovating this old place for? A weekend refuge?"

"Well, originally you had plans to sell it."

"That had been an option for a very long time," he answered, threading his fingers through hers.

"True, but after we were married, you showed me the place and I sort of fell in love with it, and you fell in love with it all over again. So we decided to renovate, upgrade the wiring and the plumbing, put in some modern amenities, expand the kitchen, and create the new master with the ensuite. Xander came out and wanted to help with the design of it. He missed working with his hands. It's taken a while, but we're almost done now." She kissed his shoulder before pushing herself up on her elbow to look at him. "After Tommy was born we decided to give the Council a few more years before stepping down and letting someone else lead. That gave us the time we needed to get the house and stables renovated and time to finish building the programs we started for the Council… and we've done that. We can retire now. We've given enough. It's time to focus on us and our family."

Unable to form a proper response to the very idea that they were retiring from their Calling, Giles let go of her hand and caressed her cheek before kissing her softly.

"So… yeah," she sighed, happily. "Retirement. And Xander and Vi are going to run the Council as Head Watcher and Slayer."

Giles certainly was gobsmacked at that news. He knew Xander was a capable young man. He'd proven himself in his construction job and had risen through the ranks quickly, but Giles wasn't necessarily sure he was Watcher or Council material. However, he had to admit that Xander was a competent researcher and had an analytical mind beneath his clownish exterior, and that six years was a long time for someone to grow and mature - he'd done it after his rebellious time running around London - and, of the accounts he had read in his diaries, it indicated that Xander had done an awful lot of growing up since Giles had left Sunnydale. Still, it was a little incongruous with his memories, but if Buffy felt Xander was up for the role, then who was he to second guess her?

Instead he asked after the incoming new Head Slayer. "Vi… one of the Sunnydale survivors, correct?"

"Yeah, she's really proven herself as a Slayer and a leader. For the last two years, she's been my second, so she knows where we are taking the Council. She also works really well with Xander and has some interesting ideas of her own to take the organization forward," Buffy explained with pride.

"Amazing," Giles responded, shaking his head. "It just all seems…"

"Too good to be true?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied, trying to process the news. All his young life he'd tried to run away from his Calling before begrudgingly accepting it. Buffy had had her own issues accepting it as well over the years. It all seemed so surreal. "Are you sure this isn't some fantastic dream?"

She laughed and playfully nipped at his lips, "No, you big lug, you just fell off the roof."

"Ah, yes, that would explain the blasted cast on my right arm and the itching skin around the stitches on my head," he stated good-naturedly as he nuzzled her nose.

"Yeah, probably not part of a fantastic dream," she teased, moving to place a soothing kiss just above the dressing on the side of his head. "My poor, handsome husband."

Husband. Yes, he thought, that suited him rather well.

"Oh, that reminds me." She hopped out of bed and found the jeans she'd worn the night before, digging into her pockets until she found the items she was looking for. When she returned, she found Giles sitting up in bed with an inquisitive look on his face. Taking a seat next to him, she held out her hand and opened it to reveal his signet ring and a beveled edge, matte silver wedding band. "They took them off when you went into surgery and gave them to me for safekeeping.

Picking up the signet ring, Giles placed it on his left pinky. He'd missed its heft on his hand the last several days. Then he took the wedding band from her and inspected it closely. It was beautiful and clearly singularly crafted with an inscription on the inside of the band: Yours Always, Buffy.

He placed the ring back into the palm of her hand and closed her fingers around it. Seeing the hurt look in her eyes, he sought to explain as he gently lifted her chin with his index finger to look at him.

"When I remember," he began, his eyes searching hers for understanding. "Place the ring on my finger."

"And if you don't?" she asked, unable to hide her disappointment.

"And if I don't…" Taking her left hand in his, he tenderly placed a kiss over the wedding band on her finger. "If I don't, then allow me the indulgence to ask for your hand. I will wear that ring again. I promise."