Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
Rating: M
Chapter 14
"It's about time you two sorted things out, and just in time for Christmas" Ethan said when she rang to invite him to the wedding at the beginning of November "I'm already out fifty bucks because you two failed to consummate in the first two months after your move".
She could hear the grin and the familiar cockiness that seemed to pour out of him no matter what the situation was and she rolled her eyes, "You coming or not?" she asked testily and sighed at his laughter echoing down the line.
"My dear I wouldn't miss it for the world, I'll be there with bells on" he said cheerfully, privy to a juicy bit of information thanks to a seer who recently visited his club, "Oh and tell Rip that he will be having a stag do even if I have to drag him out of the house".
Buffy snorted in amusement and covered the mouthpiece with her hand, "Giles!" she called away from the phone.
What? He replied tersely making her giggle. He was in his study pouring over a manuscript the translators at the council were having trouble with and all she had gotten from him today was one word answers and grunts.
"Pick up the phone for a sec" she called back then listened for the click telling her he had picked up his receiver.
"What is it?" he asked and she smiled in anticipation.
"Ethan tell Giles what you told me" she said still grinning.
"Any plans for your stag night Rip?" Ethan asked a little less cocky now.
"Not having one. Why?" Giles asked sounding wary and Buffy heard the soft clunk of a book cover hitting the surface of Giles' desk. She could picture the confused frown that was almost definitely on his face as he stared at the wall of his study waiting for Ethan to answer.
"You are having one old boy and I will drag you out of the house if I have to. It's a sacred night for blokes especially when I've been planning yours for nigh on thirty years" Ethan said trying to sound commanding.
Giles snorted in amusement, "Like you could drag me out of the house"
"What do you mean you've been planning his bachelor party for thirty years?" Buffy asked at the same time. Visions of Giles being engaged to some tall, super intelligent, tweed wearing Watcher chick filled her head and she started to feel the old familiar stirrings of inadequacy that Riley had planted once upon a time and Spike had later amplified after her return from the dead.
"Back in the good ol' days before Eyghon he was seeing this bit of skirt that lasted longer than six months and we got off our nut one night and planned out a bachelor party. But then we summoned Eyghon and you know the rest" Ethan said a bit of nostalgia leaking into his voice, ignoring Giles' attempts to shut him up.
"Oh and what exactly did you two plan?" Buffy asked with a grin at the thoughts she was getting from Giles.
"Wouldn't you like to know kitten?" Ethan purred and laughed when Giles growled threateningly at him. "Would love to go ahead with the plan but I'm afraid it might kill us now" he finished regretfully, grinning at her laughter and Rippers discomfort.
"You know what, I don't think I do want to know after all," she said around a giggle, "you're guaranteed to live if I don't" she added menacingly.
Ethan just chuckled darkly, "Your threats don't work on me anymore lovey" he drawled.
"Mine will" Giles muttered, his attention slowly returning to the parchment in front of him.
"Sorry to say Rip but not even you can threaten me into silence anymore" Ethan said his voice leaking smugness.
"I'm going to hang up now before you both start acting like five year olds" Buffy said, her amusement at the situation obvious, "Let me know when you get the invite Ethan"
"I know your secrets Ethan so I'm willing to bet I can shut you up you berk" Giles muttered still only half of his attention on the conversation.
"And I know yours Rip. In fact I'm willing to bet you don't remember all you confessed the last time I was in Sunnyhell" Ethan said smugly.
Buffy sighed, half amused and half infuriated at the current childish display between the two men.
"Ethan I'm warning you!" Giles said angrily his full attention now on Ethan, "Not another word"
"About what? Julia? Or shall we move on to the other woman you saw yourself marrying, Jenny?" Ethan said having more fun than he had in a while. Needling Ripper always cheered him up "Or shall we talk about how neglected you felt that year and that you were thinking of going home to England?".
Buffy moaned and hung up the phone, her thoughts spinning around her head too fast for Giles to follow but the guilt and darkness spreading through her was all too clear.
"Why can't you think before you open your mouth you fucking idiot!" Giles roared slamming his fist into his desk and wishing it was Ethans face, "She didn't know about any of that!"
"Ah, I'm sorry Rip, I didn't know" he murmured sounding genuinely remorseful "but before you decide to tear me a new one I'm going to go, I'll see you in the Summer" Ethan said quickly hoping to distract him from the verbal beating he was sure he was going to receive.
"The summer? The wedding is in the spring" Giles said distractedly, focusing harder on Buffy and the increasingly dark mood that was taking her over.
"…but you aren't listening to a single word I'm saying so maybe I should just hang up and save myself some time trying to tell you that things are going to be a lot more interesting for a few months"
Giles' focus returned to the voice buzzing in his ear and he blinked in confusion, "What are you prattling on about?" he demanded irritated at how his day had turned out
"You'll find out soon enough" Ethan said around a grin, "be seein' ya Rip"
Giles sighed as he replaced the handset and stood, his translation forgotten for the time being as the more important matter of the darkness emanating from his love took priority.
"Buffy?" he called through the closed bedroom door, "Can I come in?"
"Sure" she called back, the lifeless tone of her voice making his insides flutter with fear.
He pushed open the door and saw her sitting on the bench under the window, her legs tucked up underneath her, her elbow on the windowsill and her fist under her chin as she stared out at the street, her other hand lay over her abdomen until she lifted it and wiped away a stray tear.
"What is it love?" he asked her in a gentle voice as he sat opposite her and lay his hands on her knees, "I'm sorry I never told you about any of, well, any of what happened that year, or about Julia I just didn't think it was important"
Her head turned towards him and she stared at him in surprise, a flash of hurt passing between them before she controlled it, "Is that what you think is bothering me? I don't care about an old girlfriend Giles" she said in a voice barely louder than a whisper before turning back to the window.
"Then what's wrong? I can feel...darkness and guilt...I don't know how else to describe it love" he said still in that same gentle voice as if he was trying to coax a suicidal person back from the ledge, "Talk to me Buffy, please?"
Her gaze flicked to him and then back to the window before her face crumpled and the tears began to flow in earnest, "I've hurt you so much...why do you love me?" she whispered before covering her face and sobbing harder as he tutted and pulled her into his arms.
Understanding lit his features as he held her, shifting into a better position as she crawled onto his lap, "Jenny was never your fault love" he murmured, "and I've hurt you just as much, if not more..." he trailed off when she violently shook her head and sat up, sliding off his lap and wiping her face on the bottom of her t-shirt.
"You haven't... you couldn't... after Bash there's nothing you could do to hurt me like that" she said haltingly looking down at her tightly clenched hands in her lap.
He silently agreed with her and flinched at the mental slap she sent his way having forgotten, just for a split second, that she heard everything, "Sorry love" he said coaxing her hands to lay flat against his before linking their fingers, "Why is this affecting you so badly all of a sudden, we've spoken about Jenny and everything that happened in Sunnydale at length and you didn't react like this..." he trailed off when he caught the almost successfully obscured thought that flitted through her head.
"Don't get excited it's just a thought" she said bluntly when he gasped in pleased surprise.
"Truly? Is that what could be causing the nightmares and the, the..." he jumped to his feet and raced from the room, "I'll be back soon" he called over his shoulder and she sighed as she pulled her phone from her back pocket.
She flipped it open and opened her call list, selected the number she wanted and lifted the phone to her ear and waited as it rang.
"Hey Buff, Bash is fine but then you'd know if he wasn't coz of your mind link thingy" Dawn answered and Buffy grinned at how happy she sounded, the sound of Bash giggling drifting over the line had her shaking her head in amusement.
"Wanna have a sleep over with him? Things have happened and I want the night for just me and Giles" Buffy said cryptically as she wiped the last vestiges of tears from her face.
"Mum's having another baby" she heard Bash say and laughed at Dawns spluttering as she felt him give her a mental hug.
"Seriously?!" Dawn shouted in Buffy's ear making her wince.
"Thanks for that Dawn" she said switching the phone to the other side as she wiggled her finger in her ear trying to get rid of the ringing, "And until the munchkin said that I wasn't sure, Giles has gone to buy a pregnancy test. But I have a feeling I am and I think it's a boy and not a girl but..."
"Buff? Stop babbling, I'll have him for the night, gives me an excuse to eat my weight in ice cream and cookies" Dawn said happily, "we can watch Iron Man so I can drool over Robert Downey Jr and he can work off the sugar trying to copy the fight scenes. I'll bring him back around three".
"Don't want a brother" Bash grumbled loud enough that she heard it and both Dawn and Buffy snorted with barely suppressed laughter.
Love you munchkin she said and blew him a mental kiss, "Have fun guys, I'll see you tomorrow afternoon then"
"Oh I want a phone call if Bash is right, like as soon as you take the test" Dawn demanded sounding like an excited teenager again and Buffy felt the dark cloud returning when she realised it wasn't just Giles she hurt by not telling anyone about Bash.
"Count on it squirt" she said with false cheer then hung up, staring at the phone in her hand as it lay on her lap.
She sank back against the windowsill and sighed, making sure she put her walls up so Bash couldn't feel her guilt and worry. If there was one thing she truly hated about their shared link it was not knowing whether she was damaging her son by exposing him to her thoughts, feelings and memories.
You're not love Giles whispered in her head and she smiled.
Yeah? Even when I'm like this? She asked him, wincing because even her mental voice sounded detached and lifeless.
He knows you're sad, that's all, he wants me to make you happy again he said and she felt his voice wrap around her like a caress, soothing her the way it always had.
Talking about me huh? Okay, you best hurry home with that pregnancy test then coz I have a feeling seeing you do a happy dance will put a smile on my face and she smiled when she heard his chuckle.
I'll be as quick as I can he said and she felt the darkness that had settled over her dissipate slightly when his excitement at the prospect of another child broke through the haze.
She stayed connected with him partly because he wanted it but mostly because she did as well. His ability to give her comfort not lessened by the fact he wasn't even there.
She smiled at his response to her thoughts and stood, feeling the need for ice cream and chocolate.
When he walked through the front door twenty minutes later he saw her sitting on the floor next to the coffee table with his tub of strawberry cheesecake ice cream open in front of her and a spoon halfway to her mouth dripping chocolate sauce onto the hand she held underneath it while she watched a film on the TV.
"Is there any left for me?" he asked, dropping his keys on the end table along with the pregnancy test.
She grinned around the spoon her eyes flashing with amusement, "Not a lot no" she mumbled around the ice cream, giggling when he stood in front of her and lifted the nearly empty carton, tipping it up to see what was left while she licked the sauce from her palm.
"You owe me another tub" he said taking the spoon from her and scooping out the last syrupy spoonful for himself before dropping to the floor next to her and leaning forward for a sweet but sticky kiss.
"No I don't" she mumbled against his lips, "I'm giving you another kid, my debts are paid" she said standing and looking down at him with a smug grin on her face.
The burst of happiness that shot through him at those words made her grin widen into a dazzling smile and she felt his eyes on her as she picked up the test and walked towards the stairs. He pushed himself to his feet and followed her, waiting in their bedroom for her to finish in the bathroom.
"Well?" he asked when she walked through the door.
"It takes two minutes" she said walking past him and putting the plastic stick on her bedside table before crawling onto the bed behind him and wrapping her arms around his shoulders, "You'll have to wait".
"What happens if you are pregnant?" he asked and she heard the slight trace of fear in his voice he was trying to hold back from her.
She bent her head and kissed the side of his neck, "I make an appointment at the doctors and then comes the scans and pre natal vitamins and check ups and blood tests and more scans and check ups and then the birth" she said grinning when she felt his heart rate speed up.
"And what do I do during all of that?" he asked rubbing a hand over her arm.
"Just be you love," she said resting her chin on his shoulder, "be there for when I'm feeling weepy or fed up and be willing to go get me food at any time of the day and night coz the cravings can be a real bitch" she said with a resigned sigh.
She shifted until she was straddling his lap and combed her fingers through his hair, trailing them down to his shoulders and giving him a gentle massage to help release some of his tension. "Tell me I'm beautiful even when I resemble a blimp and definitely don't take my mood swings personally"
Giles smiled when her softly spoken words brought images to life in his minds eye. Images that were easily fabricated thanks to the pictures she had provided when she was pregnant with Bash.
"I'm entirely sure you won't resemble a blimp but you will be beautiful to me no matter what you look like my love" he said opening his eyes and looking up at her, frowning when he noticed the tears falling from her lashes, "Buffy? What is it?"
"Two blue lines" she whispered sliding off his lap and rushing over to the bed side table. She laughed and spun towards him holding out the test so he could see for himself, "I guess the pill stopped working" she muttered when he took the little plastic stick from her and stared down at it in awe.
"This time I get to see it all for myself instead of in pictures" he muttered. He was so completely focused on the two blue lines confirming that a second child would be joining their family that he missed the wave of guilt that crashed through her at his words.
Sure she new he hadn't meant it to hurt her but it did anyway, the voice in her head telling her it shouldn't hurt this much that something was wrong was easily ignored. Sighing softly to herself she slipped from the room while he was absorbed in the sight of a positive result and silently made her way downstairs. She had pulled on her sneakers and gently retrieved her keys before she heard his voice call out for her.
She concentrated for a second before she pulled a shield up and around herself, keeping him out while she silently slipped from the house. She could still hear him calling for her, still hear the worry in his voice but she didn't have it in her to respond.
It was taking everything she had just to keep from crying as she ran down the street and away from their house.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Stop it! I did what you asked, now leave her alone" Ethan shouted at the robed figure in front of him, pulling against the ropes that bound him to the chair he had been forced into "She doesn't deserve this, she's done nothing to you!"
"You know nothing of what they have or haven't done" the figure growled, anger dripping from every word as the image of Buffy running through a park and dropping down behind a large tree glittered in the air above the cauldron in front of them, "They need to pay for the life they took from me. Her suffering will cause him pain which is enough until I can cause it myself" the figure muttered flicking their fingers and making the image change to Giles frantically searching the house, the expression on his face a mixture of fear and worry. The figure chuckled before turning around and facing him, "Get him ready for transport, we're going back to England".
"You won't get away with this, they'll figure…" pain exploded through his head and he groaned, fighting the blackness that was inching it's way across his vision.
"Oh I hope they do figure it out, it's more fun if they do" the figure said with a laugh.
Ethan rolled his head back on his shoulders and looked up at the person standing in front of him as they slowly lowered their hood, his eyes widening with recognition when he finally saw who was hiding behind it.
"Oh bollocks" he mumbled before the blackness finally took him.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Dawn, has your sister called you?" Giles asked as he paced the length of the living room, his gaze constantly moving between the clock and the front door.
"Yeah about half an hour ago to ask me to have a sleep over with Bash and to tell me she might be pregnant" Dawn said sounding miffed, "She said she'd call me when she knew for sure"
Giles closed his eyes and wiped a hand down his face, "She left and I can't reach her, where's Bash?"
His question was answered by the sound of his son crying out in pain and fear. The sound of Dawn leaping from the sofa and dropping her phone, a bowl shattering as it hit the floor echoed down the line and he gripped his handset tighter as he heard Bash calling out for his mother in his head.
"Holy shit!" he heard Dawn shout then a few seconds later he heard her scrambling for the phone, "Giles?!"
"What happened? Is he alright?" he asked doing his best to push back the panic that was ripping it's way through him.
"He...he vanished" Dawn muttered and he heard her running around her living room, the sound of things hitting the floor echoing down the line, "He said Mama hurt then vanished, did you know he could do that?"
"No I...oh god Buffy" he cried when he felt Bash in his head calling for him, the image of Buffy laying at the base of a large sycamore filling his head, "She's at the park near us, Dawn..."
"I'm on my way" she said cutting him off.
He threw the phone down onto the sofa and ran from the house, the sound of his son crying echoing in his head.
When he reached the spot Bash had called him to he saw his son kneeling next to his mother, pushing on her shoulder and pleading with her to get up. He skidded to a stop next to them, his hands working on automatic while his heart stuttered erratically in his chest.
"Giles!" Willow called out his name as soon as she appeared next to them, catching Bash when he jumped up into her arms, "Dawn called, what happened?".
"She's breathing, her colours good, there's no injuries, it must be magical" Giles mumbled to himself, running his fingers through her hair against her scalp again.
"Giles take Bash, let me help her" Willow said rubbing her hand up and down Bash's back trying to offer what comfort she could.
Giles looked up and blinked in surprise when he saw Willow kneeling opposite him, her face a mask of total calm belying the fear and panic shining from her eyes. He looked down into the face of his son, staring at him with wide eyes filled with fear and confusion, tears rolling down his cheeks with his fingers in his mouth as he hiccuped around them and he nodded.
He held out his hands to Bash who scrambled over to him, climbing into his lap as Giles sat back against the tree to give Willow more room and wrapped his arms tightly around his neck, twisting his head around so he could see his mother and what was happening. They both watched Willow as she waved her hands over Buffy, her eyes closed in concentration.
"Oh God, what happened?" Dawn asked breathlessly as she came running up to them, "And where is...anybody else? This place is usually packed" she said looking around them at the emptiness of the park. Over the years she had realised that if she focused on the insignificant, the trivial, she didn't fall apart when the badness happened.
"There is a fair at the other end of the park today" Giles said tonelessly, his arms tightening around Bash when he whimpered. He put his hand on his head and tucked it under his chin, hoping to keep him from watching Willow work on his mother.
Buffy suddenly gasped and sat up, grasping at Willows hands as she tried to calm her enough to focus, "What...how..."
"Buffy!" Giles cried, awkwardly lurching forward with Bash in his arms, not seeing the panic and confusion in her eyes.
Both he and Bash wrapped their arms around her at the same time, "What happened?" she asked pulling away from them and looking around herself at Dawn and Willow, "Who are you people? Who am I?"
Giles clamped down on the pain that ripped through him at her words and looked at Willow for an explanation.
"Someone cast a really powerful memory charm on her, I was trying to figure out which one when she woke up" she said with a frown. She looked at him and answered the question she knew he would ask as she slowly shook her head, "Without knowing which one was cast I could do more harm than good if I try to remove it"
"What's going on?" Buffy asked, getting to her feet and backing away from them. Her eyes darted to the little boy holding onto the man's hand and her heart lurched at the tears she saw on his face. She wanted to take him in her arms and console him but she didn't know why.
"You collapsed, do you remember anything?" Dawn asked gently.
Buffy frowned and looked at each of them, "All I remember is two blue lines, what does that mean?"
Giles moaned and dropped his chin to his chest, he had seen no recognition, no love in her eyes, the significance of what seemed to be her only memory not lost on him. Bash let go of his fathers hand and walked up to Buffy grinning at her.
"You're my Mum" he said without hesitation.
"Am I?" she asked in surprise then smiled and dropped to her knees in front of him, "I would most definitely remember being your Mom sweetie, are you sure?"
"Yep, I'll help you remember" he said then gripped her head between his hands.
Giles lurched forward as Buffy tried to push Bash away, fear overtaking every other emotion currently tearing him apart at the thought of what she might do to him. He stopped and blinked rapidly in surprise as Buffy weakly dropped her hands and sat back on her heels, Bash walking forward with her until he was nose to nose, still smiling widely.
After a few minutes a glow started to emanate from where he was touching her and everyone took a step back as it began to grow brighter. Willow quickly cast a diversion spell on the air around them so that if anyone passed by and saw them they wouldn't realise what they were seeing and would just carry on walking.
Giles couldn't see or hear anything that was going on and it was making him uncomfortable. He had grown so used to being connected to his son and his lover in such a short time that being without them made him feel lonely.
"Hey didn't Angel say Cordy did something like that for his kid?" Dawn whispered to Willow, her eyes glued to the ball of bright blue light that had consumed her sister and nephew.
"Kinda like that but not the same" Willow muttered fascinated by what Bash was doing.
Giles was only half listening to them mutter, his brain going through the connotations of Bash's ability to teleport at the age of four, at the power he obviously possessed to be able to do something like this. At the same time he went over everything that had happened in the last few days, re-examined everyone they spoke to or came into contact with.
The only person with the knowledge and skill to pull this off was Ethan and the growl that rumbled through his chest made Willow and Dawn squeak and take a step back in surprise.
I'm going to kill him he thought venomously.
No you're not he heard from Buffy and he moaned out in relief, dropping to his knees as the light disappeared and he saw Buffy hugging Bash.
He crawled over to them and grabbed her face between his hands. He looked down at her for a few seconds, looking for the recognition and the love he had missed before. Finding it he pressed his lips to hers sobbing in relief.
"Take me home" she said when he had pulled back.
Bash, who had slipped from his mothers lap and run over to his Aunt, giggled and said, "I still stay Aunty Dawns right?"
"Yeah, we still have ice cream and popcorn and sugary treats to eat" Dawn said with a giggle at a dancing Bash.
"Buff we need to figure out what happened and make sure it can't happen again" Willow said smiling down at Bash who had gripped her hand and was looking up at her with a serious face.
"It was Uncle Ethan" Bash said sadly, "He in trouble, bad lady make him do stuff"
"What bad lady son?" Giles asked lifting him into his arms as they started the walk back to the house.
Bash shrugged, "Dunno just bad lady, she knows you and Uncle Ethan and Mum though" he said then pushed against his fathers shoulders and wiggled to be let down.
Buffy slipped her hand in his and laid her head against his bicep, her other hand curling around his forearm, "Someone all three of us knows?" she murmured with a frown, "Is there someone we all know?"
Giles looked down at her and pulled his arm free of her grip, wrapping it around her shoulders and pulling her against his side, "Not to my knowledge but we can talk about that later, I want to know why you snuck out of the house" he said in a whisper.
She replayed the moment he had taken the stick from her and he felt her shudder when she remembered what he had said, "I don't get why it hurt so much, I had been thinking that exact same thing while you were gone and how different it was gonna be so..."
"We were manipulated love" he said as they stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading to their front door, "Everything you were feeling was being magnified to make you vulnerable"
"Still, I'm sorry I scared you" she said turning in his arms and facing him, "Why don't we go inside and do our best to erase the last hour, starting with a bath" she purred, her finger tracing an imaginary line down the centre of his chest.
Giles blinked and shook his head to dispel the images she had evoked, lifting his hand to brush his knuckles over her cheek, "Sounds like a plan love" he whispered bending his head to place a kiss on her smiling mouth.
He had intended it to be a sweet, loving kiss, an affirmation of their bond and the love they shared but she shifted slightly and ran her hands up his chest, pressing herself more firmly against him and the kiss shifted into one of promise and desire.
"Oh gross, get a room guys, seriously"
Dawns voice brought them back to reality with a jolt and they pulled away from each other with guilty grins on their faces.
"Sorry Dawn" Buffy muttered as she climbed the steps and slipped past her into the house, Giles just grinning unrepentantly as he followed his future wife.
"Sure ya are" Dawn said with a smirk as she shut the front door, "So Buff, wanna tell us what the two blue lines are?"
Buffy sat on the sofa with Bash and Willow, a secretive smile on her face, "What are you talking about Dawn?"
"Don't play dumb, it doesn't suit you" Dawn said sternly, fisting her hands on her hips and glaring at her sister.
Bash giggled at his Aunt as he slipped off of the sofa and ran over to his Dad, climbing up onto his lap. Giles lifted him up and positioned him more comfortably, his smile growing when he saw her happiness.
"Yeah ok," Buffy said and sighed, "I'm pregnant"
Giles and Bash both flinched when Willow and Dawn screamed in delight and threw themselves at Buffy, crushing her in a hug.
XXXXXXXXXX
Thousands of miles away a scream of rage and frustration echoed through an empty club, light bulbs exploded above their heads sending the Vampires running for cover and the Shargal Beasts warily watching the sorceress. The attempt had failed and the backlash of the spell breaking had left a feeling of weakness that would take days to recover from.
"Bloody kid, why didn't you tell me he was that powerful?" she asked Ethan, turning towards him when she didn't get a response. She stomped over to him and grasped a fistful of his hair, "Well? Answer...bollocks you're unconscious" she said letting go of his hair and smiling with satisfaction when his head thunked against the floor.
"I guess I'll just have to take him out too" she said watching the celebration unfold in the haze above the cauldron, "enjoy it while it lasts Ripper, your family won't be happy for long"