I Can Feel You Breathe
By Sauscony
E-mail: sauscony@forty-two.co.nz
Rating: G
Pairings: Buffy/Giles and others
Summary: Reply to a 2000 Christmas Challenge
Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel characters are copyrighted ©20th Century Fox, Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, UPN and the WB, and are used without permission. No copyright infringment is intended.
The kitten was having a wonderful time.
There was all this crinkly, coloured paper to explore. She could hide in it and pounce out when some ankles walked by. She could twist and turn and slide on her tummy until she had her own little nest to curl up in. She could attack it with her teeth and her claws and rip it to sheds and no-one seemed to mind.
And if that got boring, people kept waving bits of ribbon and string at her, and she could rush around trying to catch them until she was exhausted. Then she could go back to the paper for a brief spot of R&R before starting all over again.
The small people weren't so much fun - they kept trying to grab her tail and pick her up with sticky, grabbing little hands. But they were gone now; the grown-ups had sent them outside to play and the kitten had the paper and string all to herself while the adults talked among themselves.
"Now?"
It had all seemed easy, simple and perfect, last night. Now, Brianna discovered she had an entire garden's-worth of butterflies in her stomach.
Angel smiled at her, soft and gentle, and suddenly everything was clear again. "Now," he agreed.
Brianna stood up, but made no real attempt to attract the attention of the party. She almost jumped out of her skin when a piercing whistle came from behind her. The kitten started and hurtled back into her nest of paper. Everyone else turned to stare.
"Brianna has something to say," Angel said mildly.
Anya looked impressed. "Where did you learn to make that horrible noise?" she asked.
"London, 1856," Angel answered obligingly. "Now, listen to Brianna."
"Bree?" Buffy gave her daughter a questioning look.
Brianna looked down at her hands, back up at her parents, then down again. Angel poked her in the back surreptitiously and she jumped, immediately trying not to show any reaction. Calm and certain was what was needed now, not nervous and jumpy. Oh well, might as well leap right in...
"Angel and I got engaged last night," she announced, and waited for the storm to break.
It did - with a crash and bang that would have made any self-respecting thunderstorm extremely jealous. Angel stood and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and just waiting, a reassuring pool of calm.
Finally, Giles managed to bring some order to the room by producing an ear-splitting whistle of his own. The following silence was almost more oppressive than the noise had been.
"Do you think that's wise?" Buffy asked carefully.
"Hello..." Xander interrupted. "Curse, remember?"
"That is a concern," Giles agreed. "The world has been doing rather well in recent years. I don't think it really needs another visit from Angelus."
"And," Buffy added in a hard voice, "I don't want anyone marrying my daughter who isn't going to make her perfectly happy and be perfectly happy with her. I'm sorry Angel, but that rather puts you out of the running."
"What about what I want?" Brianna demanded angrily. "This isn't just about him. It's about both of us."
"Been there, done that," her mother said flatly.
"Ooh..." Brianna had a sudden urge to hit something. "For starters, I'm not seventeen, and..."
"Hey." Angel rested his chin on her shoulder, the movement soothing, and she took a deep breath, understanding what he was trying to tell her. It had been her idea to break their news this way, and she wasn't going to help anything if she let herself get angry.
"Those are fair concerns," Angel added, speaking both to her and to the room at large. "Let me?" he added, speaking only to Brianna.
She nodded, and he kissed her cheek and let her go.
He walked across the room and knelt on the floor in front of Buffy's chair. He reached out and gently took one of her hands in his, setting it against his chest. For a moment she stared at him in confusion, then her expression changed, turning to one of disbelief and awe.
Angel nodded, and she lifted her hand to touch his face. "I can feel you breathe," she whispered softly.
For a moment she didn't move, then slowly she began to smile, tears slipping down her cheeks. "Rupert," she said softly, "Angel's human."
"Human," Giles repeated automatically. Then the word sunk in. "Human?"
"It happened last night," Brianna said, coming over and sinking to the floor beside Angel, smiling up at her mother. "When he asked me."
"Oh, Brianna." Buffy hugged her daughter, really crying now.
"Are you happy for me, Mommy?" They were a little girl's words, asking for acceptance and reassurance.
"What a silly question." Buffy brushed ineffectually at the tears on her cheeks, and expanded the hug to include Angel. "Of course I'm happy. For both of you."
Brianna's gaze turned to her father. "Dad?"
Giles was still looking like someone had just hit him over the head. "Human?" he said for the third time.
Seeing a worried look growing on Brianna's face, he took a deep, calming breath. "Of course I am, love." He tried to smile, managing it on his second attempt, and reached out to cup her cheek with his hand. "Shocked, surprised, intrigued, astounded..." He was running out of adjectives and he suddenly realised it didn't matter. "I'm happy for you both," he said simply instead.
"Well, of course you are," Joy's voice broke in. "Angel's human, Bree's engaged, it's Christmas. Everyone's happy." She laughed and pulled her sister to her feet. "Come on Bree, hugs are required."
Laughing, Brianna rose to her feet, returning Joy's embrace. That was the signal for hugs and congratulations all round, as Brianna and Angel were surrounded.
"You know what this means, kiddo?" Xander grumbled as he kissed Brianna on the cheek.
Caught between laughter and tears, she smiled at him. "What, Uncle Xander?"
"Not only have I lost my best Giles joke, I can't call your boyfriend Deadboy anymore, either." He offered his hand to Angel. "Congratulations," he said seriously. "You deserve it. Brianna and humanity, both."
Angel smiled as they shook hands. "In that order. Thank you, Xander."
"I'm glad you've got the order worked out right," Giles said with an attempt at gravity.
"I do," Angel assured him. "I..."
"Hey!" Buffy's voice interrupted them suddenly, sounding highly annoyed. "Last night, huh? So that whole rushing in out of the sunrise thing was a put on?"
Brianna laughed. "Sorry, Mom. You've gotta let a girl have some fun."
"Humph..." Buffy muttered, not appeased.
Looking at the disgruntled expression on his wife's face, Giles had to smile. After all that had passed between them so long ago, he found it both strange and oddly peaceful, the idea that he would soon have Angel as a son-in-law. An Angel who was warm and breathing and human, who clearly loved Brianna with a depth and passion that he had learned from loving her mother, all those years before.
He offered his hand to the ex-vampire. "Welcome to the family." And unable to resist, he added, "Son."
