MISTLETOE AND WINE
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
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.

"Hark, the Herald Angels Sing."

"Away in a Manger."

"Joy to the World."

"Twelve Days of Christmas."

"Drummer Boy."

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."

The requests were coming thick and fast, without any consensus.

Giles grinned at his daughter. "I think that means we get to choose."

She nodded, and played a few bars. He joined her as soon as he recognised the tune, and their audience fell silent as they realised the choice had been made for them while they were arguing.

Giles sang the first line alone, and Joy, who had inherited her singing voice from her father, joined him on the second. God rest ye merry gentlemen
Let nothing ye dismay
Remember Christ our Saviour
Was born on Christmas Day
They sang the old English carol to the end, and as the last note faded, found themselves exchanging slightly embarrassed glances.

"I thought everyone was going to sing," Joy said. "Not just Dad and me."

"You sounded too lovely to interrupt," Buffy told her. "How about something we all know to get everyone singing?"

"Not lovely; sexy," Willow whispered to Tara, and Xander, who was sitting on her other side and knew exactly what she was referring to, poked her in the ribs. Willow poked him back with vigour.

"What about We Wish You a Merry Christmas?" Tara suggested quickly, before it could turn into an all-out fight.

Joy played an opening chord, and Giles joined her a moment later, strumming the first few bars. This time everybody sang; from Samuel, the youngest at a month younger than Miri, right through to Angel, who despite Buffy's comments, had improved since his Barry Manilow cover days.

What had started out as Jake's concert was soon a full-blown Christmas sing-along. Requests poured in from the audience, and Giles and Joy did their best to keep up. Joy was forced to pull a book of carols out of the music rack at one point, but they managed to play most of the music from memory.

They sang The Twelve Days of Christmas, and Xander was soon organising the children into playing out the different daily gifts. Samuel's co-ordination failed him on the lords a'leaping stanza, but Wesley managed to jump up and catch him before he hit his head on the coffee table, and disaster was averted.

Giles sang I Saw Three Ships on his own, accompanying himself on the guitar. Buffy listened, knowing her expression was turning dreamy. Rupert always had a lovely voice - she even rather liked Ripper's more strident accent on the occasions he, and it, surfaced - but there were two times when his voice could just make her melt like a lovesick teenager. Instead of a lovesick fifty-five year old who should have grown out of it, she reflected with an inward smile. When he sang like this, alone, his heart poured into the words, the world seemed to close in around them until only the two of them existed. And when he whispered her name and murmured endearments as they made love ... then, his voice could stop the universe.

Anya got Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as she had demanded, and she and her grandchildren sang with great gusto and little accuracy.

"I hate that song," Willow whispered to Tara, instead of singing. "It's all about prejudice, persecution and revenge. I don't know why people like it so much."

"That's probably why Anya likes it so much," Tara suggested. "With her being an ex-Vengeance demon and all." She smiled suddenly. "Maybe she's the one who helped Rudolph get his own back."

"Nah," Willow disagreed. "It wasn't messy enough for Anya."

They got sidetracked from Christmas carols for a while, as the requests turned modern, historical and eventually downright silly. When Wesley, a totally serious expression on his face, suggested the ancient Moldavian national anthem and Tricia, academic prodigy of the newly rejuvenated Watcher's Council, offered to provide the words, Giles put his foot down.

"Christmas carols," he said firmly. "It's Christmas."

"Some of us don't exactly celebrate Christmas, Uncle Rupert," Hazel pointed out wickedly.

"Oh yeah," Xander chimed in. "Gotta remember the Hanukkah spirit, right, Wills?"

She pulled a face at him and didn't bother to answer.

"Seasonal and Solstice, then," Giles conceded. "Anything else, you sing without accompaniment."

"Silent Night," Buffy said quietly.

Giles smiled at her, and strummed the opening chords. Joy joined in a moment later, and they all sang the beautiful, old German carol as the dusk settled in outside and the day drew to a close.