Forever Rules : Book One
Part Six
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Now half dressed in the grey sweatpants he been wearing earlier before he'd been divested of them by Ren, Giles sat at the table in his living room and flipped back over to the page he'd just looked at.
And sighed.
It was the penultimate page in the fourth large tome that he'd perused since Xander had called a couple of hours earlier with the news of the demon at the villa. Unfortunately that particular page was about as helpful as the others that he'd turned over in his search that had been filled with descriptions and images of demons. He had more books to look through of course… there were always more books.
Giles looked back at the two sketches he'd made of the demon's face from Xander's description. One was a hasty scribble whilst he'd been on the phone, the other that he now held in his hand was more carefully drawn. The face outline and hair were that of a human and Giles was pretty sure the sunken eyes and the ridge at the base of the chin were more or less accurate. He wasn't too sure about the size of the horns, and the tattoos that Xander had said ran from the nose across the cheek and then down the side of the face, Giles had left as small black smudges.
Giles closed the book infront of him and placed in on top of the pile he'd already looked at before leaning back in his chair. He held the sketch up before him and stared at it.
"What are you and what do you want with them?" he murmured softly. And as he expected he got no answer. With another sigh Giles set the picture down on the table and got up, heading towards the kitchen.
He'd got just got the point of switching the kettle on to boil when he heard a soft murmur coming from underneath the bundle of covers on the couch. Giles turned around just as Ren poked her head out from underneath the throw that he'd lain over her.
She looked a little disorientated for a moment before catching sight of him standing in the kitchen. "What'ya doin'?" she mumbled sleepily, pushing hair out of her face as she sat up, hugging the throw around her.
"Making tea." Giles gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Didn't mean to wake you."
"S'okay," Ren said mid-yawn. "Don't mind losing my pillow." She smiled at Giles as she got up. "Much, anyway."
"I wouldn't have moved if it wasn't necessary," Giles told Ren as she shuffled into the kitchen, still holding the throw around her. He reached out and slipped an arm around her waist, pulling her close before planting a soft kiss on her forehead.
Ren smiled at the kiss and then raised an eyebrow. "Necessary?"
"Buffy and Xander had another demon," Giles explained. "This time at the villa. It would appear that this one showed a little more personal interest in them. They're alright," he added when he saw Ren frown a little. "It got away. Disappeared into thin air apparently."
"Not another Pasturak then?" Ren remarked.
Giles shook his head. "I'm not sure what it is," he said as he moved away from her and back into the living room. "Xander gave me a description over the phone." He picked up the sketch he'd made and then handed it to Ren as she followed him. "It's humanoid and around six and a half feet tall. The black smudges are some kind of markings."
Ren began to study the picture. "Markings?"
"Um, tattoos," Giles replied. "Xander wasn't able to give too much detail."
"Might be tribal," Ren suggested, frowning a little at the picture. "Anything else?"
"Apparently it wore a suit. Armani." Giles saw the contemplative look on Ren's face as she studied the sketch. "What is it?"
Ren shook her head. "I don't know… but-" she broke off and began to chew on her bottom lip. "I don't know… something's niggling."
"Well, it's more than I've been getting," Giles said with a sigh, nodding his head over to the books on the table. "I've faxed a copy over to Willow and Tara. Asked them if they can check through some of their books."
Ren handed the sketch back to Giles. "What are Buffy and Xander doing now?"
"On the next flight home," Giles replied. "They called from the airport to say they'd managed to get on a flight that had some cancellations. They should be in the air now."
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Buffy looked over the top of her magazine that she'd admittedly been holding a little too high infront of her face, and wasn't even reading, before quickly ducking her head again when she saw the couple across the aisle and one row down looking at her and smirking. And also the couple infront of the smirking couple, the greasy haired youth infront of them and, Buffy discovered when she dared look again, the air stewardess who was coming up the aisle towards her.
Buffy flushed crimson and turned to Xander. She scowled when she saw he'd drifted off to sleep. She rolled up her magazine and smacked him hard on the arm with it.
Xander started awake. "Wha'huh?" He looked at her, puzzled, and rubbed at his arm where she'd hit him. "What?"
"Everyone is still looking at us," she hissed, hitting him with the magazine again. "This is all your fault."
"*Excuse* *me*," Xander hissed back, his eyes darting around at the other passengers, "But I wasn't the one moaning my name so loud that everyone heard."
Buffy's eyes widened and her mouth opened and closed a couple of times before she spoke. "How is that *not* your fault?" she said incredulously through gritted teeth. "*You're* the one who tried to nail me to the damn bathroom wall!"
Xander grabbed the magazine as Buffy attempted to hit him with it again and used it to pull her closer as she still had a good hold on it. "You told me to."
Buffy's face was only inches from Xander's and she'd have had to be blind to miss the heat in his eyes. But Buffy wasn't giving in just yet. "We got *applauded* when we went back to our seats," she reminded him, keeping her voice down.
Xander's voice was impossibly low. "And?"
Buffy swallowed hard and she could feel her heart beating quicker in her chest. "*And* I'm *really* *mad* at you."
Xander leant forward and whispered in her ear. "Gonna spank me?"
Buffy swallowed hard again. "You evil bastard." She drew back from Xander and looked into his eyes again to see he hadn't taken her comment to heart and instead saw the mischievous glint in his eyes mixed with unhidden lust.
"You married me," Xander pointed out, raising an eyebrow.
"Evil." Buffy leant closer to him again.
"To the bone-mmph-" Xander was cut off when Buffy grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled him the few inches left between them and claiming his mouth in a bruising kiss. There were a few catcalls as Xander responded as ardently to the kiss as Buffy had initiated it, but Buffy and Xander were too lost in the moment to care. Buffy's fingers twisted in Xander's hair and Xander's hand went from Buffy's arm down to her thigh.
"Which bone?" Buffy mumbled against his lips when they finally broke apart for oxygen.
"Take a wild guess," Xander grinned, stroking his fingers through her hair. He caught the eyes of the first smirking couple over Buffy's shoulder and grinned. "Honeymoon."
The couple rolled their eyes before going back to whatever it was they were doing before and there was a muttered, "Typical." from the air stewardess as she passed them.
Buffy kissed Xander more softly this time before removing his hand from her thigh and taking it in her own as she snuggled up against him as much as he could and laid her head on his shoulder.
"I still can't believe they applauded," she muttered softly. Buffy elbowed Xander gently when he just laughed softly in response. "Shut up."
Xander just chuckled again and slipped an arm around her shoulder. He turned his head so he could place a kiss on her temple. "It's not like we didn't deserve it. After the effort we put in…"
Buffy elbowed him again, but smiled this time. She tilted her head up and caught Xander's eye. "Well… at least I don't have airplane sink imprints in my ass."
"But I do."
Buffy giggled and they kissed again; Xander kissing her gently on the forehead before Buffy settled her head back on his shoulder. "Think we'll get in trouble?"
"Don't know," Xander replied. "Maybe if someone complains. Luckily we didn't have kids on this part of the flight."
Buffy's brow crinkled. "And we're supposed to be responsible adults."
"Well, we save the world a lot," Xander pointed out.
"Uh huh, OK. But do we want to tell our kids that their mommy and daddy go at it in airplane bathrooms?"
"Well, I wouldn't probably wouldn't use the words 'go at it' for one thing." Xander received another elbowing. "But, seeing your point. Curbing of sexual escapades might be in order." Xander paused. "Kids? As in the plural?"
Buffy tilted her head up so she could look at him again. "You don't want the plural?"
Xander smiled. "I want the plural, Mrs Harris."
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After sitting back at the table for ten minutes now after showing Ren the sketch of the demon, Giles was now making steady going through yet another dusty tome while Ren was in the shower. He picked up his cup of tea and took a sip, grimacing a little when he realised it was decidedly lukewarm. Giles got up with the purpose of making another cup when suddenly the bathroom door opened abruptly and Ren emerged, soaking wet and clad only in a towel with her long, red hair plastered to her scalp.
There was a determined look on her face, and she barely glanced at Giles as she headed past him and directly towards the table he'd just been sitting at. Giles looked on in confusion and a slightly stunned silence as Ren proceeded to rummage through the papers on his desk, finally grabbing the sketch he'd made and setting it on a relatively empty area of the table. She then grabbed a pencil and began to draw in the bottom right hand corner of the piece of paper.
"Um…" Giles began, peering over her shoulder to see what Ren was drawing. It looked like a fan with something scribbled in the middle. He then realised that's Ren's hair was beginning to drip on the book he'd been reading and he stepped to the other side of her and pulled it away. It might not have been a vastly interesting book, but there were only twenty of them in existence. "Ren?"
"Damn it," Ren them muttered and started to scribble out her attempt and began again in the another corner, this time seeming to take more care in her work. "This," she said after a moment, carefully pencilling three close together feather-like items, "Is what was niggling me." Ren sketched in a thin band at the base of the three 'feathers'. "I've seen it. With this demon."
"Seen it where?" Giles asked as Ren drew a letter 'P' in the centre of the drawing. "What is it?"
"I don't know," Ren admitted, studying the picture of the demon for a moment before looking back at Giles. "The demon, I've seen one before. A while ago, a few decades, I'm not sure. But I don't know what it is." She looked back at the picture and tapped the sketch she'd just made with the tip of her pencil. "This… this is what it flashed. Like an ID," Ren elaborated when she saw Giles raise an eyebrow. "I was working for this Kessemon demon," she continued. "Nice enough guy. He had money 'cos he did well on the stockmarket. He was also completely paranoid that someone was after that money, so he hired me. Thought an Aurora demon would scare anyone away." Ren paused to hitch up her towel as it was slipping. "Anyway, I was at one of his board meetings and this guy, and a demon like *this*-" Ren indicated the sketch, "-arrives and wants to see someone else at the meeting. I was in charge of security and this demon shows me this ID card."
"And this drawing was on it?" Giles tried to clarify, setting down his cup of tea and picked up the sketch to study Ren's drawing.
Ren nodded. "I challenged him, I mean, as if I'm supposed to know what it means, but the guy he wants to see says it's alright and goes off with Mr ID here."
"Is this a fleur-de-lis?" Giles squinted a little.
Ren went to stand by Giles' side and slipped a damp arm around his waist as she looked with him at what she'd drawn. "About ninety percent sure that's what it was," she said after a moment. "And that's a 'P'." Ren pointed at the letter with her free hand.
"Yes, I got that," Giles shot her a sideways glance after noting the teasing tone in her voice. "Thank you dear." He paused and then raised an eyebrow. "Ninety percent?"
"Well, it was a while ago… it could have been something else," Ren admitted. "OK, so, not a *lot* of things look like a fleur-de-lis, but still… giving myself a margin of error here." Ren glanced at him and shrugged a little, a hint of a smile played on her lips. "Hey, I'm two hundred and five." She took the sketch from Giles' hands and set it on the table before moving infront of him and wrapping both her arms around his waist, pulling him close. "I should be lucky it's my mind that goes before my body."
"I want you just the way you are," Giles replied. And then he paused. And blinked. And went over what she had just said.
Ren tilted her head to one side as Giles started to get a slightly distant, almost contemplative look in his eyes. "What?" she asked.
Giles focused back in and met her curious gaze. It was all he could do not to laugh out loud. "It's so stupid," he said, managing only a hint of a chuckle. "*I'm* so stupid."
Ren just stared at him. "OK. You've lost me."
"I hope to God, I haven't." A smile crept onto Giles' face as he reached up and cupped Ren's face with both hands, unable to stop the small bubble of laughter that escaped.
Ren frowned, but mostly in confusion. "What's so funny?" she demanded. "Rup-mmph-" Ren was cut off when Giles slid his hands onto her hair and kissed her full on the mouth. Ren barely had time to respond before Giles had pulled back. She gave him a perplexed look. "*Rupert*," she managed to get out in full this time. Ren tried to follow Giles' gaze as he began to study her again and she pushed herself away from him a little. "I wanna know what's so funny."
Giles stepped back out of Ren's grasp and an almost strangled laugh erupted from him as he sat down on his seat at the table. He looked up at Ren apologetically as another laugh followed soon after and he put his hand to his mouth in an effort to try and smother the rest that followed.
Ren folded her arms across her chest and narrowed her eyes at Giles. She was beginning to get annoyed. "Fine. Don't share the joke. I'll finish my shower." Ren turned on her heel and had stalked away only two steps before there was a strong hand on her arm pulling her back.
"Darling, it's not you." Giles had managed to curb his small fit of giggles for the moment. "Not… not in the sense that I'm laughing at you, at least." Giles pulled her closer. "It's something that I've…" he trailed off, swallowing down another burst of laughter. "Something that I've done… and I look back at it now and-" Giles smiled warmly at her "-and I can't believe I never even thought… that it never even crossed my mind…"
"That you're not making any sense?" Ren looked impatiently at Giles.
Giles cleared his throat and gave Ren another apologetic smile. "Sorry. It's just…" He couldn't help another laugh. "You… cradlesnatcher…"
"You *are* laughing at me!" Ren huffed and pulled out of his grasp once more. "I'm still mad at you anyway, y'know. You're not helping yourself a whole lot here." Ren managed to avoid Giles' outstretched arm when he reached for her as she walked away.
She'd gotten as far as the bathroom door when two arms enveloped her from behind and stopped her from going any further. "Rupert, let me go," she instructed, more than just a trace of annoyance edged her words. If he was going to laugh at her then he could at least bloody well do it when she wasn't anywhere near to hear.
"I told you I wasn't ever letting you go."
Giles' soft words tickled Ren's ear and she swivelled her head so she could look at him. Her blue eyes met his grey-green ones and she felt her heart swell when she saw all the love pouring out of them.
Giles turned Ren so that she was facing him properly. "I'm not laughing at you," he said seriously. "I'm laughing at me and my stupid insecurities." Giles saw the perplexed look settle on Ren's face as it had done a few moments before. Giles took a long breath and exhaled slowly. "And I've just realised that I never… never said this properly earlier… and I should… should say…"
Giles felt himself drawn in Ren's intense gaze and he realised that the tickling sensation on his stomach was Ren's fingertips as they drew abstract shapes over his skin. He closed his eyes as Ren covered his lips with her own and drew him slowly into a passionate kiss.
When they both relented, they drew back only enough so that their lips barely touched. Ren opened her eyes and met Giles' gaze again. She smiled and murmured against his lips, "Marry me."
Giles' breath caught in his throat and it was a couple of moments before he was able to speak. "That was supposed to be my… I-I mean, I was going to-" he broke off and swallowed hard, telling himself to //just answer the bloody question man//. "Um, yes?"
Ren's smile broke out into a grin about the same time as Giles'. She slid her arms up around his neck and they fell into another passionate kiss; Ren sinking completely into his embrace as Giles wrapped his arms tightly around her.
A few moments later, she giggled into the kiss when she felt her towel being tugged down. Ren broke away and grinned at him, one eyebrow raised. "Wanting to celebrate, are we?"
"Entirely," Giles replied, kissing her again. "We could have our own, um, personal party right now-" another kiss "-and then something larger with cake and balloons when Buffy and Xander-" another kiss "-get back." Giles was about to kiss her yet again when he paused. "Ah."
"What? Oh." Ren sighed when she realised too. "Demon."
"Bloody typical," they muttered together.
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"You needn't look so pleased with yourself," D'nal remarked as Jenna sat down on a rock across the cave from him.
"It's my first mission," came Jenna's curt reply as she picked up a whetstone. "Don't tell me that you're not pleased about your new little adventure."
D'nal scowled at her, knowing that she was right. "I just wouldn't get too sure of yourself, that all," he said. "It's only a scouting mission. Not a battle."
Jenna just smiled thinly and dragged the whetstone across the blade of her dagger. "I'm still in charge."
"Well I'd keep an eye on Malax if I were you," D'nal warned her. "You know what he's like when he gets a whiff of bloodshed."
"I think I can keep him in line," Jenna replied, examining the blade of her dagger before looking across at D'nal again. "And Haxor will be there to help."
"Yes, I'm sure he'll love taking orders from you." D'nal ignored the scowl from Jenna and then indicated the weapon she was busy sharpening. "I think you'll need something a little bigger than that on the Hellmouth."
"D'nal? Shut up." Jenna gave her fellow demon an exasperated look. "Why don't you just concentrate on the motherload that you just got landed, OK?" She shot him an amused look. "Or are you angling for handy hints on what to do with a captive Slayer?"
"I think I can handle it." D'nal gave her a dark look. "Don't worry, I'll make sure she won't forget her stay in this dimension in a hurry…" he eyed the blade that Jenna was now holding up to the light and smiled slowly. "With any luck, I'll be the last thing she ever sees."
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After a while of fruitless searching though dusty tomes back home, Ren had made the suggestion that maybe there would be some books or scrolls at the store that could be useful.
Ren yawned as she pulled her hair back behind her and tied it into a ponytail. With an air of determination she surveyed the contents of the Magic Box. Then she sighed, her shoulders sagging. To her, the place never seemed big until you actually had to look for something yourself.
She headed over to one of the bookshelves and took down a copy of 'Talismania', which, she guessed, was apparently some poor soul's attempt at humour for a book that contained information about anything your ever wanted to now about talismans. But it was the fact that it *did* have practically every known talisman, magical or not, in it that made Ren make it the first of her pile.
Ren groaned despondently as she looked at the fifteen hundred-page book. "I knew we should have stayed in the shower." Ren sighed again as she scanned the bookcase again, searching for books that she and Giles didn't have back home. She'd taken only two more books and added them to the pile and was about to take another when the sound of her phone ringing startled her.
She shoved the book back onto the shelf and grabbed her cell phone from her jeans pocket. She smiled in surprise when she saw on the screen that the caller was Xander.
"Hey honeymooner," she said into the phone once she'd pressed 'answer' and then heard Xander chuckle at the other end.
Hey yourself, Xander replied. How's the search going? I just called Giles and he said you'd found something.
"Uh, sort of," Ren replied. She sat down on the stool behind the counter. "I've seen that type of demon somewhere before and there's a drawing of something it had that might be helpful." Ren gave a short sigh. "Which is why I'm now at the store going through the stock."
'Talismania'?
"Yup."
Ugh, sorry. But, hey, at least I can give you a chance for a break. Me and Buffy sorta ran out of cash, so how'd'ya like to pick us up from the airport?
"Oh gee, can I? Can I really?"
Funny, Xander replied to Ren's feigned enthusiasm. But it's either that or a fifteen hundred-page book.
"I'm not carrying your bags."
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(A short while later)
"Xan? I'm not a packhorse, OK?" Buffy stepped back as Xander tried to hand her his overnight bag. "I'm taking mine and that's it."
"Yeah, but it's got your straw donkey in it." Xander set the bag on the floor.
Buffy gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine. But I'm just swapping it for one of mine." Buffy swung one of her bags off her shoulder and down next to Xander's. "It's got those fluffy pink slippers in it you love so much."
"Please tell me he just wears them on his feet," another voice said.
Buffy turned around to see Ren only a few feet away. "Yeah, but even that was scary." She smiled warmly at the other woman. "Thanks for coming," Buffy said. "We would have got a cab, but there was an, uh, incident…"
"And a teeny fine," Xander added, raising his hand and putting his thumb and forefinger together. "And the ATM machines weren't working."
"Incident?" Ren enquired, beginning to walk alongside Buffy and Xander as they picked up their bags and started to head out of the arrivals lounge and towards the exit. "What did you do?"
"We kinda carried on our honeymoon on the plane," Buffy replied, glancing sheepishly at Ren.
Ren laughed. "Excellent."
"Apparently some people didn't think so." Xander then grinned. "But personally, I kinda thought-" he broke off when he caught Buffy's warning look. Xander cleared his throat. "So, this demon. What exactly have you found?"
Ren glanced at Buffy. "He's so well trained. I'm impressed."
"It's all in the look," Buffy replied. "I'm working on another variation that'll get him to make me breakfast in bed whenever I want."
"Funny." Xander rolled his eyes when Buffy just turned to him and grinned. Then he pouted a little. "You hardly ever make me breakfast in bed."
"Aww, is my little Xandie sulking?" Buffy teased.
"And you said *I* was evil," Xander shot back.
Buffy just gave him an affectionate smile and only had to wait a second before she got a matching one back from Xander. "Come on," she said, tiredness creeping into her voice. "Let's just get home. I need my own bed to sleep in and Mr Gordo as well as you to cuddle." Buffy looked to the redhead who was now walking a couple of steps infront of them. "Ren? Think we can put the research on hold 'til the morning?"
Buffy waited for a whole hearted agreement from Ren, but the other woman didn't reply and instead began to slow, one hand on her stomach and an almost distressed look on her face.
"Ren?" The smile dropped from Buffy's face when she saw the redhead double up in obvious pain. Buffy dropped her bags to the floor and hurried over to her, managing to catch Ren before she slipped to the floor. "Ren, what is it?" Buffy slowly lowered Ren to the ground and knelt with her. "What's wrong?"
Ren seemed to struggle for breath as her other hand clutched against Buffy. "Hurts," she said weakly as Xander crouched down beside them both. Ren's eyes closed tight as she tried to swallow back a cry of pain. Her entire body felt like it was losing all it's energy; not just slipping away, but like somebody was ripping it out one bit at a time. She felt herself go limp in Buffy's arms and when she managed to force her eyes open again, all she could make out around her were blurred shapes and muffled sounds. Her throat and chest were now burning and she had to struggle to get air into her lungs.
The last thing she heard was Xander's muted voice as she drifted into unconsciousness.
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Giles hurried through double swing doors and into the ER and continued on in haste, dodging past two orderlies pushing a trolley before he finally made it to the reception desk. "My fiancée," he rushed out anxiously to the young girl behind the desk. "She was brought in. She… she collapsed."
"What's her name?" the girl asked as Giles broke off for breath.
"Ren." Giles fretfully ran a hand through is hair. "It's Ren." Giles took a couple of deep breaths as the receptionist began checking through papers on her desk.
The girl frowned. "I don't see..." she looked up again. "Last name?"
"Um..." Giles began to search through the jumbled thoughts in his brain to remember which one of her ID's Ren was using now. "It's Smith," he said finally, ignoring the quizzical look due to his pause from the receptionist. Then his eyes widened a little and added quickly. "Try under Serena. Serena Smith."
Giles waited impatiently while the girl searched, tapping his fingers on the desk for what seemed like an eternity before a cry of, "Giles!" caught his attention and he looked to his left to see Xander waving at him.
"No matter," he said to the receptionist and hurried over towards Xander.
"She's through here," Xander said, immediately turning as Giles got to him, heading back down the corridor.
"How is she?" Giles asked anxiously.
"I don't know," Xander replied, "We haven't seen her, not really. They just told us to wait when we tried." Xander stopped and nodded towards the double swing doors infront of them. "She's through there."
Giles placed a hand on Xander's arm in a gesture of thanks and also indicating to stay where he was. Giles then went straight through the doors, ignoring the 'No Public Access' sign on them, and headed straight into the resuss room. He looked around anxiously, searching the busy room for any sign of Ren.
Deliberately failing to make eye contact with the nurse who had spotted him, Giles began to make his way over to some of the trolleys that had doctors and nurses crowded around them. For a split second he thought he'd seen her, but, with a grimace, he realised that it was another woman with a head injury, making her hair almost the same colour as Ren's.
"Sir," came a firm voice behind him. "Sir, you're not supposed to be in here."
Giles turned to see a male nurse standing infront if him. "My fiancée was brought in," he told the nurse. "I want to know how she is."
"OK." The nurse gave him a sympathetic smile. "If you give me her name then I can find out. But, I'm sorry, you'll have to wait outside."
"No, I want to see her," Giles replied, starting to look around again. "I'm not going 'til I see her."
"Sir." The nurse had moved infront of him. "Sir, the doctors are very busy, OK? We've had a minor RTA, so look, like I said, if you give me her name, then I can find out how she is."
Giles looked back at the nurse, meeting the other man's gaze, noting, with as much amusement as he could muster at that moment, that the other man flinched slightly. "I want to *see* her," Giles repeated firmly.
The nurse seemed to have got some of his bravado back. "I can call security."
"Nathan, is there a problem here?" Another man, dark haired and tall, now flanked the nurses left side. A doctor, Giles guess, if the white coat and frazzled expression were anything to go by.
"This gentleman wanted to see his fiancée who was brought in," the nurse, Nathan, replied.
The other man looked at Giles. "What's her name?"
"It's Ren," Giles replied. "Although she's probably under Serena Smith. I want to see her."
"I got that," the man replied. "But you can't just barge in here."
"Hey, did I hear my patients name over there?" a male voice suddenly called out from over in the far right corner. "That'd better be my consultant."
"No. It's the fiancé," the other man called back.
"Then bring him over," was the reply. "Maybe he can help answer a few questions."
"Well you heard the man," the other doctor said, but Giles had already started off. The doctor followed after him while the nurse was called over to help with another patient.
"Is she OK?" Giles asked before he'd even got within a couple of feet; but once he saw her, he knew. "Oh God."
Her skin was alabaster and her eyes were closed and her arms and legs laid limp. There was an oxygen mask over her mouth as she seemed to be breathing in short, ragged breaths and her top had been cut open so they could attach her to an EKG monitor.
"Well, no. As you can see, she's not," the doctor who had called out replied. He was in his early thirties with dirty blond hair that almost fell into his eyes. "Hi, I'm Dr King," the blonde doctor looked up at Giles. "This is Dr Yansen," he nodded at the doctor who had followed Giles over.
"BPs improved. 100 systolic, but she's still a little tachycardic," the nurse attending reported.
Dr King nodded and then rubbed the back of his hand against his forehead. "OK, OK." Dr King looked at Yansen. "Miles, can you repeat her meds for me? And Janice," he looked at the nurse, "Go and find out where my damn consultant's got to, yeah?"
Giles took Janice's place as she hurried off. "Is she conscious?" he asked.
Dr King shook his head. "Hasn't regained it since she first collapsed." Dr King checked her heart monitor. "Does she suffer from any illness' that would be helpful if we knew about?"
Giles stared at Ren's unnaturally pale face. "No. I- Wait." Giles then looked back at King's expectant face. "She fainted a couple of nights ago," Giles told him. "She said she was just tired. She's pregnant. Ten weeks."
"Hey, who's got the Smith woman?" another voice came from the other side of the room.
"Here," Dr King replied, raising his hand. He then looked at Giles. "Maybe you should wait outside now." Dr King turned from Giles and spoke to the doctor who was now heading over. "We've got a female, twenty seven, pregnant, respiratory difficulties and we can't seem to stabilise her heart rate. No blood loss."
Giles felt himself being tugged back as the two doctors continued to talk and looked away from Ren to see the nurse, Janice, with her hand on his arm.
"There really isn't anything you can do, Mr Giles," she told him gently. "She's in good hands here. We'll let you know any developments."
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After stepping to the side to allow a doctor into the room, Xander pressed his face back against the circular window in the door. He saw the doctor who'd just gone in go over to where Giles was standing. He couldn't see Ren, but he could see the expression on Giles' face and he didn't like it one bit.
"Honey?"
Xander looked to his left to see Buffy standing at his side. Xander gave her a tired smile and dropped a soft kiss on top of her head. "Giles is here," he told her. "Did you get hold of the others?"
"Mom's coming when she can. I couldn't get hold of Willow and Tara, but I think that's probably best, y'know? Until we know what's wrong." Buffy looked through the doors. "Have they said anything?"
Xander shook his head. "No, I-"
"Giles." Buffy gently cut in on her husband as she spotted the older man who had just exited behind Xander. "Giles, what's happening?"
"Um… I'm not sure," Giles answered distractedly, looking back through the window into the room. "They're going to let us know."
"They didn't say anything?" Xander said anxiously. "But they're doctors. They're supposed-"
"Xander..." Buffy said quietly, nodding over at Giles who was wearing a pained expression. "Not now, OK?" She gave his arm a gentle squeeze when he looked chagrined and then she stepped over towards Giles who was still looking through the window, apparently not hearing Xander anyhow. "Giles?" she said softly. He didn't respond at once so she put a hand on his arm. "Giles?"
"She was so pale," Giles murmured. He closed his eyes and sighed. "I've never seen her…" He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "She was fine earlier. She was fine." Giles opened his eyes and stared through the window a moment more before walking slowly down the corridor towards a handful of plastic chairs. He sat down in a vacant seat and let his head fall back against the wall, his eyes closing again.
Buffy and Xander followed him over, Xander letting Buffy take the only other seat near Giles. "Y'know, I'm sure she'll be OK," she told him. "Ren's strong."
"Yeah," Xander agreed. "Whatever it is, I'm sure Ren'll kick its ass."
Giles opened his eyes and turned just his head towards Xander. "I appreciate your conviction, Xander." He gave the younger man a brief smile. "But I think you should both know that Ren's not the only one in there I'm worried about." Giles saw the puzzled expression on both their faces and sighed. He put his glasses back on. "She's pregnant."
Both Buffy and Xander were silent for a moment. "Woah," Buffy said finally.
"Pregnant?" Xander stared at Giles. The other man nodded imperceptibly. "Woah," Xander mirrored his wife's answer, "That's… woah."
"I know." Giles closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the wall again. "I know."
Buffy and Xander exchanged apprehensive looks. Xander ran a hand through his hair and sighed before taking a seat on the floor beside Buffy's chair. As Xander leant his head against her thigh, Buffy dropped her hand to Xander's head and began to play absently with his hair. She looked up the corridor and towards the doors separating them from their friend.
And they waited.
-------------------
Jenna watched the group of warriors before her as they broke off into groups after she'd spoken to them. There were ten, not including herself and her brother Haxor - who was already back at the castle. Ten demons she'd hand picked for their fighting skills, their instincts in battle and most importantly their ability to follow orders.
Jenna smiled to herself as she watched the two male mage-warriors in the corner of the large cave she'd chosen for preparing her troops. D'kal and Deshe might not have been the largest of the clan of warriors but they certainly were the most experienced of the mages. They were going to be her trump cards. Jenna wasn't stupid enough to go into an area like the Hellmouth with unknown magical elements without some kind of back up.
Jenna's attention then became drawn to a group of four demons whose discussion had grown loud as they boasted of their exploits. Yester and Malax were two of the demons and they were the most experienced of any of the other warriors with the exception of herself and Haxor. The other two in the group were Malax's brother's, Mieka and Maeki - twins. They'd had field experience too, although they specialised in reconnaissance.
Three other group of four warriors had now joined in the discussion. The only one who declined was Henni, the only other female warrior who would be going. Henni caught Jenna's gaze and headed over towards her.
"I know for a fact that Mieka is exaggerating about the mission in Sri Lanka," Henni said in a low voice as she joined the other female. "I was there and there were only two of them."
"I wouldn't worry about it," Jenna replied. "He won't be facing anything like that where we're going."
"Just humans you say?"
Jenna confirmed with a nod. "Some will be strong; they'll be able to fight." She smiled, exposing her sharp teeth. "But they won't be a problem."
"Only if you don't run into anymore Slayers."
Jenna turned and scowled at D'nal who'd appeared behind her. "I won't have a problem with Slayers," she assured him firmly. "Especially if you do your job and take her before we get there."
"I'll be fine doing my part," D'nal retorted, ignoring the disdainful look Jenna gave him. He then looked around at the unit Jenna had put together. "Not a bad selection," he admitted grudgingly. "And you have D'kal and Deshe. Good move."
"I *do* know what I'm doing." Jenna was still scowling at him. "What are you even doing here?" she continued. "You should be assembling your own group."
"Oh, the Elder's decided they were going to pick my group," D'nal replied breezily. "So I just thought I'd come and annoy you." He patted her on the shoulder and started to walk off. "Job well done I think."
-------------------
(Some time later…)
"Hey Giles, I think this guy's for us," Xander said as a doctor approached them, the doctor's pace having quickened once he'd spotted Giles.
Giles opened his eyes and saw Dr King heading towards them. Giles got to his feet and beheld the other man anxiously. "What's happening? Can I see her yet?"
"You can see her in a little while," Dr King replied. "We're going to be moving her in a few minutes-"
"But she's alright?" Giles demanded to know. "And the baby?"
Dr King hesitated as he noticed the other two curious faces just beside Giles, but as the other man didn't seem to mind, he continued. "We've managed to stabilise her," Dr King informed him. "And we're confident that she hasn't… miscarried."
Even as he heard small sighs of relief from Buffy and Xander, Giles dared not feel at ease just yet. "What exactly does 'stabilised' mean?" he asked carefully. "Is she awake?"
Dr King was about to reply, but there was a sudden influx of patients and visitors making their way along the corridor. Dr King took Giles' arm and led him to one side, just slightly away from Buffy and Xander. "I'm sorry," the doctor said. "She's still unconscious. We had to sedate so we could intubate her." Dr King paused briefly. "Mr Giles, your fiancée is still very ill. As I just said, she's having trouble breathing; not being able to control the amount of air into her lungs. There also seemed to be a problem with her heart being able to maintain a steady rhythm but we've managed to control that now too. There's a cardiology specialist that can see her in half an hour after he comes out of surgery. Meanwhile we're going to do a scan to see how the baby's doing. That's why we're moving her to another room in a few minutes," Dr King explained. "It's easier to bring obstetrics to her at the moment than the other way around."
Giles was silent as he took this in. "Do you think it's linked?" he asked finally. "I mean… how she is… to the pregnancy?"
"We think it's a possibility, yes," Dr King replied. "Especially as it seems to have come out of the blue like this. We've checked her medical records and according to those there's never been any sign of anything like this before. Do you know if there's any history of heart problems in the family?"
Giles shook his head. "No… no, I mean I don't think so."
"OK. Well, if you can think of anything, let us know," Dr King replied. "I'm now going to be with her when they move her and if you give us about ten minutes to get her, well, settled in, then I'll send a nurse to come get you and you can sit with her. I also don't see any reason why you can't be with her when they do the ultrasound." Dr King smiled. "It's her first one I believe?"
Giles nodded. "Yes. Yes, it was… it was supposed to be Tuesday," he answered somewhat distractedly; too much going on in his head to be completely focused. Giles mustered as much of a grateful smile as he could, not feeling particularly cheery at present. "Thank you."
Dr King smiled back. "I don't think there'll be too many problems in her recovery. Ren seems to be a strong woman."
"She is," Giles replied absently, his head still swimming slightly. He thanked Dr King as the other man took his leave. Giles closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "So why is this happening?" he asked himself softly. Giles felt a hand on his back and he turned to see Xander. His eyes met the younger man's and he could see his concern reflected back at him. "I don't understand."
"Neither do I," Xander replied quietly. "But the doctors seem like they've got a plan. C'mon, sit down and let them do whatever it is they've gotta do and then you can be with her."
Silently, Giles went back to his seat, or more be it gently manoeuvred there as Xander's hand still rested on his back; the simple gesture from the younger man was comforting as Giles still struggled to process what the doctor had told him. "I just don't understand," he said again after a moment, looking across at Xander who had taken the seat next to him. "How can she have a heart problem?"
"I don't know Giles," Xander said with a small sigh. "But, y'know, maybe it's not that big," he added, sounding hopeful. "I mean, he didn't say it was anything major."
"Yeah," Buffy agreed as she perched herself lightly on Xander's lap. "Maybe it's just something that'll get better by itself. Y'know, real quick."
"Maybe," Giles said quietly. He ran a hand through his hair. "I just don't understand why, that all. Or even how."
"Well maybe Ren might be able to shed some light on the whole thing when she wakes up," Xander suggested. Giles sighed and nodded but didn't say anything. Xander gave the older man's shoulder a comforting squeeze. "Did you want anything while you're waiting?" Xander asked. "Tea? Something pretending to be coffee?"
"No. I'm fine," Giles replied. "But thank you."
"OK." Xander then kissed his wife's shoulder. "But I think I'm gonna get something to drink. That coffee might be sludge, but it's strong sludge." He kissed Buffy's forehead as Buffy took his seat. "You want?"
Buffy shook her head. "I'm fine."
"OK, I'll be back in a few." Xander stretched and yawned before he walked off down the corridor to where the vending machines lived.
Giles watched Xander walk away and sighed, feeling a little guilty. "How long have you two been up?" he asked, turning to Buffy.
"A while," Buffy admitted, fighting the urge to yawn herself. "It was a long night with those first demons and I don't think we really caught up. And before you say it," Buffy added quickly seeing that look in Giles' eyes, "It's gonna be pretty pointless suggesting that we don't have to stay."
Noting the firm expression on her face, Giles realised resistance was futile. Of course, he didn't think if it came to it he would want them to leave anyway. He sighed and gave her a smile. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Buffy replied. "You're both family, remember?" she continued with a smile. "I don't let just anybody give me away, y'know."
Giles felt the flush of pride in him as he returned the smile that Buffy had given him. "Anytime."
"Yeah, well, I think you'd better hold *that* thought," Buffy told him. "Not really planning on marrying anyone else, y'know. Ever."
The corners of Giles' mouth twitched just a little as he saw Buffy's gaze drift down the corridor to where Xander had just disappeared around a corner. "Barely a week," Giles said softly. "Barely a week."
Buffy turned back to him and smiled before looking down at her hand. She began to play with her wedding band, twisting it slowly around her finger. "I know." Buffy looked back up at Giles. "So what about you, huh? 'Cos unless my super hearing deceived me, that doctor said 'your fiancée'."
Giles smiled fondly. "He did." His expression then fell a little sadder. "Actually it was just this morning…" Giles trailed off and looked at the floor, falling silent for few moments. He looked up at Buffy when she put a hand on his arm, giving it a comforting squeeze. Giles found himself smiling again as he remembered the look on Ren's face when she asked him that morning. "She, um, proposed to me."
"Aww, that's so sweet." Buffy put her arms around Giles the best she could considering their positions, and hugged the other man tightly. "Congratulations Giles. For the both of you." Buffy pulled back. "And then there's the other 'woah' bit."
"Yes. Yes, I'm still a little, um, floored by that myself," Giles admitted. He sat back in his seat and studied his hands. "It wasn't exactly something we'd planned." Giles looked back at Buffy. "But I'm so… so… awed by the whole…" he trailed off and the fond smile reappeared on his lips. "Do you know, I can't actually think a word to describe how happy I am."
"Well, I think you're gonna be a great dad," Buffy told him. "Trust me. I know." Buffy hugged him again. "And they're both gonna be fine. I just know it."
Even though his ribs were beginning to protest under Buffy's strength, Giles returned the embrace. "Yes. Yes they are."
-------------------
Holding a plastic cup of dubious looking black liquid in one hand, Xander examined the change he held in his other. "Dammit," he muttered under his breath. He eyes the vending machine full of snack food enviously. "Not even enough for a candy bar." As if on cue his stomach growled. "Should've made sure we ate on the flight before we joined any clubs."
Xander glanced around the surrounding area to see if he was going to attract any attention. Nobody seemed interested in him so he mimed dropping his change into the slot and then pressed a couple of numbers on the selection pad at random. Xander's gaze then fixed on a row of candy and after a couple of moments the tray began to rotate slowly and a bar of chocolate fell into the tray at the bottom. As if by magic.
Xander felt a little guilty as he retrieved his prize, for both taking the bar like that and using magic to do it, but Xander inwardly told whoever might be watching that there were important things to worry about at the moment. Pocketing the bar, Xander walked over to the bank of phones near the reception desk. He set his coffee on the ledge by the nearest free phone and then cradled the receiver between his ear and shoulder as he stuck his one and only quarter into the slot and dialled.
"C'mon… pick up Will… Tara…" Xander sighed as he just continued to get a dial tone. He put down the phone just before he knew the answerphone would kick in and collected his quarter. Xander sighed and took a sip of his coffee, grimacing at the taste but almost immediately taking another because he hoped the caffeine would keep him more awake. He'd just begun to head back when someone called out his name. Xander turned to his left and saw Joyce heading over towards him. He smiled. "Hey."
"How is she?" Joyce asked, embracing Xander in a one armed hug, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek as she did so. "Buffy sounded so anxious on the phone."
Xander hugged Joyce back as best he could with his hands full. "She's looking better. Well, better than she was." Xander then explained everything the doctor had said to Giles.
"But it's so out of the blue," Joyce stated when he'd finished. "I just can't believe it."
"I know," Xander replied. "She's never sick. Not like this."
"And pregnant too," Joyce added. "That's just… well, I mean, I just thought that you and Buffy would be the first to… y'know…"
"I know." Xander then smiled. "Don't worry Joyce. You're still gonna get grandkids to fuss over."
"Well, good." Joyce smiled back, taking the arm Xander offered her as they began to walk. "And I notice there was a plural in there."
Xander just grinned back at Joyce and was about to reply before he looked back up the corridor and saw that Buffy was sitting by herself. His grin faded and he left Joyce's side and took Buffy's hand as his wife got up to meet them. "Did they come and get him?" he asked.
Buffy nodded. "He's only been gone about a minute. They've just moved her to a side room off the ER for now. I said we'd wait here." She leaned up against Xander as he wrapped an arm around her waist and then smiled tiredly at her mother. "Hey mom."
"Hey sweetie." Joyce kissed her daughter on the cheek. "Xander's filled me in. How's Rupert taking it?"
"Coping, I think would be the best word," Buffy replied. "Worried, would be another one."
"Well it's not surprising." Joyce sighed. "And what about you two? Didn't I hear on the grapevine you'd had some trouble when you'd been away?"
"Oh just a bit," Buffy sighed. "C'mon, sit down and we'll tell you all about it."
-------------------
Ren looked as still and pale as she had when Giles had first seen her. Giles stood by the side of Ren's bed surveying the equipment she was hooked up to. There was an IV line running from her arm and she was still attached to the heart monitor, although her sweater had been removed and she was now dressed in a hospital gown. The tube had been removed from her throat but she was wearing an oxygen mask and her breathing still sounded poor.
Giles slipped his hand into hers and stooped down to plant a kiss on her forehead. "Hello darling," he murmured softly, his lips still lingering against her skin. "Only me." Ren didn't stir but Giles hadn't expected her to. He kissed her once more and then sat down in the chair the nurse had put by the bed. "It's going to be OK."
"Mr Giles?"
Giles turned to the doorway where a middle aged blonde woman had just entered. "Yes?"
"I'm Dr Jones. I'm going to be performing the ultrasound."
Giles nodded and gave the woman a brief smile. He looked back to Ren and then back to the doctor. "Have you ever done one quite like this?"
"I had a pregnant coma patient once," Dr Jones replied. She gave Giles an encouraging smile. "And mother and baby both ended up just fine."
"Well that's good to hear." Giles smiled back in return and then slipped his other hand over Ren's as Dr Jones began to set up the ultrasound equipment.
"Is this your first?" Dr Jones began to adjust the coverings over Ren.
"Yes," Giles replied. "Of my own, anyway," he added quietly. "There are others that are as close as."
Dr Jones smiled as she applied gel to Ren's abdomen. "Well, believe me when I say there's nothing like having your own. I've got three. Two boys and a girl." She picked up the transducer. "You ready?"
Giles nodded and clasped Ren's hand as Dr Jones put the transducer to Ren's abdomen. She ran it slowly over surface and Giles held his breath as the sonogram picture flickered into life.
"And there we go." Dr Jones smiled at Giles.
Giles let out his breath when he heard a crackled, but steady amplified heartbeat. He continued to stare at the black and white picture on the monitor as he grasped Ren's hand tighter. "Oh my God." He lifted Ren's hand to his lips and kissed her hand softly. "I can't believe it." Giles looked at Dr Jones anxiously. "Is everything alright?"
"From what I can tell," Dr Jones said softly. "Everything seems fine. Actually," she added, "Considering your fiancée's condition, I wasn't expecting such a strong heartbeat."
"She's pretty stubborn," Giles replied. He held Ren's hand up to his cheek as he looked back at her. "Doesn't give up without a fight." Giles looked back at the monitor. "Can I get a picture of that?" he asked suddenly. "I want her to see."
"Of course."
"Thank you." Giles swallowed hard and blinked back the tears he could feel pricking in the corners of his eyes. "Look what we did, darling." He kissed Ren's hand again. "Look what we did."
=====
tbc…