TITLE: Over her (2/?)
PART: Warm Welcome
AUTHOR: Gabriele Schulz
EMAIL: gabi@gschulz.de
RATING: PG (might go up)
DISTRIBUTION: Everyone who has my general permission. Others please ask first.
SPOILERS: Up to Selfless
FEEDBACK: Love it. Especially if you like the story ;-)
SUMMARY: On Buffy's 25th birthday Giles visits Sunnydale, finally over her. Or so he thinks.
COUPLES: Buffy/Giles, Willow/Anya, Dawn/OC (male), mention of Wesley/Faith, Cordelia/Angel
DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Sandollar Productions, Kuzui Enterprises, 20th Century Fox Television, the WB Television Network, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I do not mean to infringe upon any copyrights.
DATE: 11/06/02
--------------------------
When the door opened he was greeted by Dawn. Her face lit up and she hugged him fiercely. He hugged her back, smiling. When they let go off each other, she took his suitcase and nodded towards the dining room.
"We've already begun eating."
He followed the noises to the table filled with food and presents. The place at the head of the table, surrounded by presents was empty. Buffy wasn't there. Anya was getting up from her place to hug him in her typical suffocating manner. Over her shoulder he could see Willow moving the bowl of food out of Harris' reach before she took her out of the high chair. The only other person in the room was a young blonde man, whom he vaguely remembered as Dawn's boyfriend. He had gotten up from his chair as well and politely smiled at Rupert. He smiled back scanning the room again. Someone was missing.
With a pang he remembered that Xander wouldn't be there. But before he could dwell on the thought Willow had reached him. She handed Harris to Anya to hug him.
"It's so good to see you."
"I'm glad to be here."
Anya rocked the infant in her arm and held her towards him.
"See. This is your Uncle Rupert."
"If I were you, I'd let them know *immediately* that being a Godfather doesn't give them the right to call you that."
He turned around to the source of the voice. Buffy gave Anya a little glare before she looked at him and smiled. Her hair was still dark. She was wearing it up today along with a simple sweater and jeans. His heart skipped a beat at her sight. Casual or not she looked breathtaking to him.
"Hey Giles."
He took a quick calming breath and smiled at her.
"Buffy. Happy birthday."
He enfolded her in a hug. He could feel the strength in her fragile-looking body, smell her perfume. Her cheek where it touched his felt so very soft. Then it was over. She smiled at him and it occurred to him that he shouldn't be so affected by her. He shook himself and sat down at the empty chair between hers and Dawn's. Buffy sat down gracefully and he told himself that it was natural to be affected by her. He had after all loved her for so long and she was an attractive woman and he was a man. Why wouldn't he appreciate the sight of a lovely looking woman?
As if in confirmation he looked over to Anya and Willow. Willow was struggling to get Harris' back in the high chair, while Anya embraced her from behind, whispering something in her ear. Willow turned around to her, eyes widening slightly, but Anya just grinned. Together they managed to secure their daughter in the high chair. Willow turned around to her lover and quickly kissed her before they both settled down.
He smiled. He was genuinely happy to see that they had made it through all their difficulties and had become a little family. They were beautiful together, but he had to admit to himself that his reaction to them wasn't remotely what he felt at the sight of Buffy. But that didn't mean anything. He was over her and even if he couldn't deny that he was still attracted to her, it wasn't the same as the hopeless love that had pervaded his whole life.
Dawn sat down beside him and started loading cake on his plate.
"They *have* food in England, you know."
She smiled embarrassed.
"I just wanted to make sure you'd eat some of this. We have even more in the kitchen and you were just staring into space thinking about who-knows-what."
It was his turn to smile a bit embarrassed.
"It's appreciated."
And to prove his point he started eating heartily.
PART: Warm Welcome
AUTHOR: Gabriele Schulz
EMAIL: gabi@gschulz.de
RATING: PG (might go up)
DISTRIBUTION: Everyone who has my general permission. Others please ask first.
SPOILERS: Up to Selfless
FEEDBACK: Love it. Especially if you like the story ;-)
SUMMARY: On Buffy's 25th birthday Giles visits Sunnydale, finally over her. Or so he thinks.
COUPLES: Buffy/Giles, Willow/Anya, Dawn/OC (male), mention of Wesley/Faith, Cordelia/Angel
DISCLAIMER: The characters are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Sandollar Productions, Kuzui Enterprises, 20th Century Fox Television, the WB Television Network, and whoever else may have a hold on them. I do not mean to infringe upon any copyrights.
DATE: 11/06/02
--------------------------
When the door opened he was greeted by Dawn. Her face lit up and she hugged him fiercely. He hugged her back, smiling. When they let go off each other, she took his suitcase and nodded towards the dining room.
"We've already begun eating."
He followed the noises to the table filled with food and presents. The place at the head of the table, surrounded by presents was empty. Buffy wasn't there. Anya was getting up from her place to hug him in her typical suffocating manner. Over her shoulder he could see Willow moving the bowl of food out of Harris' reach before she took her out of the high chair. The only other person in the room was a young blonde man, whom he vaguely remembered as Dawn's boyfriend. He had gotten up from his chair as well and politely smiled at Rupert. He smiled back scanning the room again. Someone was missing.
With a pang he remembered that Xander wouldn't be there. But before he could dwell on the thought Willow had reached him. She handed Harris to Anya to hug him.
"It's so good to see you."
"I'm glad to be here."
Anya rocked the infant in her arm and held her towards him.
"See. This is your Uncle Rupert."
"If I were you, I'd let them know *immediately* that being a Godfather doesn't give them the right to call you that."
He turned around to the source of the voice. Buffy gave Anya a little glare before she looked at him and smiled. Her hair was still dark. She was wearing it up today along with a simple sweater and jeans. His heart skipped a beat at her sight. Casual or not she looked breathtaking to him.
"Hey Giles."
He took a quick calming breath and smiled at her.
"Buffy. Happy birthday."
He enfolded her in a hug. He could feel the strength in her fragile-looking body, smell her perfume. Her cheek where it touched his felt so very soft. Then it was over. She smiled at him and it occurred to him that he shouldn't be so affected by her. He shook himself and sat down at the empty chair between hers and Dawn's. Buffy sat down gracefully and he told himself that it was natural to be affected by her. He had after all loved her for so long and she was an attractive woman and he was a man. Why wouldn't he appreciate the sight of a lovely looking woman?
As if in confirmation he looked over to Anya and Willow. Willow was struggling to get Harris' back in the high chair, while Anya embraced her from behind, whispering something in her ear. Willow turned around to her, eyes widening slightly, but Anya just grinned. Together they managed to secure their daughter in the high chair. Willow turned around to her lover and quickly kissed her before they both settled down.
He smiled. He was genuinely happy to see that they had made it through all their difficulties and had become a little family. They were beautiful together, but he had to admit to himself that his reaction to them wasn't remotely what he felt at the sight of Buffy. But that didn't mean anything. He was over her and even if he couldn't deny that he was still attracted to her, it wasn't the same as the hopeless love that had pervaded his whole life.
Dawn sat down beside him and started loading cake on his plate.
"They *have* food in England, you know."
She smiled embarrassed.
"I just wanted to make sure you'd eat some of this. We have even more in the kitchen and you were just staring into space thinking about who-knows-what."
It was his turn to smile a bit embarrassed.
"It's appreciated."
And to prove his point he started eating heartily.