A/N: Wow, so many reviews! I am so happy now! I have had the most crappy week ever at work this week so thank God it's the weekend and I can relax, watch some BtVS & AtS and write some fic! Thanx to all you wonderful reading and reviewing type people; Aleesha, Spikes Angel, SweetBitter, Wicked Wiccan1, theoneandonlygurl, Mita427, BtVS-and-PoTC-Fan, SouthernRain, Rachel, RougeCrayon, courtney. I made evryone think 'OMG!' didn't I? lol. That was fun. Here's more...please review!

Chapter 15 - Strange Estrangement

"Be kind, rewind" Buffy said with a frown to the young man on the doorstep before her.

"My name is Wesley Wyndham-Pryce" he repeated slowly as if she were mentally challenged, "And I am Rupert Giles' son"

"Oh my God..." was all Buffy could find to say next and it was eventually Willow who invited Wesley to come inside, dragging with him his luggage.

"Please, sit down" the blonde managed to say, "We won't be a second, I just need to talk to my friends" she told him quickly, grabbing an arm of both Willow and Cordelia and dragging them to the kitchen.

"Wow" was the brunettes first word when they were out of earshot of the latest arrival, "Giles has another son?"

"It can't be true, can it?" Willow shook her head, "I mean, he would have told us, especially after Spike and all"

"But he didn't know about Spike" Buffy recalled, "and if he didn't know about him, maybe he doesn't know about this Wesley guy either"

"Who do you think his mother is?" Cordelia frowned, "I mean, he's not Jessica's son, her surname is Hart, plus she would have mentioned it"

"And he looks older than Spike" Buffy pointed out "it has to be someone Giles was with before Jessica"

"But weren't they together in High School?" Willow threw in.

"He cheated on her?" Cordelia guessed, "That bastard!"

"Cordelia that's not fair" Buffy snapped, "I'm pretty sure Giles didn't date Jessica until later, but I'm not certain....Still, we don't know what really happened, we don't even know if this guy is telling the truth"

"Why would he lie?" Willow wondered allowed and Buffy admitted she didn't know, "I mean it's not like it's worth his while money-wise, Giles isn't super-rich or anything"

"I honestly don't know what to think" Buffy sighed, her head in her hands as she leant her elbows on the counter top. There was a moments silence before Cordelia piped up with something highly unhelpful.

"You do realise this is all your fault, right? she said to Buffy, hands on her hips.

"How is it my fault?" the blonde exploded, as Willow opened her mouth the calm the situation - she wasn't given a chance to speak.

"What did you say right before this guy arrived?" Cordy challenged "'What else could possibly go wrong?'" came the dreaded quote, "That's what you said, and now it's just a couple of days before Giles and Jessica's wedding and it's all gonna get blown to hell"

"Er, excuse me" came an English voice from the doorway, interrupting whatever Buffy was about to yell back at Cordy, "I don't wish to be rude" Wesley said as he entered the kitchen, "but there seems to be rather a lot of yelling going on and I'd hate to think I was the cause"

"Sorry about the yelling" Willow smiled, as she tried not to blush, "It's really not your fault it's just, well, it's kind of a surprise finding out Giles has another son" she told him as they all walked back to the living room.

Wesley resumed his place on the sofa with Willow at the other end while Buffy and Cordelia took an armchair each.

"Another son?" Wesley echoed, "He has other children?"

"Just one" Buffy told him and shot Cordy a look when the brunette added;

"That we know of"

"Again, I don't wish to be rude" the polite Englishman began again "but might I ask how you know my father and who you all are?"

Buffy hit herself in the forehead with her hand, she was such an idiot. She had been so shocked by the revelation that this guy was Giles's son that it hadn't even occurred to her to introduce herself.

"My name is Buffy Summers" she said, figuring it was a good place to start, she then told Wesley her friends names and that they all knew Giles because he was the school librarian. They gave a vague summary of how Jessica and Spike had come into their lives as well as Giles, and managed to quite successfully leave out of the conversation, all mentions of demons and the like, just in case.

"It seems then that surprise sons are my fathers speciality of late" Wesley smiled, though his heart wasn't really in it. He was almost disappointed that Giles' had found another son. It meant of course, that he may not be so thrilled to know him.

"So, what's your story?" Cordelia was eager to know. Gossip was her life and she thrived on rumours, but real life stories were just as fascinating, or they could be if you asked the right person. What could possibly be boring about a young Englishman searching for his estranged father in a foreign country?

"It's not so much a story as there's not a great deal to tell" Wesley told her, "I was raised by my parents, or whom I believed to be my parents, in Oxford. I attended school there, grew up believing I was the son of Julia and Robert Wyndham-Pryce, it was only when mother died suddenly, I was told the truth" he told them, removing his glasses and rubbing his eyes - he looked tired, Willow noticed with a frown, and maybe a little upset.

"You don't have to tell us" she told him softly, "It's really none of our business and..."

"No, it's quite alright" he smiled at her, touched by her concern, before continuing his narrative, "The man I had called father all these years told me that he was in fact an impostor. The truth was he'd been in love with my mother since they were very young but she wasn't as sure in her feelings for him. When she was fifteen she met a boy she knew only as Giles. She apparently believed herself to be in love almost at first sight, and she gave him...everything, within a month of their first meeting"

"She gave him everything?" Buffy frowned not understanding. Cordelia rolled her eyes and leant over to whisper in her friends ear.

"Oh, everything" the Slayer's eyes went wide with realisation. Was she really the only one who hadn't done...that thing? It seemed she didn't even know as much about the subject as she thought.

In a moment, Wesley took a deep breath and continued his story.

"It was another month later that mother realised I was on the way, by which time Giles seemed to have completely evaporated. It was really not done, especially in my mothers family, to have children out of wedlock. She was too afraid to tell her parents of the state she had got herself into and so confided only in Robert. He proclaimed to love her still and promised to marry her and raise her child as his own. The day he told me the truth, I knew I had to find my father. It took a lot of research, but I knew I had to meet my biological father, despite the fact he disappeared...I just need to know why I suppose..."

All three girls were completely shocked to hear this story that presumably meant Giles had got a girl pregnant and then disappeared. It couldn't be true...could it? And where did Jessica fit in to all of this?

A knock on the front door meant no-one got a chance to comment or voice there opinions and the room stayed silent as Buffy got to her feet and answered the door.

"Jessica" she greeted the blonde on the other side, "I, er..." she wasn't sure what to say to the woman who Giles may have cheated on so many years ago!

"Buffy, I needed a quick word with you about the bridesmaids dresses" the woman explained as she came into the house and through to the living room, Buffy closing the door and following, "Oh, hi there" she smiled as she saw a man she didn't recognise on the sofa.

"Jessica Hart, this is Wesley....erm, sorry, what was your surname again?" Buffy was forced to admit she didn't remember, all she could think about was the fact she was introducing Giles future wife to a man that was apparently his son.

"Wesley Wyndham-Pryce" the young man smiled, standing a shaking hands with Jessica, "I believe you know my father quite well" he continued and the three girls in the room winced as they knew what was coming.

"That all depends" Jessica smiled, "Who's your father?"

"Rupert Giles" came the answer, at which Jessica laughed somewhat hysterically, looking around the room at the girls for some kind of sign this was a bad joke or a hidden camera show. They all nodded that Wesley spoke the truth, and the future Mrs Giles promptly passed out.

"How?" was Jessica's first question as she came to, staring up from the floor at a concerned Buffy, Willow, Cordelia and Wesley, "How?" she repeated as she was helped to her feet and placed in a chair, the four younger people standing around her still.

"It's a long story" Cordelia told her, "Gist of it is Giles had a thing for a girl back when he was like sixteen or something, they kinda did it one time and then he disappeared and this girl had a baby and called it Wesley...oh and she married this other guy who liked her and he adopted Wes, who is this guy" she explained matter-of-factly, pointing to the man in question at the end of her explanation.

"Oh God" Jessica gasped, as the words sunk in. She'd not started dating Rpert until she was eighteen and he was almost twenty, but before that he'd left another woman to bring up a child alone, and he'd kept it all a secret from her. How could she marry a man like that?

"I have to go" she told her captive audience, levering herself out of the chair and making for the door.

"Jessica" Buffy called behind her, "Please, let Giles explain when he gets home" she begged, hating the idea that her father-figures marriage plans may be ruined over something that could be a misunderstanding - though she had to admit the evidence against him was pretty convincing.

"I need time" Jessica told her, turning back just briefly, "I don't know..." she trailed off as she disappeared beyond the front door, closing it behind her.

"Should someone go after her?" Willow suggested.

"No" was Buffy's immediate answer, "She said she needed some time"

"Personally if I were her I'd rather have an explanation" Cordelia huffed and her best friend looked daggers at her.

"Your version of events hardly helped matters, Cordy" she snapped a little, "That was hardly a great way for her to find out her future husband and the man she loves, might have lied to her"

"I beg your pardon but there is no 'might' about it" Wesley interrupted, "He is my father, whether you like it or not"

"Hey" Willow half-yelled before anyone could say anything else that might develop into an argument, "Let's all just calm down, okay? And when Giles and the guys get back we'll work it all out" she said slowly, watching as the three more argumentative people in the room nodded their heads.

Now all they could do was wait...

To Be Continued...

[Next update will be on Oh Brother! - Chapter 15 coming soon]