Disclaimer:

None of these characters are mine. All characters from Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Charmed are the property of Joss Whedon and Aaron Spelling, respectively.

Summary:

Crossover between the Charmed and Buffy universes. It's dinnertime in the Turner household. A surprise guest shows up.

Chapter Five – Knock! Knock! Who's There?

"Buffy, Ben!" Willow called from the kitchen. "Time to set the table!"

Buffy and Ben rushed to the hutch in the dining room. Buffy grabbed the silverware and Ben reached for the plates. Ben set down the plates and went back for the salad bowls and glass ware. Meanwhile, Buffy made her way around the table folding napkins and setting down the knives, forks, and spoons. She looked at one of the plates. She loved her mommy's dishes. They had been a wedding present from her godmama. They were decorated with drawings of her grandpa, godmama, godpapa, Uncle Angel, Uncle Spike, and Daddy. They were very special, hand made. Mommy called them the Hellmouth china. She giggled.

She missed her godmama and godpapa. She was named after her godmama. Her godmama was a great champion and she was an even better shoe shopper. Her godpapa was gone now. Mommy said that he was up in heaven now, annoying the angels. Everyone always joked about Uncle Xander, they said he could annoy anyone. He'd only gone to Heaven last summer, and she missed him so much.

A rapping at the front door interrupted her memories. She looked up at Daddy who went to answer the door. "Buffy, bread's done!"

Buffy ran to the kitchen. It was her job to make the biscuits or bread for dinner. She scrambled up on a stool at the counter and started to cut the bread. "Who was at the door, sweetie?"

Buffy looked up at her mommy as she sliced the bread into thick slices. "Don't know, mommy. Daddy hadn't opened the door yet."

Just then, they heard Ben screaming in delight. "Grandpa! Grandpa!"

Buffy leaped down from her post and ran out of the kitchen, followed by an equally excited Willow.

Out in the living room, there was Rupert Giles surrounded by two screaming children. Willow looked at him in concern. He was looking a little tired. He works too hard, he needs to slow down, she thought. "Hi, Giles. Why didn't you tell us you were coming? We would've met you. Children, give Grandpa some room. Mommy hasn't hugged him yet. Buffy, finish the bread, and Ben, you need to get your salad on the table. Honey, could you make sure I'm not burning anything?"

"Of course, baby." Cole replied, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek as he passed her.

Everyone went into the kitchen, leaving Willow with Giles. She rushed up to him and gave him a big hug. All of a sudden she was fifteen again. Giles always made her feel this way. With him, she didn't have to be a grown up. She didn't have to be in charge. Looking up at him, she saw that wonderful smile he always gave her. He bent down and kissed her on the top of her head. She warmed to this. She remembered her own father briefly, and wished that he could only have been a little bit like Giles. And Giles was such a wonderful grandfather. "I missed you, Giles. The children have missed you, you and..."

"And Xander." Giles face clouded with regret as he remembered the young man's death. His needless death. "I've missed them, too. I've something to tell you, Willow. I've retired, and I want to stay here with my family. If you've room, of course."

Willow squealed just like a child on Christmas morning. (Not that she had ever celebrated, being raised in the Jewish tradition.) She jumped into Giles' surprised arms. "Yes! Yes! This is wonderful! Cole! Buffy! Ben!"

The three of them rushed into the dining room at her call. Cole raised his eyebrows in a question. "Giles is coming to live with us. Isn't that wonderful!"

Buffy and Ben jumped up and screamed. They rushed up and embraced their grandpa around his legs. All three of them jumped up and down with Giles trapped in between them.

Cole chuckled from the sidelines. He liked Giles immensely and had a great deal of respect for him. Not to mention, the love his family had for Giles (and his for them) gave him a great deal of loyalty for his "father-in-law." Yes, he thought, no one had better mess with Giles if they didn't want to lose a vital organ. "Willow, children. Give grandpa some air. He won't live here long if you suffocate him. Ben, why don't you set an extra setting for grandpa, I'm sure he's hungry. Giles, would you like something to drink? A G&T? Or a Glenfiddich? I might even have Guinness somewhere."

Willow and the children broke away laughing. They practically danced back to the kitchen. The children were chanting, "Grandpa's staying! Grandpa's staying!"

Giles smiled and laughed at the children. He loved this family. Truthbe told, he was closer to Willow and her kids than he'd ever be to Buffy. Buffy didn't really need him. Not like Willow and her family, they needed him. He was home, no doubt about it. "A G&T sounds great, Cole. Anything interesting happen while I've been away?"

"Well, you could ask Buffy about Tigger." Cole laughed as he prepared Giles' drink for him.

"Sweetie?" Willow called out from the kitchen. "Could you find some wine to go with dinner? We're having lamb meatloaf and some of my special potatoes."

"Special?" Giles asked as Cole turned to select the appropriate bottle of wine. Pinot Noir, the Zinfandel? Cole considered as he thought to himself. Ah! Just the thing! A 1998 Barolo – delicious! Grabbing the corkscrew, he turned back to Giles. "What do you think, Giles? The Barolo or would you prefer the Sonoma Pinot Noir?"

"Hmmmm..." Giles intoned thoughtfully. One of the truly marvelous advantages of his "son-in-law" was his supreme appetite for life. That's the thing about demons, the whole thing about gratification. Cole's demon heritage meant that he would live life to the fullest. The best food, the best wines, and a library to die for! A Barolo, indeed. Most Americans probably think it's a brand of shoes. "Ah, the Barolo, I think. Did you say the 1998? That was a superb year as I recall."

"My thoughts exactly." Cole agreed as he opened the wine to breathe and placed it on the table. "You were asking about her special potatoes? It was just an experiment the first time she made them. And was that experiment a success! Mashed potatoes, not too creamy, mind, mixed with beer – Guinness beer. Mmmmmm. Trust me, Giles, you're in for a treat."

Just then, the children and Willow marched into the dining room with their dishes. Buffy had a basket full of her bread, Ben brought his salad and Willow brought the platter with the meatloaf and potatoes piled high. She beamed at her husband as she set her bundle down. "Okay! Let's all sit down. Buffy, would you give thanks for our meal?"

Buffy smiled happily. She and Ben loved this part. It meant a lot to them that their mother trusted them to intercede with the Goddess. She lit the candles in the center of the table carefully and centered her thoughts. "Oh divine Goddess. Guardian of Life and Mother of All, thank you for this meal. Thank you for mommy and daddy and Benny. And we all thank you for bringing Grandpa home to us. Blessings to our friends that aren't with us... Aunt Buffy, Uncle Angel, Uncle Spike, Aunt Dawn, and ... please bless and take care of Uncle Xander in his new home. We ask you to please bless all the Slayers and Champions, so that they may protect us from the Evil in the world. Blessed Be."

"Blessed Be." Everyone else intoned.

"Buffy, that was a beautiful blessing." Giles praised causing the small girl to preen and blush.

"Yes, sweetie," Cole agreed that was wonderful. Cole reached for the platter of meatloaf and started to slice. "It smells wonderful, baby."

Willow preened a little herself, leaning over she kissed her husband tenderly. She spooned some of the potatoes for her children, and then for herself and Cole. Cole sliced and passed out the meatloaf. He reached for the bottle of wine and poured helpings for himself, Willow, and Giles. He then accepted the salad from Giles. Ben had once again done a fine job. This never ceased to surprise him. He certainly didn't get his culinary skills from Cole. Cooking was not a skill taught in the Underworld. Unless, he chuckled inwardly, you were barbecuing a witch. Originally, when they gave the chore of making the salad to Ben, it was never considered that Ben would excel at this. Or even that salad would be anything more than greens and maybe a tomato or two. But Ben really excelled at this. He made any kind of salad: potato, greens, pasta, even a great spicy pepper salad. Tonight it was mixed greens with walnuts, mandarin orange slices, and some sun-dried tomatoes, all topped with a pomegranate vinaigrette dressing. He really should start writing down some of these in a book. "The salad looks great, Ben. I really like the dressing. You know, honey, we should really write down his recipes or something."

"Yes indeed." Giles agreed. "The mandarin oranges and sun-dried tomatoes are superb together. You have a real style for this sort of thing, Ben."

Ben sat up even straighter at this. Grandpa didn't just say things, everyone knew that. If he didn't like something, he just didn't say anything at all. If Grandpa said he liked something, he meant it. "Thanks, Grandpa. Do you like the dressing, too?"

"I certainly do. Do you know, Cole? I think the Barolo goes particularly well with Ben's salad. What do you think?"

Cole considered this. He took another bite of Ben's salad, and then took a sip of the Barolo. "Mmmm. I think you're right, Giles. Excellent. Darling?"

Willow looked up happily at her husband as she sipped her wine. She wasn't nearly the wine connoisseur her husband was, but she was learning. Still, she probably wouldn't have known the Barolo from any other red wine. But it was good, especially paired with the tanginess of the vinaigrette. She looked over at Ben. He was so happy with the compliments. He loved to be praised, they both did. "It's excellent, Cole."

Cole smiled at Willow and thought to himself. I wonder... He reached back and found an extra wine glass, he filled it with a small amount of the Barolo and passed it over to Ben. "Cole! What do you think you're doing!"

"Willow, relax. I just want Ben to see what we're talking about. It's not like I'm trying to get him drunk." Cole explained. Looking over at Ben, who was looking at him with adoration and a question in his eyes. "Okay, Ben, I want you to take a bite of your salad, and then take a sip of the wine. Don't take a big swallow, just a little sip. Then tell me if you what you taste. The different flavors from the salad and wine should mix in your mouth. Okay?"

Ben nodded his head up and down ecstatically. He took a bite of the salad, making sure to get an orange and tomato and some of the dandelion greens. After he swallowed that, he reached for the wine and took a sip. Oooh! He thought to himself, it's very tangy and sort of sweet. He looked over at Buffy who was watching him fascinated (and a little jealous). "Here, Buffy, you try. It's really good."

Willow gasped suddenly. Ben looked at his mother pleadingly. "Please, Mommy, it's not fair if she can't try it too."

Buffy smiled happily and repeated Ben's actions. She coughed a little as she drank the wine. It was very warm going down and made her tummy feel a little funny. But it did taste real good with the oranges. "It's like the oranges and 'matoes and the wine are all dancing on your tongue."

"Yeah, Buffy, that's just what I felt. It does make my tummy feel a little funny, though. Is that okay?" Ben asked looking questioningly at his father.

Cole chuckled, proud of his two children. Think of it, a two-year old girl with such a brilliant palate. "That's the alcohol part of it. You described the taste perfectly, precious. You're such a smart girl. Don't you think so, Giles?"

Giles smiled in agreement. Ah, yes, he'd made the right decision. He had come home.