Chapter 3: Rupert

******The Tower******

When Buffy finally beat Glory down and Dawn screamed for her, I felt relieved.

My slayer was alive, and Glory didn't slice up Dawn. I moved closer and saw that Ben was now in Glory's dress.

Ben was Glory—Glory was Ben. It was clear that I had a responsibility to do what my slayer could not bring herself to do.

As humanely as I could, I ended Ben's life. Although I did feel some pity for the man, my heart was hardened against his plea. He had to die, and I could bear this burden for my slayer.

I watched him die, and I felt no guilt, no remorse. The threat Glory posed was ended, and I felt only relief.

It was finally over.

I stood and looked at my charges, feeling relieved to see Willow and Tara embracing.

We all looked up at the tower, waiting. Puzzled, I looked at the newcomer with interest.

She was dressed in a very tight black bodysuit of some kind. Her short blonde hair reminded me of Anya, so I smiled and showed no alarm at the sudden appearance of the attractive stranger.

Was she a threat? My slayer had already hit her, and she showed no sign of aggression. Spike didn't seem concerned, so I relaxed.

Natasha was a Russian name, but Rushman was not. She had no accent and was clearly trying to appear harmless. However, my trained eye could see she moved a bit too much like a fighter.

Then she glanced at Willow and said, "She is dangerous."

"Willow?" I asked, and she nodded. "She can be. She's a very powerful witch." How did she sense the threat Willow posed? That was interesting.

When she seemed happy at the word witch, I relaxed a bit myself. She knew of the supernatural—that was good. However, she looked a bit frightened and lost when I told her about Sunnydale.

I'm not sure why I felt compelled to invite her to my home, but I extended the invitation. Her look of gratitude caused me to feel good about my decision.

The next day, she woke up before I did—the coffee was already brewing in the coffee pot Xander bought me for Christmas last year. (Bloody Americans and their god-awful coffee addiction).

"Good morning, Miss Rushman," I said.

"Good morning," she said. "I'd rather you call me Natasha."

"If you will call me Rupert," I said. I rarely heard my given name anymore—it would be nice.

She smiled. "How very unBritish of you," she teased, causing my face to flush.

I quickly occupied myself with my morning tea ritual. It was foolish of me to allow an attractive woman to fluster me as I am sure I was entirely too old for her.

Happily, I could see that she already made a hearty breakfast. "You've been busy," I observed as I snagged a piece of crisp bacon.

"I hope you don't mind," she said.

"No, not at all," I assured her. I set plates on my little table, and we both took a few bites.

"It's been too long since I've shared a breakfast with a lovely lady," I said, giving her smile.

Her returned smile was knowing, but she didn't speak until we had both mostly finished our meal.

Finally, she said, "So how did a Brit become involved in a hellmouth in Southern California?"

"Oh, you know," I said, giving her a coy look. "The hard way."

She laughed, and I couldn't help but feel good. I had ignored my personal life a great deal, and her clear charm was a nice change from the daily horrors I'd battle the past few months. I wondered what her story was. How could I help the woman who'd saved Dawn, and thus the world?

"I understand being wary of trusting strangers," I said. "But if you are lost or need help, we can help you."

"I do better with the trust when I know the players," she said, giving me a questioning look.

I stared at her a long moment, considering. She fell from the sky, and she immediately helped my young charges. Dare I risk more on a complete stranger? Did I have the right to possibly endanger my slayer and the others?

When I looked into her eyes, however, I didn't see an enemy. I didn't see a threat, so I smiled, trusting my gut. "Well, all right," I said.

I began my tale. "The world is older than you might realize…" I kept talking, uninterrupted for twenty minutes. It had been too long since I had someone truly listen to me. My kids were too impatient, constantly interrupting me. However, Natasha hung on to my every word—it was a nice change.

When I paused for breath, she asked, "Why are you sharing this with me?"

I was honest in my reply. "Because you saved Dawn, who is necessary for Buffy's happiness, and who I care a great deal about," I replied. She seemed fairly accepting of my words, only pushing when it came to why Glory wanted Dawn's blood. Fortunately, when I told her that Dawn's secret wasn't mine to tell, she stopped pushing. Of course, I did not need to reveal that there was a secret at all. The woman's composure and laser like focus was distracting me.

She seemed to accept my words, and then I could tell that she had made her own decision to tell me about herself.

"So now you. What's your story?" I asked.

"I'm not sure exactly," she admitted. "I'm an Avenger." When I gave me a blank look, she said, "Earth's mightiest heroes?"

"I can't say I'm familiar with the group," I said, feeling ignorant. I hate feeling ignorant, especially in front of a beautiful woman. "This isn't my homeland, and the kids say I'm woefully behind the times."

"It's possible this isn't my Earth," she announced, expecting me to be surprised.

I wasn't, and I just nodded. "That's possible," I said.

"I was on the planet Vormir looking for a Soul Stone to stop Thanos, who had wiped out half of the world's population with a snap of his finger," she said.

"Well, that wasn't on this planet, so you are most definitely on the wrong Earth," I said. "How horrible for you, yet a fascinating puzzle. I wonder if you fell through a portal that was linked to the soft spot at the location you came through?"

"What do you mean soft spot?" she asked.

"Well, the hell god, Glorificus, who wanted to sacrifice Dawn, chose that specific spot for a reason," I explained. "I am assuming that if she had gotten a chance to bleed Dawn, a portal would've opened there in sky, which is why she had that tower built."

"So what now?" I asked.

"Do you mind telling me a bit more about you and these Avengers?" I asked. Talking about the people she loved relaxed her further.

When she got to the part about how the Soul Stone her and her partner, Clint, were tasked to obtain and what was required of them, I reached out and squeezed her hand.

She seemed surprised by my actions, so I quickly let go. By this point, we were on my sofa.

"Clint is the best man I have ever known," she said. "He saved my life and then some. He gave me a family when I had lost my own. His wife and kids needed him, and there was no way that I was going to face them if he was dead. I couldn't live with myself if I had to tell them he died in my place."

"He is lucky to have such a friend," I told her, meaning it. What a Buffy thing to do. My slayer needed a role model like this one. "You have no superpowers of your own?"

She shook her head. "Not really, I was given a version of the super soldier serum, though. I do heal a bit faster and can take a hit," she said. "I'm not like Steve, but I am highly trained. In Russia, they had me training as a young child."

"Tell me about him," I prodded. And she did. She talked for an hour, telling me about her second partner, this paragon of American virtue. I almost hated the man.

"He sounds too good to be true," I couldn't help saying.

She grinned. "I know. We were on the wrong side once, but he was born in another era—a man out of time," she said.

"Were you involved?" I asked, hoping I didn't show too much interest in her answer.

She shook her head. "No," she said. "I was too broken for such a perfect guy. Bruce and I flirted—he was the Hulk I was mentioned. We had a potential once for something, but I messed up. Sometimes, the mission is all I think about."

"Sometimes, it's what matters," I said.

She gave me a grateful look and continued. "Bruce was a brilliant scientist, who foolishly experimented on himself, creating the Hulk. When I needed the Hulk in a battle once, he felt betrayed. He left the planet for two years—off with Thor doing I don't know what," she said. "Then Thanos happened. We were over before we begun."

"I'm sorry," I said.

"It happens," she said with a shrug. "I'm Russian, so we're not very sentimental."

"So this SHIELD that you worked for, is it like the CIA or FBI that America has on this Earth?" I asked.

"Those agencies were on mine, too," she said. "SHIELD focused a bit on threats that normal FBI or CIA couldn't handle. We focused on HYDRA, which was a Communist group that came out of WWII. They played around with the supernatural a bit, but not much came of it."

"So SHIELD is a group that specializes in aliens and the supernatural?" I asked. "That's very exciting. The Watcher's Council doesn't spend much time on extra-terrestrial, but there's been records. Most of the alien encounters we have are from other dimensions —Glory called a demon bug to kill her poor infected crazies—it was from another dimension we believe even though it landed on Earth like a space ship."

"What makes you sure it wasn't just a simple alien?" she asked me.

"It seemed unlikely as she was not an alien," I said. "She had demon followers, and she was herself a hellgod. We assume it came from another demon dimension, a place familiar to a hellgod like she."

"Now that's a term I don't quite understand—hellgod," she said. "Thanos was a Titan, and when he put the infinity stones on the gauntlet, he actually had powers of a god. He could reverse time, and he destroyed half of all life on every planet throughout our multi-verse with a snap of his fingers."

"Well, some of the dimensions are hell dimensions," I explained. "They are full of demonic creatures. As some used to live on this planet, they consider it their home. However, Glory was a mad ruler of her hell dimension. Supposedly, other gods got together to contain her and brought her here and put her in the body of a human vessel."

"What would've happened if she'd opened the portal?" Natasha wondered. "Wouldn't she just have went home and been someone else's problem?"

This was the tricky part as I had a feeling she had been trained to detect lies, but I didn't want to share the truth about Dawn just yet.

"From my research and what my superiors at the Council had uncovered, all dimension walls would've opened, causing all the dimensions to collapse," I said. "This world would've been destroyed by the hordes from hell that would've been unleashed."

"Wow," Natasha said. "So Dawn wasn't exaggerating?"

"No," I said. "By saving her, you saved the world and possibly many others."

She smiled, pleased. "The guys would be jealous," she said.

"I have a feeling that they wouldn't be surprised since you gave your life to save your own mere moments before you saved Dawn," I pointed out, giving her an admiring glance. Before things could grow awkward, however, I stood. "Well, we should head to the Magic Box and talk to the children."

She stood. "You know, except for Dawn, they all looked pretty grown up to me," she said.

"Spend some time with them, and you will understand why I use the word children," I said. "Anya is my business partner, and she used to be a thousand-year-old vengeance demon. However, she ignores all rules of proper behavior."

"She was the one who said she would miss orgasms, right?" Natasha asked, giving me a wicked grin.

Hearing her say the word orgasm caused my pulse to race just a tad too much. I was being ridiculous as I was entirely too old for her. "May I ask you a personal question?" I dared to venture.

"Sure," she said. "I can't promise to answer, though, but you can ask."

"How old are you?" I asked.

"Don't worry," she said. "I am not at all near their age as I am on the other side of thirty."

I felt relieved but simply nodded. "Shall we?" I asked opening the door.

When we arrived at the Magic Box, all the children were there. "Good morning!" Anya said with a bright smile.

"I brought donuts," Xander said.

"Thanks, but we already ate," I said. This was one reason I still thought of them as children—they would eat donuts daily if given a chance.

"More for me," Xander said, grinning as he reached for another donut.

"How are you feeling, Anya?" I asked her.

"I have a slight concussion, but I'm okay," Anya said. "I was given some white pills that made the pain go away, and Xander looked even sexier than normal."

Natasha grinned at the woman but said nothing. I appreciated her restraint.

"So are you going to tell us how this woman fell from the sky just in time to save the day?" Buffy asked, eying her with open hostility.

"Buffy, she has lost her world, and I do not think it was a coincidence that she ended up in ours just at the right time," I said.

"So she was teleported here like Willow did with the spell on Glory?" Buffy asked.

"No. She is from another Earth—one she died saving," I said. "Or rather she ended up here instead of certain death."

"That's rather convenient," Buffy said, glancing at Willow.

"Yes," Willow said, nodding in agreement.

"Her planet didn't have hell dimensions or vampires or slayers," I said. "It had superheroes and humans with advanced biology that gave them slayer like abilities."

"Like Superman?" Xander's eyes lit up.

"We had a Captain America," Natasha said. She told them about the heroes in her world and the enemy, Thanos, who managed to destroy so much.

"Wow!" Xander said. "That's a real villain—one that makes Glory seem like a crazy kitten."

"Well, we had an entire squad of superheroes and an army fighting him, so it wasn't quite the same," Natasha said.

"I can't believe you, Giles," Buffy said, glaring at me. "How can you just share our lives with a stranger? You just believe her crazy tale?"

"Buffy, she fell from the sky. She saved my life," Dawn said, glaring at her sister.

Buffy went on a tiresome rant, and I took off my glasses, waiting for her to finish. However, before I could speak, Natasha did.

"It's time that you close your mouth," Natasha said.

"Excuse me?" Buffy asked, giving her an angry glare. As I saw Buffy clench her fists, I knew she was close to physically assaulting the newcomer.

"Calm down, Buffy. You are overreacting. Natasha is someone with gifts and talents of her own—someone that needs our help and could help us in return," I told her. I could see that Natasha was getting annoyed, but she raised her hand, warning me off.

"We don't need your help," Buffy insisted, crossing her arms. My slayer was so stubborn.

"Yes, you do," Natasha said. She glanced at me, and I gave her a small nod. "I'm a trained spy, a government agent from another Earth. I can help you because it's very clear you guys are in need of help."

"Why don't we first see if we can help you?" I suggested to her. I looked at Willow. "Willow, can you get on the machine of yours and look to see if anyone of her people is on this planet?"

"You mean their doppelgangers?" Willow asked.

"Yes—also help her look up her place of employment," I suggested.

"If you have a computer, I can look it up myself," she said.

"I can do it," Willow said quickly.

I let the girls spend time on the computer while I took my slayer to the training room.

"Buffy, have I not earned your trust by now?" I asked her when we were alone.

"Of course, Giles," she said. "This isn't about not trusting you."

"It is," I replied. "I would not allow anyone into our lives that I deemed a threat. I would not put you or Dawn at risk. This woman not only helped us, but she needs our help. I would appreciate it if you would at least be polite."

Buffy grudgingly agreed. A few days went by, and Natasha discovered nothing from her old world. I found that a bit odd as I would've assumed another Earth would have similar people. There were some, but none of the ones she knew personally. It was strange.

As it was clear that Natasha had no one but us, I did what I could to make her feel comfortable. I cleaned out my spare room and moved Natasha into it as I did have a pullout couch. After she'd been on patrol once with us, Buffy decided that she had to spar with Natasha. So far, Natasha had not been around when Buffy was training. She'd been in town four days, though, when Buffy insisted that she show us what she could do.

I'm not sure who was more surprised, myself or my slayer, to discover that not only could Natasha hold her own against Buffy, but she could win against her.

My stubborn slayer, though, wouldn't give up. She kept getting up, and Natasha kept putting her down. Of course, Buffy managed to hurt her—I could see it. However, Natasha fought with cold discipline, beating her several times. I looked at the others who were watching, and they were equally stunned.

Finally, Buffy got up and spit out, "You can't be human!"

"I'm human—mostly," she said. "I was raised as Natasha Romanoff, a Russian asset. They used a version of a super serum on me. I don't have the strength of Captain America or you for that matter. But I don't tire easily, and I'm tough. Not to mention, I've got over two decades of fighting experience that you don't have."

Romanoff suited her better than Rushman, and I was glad she finally gave us her real name. I watched Buffy look at her for a long time, and then she relaxed and nodded. After that, Buffy seemed to accept Natasha's presence.

Two weeks later, Buffy approached me in the shop as Dawn was having Natasha teach her how to throw off a male attacker. Xander, of course, was the male volunteer.

"Giles, are you sleeping with Nat?" Buffy asked.

"What?" I asked sharply. When I realized that Dawn and Natasha both stopped to look at me, I lowered my voice, turning away from their prying eyes. "Why would you ask me that? Of course not! She is a guest in my home."

Buffy gave me that annoying smirk of hers. "That's what I figured—it's time to get her out of there," she said.

"I can't and won't throw the poor woman on the street!" I protested.

"God, Giles, I wasn't suggesting that!" Buffy insisted, rolling her eyes. "I was thinking that she could stay with me and Dawn."

I paused, thinking about what a good idea that was. "Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yes," Buffy said, nodding. "It makes sense. I could use some help with Dawn when school starts back, and we have the room. We can say she's a relative or something."

"If you're sure," I said, looking for signs of hesitancy.

"I'm sure. Dawn will love it," she said. Then she gave me a sly look. "Then you won't have to worry about seducing your houseguest."

When my mouth fell open at her words, she giggled and skipped over to tell Dawn her idea.

Before I knew it, I was living alone once more. The last night she was there, Natasha held out her hand out me. "I'm not sure how to thank you, but I am very grateful for your hospitality, your kindness, and your friendship—not to mention your trust."

I took her hand in mine, smiling. "It was my pleasure," I said. I held her hand a moment longer than was proper, and then I quickly released it.

After she left, I relaxed. It hadn't occurred to me just how tense I had been until she was gone. Did I miss her? Of course. However, I was not used to sharing my space, and my flat was not that large. She was a very beautiful woman, and she was incredibly intelligent, too. Willow still hadn't recovered from discovering the woman was trained in various computer programs and a decent hacker. For me, I was way too aware of all her many appeals to ever truly relax when she was in my home.

However, having my place to myself grew boring after just a few days, and I decided I needed a change. When I was in my shop getting my lesson in Russian from Natasha with Dawn, I mentioned that I was considering going to my home for the summer.

"Oh, Giles, can I go?" Dawn begged. "I so want to go to England! Think of all the history you can teach me!"

"Yes, Rupert, think of what all you can teach this teenage mind as you set her loose in Europe," Natasha said with a coy smile. I chuckled. It hadn't taken her long to fit in with our little Scooby Gang as they called it.

From there, it was decided that Buffy would go and eventually Willow and Tara. I'm not sure why it hadn't occurred to me that the girls would enjoy seeing my home, but they did.

Spending the two weeks with my slayer, Dawn, and Natasha was one of the best times of my life. It'd been too long since I had seen the carefree, happy side of Buffy, and she was a sight to behold as she toured my family home, trying to find the secret passage I had hinted about.

"I can't believe how different she is here," Natasha observed, watching Buffy interact with her sister. "It's like she's a whole new person."

"This is the girl she would've been if she hadn't been called as a slayer," I said.

"I like this girl," she said.

So did I, but I loved all sides of my slayer. She was special.

However, I soon discovered just how special Natasha was. I knew that she read Latin and spoke Russian. As we traveled, I discovered that she also spoke French, Portuguese, Italian, and Farsi. She was just full of surprises.

We drove through the countryside around my family's estate after the girls decided they wanted to go shopping with my mother, who was more than happy to indulge them.

"Should we feel guilty for abandoning the girls?" Natasha asked.

"You can, but I do not," I told her. "Mother has mostly given up on me supplying her with grandchildren. She knows what the girls mean to me, and she has decided to treat them like hers."

Natasha laughed. "Well, there are worse things. It will do them good," she said.

I agreed, and we had a lovely afternoon just driving. The stress of the hellmouth rolled off me as I allowed myself to truly relax.

"It's been a long time since I've just went for a drive," she said.

"I'm glad you could join us," I said.

"Well, it wasn't like there was anything else demanding my attention," she said with a rueful smile. "I'm very grateful for your kindness and generosity."

I enjoyed being with her, and our time in England created memories I will always cherish. Somehow, she tracked down Buffy and Dawn's father and got him to reconnect with his girls. I was very happy for them, and Dawn in particular was thrilled to see her father again.

"How did you do that?" I asked her after the girls left to have dinner with their dad.

She gave me a coy smile. "Wouldn't you like to know," she said.

"I would," I said.

"I just reminded him that he was a good father," she said.

Somehow, I just knew that there was more to it than that. Then when Buffy and I went to meet Travers, I agreed with Buffy. The events were too extraordinary to have happened without some outside force. Natasha did seem like the most logical suspect.

"How did you accomplish such a thing?" I asked her when we were having a nightcap later that night.

"What makes you think I had anything to do with it?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

"I don't believe in coincidences," I said. "You told me you were called the Black Widow back on your world. I am sure that name was given for a reason."

"Well, I've never been married or widowed," she said with a wink.

I just laughed. "Fine. Keep your secrets," I told her. "I'm just glad you're on our side."

"And now I don't have to feel guilty for the money you've spent on me," she said.

"You didn't have to do anything to pay me back," I said, meaning it. It was nice to be able to help someone and get to see the way my help affected their life. When we saved someone from a vampire, they were gone from our lives. Of course, this woman was special in so many ways. I was finding it harder and harder to see her as only a colleague.

*****A Few Months Later*****

I was in love with the newest member of our team. Who could blame me as I was but a man, and Natasha Romanoff was unlike anyone I have ever known, male or female?

In October, Buffy's basement flooded, and she knew how to fix it. Then she spotted surveillance on my girls and figured out who was behind it. I could not believe Jonathan was mixed up in such shenanigans.

After I watched how she dealt with them, I smiled in approval. Warren had built himself a robotic girlfriend, and he was abusing his real-life girlfriend. She'd used what she called her honey trap to help facilitate the end of their relationship and managed to get enough proof that he was doing all kind of illegal things online. Instead of contacting the nincompoops at the Sunnydale police department, she had called the FBI directly. Warren was arrested, and she scared his two accomplices into testifying against them.

The woman was amazing, and right before Thanksgiving I finally kissed her like I had wanted to for months.

"You do that quite well," she said with a smile when I pulled away. Dawn was at a sleepover, and Buffy was patrolling with Willow and Tara.

"Thanks," I said, smiling. "I've had some practice."

"Did you want to join me in my bed?" she asked as if she was talking about the weather. Her casualness made me pause, but I wasn't strong enough to say no.

"I do," I said. "However, I don't want things to be awkward."

"Rupert, we're both adults who respect and care for one another," she said. "I'm not some young thing you're taking advantage of."

"I know that," I said. I gave her a searching look, and I only saw amusement in her eyes. Was she laughing at me or the situation? Suddenly, I felt unsure. "It's probably a mistake."

"Sharing a good time with a friend is never a mistake," she said without hesitation.

"And if I wanted it to be more than that?" I dared to venture.

She looked at me a long moment, and then leaned up and kissed me again. Then she took my hand, tugging me along. "I think we should take things slow and see how things go," she suggested.

I was okay with that, and I followed her to her bed.

I don't know how I managed to get home that night before Buffy discovered me.

All I know was I felt like a young virgin discovering sex for the first time, and she was a goddess.

Somehow, we managed to keep our relationship under wraps. I even went home for the holidays even though it pained me to be away from her.

I was very pleased that she wanted to drive me to the airport—I was letting her keep my car while I was gone.

"I wanted to give you something for Christmas—if that's okay," she said, handing me a wrapped gift. This gratified me because I had a wrapped gift inside my coat for her.

"Of course," I said. "I have something for you, too." Reaching inside my jacket, I brought it out and handed the small box to her.

"I saw this and had a feeling you might like it," she said.

Smiling, I opened the box and saw that it was a book—a very old book. A thrill went through me as I reverently picked it up.

"I didn't see this one in your collection," she said.

It was a first edition of the poetry of Lord Byron—a rare find indeed. "This is incredible," I said, carefully opening up the cover. "Where did you find it?"

"Online," she said with a smirk. "You know that place you refrain from going."

"You know I was once involved with a woman who lived and breathed computers, and she never converted me," I said.

"Did you she buy you rare books that you could only find online?" Natasha asked.

When her words amused me instead of causing me pain, I knew that I was finally ready to move on emotionally from Jenny. It had been several years, and other women had been close to me physically since she died. However, I had not really allowed any to touch my heart.

Until now. I leaned over and kissed her. "Thank you," I said. "I love it."

Now it was her turn, so she opened the small box. "This has been in my family for a few generations," I said. "I didn't really spend money on it, but I wanted you to have it."

She lifted the necklace out of the box. It was a small Celtic cross with an emerald in it. "It's gorgeous, Rupert," she said softly.

"The stone reminded me of your eyes," I told her.

It surprised me to see her eyes fill with tears—I'd yet to see her cry. "Thank you, Rupert. It's wonderful. Will you put it on me?" she asked.

I did, and then she kissed me one last time before I got on the plane.

By New Year's Eve, I returned, dragging her into my apartment. We didn't make it to my bedroom the first time.

"I missed you," she said after we were lying in my bed.

"I hope half as much as I missed you," I said. "How was your Christmas?"

"It was hard—I miss Clint and his family. His wife Laura makes Christmas so wonderful, and she never made me feel like I was an intruder," Natasha said. More and more she spoke of her partner and best friend. I hated to see her in pain and wanted to what I could to help.

Although I was thrilled with her plan to become chief of police, I kept encouraging her to explore magic and work with Willow to find a way to contact her Earth.

By the next summer, they figured it out. It was on her birthday, and I was so happy for her.

After she made contact, she smiled brighter than I have ever seen. Willow told her to end the connection, and she collapsed against me.

"I saw him, Rupert!" she exclaimed, her joy apparent.

"I am so glad," I told her.

"They did it," she said. "Everyone was okay. Laura and the kids are alive again."

Then she threw herself in my arms and finally cried for all that she had lost.

I loved this woman, and I thanked whatever god sent her to my Earth.

Nothing would ever make me give her up—I'd follow her to her Earth if I had to.

Luckily, she was happy just where she was, and so was I.

*****Chapter End*****

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