Buffy went downstairs the next morning to find Dawn and her dad already eating breakfast. "Good morning, honey," said her dad.
"Morning, dad," Buffy replied pouring herself a glass of orange juice. "I have a therapy session this morning. Normally I would have had it yesterday, but they asked if they could reschedule. I thought maybe Dawn could show you around Sunnydale and then I could meet you guys for lunch."
"Sure," Hank said. "Why don't you invite Rupert and his brother to meet us as well?"
Buffy almost choked on her orange juice. "Sure, dad," Buffy replied forcing herself to smile. They finished breakfast and Buffy had her dad drive her to the hospital. She figured she'd have Giles pick her up on the way to lunch. She said good-bye to her father and Dawn and agreed to meet them at Pete's Pizza at 12:30.
Therapy went smoothly and she got out to find Giles sitting in his car waiting for her with Ethan sitting in the back seat. She got in and shut the door. "This is a very bad idea," Giles said, without looking at her.
"Well," Buffy said, not really sure what to say. Instead she turned around and glared at Ethan. "You'd better behave yourself," she told him.
"I'll be on my best behavior," Ethan promised. When Buffy continued to glare at him he added, "I prefer to keep my body parts intact, thank you." That seemed to pacify the Slayer as she turned back around in her seat.
She laced her fingers through Giles' and said quietly, "Thank you for doing this."
Giles looked over at her and smiled softly, "Just another day on the Hellmouth." Buffy laughed and they exchanged a grin before Giles brought his eyes back to the road. Ethan was torn between disgust at how perfect they were for each other and the fact that they were perfect together. He didn't know what was happening to him. Helping Ripper and his Slayer. He just shook his head.
All too quickly for Buffy, they were at the pizza place. She sighed and said, "Let's get this over with." They got out of the car and headed inside. Buffy spotted Dawn waving them over to a booth. "Where's dad?" she asked.
"He's ordering the pizzas," Dawn replied. "I told him what everyone liked." Just then Hank came back.
He spotted Ethan and said, "You must be Rupert's brother. Hank Summers. Pleased to meet you."
Ethan shook Hank's hand and said, "Ethan Rayne. It's a pleasure to meet you as well."
Hank looked confused and questioned, "You have different last names?"
Buffy glared at Ethan. She thought quickly. "They're step-brothers," she said quickly. Hank smiled and nodded. Their number was called out. Buffy went up and helped Hank bring the pizzas to the table. They ate in silence for a while. It was Hank who finally broke the silence.
"So, Rupert, tell me about yourself," he said.
Giles swallowed and began, "Well I'm originally from Bath. I have a PhD from Oxford. I worked at the British Museum before I moved to California. I love books and wanted to pass that love onto others so I took the job of librarian at Sunnydale High. Unfortunately, when there was an accident on graduation day and the high school blew up, it left me without a job. I spent a year singing and playing my guitar at the coffee shop. When the owner of the new age shop passed away last year, I purchased the shop from his heirs. It does quite well."
Hank nodded. He was pleased that this man seemed to have his life together and wasn't just using his daughter as some mid-life fling, like he himself was guilty of doing. He turned to Ethan, "And what about yourself?"
Ethan grinned, "Well, I'm originally from London. Our parents didn't get married until we were in our late teens. I went to university for a little while, but it just wasn't for me. I'm much more of a hands-on person. I do odd jobs and I've tried my hand at a lot of different things." Hank nodded again, happy that Buffy seemed to have chosen the responsible brother. Ethan continued, "Rip…" He didn't get to finish when he felt a sharp kick in his leg. He shot a glance at Buffy who was glaring at him. He quickly cleared his throat and said, "Rupert keeps telling me that I need to settle down, but I'm just having too much fun."
The rest of the lunch passed uneventfully. As they were leaving though, Hank said, "Let's go take a look at your shop, Rupert." Buffy and Giles exchanged a glance. The gang was there, researching. It was Dawn who saved the day this time.
"I have to go to the bathroom real quick," Dawn said hurriedly, heading towards the bathroom.
"I guess we'll catch up with you then," Hank said. Buffy and Giles sighed in relief and hurried to the car with Ethan behind them.