WDWG - Chapter 16: Farewells

Shaking himself from his slumber, Xander woke dazed and disoriented, searching his surroundings by the monochromatic glow from the TV playing an old black and white movie he didn't recognize. Stretching his stiff body he grunted, cracked his back and realized he had fallen asleep in the nest of blankets and pillows on the floor in Buffy and Giles' room. He rubbed the aching shoulder muscle he had slept on and looked to his left where Watcher and Slayer lie entwined, peaceful in each others' arms. Turning to his right, he found Willow comfortably curled around a sofa pillow. With a contented grin, he allowed himself a few minutes of quiet introspection as he watched his friends sleep.

It truly astonished him that despite all the hardships and discord they'd found their way back to each other. His eye trailed over Willow - almost lost to them just over a year ago as her overwhelming grief at losing Tara had pushed her to kill a man and attempt to destroy the world. And then it turned out that his love had saved her from her darkness - and in turn saved the world. He hadn't really allowed himself to dwell on that... saving the world. It felt pretty good, though. He wasn't a superhero and he didn't have magical powers, but he did have an amazing capacity for love. The saying was true, one person can change the world, and so why not him?

Buffy snuggled further into her lover's embrace, her movement snapping Xander from his musings. After everything, he thought, she deserved happiness. Her descent into her own personal hell had been hard on him. Without Giles around, the young man had felt the need to step into the male protector role and it had hit him particularly hard that Buffy didn't confide in him, turning to Spike instead. He had managed to save Willow, but he hadn't been there for Buffy when she needed someone, caught up in his own personal trauma with Anya as he had been. And when Spike returned? Well, he didn't really want to go down that path right now.

He kept his eye trained on the couple. Thank God they'd finally found each other. They were always more at ease when they faced things together. That first year after high school had been tough when Buffy had decided to branch out beyond their little gang. They had all gotten so out of step with each other, and while it had been hard on Xander because he had skipped the college thing, it had been even harder on Giles who was unemployed, isolated, and idle. Thinking on it now, he had seen the first glimpses of a possible relationship between them after Buffy's mom had died. They had shown a true partnership during that time. And if Buffy hadn't died... But she had, and while everyone had been devastated, he had to admit that not one of them had taken her death harder than Giles. As reserved as the British Watcher was, his emotions ran deeper than any of them had realized. They should have done a better job taking care of him over the years.

He wiped an errant tear from his cheek with the shirt-clad back of his hand, vowing that he would watch over them all better in the future. Crawling over to Willow and shaking her lightly he whispered, "Hey, sleepyhead, wake up."

Willow turned, opening her eyes, and stifled a yawn, "Hey Xand, what's up?"

Tilting his head to the side, he flashed his lopsided grin, "We all passed out. I don't know about you, but I've got some serious packing to do before breakfast and hitting the road."

"Yeah, I do too. Know what time it is?"

"Nope, the only one wearing a watch is Giles and I'm not about to disturb him." Xander said pointing to the man in question.

"Whoa. Even when he's sleeping, he's watching over her, protecting her." Willow observed with a soft gaze, noting the way Giles' arms encompassed Buffy as they slumbered.

"Well, I'll head to the door and when I've opened it, turn off the TV and follow me out. They don't need a night light." Xander suggested in a hushed tone.

"Not a problem." Willow grinned as she pulled off the blanket and stood up.

XxXxXxXx

Stretching slightly so as not to wake the sleeping Slayer in his arms, Giles took a moment to relish the precious moment of pure bliss. Buffy was curled up against him with her head on his chest, her leg draped over his, and her arm positioned possessively around his waist. Chuckling inwardly, he pulled her a little closer thinking, 'Yes, I am yours, love.'

Feeling a slight twinge in his back, he decided he really was too old to be sleeping on the floor, especially after spending several nights on the ground out in the desert. Looking around, he discerned that their guests had absconded back to their rooms some time during the night, and with a quick peak at his watch he realized that they only had an hour and fifteen minutes before the farewell breakfast.

Savoring a few more moments despite his minor discomfort, he lazily caressed her shoulder with his fingers as his mind drifted over the countless impossibilities of the last few days, the most significant of which was using him as a body pillow at that moment. How lucky could one man get? Buffy was everything he had ever wanted in a woman: loving, giving, strong - both physically and emotionally, challenging (he truly didn't like meek women), and Lord, how she was beautiful! Was it too early in the relationship to be planning the future? Well even if it was, he couldn't help it when he looked at her. The feelings he had for this woman were so simple and yet so complicated at the same time. Hell, everything about their relationship was complex: Watcher/Slayer, mentor/student, man/woman, heads of an elite international organization, friends... He looked down at the sleeping Slayer with a soft smile. And lovers.

Lovers. Giles shifted a little, his trousers somehow tightening around his stirring bulge and with Buffy laying over him, there wasn't much give in the fabric. She had declared herself as his twice. The first time she had been in the throws of passion baring herself to him, asking him to claim her as his. He groaned quietly as he pictured her writhing beneath him, giving herself to him. His cock strained against the confines of his cargo pants - she was so passionate, so responsive to him. The second time she professed her devotion, she did so with such a profound sincerity that he felt it down to the very recesses of his soul. 'No,' he decided with a small smile, 'definitely not too early to think about the future.' It had taken seven long years for them to get here. He wasn't going to waste more time when they both knew what they wanted.

Looking at his watch again he sighed regretfully and reached down to pull the fabric for more slack, unable to resist rubbing himself at the sweet sensation the memories of their lovemaking caused.

As he gently moved Buffy so that he could make his escape to the bathroom, he heard a loud knock coming from the entrance way. "Shit!" He cursed under his breath and changed his course. Giles strategically opened the door so that only his head could be seen, still afflicted by his raging hard on, "Yes?" He asked a young man dressed in the hotel uniform.

"Sorry to disturb you so early, Sir, but a courier delivered a package for you this morning."

"Just a moment." The Watcher requested. Counting to ten and conjugating Latin verbs to calm himself down, he made his way over to his wallet, which he had placed on the desk the night before. Upon his return, he tipped the man and took the package. As he moved back over to the desk, he opened the envelope and read the accompanying note.

Rupert,

Here is the Power of Attorney you and Buffy Summers requested. It requires both your signatures and the Notary seal. I've also enclosed the invoice for services rendered.

Thank you,

David Trimble, Attorney at Law

He furrowed his brow as he reread the message, 'That's odd,' he thought. The document required both their signatures? Maybe he needed to witness it, but wasn't that what the Notary Public was for? He never paid much attention to law, much less the American version, and decided to look over the document with Buffy later since they were now running very short on time to get to the farewell breakfast. Placing the packet on top of his notebook, he walked over to where his lover was curled up under the blanket on the floor. Kneeling down, he gently shook her, "Buffy, darling, we need to get ready."

"Hmmm?" She murmured as she stretched, turning to the sound of his voice.

He watched her as she arched her back thrusting her chest towards him, nipples erect under the sundress she'd worn yesterday and then fallen asleep in. Oh God! He was instantly hard again. Resisting the intense urge to ignore everything and everyone and ravage her right there, he swallowed and touched her cheek, "I'm going to take a shower, love. I'll be out in ten minutes and then it's all yours."

"S'ok." She smiled up at him groggily, asking in her morning shorthand, "Willow and Xander?"

"They left sometime in the middle of the night." Leaning down he gave her a quick kiss. "I love you." He said, his eyes reflecting his words, before disappearing into the bathroom.

"Love you too." She returned, smiling into her pillow.

XxXxXxXx

They made it down to the small conference room reserved for the Slayer Send-Off Breakfast in record time. As they walked over to the buffet line to make up their plates, Giles turned to Buffy, "The Power of Attorney came from the lawyer's this morning."

"Oh great! Let's take care of that today. I'll call Dad and we can have dinner with him and Dawn tomorrow evening. Sound good?"

"Should be fine. And I'd like for us to leave for England the day after, if that's alright with you?"

"Sure." She agreed nonchalantly, scooping scrambled eggs onto her plate.

Giles noted the dispassionate tone in her voice and asked with concern, "We can postpone if you like. You do still want to come home with me, Buffy, don't you?"

Turning towards him, she saw doubt flashing in his eyes for a split second and put a reassuring hand on his arm, "Of course I do! Geez, I'm sorry, sweetie! I was just thinking about Dawn. Seems weird that she's not here for the big bon voyage, ya know? I'm hoping she and Dad are getting along."

Relief swept across his features, "Yes, it does seem strange to not have her here." Giles agreed before pausing, biting back what he really wanted to say about Hank, still feeling the hurt from being deprived of sending Dawn to school, "I am sure they are fine."

They filled their plates and sat down at a table. Faith and Robin joined them not long after. "Morning." The new Watcher greeted as Buffy poured coffee into a cup from the pot on the table.

"Morning. Ready to head out this afternoon?" The senior Slayer asked, adding cream and sugar to the brew.

"Well, we're all packed, B. After breakfast, we're gonna check on the brat pack and make sure they are ready to go."

"The shuttle leaves for the airport at 11:15." Robin added, picking up a piece of bacon and dipping it into some syrup.

"Did you get the paperwork I left for you yesterday?" Giles asked him before taking a bite of melon.

"Yep. I'll call the property manager after we get settled so that we can get the keys to the house and start making it a home for everyone."

"Everybody sleep ok?" Xander interrupted placing his plates down at the table next to Giles.

"The whole sleeping on the floor thing is overrated. I think since I've decided to retire, my body isn't recovering like it used to." Buffy answered in mock annoyance, taking a sip of her coffee.

"More likely to do with physical and mental exhaustion, love." Giles assured her, squeezing her shoulder.

Raising an eyebrow and sporting a suggestive smirk, Faith interrogated, "What were you doing sleeping on the floor?"

"Moviefest." Willow riposted, joining the group, and taking the seat next to the sarcastic Slayer. "We all passed out sometime during King Kong."

Looking over his cup of tea, Giles quizzed, "What time did you two leave?"

"Got back to my room at 3:42, packed, and got another two hours sleep afterwards. I'm pretty much ready to hit the road." The younger man replied between bites of waffles.

"Xander's taking me and Ken to the airport. Her flight leaves an hour before mine."

"You could just grab the shuttle with us, Red, and let Xand beat the rush hour traffic outta here." The brunette offered.

"We're gonna stop by Buffy's dad's and say goodbye to Dawn, first." Xander explained. "It's no big. I'll still make it out before it gets too bad."

"Giles and I were just talking about her, how it's odd her not being here and all." The blonde Slayer noted.

Willow observed Buffy's reflective demeanor and put an arm around her, "I talked to her for a few minutes before coming down. She seems happy and your dad appears to be keeping her amused. Apparently he likes taking her shopping and throwing his money around."

"And if anything goes wrong, Buff, she knows to give me a call and I will drop everything and be back as soon as I can to bring her home to you. I promise." Xander added reassuringly before attacking his second plate of food.

"Thanks, guys. I'm fine with it. I really am." She looked up and smiled at Giles, who looked extremely uncomfortable with the conversation. She made a mental note to talk to him about it later when they had some time for themselves.

After she'd finished her breakfast, Buffy walked around and hung out with the younger girls until it was time for them to head to their rooms for some last minute packing before heading to the airport. The others joined her, mingling in the easy camaraderie, and when the time came to say goodbye tears were shed and hugs given and taken freely. Buffy pulled Rona aside to make sure the reluctant Slayer knew she still had her love and support, and with a final grateful hug Rona joined Vi in a rush to their room.

Xander and Willow hung back to say their goodbyes to Buffy and Giles separately. It was agreed that they all would meet at Giles' home outside of Bath in two months' time, earlier if issues should arise, and that they would keep in touch over email or by phone.

"Have fun, you two." Xander winked.

"Be careful, Xander." Giles responded, pulling the dark haired man into a warm embrace.

Buffy and WIllow joined them in a group hug, and when they let go Willow grabbed Xander's hand and led him from the room sniffling quietly, tears threatening to spill from her emerald eyes.