WDWG - Chapter 21: Fathers

At 6:30pm on the dot, Rupert Giles rapped his knuckles against the door to Hank Summers' condo in downtown L.A. Buffy nervously combed her fingers through her hair as they waited in the hallway, still unable to face her father without some trepidation. Even though she hadn't heard any complaints from her sister in the last several days, the fear of being disappointed by the man all over again rested in the forefront of her mind.

Dawn answered the door with a flourish and squealed excitedly as she drew her older sister into her arms for a huge hug. "Buffy! I have missed you so much!" Releasing her sister, she then threw herself into Giles' arms. "You too, Giles!" The younger Summers said as she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Y-yes, I've missed you too!" Giles responded, returning the girl's emphatic embrace. Looking over Dawn's shoulder, he watched his fiancée and her father stare awkwardly at each other before Hank extended an arm inviting them in.

"It's good to see you, Dad. Oh, here." The blonde said, handing a bottle of wine to her father. "Giles picked it out. He knows his wines. Uh, how's it going?" She continued uncomfortably.

"It's... been really good." Hank replied with a slight grin. "Dawn is amazing. We've been having a good time, haven't we, kiddo?"

"Oh yeah, we went to Disneyland the other day. It was so cool. Dad rode the coasters with me without puking, and then yesterday, we went to Palm Springs and I had a date shake for the first time. Those are wickedly good! Oh, Buffy, come see my room!" The teen babbled as she took her sister's hand and led her up the stairs of the multi-floor condo, leaving the two men staring at each other.

"Don't be long, girls, we have dinner reservations in forty-five minutes and have to leave in thirty." Hank called after them before turning his attention to the Watcher. "Uh, thanks for the wine, Giles. Would you like a beer?"

"Yes, thank you." The Brit responded following the other man into the kitchen. "Lovely home you have."

"Oh, thanks. I like it. It's close to work. How are things?"

"Um, things are good. We've concluded our business here in the States and our flight leaves tomorrow evening. Looks like Dawn is happy and settled." Giles noted, trying to keep the twinge of disappointment from his voice. In a way, he had hoped that the girl would be miserable. He knew it was petty, but he couldn't help but dislike Hank for not being there for his daughters after their mother had passed. He also couldn't help feeling jealous that the man could waltz back into Dawn's life and take his role as father back quite so easily. Still, there was nothing to be done for it. Dawn had chosen to be with Hank and things were going well. He would be happy for the girl, even if it tore at his heart.

"She is. She misses the two of you, though, if you couldn't tell by the greeting." Hank responded, smiling and handing a bottle of beer to his counterpart. "I think by the end of the summer, she'll be dying to head to that new school in England and see you both."

Taking the beer, Giles had to hand it to the other man. He was charming and gracious. "Yes, well, we've missed her as well. I called the school and they have reserved a place for her. She will need to take the assessment tests because her transcripts from Sunnydale have been lost, but I'm sure it won't be an issue. In fact, I even foresee her skipping a level. She's a very smart girl. You should be proud. Cheers!"

"Cheers!"

XxXxXxXx

"Isn't this the coolest room? It's sort of like a loft, but more private, and let me tell you how awesome it has been not having to share space with all the other girls. I mean, I love them and all, but it was starting to drive me nuts! Do you like how I decorated? Dad gave me his credit card and let me go nuts. It's mine for whenever I come and visit." The girl babbled, grinning.

Looking around, Buffy noticed the decor. It was feminine and trendy, like the teen herself, and the walls were plastered with posters of her favorite bands and actors. In less than a week, her sister had settled in with their father, making herself at home. "It's really nice, Dawn. You did a great job! Maybe you should be an interior designer."

"Oh, and I have my own bathroom too! And check out my walk-in closet! Dad took me shopping and I got a ton of clothes! Of course, he would veto anything he thought was too revealing, but I snuck a couple short skirts in when he wasn't looking."

They grinned at each other as Buffy perused her sister's new wardrobe. After a few minutes she held up a simple black leather jacket and exclaimed, "Oh, very nice! Me likey."

"Yeah and it's so soft! Dad didn't hesitate for a moment when I tried it... Oh. My. God!"

"What?" Buffy asked alarmed, looking around the room for a demon of some sort.

"Oh. My. God!" The girl shrieked again, this time at the top of her lungs and grabbed her sister's left hand to inspect the ring. "Is this what I think it is?"

Buffy just smiled, her eyes twinkling with happiness. Dawn screamed her delight again.

XxXxXxXx

"What the devil is going on up there?" Hank asked as the two men looked at the stairs.

Giles ducked his head, a shy smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. He suspected that Dawn had just spotted the ring and was now counting the seconds before she'd come running.

Fifteen seconds later he caught a flying sixteen year old in his arms and swung her around as she gleefully hugged him, laughing "Oh my God! This is so perfect! Now we can be a real family!"

Hank winced at his youngest daughter's comment. There was such an easy affection between her and the other man, and he resented it. Turning towards the stairs, he watched as his eldest daughter came down. Buffy smiled broadly as she held up her left hand for her father to see. The older man's eyes widened as he took in the site of the ring, registering its meaning. He walked towards her and embraced her for the first time in ages. "Congratulations, baby girl! I'm really happy for you."

The Slayer was thunderstruck. She was wrapped in her father's arms and half of her wanted to take comfort in it while the other half was screaming to flee. Tentatively, she put her arms around him and hugged him back. "Thanks, Dad." She expressed, staying only as long as was necessary to accept his well wishes, before walking over to Giles and putting her arms around his waist.

Smiling reservedly, Hank extended his hand to Giles who shook it politely, "Well, we should go celebrate!"

XxXxXx

Their reservations were at a very posh seafood restaurant a few blocks down from Hank's place. The walk over was uneventful with Dawn and her sister leading the way. Even though it was still light outside, Buffy, as always, kept one ear and one eye open for anything out of the ordinary while Giles, ever vigilant, was on heightened alert watching over his Slayer.

"Hey, brat, I wanted to thank you for the craptacular ringtone you gave me when you set up my phone. There is nothing so unpleasant as being roused from a good sleep to Celine Dion warbling out some horrible adult contemporary song." The blonde Summers expressed sarcastically.

"Awesome! Extra points because it woke you up!" Dawn crowed, quickly dodging Buffy as she leaned over to gently shove her. "I may not be a Slayer, but after all this time I know how to evade you."

"Voice down, kiddo, you know Dad doesn't know this stuff."

"I wasn't loud!" The teen insisted.

"Any louder and they'd have heard you in Mexico." Buffy anticipated the girl's next move and lightly pushed her away.

Dawn laughed despite herself, "Not! You freak!"

"Mutant."

Giles noticed the playful shoving match a half block ahead of him and looked on with affection. It had been a long time since the sisters had bantered back and forth and he hoped that the rift that had held them apart for so long was starting to heal.

"You know, when I brought Buffy to the hospital to meet Dawn right after she was born, she turned to me and said that the baby needed to be returned because someone got her order wrong. She had specifically asked for a baby brother." Hank reminisced, causing the Watcher to bark out a hearty laugh. "It's good to see she's gotten over it."

"She must've been a handful as a child." Giles offered conversationally.

"I'm sure she still is. She's always been a force of nature."

"That she has." He agreed, keeping his gaze on his bride-to-be.

"Have you decided on a date yet?"

"No, nothing specific, just soon. Late summer or early fall." Giles responded, hands in his pockets, not really wanting to have this discussion without Buffy.

"Keep me posted?" Hank asked hopefully, not sure whether Buffy would include him in her wedding.

"Of course."

They approached the restaurant and Dawn inserted herself between the two men, slipping her hands into the crooks of their elbows. "Geez, you geezers, what took so long?"

They were seated with the men facing each other and the girls on either side. When the waiter took their drink order, Hank ordered a bottle of Cristal and a bottle of sparkling non-alcoholic cider for Dawn. Giles raised an eyebrow at Buffy and mouthed, "Cristal?" His fiancée just shrugged and looked down at the menu, shaking her head slightly.

The sommelier brought out the expensive bubbly, and opened it. The pop of the cork garnered the attention of some of the diners around them, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the observant Watcher. Hank tested the vintage and gave his approval, allowing the wine butler to fill the glasses. Champagne flutes in hand, he then stood up holding his glass out in a toast.

Giles looked around and saw that more of the patrons focused their attention on the other man. Being a private man and intensely protective of his Slayer and the younger girl he thought of as a daughter, he politely requested, "Hank, please sit, we can do this more privately."

The other man ignored him, "Ladies and Gentleman," he started gathering his thoughts, "I'd like to propose a toast to my daughters Buffy and Dawn for surviving the destruction of Sunnydale!"

"Dad!" Buffy started, trying to gain his attention, but Hank was in a celebratory mood, and quite unwilling to yield the floor.

Giles groaned inwardly. He was careful and he was suspicious, stemming from his Watchers training and the deep love he had for his family. L.A. was teeming with demon activity and it wouldn't be too hard to put together 'Sunnydale' and 'Buffy' and come up with the fact that the Slayer was alive and well. Information that would pay well in demonic circles and ultimately endanger her life.

"And to my friend, Giles who has watched over them for years, welcome to the family! May you and Buffy be very..."

Grabbing Hank's wrist tightly, the irate Watcher drew him down to his seat and hissed through clenched teeth, "Sit down, you ponce!" He then stood up muttering, "Excuse me," before storming out of the restaurant, desperately needing to calm down.

"What the hell was that about?" The baffled father asked his girls rubbing his arm.

Buffy got up from the table, "Umm, I'll explain in a little bit. I am going after Giles."

She found him raging and pacing in the back alley of the restaurant, alternating between kicking a garbage can and punching the brick wall. "You're going to hurt yourself."

"Too late!" He ground out holding up his bloodied knuckles.

She went over and took his left hand in hers, inspecting the damage. "He doesn't know any better, Giles. He's happy and just wanted to share it with everyone. God, I can't believe I'm defending him. This looks bad, can you move your fingers?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Nothing's broken. Why is it that you Americans are so bloody public about everything?"

"Not all of us. Anyway, he doesn't know how bad something like that can be. But it's a real threat, isn't it? Something that will follow us for the rest of our lives? Some Big Bad will want revenge and target us."

Cupping her cheek with his good hand, Giles caught her eyes and responded "It's a possibility, love. I just want to keep you as safe as possible, let us lead as normal a life as we can."

"And I love you for it," she said putting her arms around his neck, pulling his head down to place a gentle kiss on his cheek. "Are you ready to go back in?" She asked, snuggling into his chest.

"I think so. From his perspective I owe your father an apology and an explanation." He said wryly and they headed back into the restaurant where Giles took a quick detour to the restroom to clean up his hand.

Rejoining her father and sister, Buffy took her seat at the table, "I'm sorry about that. Giles will be joining us in a minute."

Still shocked, Hank asked, "Buffy, what the hell just happened? I can't get an answer out of Dawn."

"Let's talk about it after dinner, ok?"

He gave his daughter a look of reproach before standing up and heading for the bathroom where he found Giles tending to the cuts on his knuckles. Perplexed and feeling a need to protect his daughters, Hank confronted the injured man, "My girls won't tell me what's going on, Giles, and I'll be honest with you, what happened out there concerns me greatly. Here's what it looks like from my perspective and you tell me if I am wrong. You get physical and they go all quiet. That suggests to me a history of abuse."

Giles snapped his head up to face the other man, incredulous and angry. "Not ever!"

"But you can see where I am coming from. I swear, if you've ever laid a finger on them..."

The Englishman stood up to his full height, straightening his shoulders, towering over Hank by a good four inches. "Never! Dawn is like a daughter to me -"

"But she isn't. She's mine, and I won't have you hurting her or Buffy." The protective father stated, crossing his arms across his chest and watching the muscles in Giles' jaw tighten.

The quiet Englishman wanted nothing more than to lay Hank Summers out with one blow to the jaw. This was the man who couldn't be bothered to show up for birthdays and holidays, much less his ex-wife's funeral or help the girls out financially. It was Giles who was there to provide the help and support Buffy and Dawn needed when their mother passed away and it was Dawn who placed him in the role as her father figure to which he responded without a second thought. Still, he understood the veiled threat beneath the words. Should things not go to the businessman's satisfaction with this conversation, he could make life very difficult for him and Buffy where Dawn was concerned, and while he had the Council resources at his disposal to rebuff any legal attempt to take the girl from them, he didn't want to have to resort to it and cause any additional family strife.

"I do like you, Giles, so tell me why you were so upset about a simple toast."

Giles sighed. There was always the option of telling him the truth about Buffy's Calling but, for so many reasons, he didn't want to get into it. Finally, he let his rage subside and started his story, "You remember Buffy telling you about getting hurt a couple years ago? Well, it was part of a gang initiation ritual and since she survived, there is the very real possibility that she could be targeted again. There are many of these gang members in L.A. and while I think the threat is probably minimal, especially with our leaving tomorrow evening, I don't want word to get back to anyone that she is here."

"Jesus! Why wouldn't Dawn tell me this? Or Buffy when she came back in?" Hank asked, taking in the severity of the ordeal his eldest daughter endured.

"Dawn probably didn't understand why I was so upset, and I imagine that Buffy would want me to apologize properly when I got back to the table. You didn't know and I apologize for my behavior."

"Alright. I'm going to head back to the table. On my way, I will let the maître d' know that you need some bandages and antiseptic for that hand."

"Thank you."

The rest of dinner passed quietly. Even though the two men had come to an understanding in the bathroom, there was still a large amount of tension between them, mostly radiating off of Giles, which caused the youngest Summers to sit sulkily and pick at her food. This was not how she envisioned the evening to turn out, and things had been going so well.

When they returned to Hank's condo, Buffy asked Giles and Dawn to give her a few minutes with her father. When the pair excused themselves, the young woman turned to her father. "I have the Power of Attorney here, but you should know that Giles is also Dawn's guardian."

Hank remained quiet for a moment before responding, "We can change that now. I can be a full time parent. You don't have to be a mom to a teenager at twenty-three."

"Dad, she's my responsibility. Mom entrusted her to me and I asked Giles to help me with her last year. We are fine. Maybe in six months we can revisit this arrangement, but she's sixteen. In two years she will be an adult. I don't think there is a need to change the custody arrangements."

"I'm her father, Buffy!" he pointed out raising his voice.

"Yes, nothing changes that fact. But we've been over this, you haven't been there for close to seven years, Dad. We've managed without you. I think it's great that you want to be with her, but let's keep things the way they are for now."

Not liking the answer he was given, her dad added, "He shouldn't have custody. He's not her father!"

"No he's not, but Giles is the closest thing to one she's had in a long time and he loves her like she's his own! Even if he were not her guardian, we would be making decisions for her together. He's going to be my husband! In the end, what difference does it make? This should be about Dawn's best interests, not your jealousy!"

"I am not jealous of him!" Hank spat, trying to deflect the issue. "He hit a wall and busted his hand, Buffy. He can't control his temper."

"And you can? No, you just check out when things get too complicated. Giles is the most gentle and loving man I know! Yes, he's fiercely protective and he would do anything to keep me and Dawn safe. We're lucky to have him!"

"Buffy..."

His daughter lowered her voice, "Don't make this difficult, please. This isn't a competition for her affection. She loves you both and if you keep this up, you are going to force her to choose sides and that will be very bad for all of us, trust me. You have her for the summer and we can make arrangements so she can visit you during some of her school breaks, although I am calling dibs for Christmas."

Sighing in resignation, Hank lowered his head, "We'll talk about custody again in six months."

"We'll reevaluate then," Buffy agreed, getting up to find Giles and Dawn.

"Oh, and Buffy,"

"Yes, Dad?" She asked without turning around.

"Even though I know the feeling isn't mutual, I really do like Giles. Be happy."

When she went up to Dawn's room, she found her sister and Giles sitting on bean bags reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to each other, alternating every few pages. When there was a lull, Buffy walked over to her future husband, kissed him softly and sat down next to Dawn, putting her arm around her, "Hey Munchkin, I think it's time for Giles and me to get going."

"Everything go okay with Dad?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'm gonna miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you guys so much! Oh, I told Giles I've decided to go to that school, even if there aren't any boys there."

"Excellent! We'll fly you out a week or two before school starts so you can get settled. How about you? Is everything good with you and Dad?"

"Yeah, he's been really great. He's really trying, Buffy. We're cooking together in the evenings. He makes a mean spaghetti and meatballs! And yesterday we popped popcorn and watched old movies. Did you know he likes the old movies just like mom? I guess they did have something in common."

"Oh, wow, I kinda forgot that. And I'm glad to hear you're getting along." She said running her fingers through her sister's hair.

They sat around talking for half an hour before Buffy and Giles had to leave. As they said their goodbyes, Buffy tentatively gave her dad a hug and then turned to embrace her sister. The Watcher and the father sized each other up. Hank stuck out his hand, "Take care of my daughter."

Without hesitation Giles took it, looked the other man in the eye and answered, "Always." Then directing his gaze over towards Dawn, he added, "She still likes to be read to, you know, it's been a source of comfort. Finish Harry Potter with her."