All Italian translations come via Google. Sorry.

Chapter 18

Giles woke to Buffy stroking his stomach. He was surprised he had fallen asleep at all. He was awake for at least another hour after Buffy had fallen asleep thinking about their relationship, both how much it had changed and how little it would affect them. He was also trying to figure out how quickly he could get back to England. However, every time he got to the part where he broke Dawn's heart by telling her he was leaving, he just couldn't bear it. He decided to call Wesley later on in the morning to make sure that he was absolutely capable of handling the situation. This really had not been the time for a getaway.

"Good morning," Buffy said as she kissed his chest.

He smiled at her. "Good morning to you." He leaned over and kissed her. The kiss quickly grew passionate and they came together one last time before they had to face the day.

While Buffy was in the shower, Giles quickly dressed and made himself presentable. Then he called Wesley. Wesley assured him repeatedly that he could handle it. He also told Giles to make sure Andrew knew that as well and stopped calling him every couple of hours. Giles said he would try, but he honestly had no intentions to do so. He wanted to make sure everything was running smoothly and if that meant Andrew was calling every few hours, then Andrew was calling every few hours. Wesley could deal.

Giles heard the water turn off and stuck his head into the bathroom. "I'm going downstairs for breakfast."

Buffy's head popped out of the shower curtain. "Okay. See you in a few minutes."

Giles grabbed his bag and peeked out Buffy's door. No one was in the hallway so he quickly walked out and shut the door behind him. He was just about to enter his room when Willow and Amanda came out of their own. "Morning, Giles!" Mandy greeted. Willow eyed him suspiciously.

Giles noticed. "Good morning, you two. Headed down for breakfast?"

"Oh yeah. The tummy is grumbly," Mandy said. "You coming, too?"

Giles opened his door. "Yes, I'll be down in just a short moment. Forgot something."

"Are you going somewhere?" Willow asked, eyeing his bag.

"Umm," Giles looked at the bag in his hand. "No. Not anymore. I was going to head back to England to help Wesley with... well," his voice went low as his heart broke for those girls and their parents. "But, he assures me he can handle it on his own. Plus, I'm pretty sure Dawn would have killed me and forced my body down the aisle with her if I attempted to leave." That had been a dream he had. Most likely prophetic. Best not to tempt fate.

"Those poor girls," Mandy muttered. "I'm sorry, Giles. This can't be easy on you."

"No," he agreed, "its not. Losing someone never is. And, unfortunately, it happens much too often in our line of work." He cleared his throat. "Alright, off with you ladies. I shall be down shortly." He turned into his room and gave them one last small smile before shutting the door.

He had barely set his bag down when there was a knock on his door. He threw open the curtains to let in some daylight before opening the door. Andrew briskly walked in and Giles shut the door behind him. "Are you sure you want to stay?" Andrew asked.

The corner of Giles' lips twitched up. He already called Wesley. "No, but Wesley assures me he has this under control. Besides, we both know how upset Dawn will be."

"And you don't want to leave Buffy," Andrew added.

Giles sighed. "Actually," he sat on the edge of his bed, "that I would like to run far away from."

"Oh, no. Did you get into another fight? I don't know if I can handle the stress of you brooding around again."

"I do not brood." Andrew cocked his head to the side with a no nonsense glare. "I ponder."

He rolled his eyes. "Whatever. So what happened now?"

Giles sighed. "Nothing. Nothing happened." He stood from the bed. "Let's go eat."

Giles walked by him and opened the door. "You slept with her, didn't you?"

Giles froze. Thankfully there was no one else in the hallway. "It doesn't matter now," he said sadly. He left the door open as he left his room and headed for the stairs.

Buffy came down the stairs with a little less bounce in her step than usual, but not much of anything anyone else would notice. Except maybe Giles. She sighed. Giles. Therein lied her problem. She walked into the dining room and saw Willow, Mandy, Portia, and Alex sitting at one table together. There were a few others in the dining room, but Buffy didn't register any of their faces. She was looking for one in particular. She grabbed a bagel and a cup of coffee then sat down at the table with her friends. They all chatted nicely, no one bringing up what had happened with the young girls, not wanting to talk about it in front of Alex.

Noticing that Buffy kept nervously checking the entrance and glancing around the room, Portia decided to put her at ease. "Giles grabbed a cup and walked out. I think he needed some quiet time."

"He said he was going to go back to England today."

Willow shook her head and put her juice down. "He isn't going now. He said Wesley had it covered and something about Dawn pulling a Weekend at Bernie's with him taking her down the aisle."

Buffy chuckled. "He did not say Weekend at Bernie's."

"Well, no, of course not. But that was what he was saying."

"I think I'll go check on him. It was a rough night." Buffy stood and pushed her chair in. "Bridal party lunch at noon-thirty," she said to Willow. "Don't forget."

"As if I could."

Buffy was about to walk out onto the porch when she saw the town car pull up outside. She walked out and waved at Christian. He gave her a sad smile and wave. Buffy wondered what that was about. He walked around the car and opened the door for his passenger and Buffy nearly dropped her cup. The tall man with the dark hair turned around and broke into a huge grin when he saw her. "Buffy!"

She returned his smile, though maybe a little forced. "Tony, you're here." She crossed the porch and was greeted by him at the steps. He wrapped her in his arms and picked her up, spinning her around. She couldn't help but giggle.

"I have missed you terribly," he said to her. He set her down on the bottom step making her almost eye level with himself. He kissed her deeply. Caught up in the sensation, she kissed him back.

Christian watched the couple careful. He knew Buffy had a boyfriend and he knew Giles wasn't it, but seeing her with this guy seemed wrong somehow. He had thought her and Giles together was perfect. It had reminded him a bit of his parents. He turned away not able to watch them much more. He had only known this guy as long as it took to pick him up from the airport til now, but he wasn't impressed by him. Christian could tell he tried to be a charmer, but something about him set him off. Perhaps it was just his bias.

A figure caught the corner of Christian's eye. Looking farther to his left he saw Giles. He was just standing there, as if frozen in place, watching the two on the porch. Christian started walking towards him. Giles noticed the young man heading towards him and tried to force a smile. "You alright?"

"The last 12 hours have been rather... trying."

"To say the least. The girls told me what happened. I'm sorry."

"Thank you but-", a squeal caught their attention. They both looked to the porch to see Tony lift Buffy over his shoulder and carry her inside. Giles felt a tightening in his chest. He turned his back to the porch.

"Come on," Christian clapped his back. "It's like, what? Noon in England? Time for a siesta."

Tony carried Buffy fireman style up the stairs and through the door she said was hers. He tossed her on the bed and sat next to her. Leaning over her half propped up body he began to kiss her. She indulged him for a moment, but when his hands started to roam, she put his hand to his chest to push him slightly away. "Cosa c'รจ che non va, amore mio? Non ti sei mancato?"

"Of course I missed you. I wasn't expecting you until later tonight. How was your flight?"

Tony sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "Long. I did not like how we ended our last conversation. You sounded stressed. I took an earlier flight. Are you not happy?"

"No," Buffy said with a smile, sitting herself up. "I'm very happy to see you. But I have a lot of bridal party duties to do today, not to mention rehersal. I'm not going to be able to spend much time with you."

Tony leaned in to kiss her neck. "But I have not seen you all week."

"And whose fault is that?" Buffy closed her eyes and bit her lip. She hadn't actually meant to say it out loud.

Tony sat back and looked at her quizically. "What does that mean?"

Buffy shook her head. "Nothing. Nevermind."

"Tell me."

She sighed. "Giselle is fine. Why did you stay? And why didn't the others know you had? And why were you staying with her?"

Tony made a sound between a huff and a growl and stood from the bed. He began pacing. "Giselle is fine now. You know how fast they heal. She was... Oh, come si chiama? Scosso?"

"Shaken. I get it. She was scared, but-".

"She needed me. Would not your Watcher have done the same?" he snapped.

"I'll tell you what he wouldn't have done," Buffy snapped back. She stood from the bed to face him. "He wouldn't have lied to his other Slayers. He wouldn't have separated her from her other support. Girls who knew exactly what it felt like."

"Non sono Giles! Ma forse tu vorresti che lo fossi!"

"Oh, for crying out loud, Tony," she growled.

"Did you and he have fun this week?" he shot at her.

Buffy took a step towards him. "Did you and Giselle?"

Both stood in front of one another in a stare down. Tony was the first to look away. He sighed and visibly softened. "Why are we fighting? Why are we not just enjoying our time together now?"

Enjoying our time together, Buffy thought. Those words hit her hard. So similar to words spoken with Giles days before. She was suddenly hit with guilt. She had to turn away from him. She crossed her arms and closed her eyes. This was much harder than she had thought. But, to be fair, she hadn't given it much thought. She didn't want to. And now she was paying for that.

Tony hugged her from behind and put his chin on her shoulder. "Mi dispiace, amore." He kissed her ear. "I do not want to fight."

She turned in his arms. "Me either. But-".

"Let's go find Dawn," he interrupted. "I have not seen her in a long time. I want to give her my best wishes." He took her hands and pulled her towards the door.

Buffy sighed. He was avoiding the conversation and she wasn't sure how to feel about it. Was he hiding something, or did he just not want to get into an argument? And did she really want to push it? She may let slip her activities this past week if she did.

Christian and Giles sat at the informal dining table in the main house, each nursing a beer. Neither one had really said anything to the other. Not much was needed to be said. Penny walked into the room and raised a brow at the two men. "Really, Christian? It's not even 10 yet." She walked through the room and into the kitchen. A moment later she returned with her own beer and sat in a chair at the end of the table. "So, what are we drinking to?"

"Life's great injustices," Giles replied.

"Amen." Penny lifted her bottle and the guys clinked the longnecks together with hers. "I assume you have picked up our new arrival," she said to Christian, indicating his beer. Giles huffed and sat back in his chair. Penny raised her brows. "Oh, have I found our injustice?"

"Yeah, I picked him up. He's at the inn."

Penny eyed Giles. "Do we not like him?"

"Not particularly," he muttered just before taking a sip.

"He's very... I don't know. Charming."

"Charming?" Penny and Giles both asked in unison.

"In a false sort of way. Like he's covering up for something. Distracting you."

"Really?" Penny was surprised. "I would expect Buffy to have better taste than that."

"She does," Christian replied, glancing at Giles.

"Oooh," she sang. "I see." Giles drank deeply from his bottle. "Okay, no, I don't, but I will drink to it anyway."

"Penny, would I be able to take one of the horses out?" Giles asked her.

"Of course! Just make sure you are back by noon. We have the bridal party lunch and then rehersal afterwards."

"Would you object to company? I was going to take Totes out today, too."

"Totes?"

Christian smiled. "Totes Ma'Goats. He's an older race horse I keep here."

"I don't mind at all."

The backdoor creeked open. Everyone turned eyes to the kitchen doorway as Buffy walked in with Tony behind her. She stopped short. "Oh. Hi." She looked at everyone at the table. Everyone stared silently at the two. Buffy looked everywhere but at Giles. "Am... I interrupting something?"

"No, dear of course not." Penny set her beer down and stood to greet her guests. "You must be Tony," she smiled to the good looking man standing half behind Buffy.

"Oh, yes," Buffy rushed, grateful for something to say. "Penny, this is my... Tony. Tony, this is Dawn's future mother-in-law, Penny."

"How very lovely to meet you," he purred holding out his hand.

"You as well." She took his hand to shake it, but he bowed and brought it to his lips. Penny giggled. "Oh my. Well, yes."

"Have you seen Dawn?"

"I believe she was in the shower. She may be out now."

"Oh." Buffy, Tony, and Penny stood around awkwardly while Christian watched them and Giles watched his beer.

He decided he had enough of being here and stood, turning to leave without even saying goodbye, but a form rushed into the room. Ethan suddenly stopped as he saw everyone staring at him. His eyes settled on first Buffy and then Giles. He did not look happy. "Can I talk to you?" he said to Giles, and looked over to Buffy also.

Giles looked over his shoulder at Buffy who was looking as nervous as he felt. "Uh," he turned back to Ethan, "yes. Let's go outside."

Ethan indicated for Giles to go first. He could feel the emotion coming off the boy. He went ahead, meeting Buffy's eyes as he went out. "Tony," she said softly, "give me a minute, okay?"

"Is something wrong?" he asked her.

She gave him a warm smile. "No, nothing is wrong. I'll be right back." She touched his shoulder as she walked through the kitchen to head outside. The smile slid from her face as she followed Ethan out the door.

They walked a few yards from the house to a shaded area under a giant tree in the front yard. Ethan turned on them. Buffy stood next to Giles, though noticed he took a visible step away from her. "What are you doing to her?" he demanded. "What do you want from her?"

"Nothing," Buffy said, trying to soothe the boy. "She had questions. We had answers. We were just trying to help."

"By telling her that monsters are real and she is supposed to kill them?! That was helping her?"

"That isn't quite accurate," Giles started.

"Actually, that is very accurate," Buffy muttered to him.

Giles looked at her wearily before looking back at Ethan. "She has a calling, a sacred duty. She was scared, not knowing who she was."

"I know who she is!" Ethan insisted. "She's my sister. And that's all that matters. And you won't be taking her to any, any, slayer camp, to shape her into a killing machine!"

"We don't plan on taking her anywhere," Buffy replied. "She wanted to know who she was, what she was. She had questions and all we did was answer them. That's it."

"You filled her head with stories and fairytales."

"I'm a Slayer!" Buffy whispered harshly. Giles descreetly looked around them to make sure they weren't being overheard. "I know exactly what kind of life it leads. I have been through it all. And mostly alone." Giles cleared his throat. "And with Giles." She looked over her shoulder. "Sorry, Giles." She turned back to Ethan. "I never would have made it without him. His training and research and support has kept me alive time and time again."

"That's what I'm worried about. The need to be kept alive. If this school is so great for her, why didn't you go there?"

Buffy looked to Giles who met her gaze. They asked for help and Giles nodded slightly. "It didn't exist then." He took a couple steps forward. "The Council, what we call it, was only reformed to it's current purpose about 6 years ago. Before that... well, it is a much longer story. One of the past. We are only concerned with our future. Her future."

Ethan crossed his arms in a huff and looked away. He turned his back on them and lowered his head. Buffy and Giles patient waited for the boy to collect his thoughts. It was a couple minutes before Ethan started speaking again with his back still to them. "I wouldn't let her say anything to anyone. I was so afraid someone would come and take her from us. From me." He was silent a moment longer. This time when he spoke he turned to face them. He looked Giles straight in the eye. "And now this is exactly what you want to do."

"Ethan," Giles spoke softly, "I don't want to take your sister from you. But I do not want her to come to harm, either. As she gets older, her power will be stronger. It will be harder and harder for her to stay hidden from those who would wish to do her harm. You and your father have done a terrific job with her. Teaching her fighting styles, yoga, I am very impressed. A lot of that is what we would do as well. Along with educating her on the dangers that are out there. What to be aware of, how to hone her skills, her senses to stay safe."

"And she would be safe? At your school, or Council, or whatever its called. She would be safe there?"

Giles opened his mouth to say yes, she would be, but then last night came crashing back on him and he couldn't say the words. He closed his eyes and looked to the ground.

"That's what I thought," Ethan sighed. "Just... leave us alone, okay?" He didn't wait for a reply before walking off back towards the house.

Buffy waited until Ethan was back in the house before speaking. "Giles, last night-", she froze as he looked into her eyes, pleading. "The girls... They went off campus, unprepared. The school is safe."

"Buffy, after everything you have been through, that we have both seen and experienced, how can you assure that boy that his sister would be safe?"

"Safer than not knowing what is happening with her."

"I don't know what to say, Buffy," he said quietly to her. "I don't know what to say about... any of this." She was starting to speak but Giles just shook his head and walked by her. "Might not want to leave your Antony with Penny for too long."

Buffy watched him walk down the path back towards the gardens. Most likely headed back to the inn. She was considering following him when she heard her name being called from the porch. Looking in that direction, she saw Dawn waving her to come back inside. Buffy looked to Giles' retreating back one more time before sighing and heading in the house.