Chapter 20

Giles was late. Despite he and Andrew's early attempts at getting ready. Giles had phoned Wesley about all the goings on with the girls' families and the news of Giselle's pregnancy. He was barely dressed when Andrew came to tell him it was time to go. He sent Andrew on ahead stating he would deal with Dawn's wrath himself later.

He went downstairs and rushed onto the porch. He was surprised to see Christian parked out there with a golf cart. Christian smiled and waved at him. "You didn't have to wait for me."

"Actually, yeah, I did. Dawn made me. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't have done it anyway."

Giles chuckled. "Thank you for this. Dawn is... quite terrifying at times."

It was Christian's turn to laugh. "So, day getting any better?"

"Dear god, no."

"Ooh. That sucks."

"'Sucks' indeed."

They rode on in silence until just before pulling up to the dinner tent. "Buffy looks beautiful tonight, by the way."

Giles smiled. "Buffy always looks beautiful."

"Want me to run that guy over with the cart?" he asked Giles as they parked at the tent.

"Perhaps later."

They entered the tent to see Penny already in the middle of giving a speech. Giles sunk into an empty chair near the back. He didn't want to draw unnecessary attention to himself. He glanced up at the table and saw Buffy. She was in a silver, shimmery dress that was just stunning with her hair pulled up. His eyes drifted to the brunette sitting next to her. She was looking straight at Giles. He gulped nervously. A round of applause broke the stare as Penny sat, having finished her toast.

Christian was standing just behind Giles. "There is actually a reserved seat for you up front," he informed Giles.

Giles stood and Christian showed him to the seat near the head table. Penny was sitting there along with 2 other people that Giles had met earlier but couldn't remember the names of. He glanced back up at the table and caught Buffy's eye. They smiled at one another warmly.

To his right Giles saw the table he really wanted to be at. The one with Willow, Amanda, Portia, Alex, Andrew, and, ugh... Antony. Giles tapped Willow's shoulder. She turned and gave him a huge smile. "What did I miss?" he whispered.

She shrugged. "Just the speeches. Nothing big. Except, well, Dawn's gonna kill you."

"How very reassuring. Thank you, Willow. Pleasure as always," he responded dryly, but winked at her before returning to his own table.

Dinner conversation went by smoothly. He enjoyed talking with Penny when she wasn't trying to flirt with him. He wondered why she had suddenly stopped. She had seemed very interested on the dinner cruise. Not that it really mattered since he was not. The other two at his table were Jake's godparents, Robert and Julie. They resided up in Myrtle Beach now. They absolutely insisted that Giles come visit one day!

He had no intention of going.

A light tap on his shoulder caused Giles to look up. Antony was looking down at him "Giles, may I have a word with you?" Giles nodded and excused himself. He followed him just out of hearing range from the tent. "I assume you have my Slayer's test results back, yes?"

Giles wasn't sure he was ready to play this game, but now he didn't have much of a choice. He stuck his hands in his pockets. "I'm waiting on a copy of the blood tests that were done, but she seems to be in perfect health." It wasn't a complete lie. He was waiting on an actual physical copy that Wesley was going to fax in the morning.

"Were blood tests necessary?"

"Are you not concerned of Giselle's health? It would think you would want every precaution taken."

Tony clenched his jaw. "Of course, if she were still injured."

"She seemed to be injured enough for you to stay behind," Giles said, slightly accusingly.

"She was still scared. Too scared to go out. She needed someone," Tony spoke as he stepped closer to Giles.

"Kimber and Leesa weren't enough? If anyone understood best it would be them. They, however, did not even know you were still there. Why is that?" Giles also stepped forward.

"They deserved a rest."

"What am I going to find on that blood test, Antony?" Giles walked slightly past him before turning back around.

Tony kept his back to Giles. He spoke over his shoulder. "It is not your concern."

"Buffy is my concern!" Giles spat.

Tony rounded on him. "And that is what this is all about, is it not?" Giles removed his hands from his pockets as Tony came to stand nearly nose to nose with him. "You do not care for Giselle or what is happening with her. You just care to get Buffy away from me."

"She would be all the better for it," Giles growled.

Tony poked his finger into Giles' chest. "You do not fool me, old man," he spoke quietly. "That is how she sees you, you know. As an old man. You go and tell her. Tell her of all your suspicions, because that is all they are. Suspicions. It worked out so well for you the last time." Tony shoved Giles hard enough to cause him to take a few steps backwards.

Giles chuckled in a dark, scary way. He looked Antony in the eye. The younger Watcher couldn't see the full force of the Ripper glare in the dark. Giles took a step, pulling his arm back ready to thrash the guy, but a hand on his chest stopped him.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Buffy yelled, looking between the two men. They both continued to stare at one another, not looking down at her. Buffy saw the look on Giles' face. "Giles?" she spoke calmly. Tony may not be aware of that look, but Buffy recognized it. She stepped in between the two. "Giles, look at me." She touched his cheek and he blinked, looking down at her. His face immediately softened. "Are you okay?"

"Is he okay?!" Tony snapped.

Buffy dropped her hand and turned on Tony. "What are you two doing out here?" She turned back to Giles, but he was already walking away. "Giles!" she called out but he continued to storm off into the night.

The grounds were dark, very dark, and Giles couldn't see too well. He saw a building faintly shining ahead, should be the stables, and went towards it. Once inside he called out a hello to see who was about. No one answered him. There was only one light on in the entrance. Probably left on by accident in a hurry out. He walked down the hall, peeking into the stables.

Merlin stood when Giles walked by. He walked over to the gate and poked his head over. "Hello, there," Giles whispered, petting the horse. "Did you just come up to see me?" He picked up an apple from the feed bag hanging on the post next to the gate. He held it out for Merlin. He sniffed it, wetting Giles' hand with his nose before taking the apple. Giles smiled and ran his hand down Merlin's neck. "Wish I could bring you back with me. But I doubt you would like the plane. Best stay here I guess."

Giles stood there watching Merlin eat, not realizing he had began to hum. Merlin's ears, which had been pointed back, now pointed forward towards Giles. He smiled as he realized Merlin was actually listening to him. "Wild horses," he sang, "couldn't drag me away. Wild, wild, horses, couldn't drag me away."

A dark figure in the corner of his vision and a huff caused Giles to startle and look to his right. A horse with brown hair so dark it was nearly black had his head poked out over the gate. Giles stepped back a bit and around to the front of the stable, facing the horse. "Well, hello," Giles said. "Winchester, isn't it?" The horse kept his ears pointed towards Giles, with his head slightly turned to the right. Giles reached a hand out to Winchester, but he raised his head with a huff and neighed. Giles quickly drew his hand back. "Alright, alright," he said in a sing song tone. "Hands to myself."

He remembered Brittany and Christian mentioning that Winchester was a rescued wild horse. He had been found wounded by... someone, he couldn't recall who. The horse had needed physical therapy. While he wasn't that friendly with people, he was not physically well enough to go back into the wild. Though he had been here for a few years, no one was able to come near him with a saddle. Sometimes not even with a brush. It depended on his mood.

But now he was looking straight at Giles and he couldn't help but stare into Winchester's visible eye. Playing on a hunch, Giles started humming again. Winchester huffed and Giles chose to take that as approval. "I watched you suffer, a dull aching pain. Now we've decided, to show me the same. No sweeping exit, or offstage lines, Could make me feel bitter, or treat you unkind." Winchester hung his head over the gate, bowing his head. He was looking over at the feed bag hanging between him and Merlin's stable. Giles took another apple and looked at it in his hands. With a gulp he gently held it out towards Winchester, hoping he would still have all his fingers in the morning. "Wild horses, couldn't drag me away. Wild, wild, horses, couldn't drag me away." Winchester sniffed at the apple, nudging it with his nose. "Wild horses, couldn't drag me away." Winchester took the apple and started chowing down, luckily without Giles' hand or any of his fingers. "Wild, wild horses, we'll ride them someday."

As Winchester ate, Giles noticed his ears moving around. He smiled. Winchester trusted him enough to take his eyes off of him. Deciding to test his horsey super powers, he slowly lifted his hand out towards him. Winchester's ears shot back forward and he stopped chewing. Giles began humming the song again and took a small step forward. He stretched his arm out to the horse's nose. Winchester stood stock still as Giles took a final breath before putting his hand on him. He smiled and gently stroked the horse's fur. Winchester finished chewing his apple and allowed the attention to go on a few more moments before turning his back on Giles. He walked over and kept his head in a corner, but Giles could see the ears still occasionally pointed at him.

Buffy watched Giles walk away. She wanted to go after him, but knew he wanted to be left alone. But still, she worried about him walking all the way back in the dark. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked into the smiling eyes of her boyfriend. She softly smiled back. "He will be alright, my love."

"What were you two fighting about?"

"He is just on edge. The death of the Slayers is hard." Buffy looked back towards Giles. She could barely see him now and only because of her Slayer vision could she. "Let him go. Come walk with me." Tony held out his hand. Buffy took it and they started walking towards the lit bridge.

Buffy remembered seeing Giles out here for the first time in two years. She had felt a tightening in her chest and a fluttering in her stomach when he first smiled at her. Was that really only 4 days ago? It felt like a lifetime.

They stopped halfway across the bridge and Tony turned to her. He gave her a big, dazzling smile that always made her heart melt. "Buffy, I have missed you terribly this week."

"I missed you, too."

"Being without you, it made me realize I never want to be." He held both of her hands. "I felt so alone in our home, in our bed. I thought only of getting to you as quickly as I could."

"Then why di-".

He put a finger to her lips. "Shhh. I know I should have been here, yes. I never want to go to bed without you again. I never want to wake up without you in my arms. My Buffy, il mio amore," he dropped down to one knee, "will you marry me?"