We finally find out what happened between our pair two years ago.

Chapter 22

Buffy sat on the edge of her bed with a plop. She stared straight ahead. Mandy and Willow sat on either side of her. Mandy wrapped an arm around her while Willow leaned her head against her shoulder. Soon Buffy was shaking. Willow looked up to see her face scrunched up. Willow brushed a tear away and Buffy broke down in a sob. Mandy said a small incantation that temporarily soundproofed the room. She was not about to give that douche waffle the satisfaction of hearing Buffy cry.

Mandy and Willow moved around so that Buffy could be laying down with her head in Willow's lap and Mandy cuddled up behind her. Willow took the various pins and clips out of Buffy's hair and shook her tresses loose. She combed her fingers through Buffy's hair while she cried her heart out.

Soon Buffy was mumbling something, but neither girl could make out what it was. It seemed to be the same thing over and over. Willow leaned down. "Buffy, honey, I don't know what you're saying. Are you okay?" Buffy stopped muttering and gave a half sob, half chuckle. "Sorry. Stupid question."

Once Buffy had calmed down a bit, she turned onto her back to look up at Willow. Mandy raised up on one elbow. She was still sniffling as she talked. "Giles was right," she muttered.

Willow had grabbed the tissue box off the nightstand. She pulled one out and started wiping Buffy's mascara streaked face. "Right about what?"

Buffy closed her eyes as Willow wiped at her face. She sat up and took a new tissue. She took a few moments to compose herself. She looked up at Willow. "The fight I told you about? The one at the funeral? The reason Giles and I haven't talked for two years? It was about Tony."

Willow pushed some hair behind Buffy's ear. "Buff, you don't have to tell us if you don't want to."

"I do. Want to." She opened to say more, but then looked down at her lap.

Mandy wrapped her arms around Buffy's waist from behind her and placed her chin on Buffy's shoulder. "What happened?"

It was cloudy and Buffy hated it. Cloudy weather made everything depressing even more depressing. The least it could do is just rain already. Open up the sky and let the raindrops fall as if tears from heaven. Xander deserved to have God weep for him. The earth had lost an unknown hero. While God got to now enjoy all of Xander's wisecracks himself, the world was a more dangerous place for it. The least He could do was make it rain.

Tony was standing on one side of Buffy with his arm tucked around her shoulder. Giles was on the other side, holding her hand. Portia held Alexander Harris Jr. in her arms as she cried into his hair. Willow wrapped her arms around both and cried as well. There were many other girls, Slayers whom Xander had helped track down and bring to the Academy, and Watchers whom he helped train, surrounding the grave. He wasn't short on friends and family who loved him.

Mandy took Alex when they started lowering Xander's coffin into the ground. Portia collapsed in a fit of hysteria. Willow was on her knees next to Portia, holding her, crying with her. Giles brought his other hand up to his face as his tears started to fall as well. Buffy extracted herself from Tony's grip and wrapped her arms around Giles. He clung to her tightly. Buffy saw Bethany over his shoulder look away from them.

The ride to the lodge for the wake was intensely quiet. Tony drove and Bethany sat in the front seat while Giles and Buffy leaned on one another in the back trying to draw strength from each other. Every now and then Tony would look at them in the rear view mirror. Bethany would peek over her shoulder. They would then look to one another. They knew they should be the ones to comfort them, but how do you get between a Watcher and his Slayer?

The sky was darkening, but there was still no rain. Not even a clap of thunder or flash of lightening. Buffy stared up at the sky, cursing it. She felt a hand in hers and looked to see Tony. She gave him a sad smile and then leaned into him. He wrapped his arms around her and she thought she never felt safer. Bethany and Giles walked past them and entered the building.

Not surprisingly, the lodge was filled with laughter. As they ate, they all shared stories of Xander that made them both laugh and cry. But mostly laugh. Willow tried to imitate the Snoopy dance. She couldn't get it, but Alex did. His daddy taught him how! Willow cried.

Tony was off getting another plate of food when the conversation started. "So, Giles," Buffy began, "how's Renee liking the new placement?"

Giles swallowed his food slowly, but didn't look up from his plate. "Fine. Just fine."

"Wish she could have stayed. Her and Tony got along really well. Good team. Just like us," she beamed.

Giles cleared his throat. "Hmm. Yes."

Buffy watched him poke at his food but not eat anything. He wouldn't even look up at her. She laid her fork down on her plate and crossed her arms. She stared at him until he relented.

He sighed and sat back. "Yes?"

"Spill."

"Spill what?"

Buffy leaned forward. "You have something you aren't telling me."

"What? Don't be absurd."

"Ab-?! Ha!" She stood from her chair and walked around the table. Giles watched her. She came up next to him and took his arm, pulling him from his seat. "Alright, Mister. You and me. Outside."

"Buffy!"

"Time for a Watcher/Slayer talk." She pulled him along towards the door, her hand slipping down his arm into his. They walked out the door and around the building to a small alley out back. "Giles what happened with Renee?" He opened his mouth but she cut him off. "And don't lie to me."

He sighed. "This isn't the time nor the place for this, Buffy."

She shifted her weight and tilted her head. "Did she request the transfer?" Giles looked at the ground. "Why? Was... was something wrong?"

"Buffy, please..."

"Giles, I can't fix something if I don't know what's broken."

"This is beyond your reach."

Buffy crossed her arms. "What does that mean?"

He reached out and placed his hands on her upper arms. "Can we please talk about this another time?"

She shrugged out of his hold and took a step back. "Is it that bad?" Giles removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Giles?!"

"She had a complaint against... Antony." He looked up waiting for the shit show to start.

"Okay, first of all, I hate the way you say his name. Just say Tony."

"I refuse."

"Second, a complaint? About what? Didn't like her training schedule? Having her own bedroom?"

"It's personal, Buffy."

"Damn right it's personal. That's my boyfriend, Giles! Why can't you just say it?"

"He was touching her.," he blurted. "Inappropriately."

Buffy furrowed her brow. "Inappropriately?"

"During training."

Buffy rolled her eyes dramatically. "Oh, come on, Giles! Stuff like that happens all the time. Think back to all our training. There isn't much on each other we haven't touched."

Giles took a step forward. "Kissing her neck? Massaging her breast? Slipping his hands down her pants? Cupping her..." he trailed off. "Think back to all our training," he repeated. "Not once did that happen to us."

"Well, the cupping of the-"

"That was an accident!"

"Exactly! An accident! I knew that. You knew that. Some young girl gets a hot Watcher and he slips. Suddenly she has this idea that he is into her. She pushes, he doesn't reciprocate, she cries wolf and gets transferred to the next."

Giles stood in complete shock. "You cannot seriously be defending him?!"

"There's nothing to defend, Giles! She's lying!"

"Oh, grow up, Buffy!" he shouted as the lightening lit the sky. "This is the second girl, the second! Who has come to us with these complaints. Angela didn't go back home. She transferred out! And she was only 16! I could have had him arrested!"

"Well then why didn't you?!" she yelled over the clap of thunder.

"I didn't have the proof," he ground out. "It was her word against his. Just as it is with Renee. I hate that I would have to wait for this to happen to some other poor girl, but there is nothing I can do from a legal standpoint right now. Except fire him." Lightening

Buffy gaped. "Fire him? On what grounds?"

"Weren't you listening? Sexual misconduct!" Thunder

Buffy crossed the few feet separating them and got in his face. "You just said yourself, you have no proof."

"I don't need proof to let him go," he growled.

She looked him up and down. Lightening "You are going to ruin a mans life on one false claim?"

Thunder

"No. He did that himself. And it's two!"

The rain started falling.

Buffy laughed, but it wasn't a happy one. "You know what I think, Giles?"

"That you're hair is about to get ruined?"

"I think you're jealous."

He took a step back. "I beg your pardon?!"

"Yeah. Jealous! Jealous that he's my Watcher now." Buffy crossed her arms.

"Your... What?!" Giles shook his head in confusion. That couldn't have been correct.

"Jealous that he gets to fuck with your former Slayer and you never had the chance!" Giles stepped back as if he had been slapped. "Though I can't imagine Faith shut you out, too." Buffy's words finally hit her and she looked away, ashamed.

Giles anger rose in his chest at the mention of Faith. An old argument between he and Buffy reopened. "As if I would ever, ever, take up with the spoiled likes of you! After not one, but two vampires, your 'shut out' seems hardly an insult!"

The rain began pouring.

Now standing barely inches apart, Buffy growled at him. "Go to Hell, Giles."

His Ripper smirk made a brief appearance. "Already there."

All three girls lay on the bed, staring up at the ceiling.

"Wow," Willow breathed.

"I know."

"You and Giles. You really got into it."

"Yup."

"No wonder you didn't talk."

Buffy sat up and turned around to face them. "And the worst part? He was telling the truth. I'm sure of it now. All these years and I still doubt Giles. He wouldn't have told me that if he didn't actually believe it. Not about the girls, anyway." She shook her head. "How could I be so stupid?"

"You were in love," Mandy said.

Willow smiled. "Love makes you do the wacky."

Buffy grinned back. Her smile faded. "I screwed everything up with Giles."

"I'm sure you didn't," Mandy assured.

"Yeah, I mean, if you guys can get past that argument, I'm sure you will make it through this one."

Buffy shook her head. "I don't know."

Willow sat up. "And you won't know until you talk to him."

"He went home with Christian. I won't see him until tomorrow. And Dawn's wedding is not the place for that talk. I already have to make it up to her with the proposal disaster."

Willow grimaced. "Yeah. I don't envy you on that."

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Thanks."

Mandy sat up. "Well, as much fun as this girl talk has been, I'm exhausted. Time for bed?" Willow nodded.

The girls all stood. "Thank you so much for your help tonight. I don't know what I would have done without you." Buffy double hugged her friends.

"Any time you need us, Buff. It was nice, kinda. Been a long time since we tackled a foe together." Willow gave her a big grin.

Buffy chuckled. "Yeah. But next time, let's make sure it isn't my boyfriend."