"How strong are the painkillers they gave you?" Jenny winces as Rupert grimaces when she helps him back into the passenger seat of her car.
They've spent a couple of hours in a busy emergency room, waiting for him to get stitched up after she shot him with a crossbow accident. Only this could happen to them on the night she wanted to work things out after Eyghon.
Apologies were due and she refused to let her apprehension get the better of her when she saw his car parked by the cemetery, especially when he could get himself hurt without Buffy. Jenny knew Buffy was hardly in a position to go on patrol after the day she'd had. Jenny had seen the police hanging around school and watched with trepidation when Snyder allowed them to search the young girl's locker.
Buffy might be the Slayer, but she wouldn't hurt a human without due cause. Jenny had scowled at the other teachers who were buzzing from the news, about to snap when Rupert entered and they shut the hell up. It was at that moment that Jenny realised she might have become too detached from what was going on; distancing herself from Rupert included distancing herself from the kids, too. She needed space and she didn't want them to feel the need to try and cheer her up or run interference with her and Rupert. If she hadn't, if she'd checked in with them, maybe she would've been able to intervene before Buffy was accused of murder.
"The ones they gave me earlier seem to be wearing off," Rupert tells her with a groan as he clicks his seatbelt into place.
"Alright, let's get you home so you can take some more and sleep it off, okay?"
The question is rhetorical as she starts the car and begins to navigate the dark streets. His bag of weapons is on her backseat and she's grateful that the emergency room doctors see enough strange shit in this town that they got away with their story with nothing more than a couple of raised eyebrows.
The good thing about Sunnydale is that the streets are relatively quiet at this time of night and she's able to make good time driving home. She parks in her space and grabs her bag and his, making sure her door keys are in her pocket for quick access just in case anyone or anything is lurking nearby.
"This isn't my building," Rupert says frowning out of the window.
"It's mine," Jenny tells him. "I'm not leaving you alone tonight. Come on, let's get you upstairs."
"I really can go home, Jenny, I can look after myself," he argues as she guides him out of the way of the door to the sidewalk.
"And wrack myself with guilt for leaving you to your own devices after I shot you? Are you nuts?" She sighs. "No, you're staying with me."
Jenny listens to his sputter and less than forceful indignation as they walk towards her apartment, seemingly resigned to his fate.
"Well, what am I going to sleep in?"
Where am I going to sleep?
Her key is in her lock, her hand poised to turn as she looks at his outfit. Shirt untucked, unbuttoned at the collar, his tie hanging out of his jacket pocket, it's a different look for him which would completely work for her if he wasn't limping at her side.
"I think the time for modesty has passed, don't you think?"
She's just witnessed a doctor stitch the hole in his hip while he sat there in his boxers with his trousers around his knees. They've been through enough this evening for him to start backtracking now. Neither of them is taking the couch. They're adults, and her bed is big enough to share. She decides to make that very clear to him.
"And don't think about trying to be a gentleman by insisting on sleeping on the couch, I want you where I can keep an eye on you."
She opens her front door and drops the heavy bag of weapons under her coat stand with her own bag on top of it. Shrugging out of her jacket, she looks up to find Rupert on the other side of the threshold. "Rupert?"
That spurs him into action. He tentatively enters, gasping slightly as he puts pressure on his injured side. Jenny moves back to his side to help him, noting his stilted actions and curious gaze watching her. She focuses on helping him remove his jacket to hang it next to hers on the rack.
"I would be quite alright at home if you're not comfortable with me being here."
This was what she was afraid of. The complete one-eighty in the matter of a day and the events of tonight are throwing her for a loop, too. But she wants him near her despite the fact they haven't talked properly yet.
"Humour me, okay?" She tells him softly. "I don't play nursemaid for just anyone."
That gets a quick huff of laughter from him before he sobers and his eyes search her face to make sure she's certain. "Alright," he agrees.
"Right, um," Jenny grabs his prescription from her bag before leading the way to her living room. She turns on lights as they go, giving the room a cursory glance, thinking of what to do next, making sure there's no laundry hanging around. "Do you want a drink? I think I have some tea."
"Water will be fine," he tells her following her carefully as she enters her tiny kitchen.
"Water," Jenny repeats, kind of wishing she had the excuse to crack open the scotch. She won't though; if Rupert can't because of the painkillers, she won't. She glances down at the prescription to make sure. Do not consume with alcohol. Great.
She fills two glasses. Turning to face him, she notices how pale he looks under her kitchen light. He needs to rest. "Let's get you settled," Jenny tells him, trying to keep her voice calm. That becomes harder when he doesn't argue with her. "Stay here while I put these in the bedroom and I'll come back for you."
She eases past him and trots to her room. Not bothering with the light as she enters, she puts the glasses on the nightstand and turns on the lamp. She makes quick work of turning down the covers before returning to Rupert.
Their eyes meet, his expression lightening as her hands curl around his arm. They hobble to her room and she eases him down to the space she'd created by pulling down the covers. He winces as he sits. There's no way to avoid it with where his injury is.
He sighs as Jenny looks at the prescription to check the dosage again. She passes him the tablet, watching as he drinks it down. He looks fairly sheepish when he replaces the glass on her nightstand. "You know, I think I have to share the blame with you. I would say I probably did more damage yanking out the bolt the way I did."
Jenny rolls her eyes. "You didn't have much of a choice," she points out. She won't let him let her off the hook. "I doubt either one of us would be here if you hadn't."
Jenny glances down at his shirt and trousers and then at herself. She's not making him change in the bathroom. Alone. "Are you going to be okay with…?" she gestures at his pants.
"Um," he follows her gesture. "Oh, um, yes, I'll be fine."
"Okay, I'll just…" she points over her shoulder and turns before she goes bright red. She has no idea why she decided to give him some privacy but it seemed like the thing to do. To make things worse he chuckles at her sudden bout of nervousness. For all of her bravado, she's worried they're being forced to rush back into things by the powers that be. She looks for something to distract her from the sound of his trousers hitting the floor. The tee shirt she wears to bed is folded on the chair in the corner. She'll teach him to laugh at her.
With her back to him, Jenny makes fast work of her blouse, tossing it towards the hamper to get his attention.
"Oh."
Well. That worked quickly, Jenny smirked to herself.
"Maybe I should…"
"We're going to share a bed, Rupert," she points out. This was her idea and she's seeing it through.
Her camisole comes over her head.
"Right," Rupert gulps.
Jenny pauses as she reaches for the front clasp of her bra. She hates wearing it to bed. She unclips it and drops it on the chair to pick up the tee shirt and pull it over her head. She quickly divests her shoes and pants. She takes a deep breath before turning to Rupert to find him utterly entranced.
"Hey," she says softly. He's stripped down to his undershirt and boxers and sitting gingerly on the bed. She grabs his trousers and button up and puts them on the chair.
"Jenny," Rupert whispers; a question, a reassurance.
"Yeah?" Jenny replies coming around to the empty side of the bed. She meets his eyes and nods resolutely. She's not uprooting him anymore tonight and she's sleeping beside him. "Yes." Rupert pulls back the covers for her. "Thank you."
Jenny climbs in, pulling the duvet up over their legs. They sit there for a moment, unsure what to do next. On impulse she cups his face and leans up to press a kiss to his lips, it's quick and chaste and mimics their first kiss outside her classroom. He responds a beat later, his lips relaxing against hers.
Pulling back, she flashes him a shy smile. "I just wanted to be clear about what I want going forward," she explains. "Not tonight; physically, emotionally, we're not ready," she hastens to add. "But I want to be honest about what I want for us."
"Allow me the same honesty," Rupert starts. "I want what you want. I am concerned, though. The other day, in your classroom-."
"I wasn't lying the other day when I said I need space," Jenny admits, reaching for his hand. "When Eyghon took control of me, at your place," she shudders before taking a steadying breath.
"We had plans that weekend," she reminds him. "Eyghon was in my head and he knew, he felt how you make me feel. He used that, violated it and me, to trap you and I was powerless to stop him. I could see and hear everything."
"I remember what that's like," Rupert concurs quietly.
Jenny huffs. "In my wallowing, I forgot that part. Cocky son of a bitch was determined to stay between us even if you or the kids managed to kill him."
"Is he still?" Rupert shifts uncomfortably beside her. They hold each other's eyes for a long time before she shakes her head. She won't give Eyghon the satisfaction.
"When we reschedule our plans, it's just going to be you and me," Jenny pecks him on the lips. "But I do need space," she continues. Rupert looks confused. She doesn't blame him. "He took your space away from me by using me like that, there, at your place.
"When we left the hospital tonight, I couldn't bring myself to take you home, not yet." She swallows the lump in her throat. "I need space from that space, you know?" He nods, understanding. "But I want you in my space. That makes sense?"
Rupert leans over and brushes his lips on her forehead. "Completely."
"Good." Jenny glances at her alarm clock. "'Cause we should really try and get some sleep."
She helps him ease back onto her pillows before tucking herself into his side, their hands finding each other easily. She can't be bothered with turning off the light, she's gotten used to sleeping with it on. With Rupert beside her, she settles easily. She closes her eyes, ready to get some sleep when he speaks again.
"It was an accident, right?"
"You're getting brave," she says laughing as she smacks his chest lightly.
"I believe the painkillers are taking effect."
The following morning, Jenny helps him open up the library because he needs to check on Buffy and he won't take a sick day. She forgot how he commanded this space, his other space, and how safe she felt here with him. How safe she feels with him here, knowing she'll be down the hall.
She refuses to let Eyghon take this from them.
She's about to leave him to set up her lab, and they're saying their goodbyes when he cups her face. They lose themselves easily as their kiss deepens as soon as it starts. Distantly she hears the door and voices – Buffy's?- but they don't pull apart. The kids can come back later.
