Giles walked into the guest room, buttoning his shirt. Ethan was sitting on the edge of the twin-size trundle Day-bed Giles had gotten with the girls in mind. slipping on his shoes but was otherwise already dressed for dinner in a dark plum-colored shirt.
"You seem tense, Ripper."
"I suppose I am, yes," Giles replied, taking a few steps toward him.
"I'm not sure if I see why, this impromptu dinner party was your idea after all," Ethan retorted.
Giles cleared his throat, giving his buttons far more attention than strictly necessary. "Feels a bit like bringing someone home to my parents."
"Bollocks, you weren't half this nervous when I met your parents," Ethan chuckled.
Giles looked up, a slow smile forming on his lips. "My parents were also under the impression you were never anything more than my flatmate. They'd no idea I'd been fantasizing about shagging you senseless all through dinner."
"And that you did too, if memory serves," Ethan smirked. "Should I expect tonight to have a similarly happy ending or am I letting my hopes soar too high?"
"Steady, Icarus, best to see how things go," Giles countered with a grin.
In response, Ethan unbuttoned the second button on his shirt, revealing a little more of his chest. "Just means I'll have to stack the deck in my favor."
"Don't you always?"
Ethan pulled himself up to stand with the help of his cane. "You said yourself you wanted to move forward, I'm just doing my part to get you back in the saddle."
"And I suppose you're the horse in this analogy?"
"For the time being," Ethan purred as he repositioned his cane, taking a slightly shaky step forward.
Giles eyed him wearily, his gaze resting on the cane. "Are you sure that's wise?"
Ethan took a few steps toward him, leaning heavily on the cane and gripping the bed frame for extra support when he reached the end of the bed. "I simply overdid it earlier. I refuse to use that damn birdcage contraption in front of our guests. I'll make do with this, don't you worry. I promise I won't wear myself out before you can have your wicked way with me, darling," he said with a lecherous smirk.
"Is that right?" Giles asked gruffly, closing the distance between them.
"You already know it is," Ethan murmured.
Giles' eyes lit up. "Careful what you wish for, you might just get it," he growled, grabbing Ethan roughly by the back of the head, tangling his fingers into his hair as he kissed him roughly.
Ethan moaned into his mouth, accepting him hungrily, and released his hold on the bed, clawing at Giles' shoulder for support as his knees started to give way. Giles used his other arm to hold him upright as the kiss deepened.
The doorbell rang, breaking them apart and Giles helped Ethan lower himself back down onto the edge of the bed. "I believe our guests have arrived," he kissed him again. "Behave yourself and we'll see what happens." He grinned back at Ethan as he exited the room to answer the door.
Willow and Tara arrived first bearing a couple of freshly baked baguettes, and were immediately followed by Anya and Xander. Anya thrust a bottle of wine into Giles' arms grinning broadly. "Buffy said we should bring something to go with dinner."
"Oh eh yes, thank you very much," he said awkwardly, taking the bottle from her and suppressing a grimace when he noticed the screw-off cap. "How convenient, I won't even have to bother with a corkscrew."
"Pretty neat, huh?" Xander interjected.
Giles bit the inside of his cheek, gesturing everyone into the living room. "I'll just set this in the dining room and check on dinner, I imagine Buffy and Spike will be here shortly with the girls."
"I need to use the little witch's room before I do anything," Willow said.
"Oh, yes, of course, you know where it is, just in through there," he answered absently before slipping into the kitchen.
As Willow made her way toward the bathroom, she caught sight of Ethan moving slowly down the short hallway with his back to her. He had just come out of the guest room and was heading for Giles' master suite.
What the heck is Chaos-Carl up to? Willow wondered to herself, pausing in the hallway with her hand on the bathroom door watching for a few seconds as he disappeared into the room.
She chewed her bottom lip as she proceeded into the bathroom to relieve herself. Something just wasn't sitting right. Sure, she and Tara had been instrumental in getting him upright but that was mostly because making sure he didn't die on Giles' couch was the right thing to do.
She hadn't considered that he would be staying around this long and was more than a little surprised that Giles hadn't kicked him out, mobility issues be damned.
There has to be something I'm missing… But what?
When she had finished washing her hands, Willow quietly moved down the hall to Giles' bedroom. She slid her back against the wall next to the open door where she could just make out Ethan's form sitting on the far side of the bed. He was slightly hunched over, holding onto his cane firmly with one hand and rummaging around in a small basket on the nightstand with the other.
Oh, he's definitely doing something… what the— Her observation of Ethan was cut short when the doorbell rang. Her heart jumped into her throat and she scurried back out toward her friends in the living room.
Buffy, Spike, Dawn, and the twins were amid an enthusiastic welcome committee comprised of Tara, Anya, Giles, and Xander as they came through the door.
Taking one of the girls against his shoulder, Giles turned toward Xander. "Would you go fetch the bassinets from the guest room? And check to make sure Ethan knows dinner will be in a few minutes."
"I'll do the first thing, but do I have to do the second thing?" Xander replied.
Giles shot him a warning glare.
"Alright, alright, I'll check on the bum formally known as Chaos Man," Xander retorted.
"He's not in there," Willow interjected, stopping Xander in his tracks.
"What do you mean?" Giles asked, brow furrowed.
Willow threw out a hand gesturing down the hallway. "I mean, I saw Gargamel in your bedroom."
"I bet she did," Spike muttered into Buffy's ear low enough that the others didn't notice. Buffy suppressed a giggle, adjusting her hold on the baby in her arms.
"I— I'm not sure what he was doing but he was definitely up to something. Do you think he's—" Willow faltered as Ethan appeared in the opening leading into the living room.
"Brilliant, are we discussing my presumed nefarious plans already?" he asked with a Devil-may-care snort of derision. "I certainly wouldn't want to miss that part of the evening's festivities, although I rather have my sights set elsewhere," Ethan smirked, flicking his gaze over Giles.
Giles watched Ethan questioningly, trying to figure out what he might have been up to. Stacking the deck no doubt, but he was never really one for surprises. Even fun ones.
Spike cleared his throat, interrupting the moment as he took his daughter back from Giles, cradling her to his chest. "Save it you two, think we've got some hungry people here, and at least one very stinky one," he said, casting a mildly accusing eye to the baby now curled against his chest making gurgling sounds. "Dawn, you got the nappies there?"
"Oh, yeah, sure," Dawn said, handing him the diaper bag.
"Ah yes, of course, I've got the changing table set up in the guest room," Giles offered.
"Right then—" Spike turned toward Buffy "—shall we make this a double feature? See if she needs a change too?"
Buffy bounced Grace in her arms. "I just changed them before we left."
"Don't think that means diddly to the tiny ones bowels, pet," he smirked, taking the baby from her.
"Lovely dinner conversation, that," Ethan grumbled.
Willow tugged on Xander's sleeve, keeping him back as everyone else gathered around the table.
"What's up, Wills?" Xander asked, dipping his head down to her.
"Tell me I'm not the only one getting extra wiggy 'something's-seriously-off-here' vibes," Willow whispered.
Xander shifted himself, watching Ethan accept a glass of wine from Giles. "Oh, yeah, big-time wiggins. That dude is definitely up to something…" he nudged her gently in the arm with his knuckles. "Did you ever find out what he was trying to do with the mondo spell before Giles stopped him?"
Willow shook her head. "Not a peep. Giles has been even more British-y tight-lipped than usual."
"Are you sure? I mean he's always super British-y tight-lipped, how would you even be able to tell?" he asked thoughtfully.
Willow turned toward the table with a pout as Spike deposited several pieces of roast onto Buffy's plate while she chatted happily with Giles and Ethan. Giles' laugh rang out and Ethan clapped him on the back. She couldn't remember the last time she heard him laugh like that. The picture in front of her was such a contrast to the ideas that were rolling around in her head. "I don't know… maybe you're right, it might be nothing."
"I wouldn't say 'nothing'. Something is up," Xander answered.
"Xander?" Anya asked in a carrying voice from her seat at the dining room table. "Do you want carrots?"
"Sure, hun, carrot me!" Xander replied, making his way over to the table with Willow following behind.
The meal proceeded as most family-style dinners often do; food and drink being distributed and small talk being made. About halfway through dinner, the conversation started to dissipate, apparently sucked dry by the elephant in the room.
Buffy looked around the table, catching Giles' eye before addressing Ethan. "I forgot to ask you how the whole recovery process is going. So, eh, how is it?"
Ethan cleared his throat, taking a sip of wine. "Little better all the time, as they say."
"I guess that means you'll be going back to England or anywhere but here pretty soon then, huh?" Xander interjected.
"Xan—" Buffy started but got cut off.
"I won't be doing anything of the kind," Ethan stated matter-of-factly, taking a bite of baguette.
"What do you mean?" Willow asked.
Giles cleared his throat. "He means, he'll be staying here. Indefinitely. Perhaps, even permanently," he answered.
"I think I speak for everyone here when I say, Huh?" Xander sputtered.
Everyone at the table had gone quiet.
"How thick are you, Harris?" Spike bit out, squeezing Buffy's hand as she gave Giles an encouraging nod.
Giles drained his wine, setting down the glass before looking up at his guests. "Yes, well— You're all, of course, aware that Ethan and I have— history together… However, what most of you do not know is what we had back then was not strictly platonic."
"Don't play coy, Ripper, what we had was anything but 'platonic'," Ethan said, eyeing Giles calmly.
"Oh, you mean you two were the sex-having kind of friends," Anya blurted.
"Thank you for your blunt interpretation, as always, Anya," Giles retorted.
"But I'm right, right?" Anya chirped with oblivious charm. "Dawn, could you pass the peas?"
Dawn passed the peas as though she were on autopilot. The bowl toppled and she would have spilled them in Anya's lap if Kimberly hadn't caught them. The bowl floated in mid-air, until Tara reached up to grab them, murmuring a word of thanks to Kimberly as she set the peas down in front of Anya and turned toward Willow to gauge her reaction.
Willow glanced at her girlfriend before directing her attention back toward Ethan and Giles, taking in the subtle concern on Buffy and Spike's faces and taking note of the blatant lack of surprise.
They knew… Of course, they knew…
She shook her head, still a little dumbfounded. The revelation of their past relationship wasn't the part that had her brain misfiring. That she could understand… It was the bigger picture that she was hung up on. "Let me see if I'm understanding this. He's planning on staying permanently— that means—" she shook her head again. "After everything he's done, after everyone he's hurt, you really expect us to believe you're just getting smoochie with the Wiz that Was without some kind of hinkyness afoot?"
"I second that," Xander agreed.
"You would," Spike muttered, taking a drink of blood.
"Baby, why don't we hear them out?" Tara soothed with her hand on Willow's arm.
"How can you guys be so weirdly calm about this? Ethan Rayen has been the bad guy how many times now? Are we all just forgetting about everything he's done?" Xander interjected before Willow could respond.
"Xander has a point. I saw Ethan doing something in Giles' bedroom, less than forty-five minutes ago and that gets no concern? No response at all? He could totally have Giles under some kind of— well maybe not a spell but—"
"Or you can ask me what I was doing instead of behaving as though I'm not sitting here," Ethan interrupted Willow's rant.
"We could, but seeing as you're a certified liar, it seems like a total waste of time," Xander snapped.
"Believe me or don't. What matters is that Ripper knows I was doing nothing more than trying to surprise him with a little romantic candlelight to go along with our after-dinner plans," he smirked at Giles who suddenly looked more than a little sheepish.
Dawn rolled her eyes with exaggerated irritation. "Oh, like Giles is the only one currently sitting here with a significant other who's been reformed after countless killing sprees. From the stories I've heard Ethan doesn't have even a quarter of the body count as Spike and don't even get me started on Anya, she's the all-time body-count champ."
Anya preened at that. "Aww, Dawnie, that's so sweet."
Dawn gave her a bland look. "Not really a compliment, but thanks for illustrating my point," she replied, turning back to the table at large. "Kimberly's a freaking ghost because of one of Ethan's stunts and she's been helping him! If she can find a way to forgive Ethan and says he's made significant progress then I trust her judgment, and I think you idiots should too!"
A small shuffling sound and the delicate clanking of plates reached them from the kitchen but no one seemed to pay any attention.
The words had scarcely left Dawn's lips when a plate bearing a large slice of the chocolate cake Buffy had brought as their contribution, came floating out of the kitchen. Dawn's dinner plate moved to the side as the cake landed neatly in front of her.
Buffy, who had stayed relatively quiet during the entire exchange, shifted back in her seat gazing at Dawn with a look of pure approval on her face. "Go on Dawnie, you earned it," she grinned. "If you hadn't said something about it then I sure as hell was going to."
Dawn smiled slyly. "I beat you to the cake though."
Xander looked guiltily from his wife to Spike, then to Ethan, his gaze finally landing on Willow. "What'd ya think, Will?"
"I think…" she trailed off, taking a moment to look around at her friends. She looked down at her plate thinking about how she had felt after bringing Buffy back, the exhilarating high she had experienced after, and the way she had almost craved magic in the weeks that followed. She hadn't even opened up to Tara about those impulses, although she suspected Tara knew anyway.
She had been tempted to delve deeper into magic more than ever at that time, and then something happened.
Willow turned her gaze to Spike, a curious expression on her face as her eyes flicked between him and Ethan and a realization suddenly hit her full force. She cleared her throat. "I think, giving into dark magic is probably easier than any of us want to admit, and if Spike hadn't sent me on the whole soul retrieval mission, I probably could have gone a way different direction too." She blinked several times letting the harsh truth of her own words sink in and took a sip of water.
Spike looked at her curiously. "How do you figure that one, Red?"
Willow slipped her hand over Tara's and shrugged lightly, still addressing Spike, she said, "You reminded me what magic is really for at a time I needed a good swift reminding before I had a chance to really start too far down that path…" she turned to Tara. "Come to think of it, I really could have lost my everything..."
"Because magic is for helping people," Tara answered, smiling softly at Willow.
"Yeah." She turned her attention from Tara back to Ethan. "I think maybe I can understand what happened with you and Giles a little better, and what's going on now… and yeah, I guess Dawn's right."
Giles pressed his lips together tightly, taking a polite sip of wine. "Perhaps there is a lesson in all this."
Xander braced his hands on the edge of the table and nodded before letting out a deep breath. "Alright, if that's where we're going with this thing, then fine. Count me in, but don't think for a second that I won't be keeping my eye on you, Mister," he added in a half-joking tone with a finger pointed at Ethan.
Ethan rolled his eyes, shifting himself toward Giles. "Good grief, are they always this tedious?"
"Often worse, I'm afraid," Giles chuckled into his wine, taking another sip.
"No wonder you're so tightly wound. I see I've got my work cut out for me," Ethan grinned.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Xander sputtered with a frown.
"I imagine it means Giles has been under a great deal of stress over the last few years and they'll be having lots of sex to help Giles relax. Sex is very good for releasing stress," Anya answered sagely.
"I couldn't have said it better myself," Ethan replied.
Dawn was giving far more attention to her cake than necessary.
Xander drained his wine glass. He went to pour himself another and was disappointed when he only got a few drops. "I so do not need that particular mental image," he grumbled.
Ethan smirked, taking a sip of his own wine. "Have any of you lot ever heard the story about how Rupert earned the name 'Ripper'?"
Xander blanched.
"Dawn, why don't you take your cake and go check on the babies?" Buffy asked.
Dawn looked like she couldn't decide if she should be insulted at being treated like a kid or thankful for the lifeline. Ultimately, she seemed to decide on the lifeline as she gathered her plate and scurried off to the guest room where the girls were settled.
"That's hardly dinner conversation," Giles sputtered, casting him a nearly panicked look.
"Think we can make an educated guess there, mate," Spike drawled in a sarcastic tone.
Anya made a sound of excited protest. "I want to hear the story!"
Spike reached out a hand to catch the bottle of scotch Kimberly floated toward them. "Ta, Luv," he said, thanking the ghost, "got a feeling we'll be needing that," he smirked as he poured a measure for himself and Giles.
Xander leaned forward with his empty wine glass. "I know I'm going to regret this, but hit me."
Spike smirked, pouring him a small amount as Ethan began his "story".