Repercussions, Reactions and Retaliation (2/?) W/B/T NC17

Title: Repercussions, Reactions and Retaliation

Author: The Bear!

Spoilers: None really, this is in the Triadverse AU and follows The Please Trilogy and The Triad Trilogy

Pairing: Willow/Buffy/Tara primarily, but other Scoobies are hooked up as well.

Summary: With Glory defeated, things should quiet down for a while... shouldn’t they?

Warnings: NC17 over all (Part 2 is also kinda ‘R’ish)

Disclaimer: If I owned ‘em, they’d have to show it on the Ecstasy Network.

========== BtVS ==========

Chapter 2

“Are you ok Xander? You’re awfully quiet...” Willow’s voice broke into Xander’s thoughts. “Are you mad at me... us... for the, uh, for the magic thing?” she asked, her voice sounding hesitant and worried.

‘Am I mad?’ Xander thought with a sigh. ‘Embarrassed, annoyed, freaked out, and a million other things all at once, but mad- how would I even know?’

“I’m not mad Will,” he answered with another sigh. “I’m just... between the thing last night, and I didn’t sleep very well, and then the weirdness that was waking up...”

Xander’s tired mind didn’t do its normal job of censoring his mouth and things he normally would hesitate to share just seemed to spill right out. “...and we hear you guys making Tara scream, and Faith starts coming on to me, hitting on me pretty hard. Then, in the middle of that, there’s you screaming, and the, um, magic thing... Then I end up wearing nothing but a towel around four hotties... you three with the ‘just got laid’ look; Faith with the ‘just came, want to do it again’ look... I guess I’m a little stressed out right now,” Xander finished in a muttering voice- stream of consciousness pouring out of his mouth.

“Oh,” Willow said softly.

Silence reigned once again as Xander’s fatigued mind flitted about aimlessly from subject to subject.

After a short time, Willow again piped up, “Xander?”

“Yeah Will?”

“How come you didn’t want Faith to go with you?” she asked, sounding curious.

‘That’s a good question!’ the horny part of Xander’s brain piped up.

“Cause we’d probably’ve ended up in bed together,” Xander said, as if it were obvious.

This time his mind beat Willow to the punch. ‘And that would have been a bad thing how!?’ He was suddenly assaulted with flashed images from his one brief tryst with the dark Slayer, her incredible body writhing and bouncing above his own. He had to bite back a moan, and he felt himself start to harden under his towel.

He attempted to address his own subconscious, and at the same time answer the question he just knew Willow wanted, but was too polite to ask. “Look, I’m not really into casual sex, ok? I mean, I want the same thing you want, Will- love, a relationship... I’m not interested in jumping from bed to bed.”

This time his mind flashed back to the day Anya had seduced him, not that it had been that difficult for her, but even then he had protested that ‘Sex is supposed to mean something...’ yet his mind had been too weak to overcome his body’s desire. ‘And so I ended up in a year long relationship that turned out to be no more meaningful than a one-night stand. A 300-night stand, I guess.’

“Besides,” he added. “Faith already has a Xander-shaped notch on her belt, she doesn’t need another one.” His voice was devoid of the bitterness one might expect at such a statement. It was presented simply as an observation.

“Oh...” Willow said again.

Xander glanced at his childhood best friend and saw a look of uncertainty on her face.

“Spill, Will,” Xander said, just wanting the subject to be wrapped up.

“Huh?” she asked, sounding distracted.

“You’ve got ‘but’ face, Will,” Xander said with a small smile. “Whatever you’re thinking, just go ahead and say it.”

“Ok, uh, so, when we were in LA... you and Cordy...” she trailed off.

“Cordelia...” Xander said with a heavy sigh, remembering their two nights together earlier this week. “Cordelia was in a really bad place, Will. She was hurting physically, and emotionally... she really felt alone, and unwanted, and the vision thing... it really hurts her when she has one.”

Visions of Cordelia Chase with tears in her eyes, and a look of hopelessness on her face played across his mind. ‘I never imagined seeing her like that...’ he thought. ‘She was always so vibrant, even when she was busy verbally ripping me to shreds, she had a spark of life in her eyes... and it was missing when I saw her this week.’

Xander shook his head, bringing his attention back to the road in front of him, and the conversation he was having. “She needed someone who cared about her, someone who could make her feel special and loved again.”

“You... you love her?” Willow asked, sounding surprised.

Xander smiled at the tone of Willow’s question. “Of course I love her, Will! Just like I love you and Dawnie and Buffy and Tara... and maybe even Faith. You girls are like my family.” Struck with a sudden thought, Xander frowned and added, “Without the whole disturbing, incest, angle.”

“Gotcha,” Willow said, her voice echoing her smile. “Family, but not sisters.”

Xander laughed a little before adding, “I just mean that you are all close and important to me, like family.”

Again, mental fatigue made him continue when he might normally have stopped. “One of my girls was hurting and needed my help. God knows I’d lay down my life for any of you in a heartbeat,” he said softly, his voice introspective.

Again, Xander shook of his reverie and refocused before continuing. “So, I’m not ‘in love’ with Cordy, but I do love her. So it wasn’t casual sex... it was about my feelings for her, how much I care for her, and about her. I tried to make her see that she was special, and beautiful and important.”

Willow’s voice was a bit wondrous as she said, “Well it must have worked, cause she seemed pretty upbeat that next day!”

“God, she was magnificent!” Xander blurted out as he remembered their second night together.

“eep!” Willow squeaked softly.

Xander glanced at the redhead and saw that she was blushing. ‘Mmhmm, methinks a little payback is in order for this morning...’

“Picture it Will. Forget for a minute what a bitch she was to us in High School, and just picture it; Queen C, striding down the hallway. Short, tight skirt, one of those blouses that was almost see-through and hugged every curve on that luscious body. That perfect hair, that beautiful face... only instead of a cruel look, imagine a warm, genuine smile on those full, red lips. Imagine her eyes wide and filled with joy and pleasure as she calls out your name... Now you look down and the clothes are gone... her perfect, tan skin... big, soft, round breasts... nipples crying out to be sucked on... that flat belly... down... your fingers moving inside...”

As Xander pulled into the parking lot of his building, he shot a glance at his friend and had to restrain a laugh. ‘Oh I got you, Will! Someone’s had a few fantasies of her own about Cordy, I see!’ he thought as he saw her dilated eyes and her tongue darting out to lick her lips.

Of course, Xander wasn’t unaffected himself, remembering everything he was describing, and now his best friend- his extremely hot and sexy best friend was sitting next to him, clearly aroused. Before his towel gave up the ghost, Xander pulled his keys from the ignition and dangled them up in front of Willow’s face. “Enough fantasizing, Will. Time to go get Xander some clothes!”

Willow snapped out of her daze, protesting, “What? I wasn’t...”

Xander just smirked at her knowingly.

Willow’s eyes narrowed and she shook her finger at him, “Why you!”

“Hello pot, this is kettle,” Xander said with an amused laugh. “You’ve got no room to talk, Ms. Radio-Free-Orgasm!”

Willow blushed and dropped her finger, her eyes dropping to her lap as well. “I didn’t mean for that to happen...” she said softly.

“I’m sure you didn’t,” Xander said with a warm smile. His smile once again grew mischievous as he added, “Now, be a good buddy and get me some sweats to slip on so I can come in and change, and I won’t tell Buffy how you were having lusty wrong thoughts about Cordelia.”

Willow’s head snapped up and her eyes were wide with outrage, “What?! Xander Lavelle Harris! Don’t you dare... I’ll turn you into a newt, Mister!” She once again shook her finger at him.

Xander laughed out loud at Willow’s scolding. ‘Thanks Will, I needed that!’ he thought, laughing even louder as she snatched his keys and got out of the car, stomping away and muttering under her breath as she went.

Xander’s laughter died out, but his mood stayed up as he watched his Willow walking away. “Damn, Buffy. You and Tara really are very lucky women...” he whispered, truly glad for his loved ones, that they could have such happiness with each other.

========== BtVS ==========

Xander smiled with amusement as he listened to Willow place the order for sandwiches.

“Two six inch tuna salads on whole wheat; one with tomatoes, the other plain. Two foot long BMT’s on white, double meat, mayo and mustard, tomatoes, olives, green peppers, banana peppers, oil and vinegar, salt and pepper, no lettuce, no onions.”

They’d gone to subway, deciding to forego donuts seeing as it was already afternoon, and something of more substance might be required.

“I take it you and Tara like tuna?” Xander asked.

Willow whirled on him, eyes narrowed. “That better not be a lesbian crack, Xander...” she whispered, sounding angry.

Xander’s eyes widened and he held up his hands placatingly. “Whoa, whaddya mean Will?” he asked in surprise at her sudden mood swing.

Willow looked wary, but a little confused herself. Hesitantly, she said, “You know... lesbians... eating fish...”

‘What the...?’ Xander thought, truly befuddled. Then he caught the slight blush on Willow’s cheeks and he goggled at her momentarily.

“Oh! God, no Will! I wasn’t... eww, no way!” he stammered. “Not even... I mean I love going... south... and I hate tuna. I mean, it doesn’t...” Xander felt his own face getting hot, at the same time Willow’s blush spread. ‘I never thought I’d be discussing eating pussy with my best *female* friend... especially in line at the Subway!’

Willow was clearly embarrassed. “Oh, sorry!” she said with a gulp and turned back to the girl behind the counter, who was staring at the two of them with a wide-eyed look of her own.

“Um, will there be anything else?” the teen asked hesitantly.

Finally, Xander had to chuckle at the absurdity of the situation. Nodding his head, he replied, “Yeah, I’d like two foot long subclubs with everything, and...”

Turning to Willow, who was still blushing a little, he asked, “What do you think Faith likes?”

Willow’s face broke into a wicked grin as she answered, “Well, from what went on this morning, I’d say she’s hungry for sausage.”

Xander snorted a laugh at that. ‘Score one for the redhead!’ he thought humorously.

“I don’t think they have that particular meat on the menu here...” Xander said, surprising his friend, and causing her to snicker. “She’ll have to make do with meatballs.” Turning to the teen behind the counter, he said, “Two foot-long meatball subs, on white, and that should do us.”

As Willow was paying for the food, Xander had another naughty thought. ‘Oh, I shouldn’t... but I really want to...’

The little devil on Xander’s left shoulder won over the angel on his right this time, and he leaned forward and whispered in Willow’s ear. “You know, I never understood the tuna thing. I think of it more like cheesecake. You know... creamy, tart, rich, and just a little sweet.”

Willow didn’t say anything, but Xander could see the blush return to her face and neck, and she fumbled the change as she tried to put it in her pocket, dropping it to the floor instead.

‘Oh yeah, The Xan-man evens up the score!’ Xander thought, grinning madly as he picked up the sandwich bags and headed for the door, ignoring the glare the redheaded witch was shooting him.

‘I’m gonna pay for that... I just know it,’ he thought. ‘But it was *so* worth it!’ he decided as they headed for the car.

========== BtVS ==========

Tara walked back into the great room to find it unexpectedly empty. ‘Hmm, I wonder if little miss Faith is off flirting with my Slayer somewhere?’ she thought. ‘She seems to enjoy pushing the envelope a little bit too much. Do I say something, or would that just make her do it even more...?’

The blonde witch looked in some of the immediate side-rooms to see if she could find the ‘chosen two’ off somewhere by themselves.

‘It’s not like I worry about Buffy doing anything,’ she told herself. ‘I just seem to have a little bit of a possessive streak when it comes to Faith being around my girls...’

Walking out into the courtyard, Tara was surprised to find Buffy, by herself, sitting on the edge of the defunct fountain, staring at a wall with a contemplative look on her face. ‘Goddess, she’s so beautiful! I always think that; every time I see her I can’t help but think it again,’ she thought with a warm flutter in her stomach, and a happy smile on her face.

Tara walked over and sat down next to the Slayer, laying one hand gently on Buffy’s lower back and rubbing in a small circle. “Where’d Faith run off to, sweetie?”

Buffy leaned sideways against Tara and laid her head on the Wicca’s shoulder. “She said she had to go check something. She’ll be back in an hour or two,” Buffy said quietly, her voice soft as though not wanting to disturb the quiet that had settled over the area.

“Oh,” was all Tara said.

‘How adorable is this,’ she thought, leaning her head and rubbing her cheek against the crown of Buffy’s head. As always, a small shiver ran through her at Buffy’s mere touch.

Buffy chuckled softly and added, “I think you kinda scared her... not that she’d ever admit it.”

‘Good!’ was Tara’s immediate reaction, but she managed not to verbalize it. “Scared her, how?” she asked instead, fishing for more.

“Uh huh, like you don’t know...” Buffy said with a soft laugh. “Maybe it was the death-glare you shot her when she offered to ‘return the favor’?”

Tara couldn’t stifle a small snicker of her own at that. The smile quickly died on her lips though. ‘Uh oh, I’m getting worried feelings from you all of a sudden,’ she thought.

“You don’t have to worry about me... I mean, I would never, like, leave you... you know, for someone else... you do know that right?” Buffy asked in a small, anxious voice; her left hand sliding over to Tara’s knee and squeezing gently.

‘Something tells me this is going to be a ‘Talk’ kind of talk,’ Tara thought as her stomach rumbled with trepidation. She took Buffy’s hand and stood up, saying, “Come on.”

Tara pulled a somewhat reluctant Slayer behind her into the house. She sat down in the corner of the couch in the great room and patted her lap with her free hand. “Come here, Buffy,” she said, trying not to make it sound too much like an order.

Buffy seemed hesitant for a moment, but after a light tug on her hand, curled herself up in Tara’s lap, arms around her and face buried in the crook of the witch’s neck.

‘My poor Slayer,’ Tara thought sadly as she stroked the petite blonde’s back. ‘So strong, but so full of doubt and anxiety... you have such a hard time believing in yourself!’

“What’s wrong Buffy? Please tell me,” she whispered, nuzzling the top of her lover’s head.

Buffy softly kissed Tara’s throat, creating a delightful ache in the witch’s chest and stomach.

‘Oh goddess! What you do to me.’ Tara thought, suppressing a shudder. ‘I won’t let you distract me though... no matter how wonderful it feels!’

Tara gently cradled Buffy’s head in her hands and pushed her away enough to make eye contact. “What is it my love?” she whispered.

“It’s...” Buffy started, then dropped her eyes and added, “It’s just me being silly. It’s really no big deal.”

‘Uh huh, that’s why you’re all upset-worry-girl all of a sudden, because it’s no big deal,’ Tara thought, recognizing Buffy’s self-deprecating, avoidance techniques.

“Trust me? Please?” Tara said in a quiet, needy voice- not above a few manipulative tactics of her own when necessary.

“It’s dumb, you’ll see,” Buffy said, clearly capitulating to Tara, as she always did in the end.

“I’ve been the Slayer for like five years now...” Buffy started, settling back against her lover’s chest and neck. “For most of that time I told myself that I hated being the Slayer, hated the way it stole my life from me... I knew I was destined to die young, so I never really thought about the future, or at least I never really thought about me being in it. Planning ahead for me was, like, if I picked out what I was going to wear to school the next day.”

Tara chuckled along with Buffy at that.

“So I never planned for the future. ‘cause slaying meant I wasn’t gonna have one.”

Tara felt a pang of sorrow clench in her chest at the thought of a future without Buffy.

“But lately... I-I’ve started to have thoughts... about, you know, maybe making plans...”

“What kind of plans,” Tara asked when Buffy trailed off into silence.

“Well... I haven’t actually made any,” Buffy answered. “I’ve just thought about, like maybe I should, you know... make some.”

Tara couldn’t suppress a little giggle. ‘You’re just too cute sometimes,’ she thought.

“Hey!” Buffy pouted.

“Sorry, Buffy. I don’t see what’s bad about making plans though...”

“Well, nothing’s wrong with making plans... but...” Buffy trailed off into silence again.

“But what, sweetie?” Tara prompted.

“It’s just... Lately I kinda started to realize something else, especially since Faith...” Buffy started, sounding ashamed and guilty.

A deep twinge of jealousy shot through the witch at Buffy’s words. ‘Easy now Tara,’ she told herself. ‘Buffy would never hurt you, or Willow, like that.’ Despite her best efforts she stiffened slightly while waiting for Buffy to explain.

Buffy reacted by clutching a little tighter to her lover. “I know I shouldn’t, but I can’t help myself!” she whispered harshly.

‘What could be so bad?’ Tara wondered, forcing herself to relax and stroke Buffy’s back and hair.

“Shh, it’s ok Buffy. Just tell me,” Tara crooned softly.

“It’s the s-slaying...” Buffy began, her voice so quiet that Tara had to strain herself to hear. “I... I enjoy it.”

“What?” Tara asked, unsure if she’d heard her lover correctly. She again cradled Buffy’s face and pushed back so she could see her girlfriend’s face. “What?” she repeated.

Buffy looked dejected as she answered. “I love it,” she whispered, sounding ashamed with herself. “I love being the Slayer! I get off on the hunt and the kill!” she said louder, the shame turning into disgust.

Slowly, despite her trying to control it, a smile tugged at the corners of Tara’s mouth. Once she lost her grip on that, the laughter she’d been holding back bubbled forth.

The very confused look on Buffy’s face fractured any last restraint in Tara and she began howling in laughter.

“*That* is what you were so worried about?” Tara asked incredulously. “Oh, Buffy. Willow and I knew that all along!”

Buffy’s face fell into a pout, causing a familiar reaction from Tara. ‘You’re so gosh-darn sexy when you do that!’ she thought as she kissed the Slayer’s pouty lips.

Tara leaned back and continued, “Even if we didn’t know it before, we would have found out last night when we were enjoined! Did you get any sense that we were disgusted or upset while we were in there with you?”

Buffy was still pouting a little as she thought about it. “Well... no... but, how can I make plans for the future if I’m all embracing the thing that makes it so I can’t have a future?” she asked with a ‘so-there!’ tone to her voice, as though she’d made an irrefutable point.

Tara shook her head. “Aww, sweetie. We can’t let that kind of fear stop us from living our lives, from planning for the future. Anybody could die in a freak accident at any moment, and people like police officers, and firemen, and soldiers... they have dangerous and risky jobs too, but they still get married, and have kids, and buy houses, and get pets, and, and all kinds of ‘planning ahead’ stuff.”

Buffy looked down after a moment and whispered, “But, doesn’t it seem wrong that I should enjoy it so much? How can I be a good person if I’m a killer, and not just because I was chosen, but... but ‘cause I love it”?

‘Aha! Now the real truth comes out!’ Tara thought. ‘Now, how do I answer that...’

The blond witch pulled her lover in for a long, sweet kiss. ‘Mmm, gives me more time to think, plus I love kissing you Buffy!’ she thought.

Breaking the kiss and resting her forehead against Buffy’s, Tara spoke. “I remember the first time I saw you slay a demon... I have to admit, it kinda freaked me out a little. But... I’ve seen stuff, and I’ve read Giles’ books... and these things, demons and vampires... they’re like a disease. Worse than a disease, cause they know what they’re doing- they choose to do all those horrible things to people...” her eyes misted as she recalled some of the horrors she’d personally witnessed since being introduced to Sunnydale’s nightlife.

Buffy’s warm thumb wiping her tears away brought a smile back to Tara’s face. “I imagine how happy a doctor must feel when they cure someone of cancer, or a surgeon when they remove a tumor and save someone’s life...”

“Like mom,” Buffy interjected with a happy smile.

“Just like Mom,” Tara said, her own smile beaming as she used the rapidly-becoming-familiar title. “When I was sitting at the prison waiting for them to process Faith’s pardon, I thought about all those vampires we dusted at that weird seminar...”

“Doug the vampire self-help guru,” Buffy said with a giggle. “How creepy was that!?”

“Right,” Tara affirmed with a nod. “imagine, even if each of those vampire only would have killed one person a week for a year- we saved over five thousand lives that night. I remember how incredible I felt after that...”

“There’s no bad here...” Buffy whispered, quoting one of Xander’s favorite quips with a sense of dawning wonder in her voice.

“No bad at all,” Tara agreed, her hands starting to wander over Buffy’s body as memories of that night, and many other such nights, inflamed Tara’s passion.

“Love you, Tar,” Buffy whispered.

“I love you too, Buffy,” Tara answered.

Fortunately, at least in the girl’s minds, they were still fully clothed when Xander and Willow returned with lunch a few minutes later.

========== BtVS ==========

Dawn sat on the couch with her feet curled under her. Whether it was due to familiarity at last, or just the stress of her nightmares and lack of sleep, she no longer even noticed the horribly tacky décor of Ethan Rayne’s 1970’s style pimp-pad. She’d come to think of it as ‘Huggy-bear’s house,’ remembering the character from Starsky and Hutch re-runs.

Right now she was observing her mother as she watched her new lover puttering about the kitchen, making lunch.

‘I don’t think I’ve seen her being this happy before,’ Dawn thought, melancholy. ‘Even when I was little, I don’t remember her looking at dad like that... Why would the monks give me unhappy memories? Did they somehow know she wasn’t happy with him? How could they know that?’

Dawn glanced around the room, as though noticing it anew. ‘Why did they give me memories of watching Starsky and Hutch re-runs? Mom and Buffy didn’t watch them with me very much... did one of the monks have a Starsky and Hutch fetish, and it got passed on to me?’ The thought, while not especially appealing, didn’t elicit any strong emotion, negative or positive.

‘I wonder if I have that look on my face when I look at Xander?’ she thought as her focus moved back to her mother. ‘I see it in Buffy’s eyes when she looks at Tara or Willow... I see it in their eyes too... I don’t remember seeing it in Xander’s eyes when he looked at Anya. I don’t think I ever saw it in hers either.’

Dawn blinked her eyes rapidly, and reached up to her face to surreptitiously wipe away a tear as she thought, ‘I wish he was here right now. I wish I could hug him, and just have him hold me... I always feel like everything’s going to be ok when he hugs me... I’m so glad he didn’t get hurt in that fight... that none of them got hurt.’

“You really love him, don’t you?” she whispered just loud enough for her mom to hear.

Joyce looked away from Giles and met Dawn’s eyes. “What was that honey?” she asked with a gentle smile still gracing her lips.

“The way you look at Giles,” Dawn replied softly. “You really love him a lot, don’t you?”

Her Mom’s smile faltered for a moment, and she said, “I know it must seem so sudden to you, it is to me as well...”

Dawn shook her head and smiled encouragingly. “Not really... I mean, it’s not like you just met him, and barely know him... It’s Giles.” She nodded her head, adding, “I totally get it.”

Joyce’s face lit up in a hundred-watt smile. “Oh, honey!” she whispered, leaning over and wrapping Dawn up in her arms. “I glad you approve!”

‘I’ll take Rupert Giles over Hank Summers any day,’ Dawn thought. ‘Gosh, I just realized, I’ve never really actually even met my supposed ‘father’!’

Tabling that random thought, Dawn whispered back to her mother, “He’s a great guy, mom. How could I disapprove?”

Joyce let go the hug and sat back. “Honestly, honey... I was a little worried that you might... I don’t know, resent the fact that I wanted to be with someone other than your father...” she said hesitantly.

‘She’s worried... that I would resent Giles?’ Dawn thought. ‘I... even if the memories were true, it’s not like we’ve even heard from Hank Summers in, like years! I don’t even feel bad about that... maybe the monks made me not care about him? Did they know he’d never be around again?’

When Dawn didn’t respond, her Mom continued, “Giles isn’t going to try and replace your father, honey...”

“Of course he is,” Dawn interjected. She smiled warmly and continued, “It’s ok, mom. I’m not a little kid; you don’t have to pretend that ‘dad’ still cares about me, about Buffy, about any of us.”

Joyce shook her head and Dawn could tell that she was going to try and deny it. She reached out and clasped her mom’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Mom, Dad ran off to Spain with his secretary. He abandoned all of us. Actually, he abandoned you and Buffy, ‘cause it happened all before I even existed, actually. He doesn’t love me- he never did. He’s never even met me, not really.”

‘Funny how little that bothers me...’ Seeing a tear run down her mother’s face, Dawn had a different reaction; ‘That bothers me, though,’ she thought, feeling a lump in her throat and a squeezing sensation in her chest.

“It’s really ok, Mom, don’t cry,” the youngest Summers said as her own eyes welled up. “That stuff doesn’t matter, cause I know Giles does love us. He’s the one who’s actually stayed around... and things have been a lot tougher than they ever were when ‘dad’ was around. Giles took care of Buffy all that time before we found out she was ‘the chosen one’ and he’s saved my life lots of times; twice even just this week.”

Her mom’s face seemed torn between crying and smiling as Dawn talked.

“So, I know he loves me; even though he’s never said it- he shows it. And, he loves you, and he loves Buffy... he’s all the dad I really need,” she said with a warm smile.

“Oh honey!” Joyce cried softly, again leaning forward and wrapping Dawn up in a tight embrace. “I love you so much Dawn! Never forget that for a second!”

Dawn returned the embrace, whispering back, “I love you too Mom!”

‘She could have so easily kicked me out when she found out about the whole Key thing- Buffy too, they could have let the Knights have me and still saved the world... but they didn’t... they risked everything for me...’ Dawn thought. ‘God I’m so lucky!’

At that moment, Giles walked over and set a plate of sandwiches and a pot of tea down on the coffee table. “Is everything alright?” he asked, looking concerned as he gazed upon the embraced mother and daughter.

Seemingly of one mind, Dawn and her mother stood up and pulled Giles into their embrace, each pressing their face against his chest and hugging him tightly.

“Oh, m-my word!” Giles stuttered, apparently unused to such physical displays of affection. “What brought this on?”

She looked up, catching her mother’s adoring gaze which was aimed at the befuddled Brit. Dawn smiled happily at both of them and said, “Sometimes you get hugged just for being a good guy, Giles.”

‘Poor guy doesn’t know what hit him,’ Dawn thought affectionately.

“It’s a girl thing- just accept it.” The younger Summers further explained.

Giles hugged back as he muttered, “Well I suppose I’ll manage... somehow.”

After a moment, the group-hug ended and Dawn smiled to see the blush on Giles face. ‘Aww, that’s so sweet,’ she thought with no little humor.

“If you ladies will e-excuse me, I’ve got to get something from th-the car...” Giles stammered. “I-I’ll just be a moment, and then we can enjoy lunch...”

As he headed toward the door, Joyce leaned close to Dawn and whispered, “I think we embarrassed him...”

Dawn snickered, “Well, I think you’ve loosened him up a little, but he’s still Giles.”

‘Oh boy! Look at that blush,’ Dawn thought as she glanced at her mother. ‘Gosh mom, dirty mind much?’

Any comment Joyce might have made was interrupted by the sound of a gunshot.

Dawn felt her body flood with icy panic at the sound

“What was that?” Joyce asked, her voice suddenly shrill.

‘Oh God! OhGodohGodohGodohGod...’ Dawn’s mind seemed stuck in neutral; that one thought- those two words- repeating over and over.

The sound was repeated as auto-fire began chattering from somewhere nearby.

“Rupert!” Joyce screamed, surging up off the couch.

‘No!’ Dawn’s mind shouted at her as she saw her mother rushing for the door. It was enough to break her body free of the paralyzing fear and she jumped up, grabbing her mother and yelling, “No Mom! You can’t! You might get hit!”

Just then the door crashed open and Giles darted inside. “Bloody hell!” he shouted, sounding enraged. “I am getting bloody well tired of people trying to kill us this week!”

Dawn goggled at the Watcher, ‘Joke? Giles made a joke?’

Joyce pulled free of Dawn’s suddenly lax grip and fairly leapt into her lover’s arms, crying, “Oh God Rupert, are you alright?”

“Yes, the protection spell worked rather marvelously.” He said, still clearly very angry.

“What happened?!” Dawn shouted, surging relief warring with the remnants of paralyzing fear and incredulity, leaving her light headed.

“Some Bloody Pillock on the roof across the street decided to bloody well shoot at me! That’s what happened!” Giles growled. Pushing away from Joyce, he almost grinned as he said, “They’re about to receive a rather nasty surprise, though. There’s a tunnel that opens up behind that building, and unless they can fly, they’re going to have to use the fire escape right next to it.”

Giles quickly ran into the bedroom he and Joyce shared and came out with his key crystal and pistol. “Stay put, the spell will protect you!” he said. Then he darted through a door along the back of the room.

“Oh God, be careful Rupert!” Joyce shouted after him, her voice laced with worry and fear.

‘I never thought I’d miss Sunnydale...’ Dawn thought as she dropped back onto the couch.

“Dawn, are you alright?” her mom asked, her voice now even more worried. “You’re awfully pale...”

‘Blurry...’ Dawn thought as everything around her seemed to grow unfocused.

Despite that, Dawn put on her ‘mom-smile’ and said, “I’m fine, mom, just a little... light hea...’

Her vision dimmed and then everything went dark.

========== BtVS ==========

TheBear!

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