The Good, The Bad and The Fangy
by dawnm
Baby Steps
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Author's Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter. Feedback will be appreciated...so when you finish reading, please take a minute to review and let me know what you think.
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Chapter 8 - Baby Steps
When they cleared the temple steps and stepped onto the road, Buffy came to a halt and turned to Willow. "Are you okay?" She asked, searching the redhead's face. Willow nodded.
"Sorry about that." Xena's voice was laced with self-recrimination. "I shouldn't have taken you there." Willow stepped up to the warrior, offering a warm smile.
"Hey...you were just trying to help." Xena relaxed and returned the smile.
"We don't need Ares anyway." Gabrielle said. "We'll find another way."
"It'll be dark in an hour or so." The warrior said, looking at the sky. "We could stay at the inn." Gabrielle's face lit up.
"A long, hot bath." The bard paused, smiling dreamily. "A nice dinner...a comfortable bed. I think that's a wonderful idea."
"You had me at bath." Buffy chuckled. Willow nodded enthusiastically until a thought occurred to her.
"W-what kind of bath?" The redhead asked sheepishly.
"What do you mean?" Gabrielle clearly didn't follow Willow's train of thought. Buffy flashed the redhead a knowing smile before turning to the bard.
"I think Will's just wondering how many people we might be sharing this bath with."
"Oh. It would just be the four of us." Gabrielle said, offering a reassuring smile. The shy redhead was not comforted by the idea of sharing her bath with the three other women.
The squeaking sound Willow made in reply elicited a chuckle from Buffy, who squeezed the hacker's hand and leaned close to whisper teasingly in the redhead's ear. "When in Rome..." Willow poked Buffy in the ribs, attempting to look stern.
"Now that reminds me of my mom." The redhead whispered back. Buffy eyed her girlfriend curiously.
"What does?"
"Mom always says 'If Bunny Summers jumped off a cliff, does that mean you would?'" Willow gave her best impression of Sheila Rosenberg. "I think this situation qualifies as one where I'm not supposed to follow you over that cliff, missy." She teased. Buffy laughed.
"What cliff?" The slayer asked innocently. "There's no cliff...just a nice, hot bath. A little soap, a little water...a few friends." Buffy smiled brightly. Willow laughed openly at the explanation. "So...she still calls me Bunny, huh?" Buffy asked. Willow rolled her eyes in response.
"Yeah. I've told her like a hundred times that your name is Buffy, but I don't think she'll ever get it right." The blonde chuckled wickedly at her next thought.
"Oh, I can think of a way that she might remember...like if she caught us making with the smoochies on her couch." Willow blushed at the idea.
"Maybe...but I don't think a heart attack is the best way to jog her memory."
"You're probably right."
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"Hello. I'm Dr. Thornton. Are you Mr. Harris?" The doctor asked, extending his hand to Giles.
"Uh, no." The watcher replied. "Rupert Giles. I'm the librarian at the high school and a friend of the family. I haven't been able to reach his parents yet. How is Xander?" Giles asked, shaking the doctor's hand.
"As well as can be expected. Xander has multiple contusions, a broken nose and a pretty severe concussion. How did this happen?" The doctor asked.
"I don't rightly know. He wandered into the library and collapsed. I just assumed he was attacked near the school. Is he going to be all right?"
"It might take some time...but I believe he'll make a full recovery." The doctor assured them. Cordelia let out the breath that she'd been holding.
"Can we see him?" The brunette asked anxiously.
"He's still unconscious...but I don't see any harm in him having visitors. He's in room 218. Just keep in mind...visiting hours end at 10:00."
"Thank you." Cordelia offered a grateful smile.
"Yes, thank you, Doctor." Giles chimed in.
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After renting two rooms and making arrangements to use the bath at the inn, the two couples parted in the hallway to get settled into their rooms. Gabrielle put their bag on the side table, then began helping the warrior out of her armor. The bard, having removed Xena's armor countless times before, wondered at her sudden nervousness. Everything was different this time. What had once been a simple helpful gesture now seemed much more intimate. Gabrielle felt uncharacteristically clumsy and shy.
Curious blue eyes followed the bard's movements, which only seemed to make her more inept as she fumbled with the clasps of Xena's breastplate. An amused smile lit the warrior's face as she noted Gabrielle's awkwardness. Xena relished the idea that, for once, the bard might be flustered. Too often in the past, it was Gabrielle who held all the cards and enjoyed making the warrior squirm.
Chuckling nervously, the bard avoided Xena's gaze and tried to concentrate on the task at hand. By the time she had removed the last of the armor, her face was flushed and her heartbeat erratic. She turned her back to Xena and tried to compose herself. The smile died on the warrior's lips and she moved to reassure the shaken bard. "Are you okay, Gabrielle?" Xena asked, lifting the bard's chin so that she could look into her eyes.
"Uh huh." Gabrielle responded, quickly moving away from the warrior to fidget with the contents of their bag on the table. Xena took a step toward her but stopped, deciding to let the matter drop.
"If you're ready...we should get our bath while the room is still available."
"Uh huh." The bard responded, still with her back to the warrior. Xena moved to the door and Gabrielle followed. Stopping at Buffy and Willow's room, the warrior knocked on their door. Giggling could be heard from behind the door and Xena wondered briefly if anyone would answer. Finally, the blonde appeared at the door with a blushing redhead in tow.
"It's our time to use the bath." Xena said. "You two ready?" Buffy smiled and nodded, while Willow gulped and shook her head. A lopsided grin graced the warrior's face as she considered the conflicting responses. "This way." She said, leading the group down the hall.
"It'll be completely painless, I promise." Buffy said, pulling the reluctant redhead down the hallway.
"We can get in first and turn our backs." Xena offered, hoping to make it easier for Willow. "You won't even know we're there."
"See." Buffy nudged the hacker, then turned to tease the warrior. "You're such a gentleman, Xena." Gabrielle laughed. Willow elbowed Buffy in the warrior's defense.
"Maybe it's not Xena I'm worried about." She said playfully. Xena chuckled at this.
"She's got you there." The warrior said, patting the slayer on the back.
"Are you implying that I'm less than a gentleman...er gentlewoman? That hurts." Buffy pouted unconvincingly. "I'm all with the opening doors, pulling out chairs and, let's not forget, the killing of monsters. Chivalry is my middle name." As if to prove her point, she made a big production of opening the bathroom door and sweeping aside to let them enter in front of her.
"Your middle name is Anne." Willow said seriously. Xena and Gabrielle laughed at the blonde's expense and Buffy dropped her eyes to the floor, looking hurt. The redhead stifled her laughter. "Hey, Buff, you know we were just teasing." She said, approaching the blonde. The slayer laughed wickedly, capturing Willow's waist and pulling her close.
"Gotcha."
"You tricked me!"
"Uh huh." Buffy proudly admitted. "You're a sucker for my pouty face." Willow admitted defeat and happily snuggled into the embrace. Xena and Gabrielle walked to the far end of the room, quickly undressed and climbed into the large pool of water in the center of the room.
"Are you two coming in?" Gabrielle asked. Buffy nodded.
"Show time." She said with a wink, releasing Willow. Much to the redhead's surprise, Buffy casually started undressing. Seeing Willow's deer-in-headlights expression, the blonde offered a compromise. "You turn that way. I'll turn this way. No peeking...slayer's honor." Willow nodded and turned around.
When Buffy entered the water, she chanced a glance at the floor near Willow and saw the only discarded items in evidence were shoes and socks. The warrior noticed the same thing and smiled. "Come on and get in." She coaxed. "We don't bite...well, except for Gabrielle. But I'll keep her under control."
"Xena!" The bard cried, slapping the warrior's arm.
"Well, you did bite her once already, Gabrielle." The warrior teased. Willow chuckled and finally started to relax. Gabrielle glared briefly at Xena in retribution for her remarks, but all was well when Willow finally slid into her corner of the large bathing pool. The room was dimly lit by a handful of candles that sat on the floor near the wall and the redhead was relieved when she realized that she couldn't see under the water and assumed that no one else could either. Civilized bathing commenced for a few minutes until a knock at the door prompted the redhead to try to hide by drowning herself.
The innkeeper's wife came and went quickly, dropping fresh towels inside the door and retrieving their dirty clothes. When she was gone and Willow still hadn't resurfaced, Buffy got worried and moved to pull her up. Babbling ensued when the redhead found herself oh so close to naked Buffy while the warrior and bard watched concernedly. Buffy tried to snap her out of it, but Willow was on a roll, incoherent phrases spilling from her mouth, until as a pleasant last resort the blonde covered her lips with a kiss. Short but sweet, it left Willow stunned and Buffy took the opportunity to move back to her neutral corner.
When the whole stressful bathing event was over, Willow lingered while the others left the room. Only after stepping out of the pool did she realize that her clothes were missing. She frowned momentarily, shifting uncertainly from foot to foot, before wrapping the towel tightly around herself and sneaking down the hallway to the room that she and Buffy shared.
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Giles led Cordelia to Xander's assigned room. Once inside, the brunette took one look at her ex-boyfriend's battered face and broke down. Giles offered what comfort he could, putting an arm around the girl. "You heard the doctor. He'll pull through. I'm sure Xander will be back to his old self within a few days." Cordelia nodded and wiped at her tears, trying to compose herself. "Did you want me to take you home?" The watcher offered. Cordy shook her head.
"I think I'll sit with him for a while."
"I hate to go...but I have to check on Oz and do something about Faith before she wakes up." Cordelia nodded.
"You can take the car if you want. I can get a ride home." She offered.
"No, that's all right. I'll just take a taxi." The watcher replied. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I'll be fine. Thank you, Giles." Cordelia smiled sincerely.
"All right then. I'll check in later." The watcher said before turning to leave. Cordelia sat down in a chair next to the bed and tentatively reached out to take Xander's hand.
"You're always trying to be a hero." She said softly, staring down at his hand in hers. "Only a crazy person would take on Faith, Xander. Look what she did to you." Cordy sighed sadly and rested her head on their joined hands.
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"There you are. I thought maybe you got lost on your way back." Buffy teased when the redhead stepped into the room.
"No. But someone stole my clothes." Willow pouted. Buffy chuckled.
"Don't look at me. It was the innkeeper's wife. She took them to be washed."
"Well...what am I supposed to wear?" Willow whimpered.
"Nothing." The redhead shot her a look of pure shock and Buffy rushed to explain. "Oh, I mean...nothing right now...until we get our clothes back...I mean...the towels, of course. That's all we've got." The more the blonde babbled, the wider Willow's smile grew. "What's so funny?" Buffy asked finally.
"You're just really cute when you babble, that's all."
Buffy grinned mischievously. "Cute enough to kiss?"
Willow nodded. "May-be."
Buffy chuckled as she closed the distance between them. "I'll take that as a yes." She whispered as she brought her lips to Willow's.
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Continued in Chapter 9