WDWG - Chapter 43: Errands

The weather had grown warmer over the succeeding weeks, pleasantly so for a California girl, but by English standards it was hot. The entire village was talking about the heatwave and according to the weathermen there was no relief in sight. Giles had opened the windows in the house allowing for the cross breeze to keep it cool, and they remained open at all times except when he and Buffy went out.

The general reaction to the summer temperatures amused Buffy, who, as a native Californian, would experience extreme heat when traveling inland from the coast. And compared to their sojourn in the desert, it felt like spring, so she just shrugged it off and slathered sunblock on her arms and face before heading outdoors.

Giles watched her from the doorway as she tended to the vegetable garden, harvesting green beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Buffy had really taken to gardening and, thinking on it, it made perfect sense to him. She had spent so much time hunting in the darkness and dealing with dead things, that nurturing plants, watching them grow, and reaping the harvest gave her a huge sense of satisfaction.

"You gonna stand there and watch?" she asked, looking up from her toil. The dirt smudged across her cheek and even with her hair pulled back some strands hung loosely about her face. It was yet another version of Buffy that made him thankful everyday for the turn of events after sealing the Hellmouth.

"Yes," Giles replied simply.

"You know, most men would offer to help their fiancées," she commented as she went back to filling the large plastic bowl with beans.

"I'm not most men," he responded, putting on his sunglasses. He was dressed in off white trousers and a light blue button-down short-sleeve shirt, and after walking over to the edge of the vegetable garden, he squatted down to her level. "And I'm not exactly dressed for harvesting. I need to head over to Hawkingridge for a few hours or so. Xander and Daniel have some ideas they want to run by me. Physical changes to the building. You could come with, if you like."

Buffy gave him a skeptical look, "Work from home day, remember? Besides, I would delay your departure by at least forty-five minutes," she answered, pointing to her dirt covered hands and face. "Go and be overseer guy." Leaning over the row of bean plants, Buffy gave him a quick kiss.

"I can wait," Giles nudged, taking her left hand in his right. Her tourmaline engagement ring was covered in soil and he wiped it off with his thumb. He'd take it to have it properly cleaned by a jeweler. Buffy was hard on jewelry, even without Slaying.

"Go on, Ru. I'm harvesting and weeding and we've been over there twice this week already. Anymore and we might as well make it a full week and set up offices," she griped and squeezed his hand before letting go. "I'm kind of liking the schedule we've set up with three days here and two over there. And as much as I like Daniel, we never get stuff done when we're together. It's like one big brainstorm all the time and we really need to focus on getting the curricula and the logistics finalized, and that only happens when I'm working here and he's there."

"But you're not working, you're gardening," he protested playfully.

"During my lunch hour!"

He let out a soft chuckle and wiped some dirt from her nose. "If you will not be dissuaded, maybe I will take some time and peruse Daniel's personal library now that he's shelved all his volumes in his office."

"Ah, new books. See, you'd forget about me the moment you got past the table of contents of the first book you opened," Buffy teased, picking some beans and placing them in her bowl."

"I could never forget about you," he countered with a playful huff. Admittedly he was curious as to what books his mentor had brought down with him when he moved into the Headmaster's quarters at Hawkingridge. The borrowed Watcher diaries Giles had gone through trying to establish a link between a Slayer's age and diminishing power had come up a dead end, leaving him frustrated and wondering if he just didn't have the right texts. They were no closer to finding a reason for the lapses in Buffy's Slayer gifts than they were a month ago. Thankfully there hadn't been any other strange bouts of weakness or loss of Slayer skills, but they still had no idea whether her expanded senses were affected, not having run into any vampires lately.

Shifting tactics, he offered, "Come with me and I'll buy you dinner. We can make an evening of it in Bristol, check out the shops, walk around the harbor, and eat seafood out in the open whilst watching the boats." The possibility of facing another vampire to test her senses were a lot higher in the seaport city than the rest of the West Country with it's underlying ancient spiritual energies - and with Seamus by their side, the likelihood of one sneaking up on them would be slim to none.

Buffy laughed. "Just go, you big baby, and when you get back, I'll have dinner waiting. Something from our bountiful harvest."

Giles gave her a smile, admitting defeat, "Alright, you win… this time." Leaning in to kiss her once again, he added, "I won't be gone long. A few hours at most and I'll even bring the horses in."

"Oh, just for that, I might make dessert, too," she responded appreciatively before kissing him with a little more passion. When they broke apart, Giles stood up with a grin. "What, no suggestive comment?" she asked.

"Didn't think one was necessary," he replied with a wink before turning and heading for the garage. Looking back over his shoulder, he called, "I'll leave you the Rover and take the Morgan."

Buffy watched Seamus accompany Giles as he left the garden. Her fuzzy companion would be back in a few minutes and she mused on how good life was. In fact, it was better than good. They'd settled into a nice routine, balancing their work with the Council with their private lives. Of course there were a few occasions where they would deviate from their norm, but they mostly kept to their schedules.

At Giles' keen suggestion, Buffy had been easing into driving. Her California drivers license was valid in country for another ten months, but she was going to need to apply for a British one if she was going to live in the UK and she needed to get used to the rules of the road, not to mention the roads and the cars themselves. The whole driving situation was completely opposite to driving in the US, but for some inexplicable reason, she found it easier than she did back Stateside. Not that she was going to complain. It still wasn't her favorite activity, but it did get her from place to place when Giles wasn't available to take her somewhere or if she just needed to run an errand or two.

And speaking of errands, Buffy had a few to run into Bath later, so she was thankful he took the Morgan. She had promised Giles that whenever possible, she would take Seamus with her as a precaution, and while the giant dog would be perfectly happy sitting in the front seat of the Morgan, tongue lolling out with the wind in his face, she wasn't all that keen on driving the sports car. Plus, the wolfhound just fit better in the Rover.

—

Seamus' new habit of racing the cars up and down the drive greatly amused Giles. Seeing the hound hit top speed showed off his raw power and elegance. Giles never feared for Seamus' safety because the dog never ran on the drive itself, but in the grass - a good ten feet or so between them - and when he came towards the end near the road, he veered off to patrol along the property line before turning around and heading back to the house.

There was a completeness about life at the farmhouse that there had never been before. Before, it was Giles' sanctuary, a place he came to relax and recuperate, to escape. Now it was home, and everyday it became more and more their home - his and Buffy's. He liked the little changes she made around the house. She rearranged the furniture in the lounge and dining room and updated the color scheme. There were other changes too, photos of them from their outings set around the house - his favorite being the photo of the two of them at Stonehenge that she had placed on his desk - local art on their walls, a new set of dishes from a rustic potter over in Cheddar. And there were always fresh flowers in the house every few days, whether she picked wild flowers on their walks with Seamus or cut flowers from their garden or bought a bouquet at the florist in the village.

While Giles loved Buffy the Slayer - her physical strength, her tactical acumen, the deadly weapon who held evil at bay for so long - he loved getting to know this new Buffy, the one who had time to live life and took every advantage of it. The one who discovered her passion for gardening and cooking. The one who let go of her troubles trail riding on Gabriel's back. The one who found she had no patience for putting puzzles together. The one who could finally sit still long enough to enjoy a lazy Sunday picnic and listen to the brook babble and the birds call to one another. Despite the lingering questions regarding the troubles she'd had with her Slayer gifts, she was at peace with herself and her surroundings and it reflected in everything she did.

It reflected in Giles as well. He was much more at ease with himself and within his relationship with Buffy, and he had come to an understanding with his past. This domestic Buffy had convinced Giles to read his father's recent personal diaries to show him the father he had never really come to know: the one who was proud of him from the very beginning and who loved him through all the turmoil, but never was able to really express it. She took the time to talk with him about her anxieties and fears as well as her expectations and hopes for the future, the open dialogue allowing him to find the strength to share more of himself with her as well.

Now he found that his drive to Hawkingridge wasn't met with the angst and turmoil he usually felt in his gut. He found he actually enjoyed it. He looked forward to seeing Daniel and Xander and making the necessary architectural changes to his ancestral house for the sake of the Academy. Things were progressing and he couldn't help but get excited.

The small network of Watchers was finding more Slayers throughout the world and he and Buffy and their team almost had a place to house and train them. Some of the girls had gone to Faith and Robin in Cleveland, but their space and resources were already taxed. The others were living in groups of five or more with the Watchers who found them, training in their regions while awaiting orders. There was also a new generation of Watchers who had graduated from their respective universities who now waited for the Academy doors to open to begin their instruction.

Thanks in most part to Xander, they were close to being finished with the first stage of the conversion. His right hand man had proven himself as an architect, a carpenter, and a leader. In just a month he had put together a construction team, retrofitted a section of the west wing of the house, and nearly finished out the new dormitory wing for the Slayers. Giles couldn't be more proud of him. Granted, there was a lot more to be done to get the Academy fully functional, but they could make do as long as they had a way to house the new Slayers. That had been the priority.

Turning onto the drive leading towards the great house, the Head Watcher felt a tug of a grin on his lips. He didn't know if there ever was a time he had smiled upon coming back to the stately home after his mother had died, but this was now a place where hope would reign, where good would learn how to triumph over evil, where camaraderie, respect, and trust would be built. He and Buffy would see to that.

After he parked the car, he ran up the steps and crossed the threshold of the main entrance and was met by Xander and Daniel in the main hall. After looking up and around at his disapproving and taciturn ancestors who haunted the walls, Giles eyed his companions. "Take these portraits down. Donate them to a museum, sell them at auction, or lock them in the attic for all I care. We'll find something more lively and appropriate to decorate the walls with."

"Well hello to you too there, Giles," Xander answered, reminding him of the pleasantries. Giles had the good grace to blush under the gentle admonishment.

"If you truly don't care even if they are still your property, selling them at auction could fund a training centre," Daniel suggested, taking Giles hand and giving it a manly shake. "Good to see you."

"Good to see you both as well," he replied with a shy smile. "I don't want to deal with them. If they will catch good money, use it where you see fit."

"Some of them are quite valuable, painted by famous artists. I am sure there are collectors, art houses and museums who would be interested. I'll set it up, dear boy," Daniel said as they turned to walk towards Xander's office. "Anyway, wait until you see the things this young visionary has come up with now."

"It's really not that exciting," Xander deferred. "We just need a yes or no."

"But it is. Don't put yourself down, son," the older man chided gently, putting his arm around Xander's shoulder. Craning his neck back to look at Giles, he said, "I don't know where you found this one, but he's a genuine asset. Needs a bit more confidence in himself, but there's a leader within struggling to surface."

"He came with the Slayer," Giles remarked dryly.

Xander glanced over his shoulder and shot his friend a glare.

"Lucky for us then that the Slayer only surrounds herself with the best."

Much to Giles' amusement, Xander stuck his tongue out at him before entering the office.

"So tell me about this idea of yours," the Giles said, making himself comfortable in a chair before crossing one leg over the other.

Xander unrolled his blueprints of the renovations for the Slayer dormitories on his drafting table. By the end of twenty minutes he'd pitched three new ideas, the first being the training center Daniel had alluded to, next new ecological changes to the dormitories to reduce energy costs, and finally a solution for the dormitories for the Watchers-in-training, which would require use of part of the East Wing, a part of the house Giles had deemed off limits.

Daniel watched as Giles crossed his arms, a grimace pasted on his face as he looked over the designs.

"The residence quarters that hold your stuff would still be restricted, Giles," Xander quickly pointed out. "They are on the second floor in the southeast part of the east wing. We can still keep that cordoned off, but you know as well as we do that we need to get the new class of Watchers trained and out there serving the new Slayers as soon as we can, and we need the space for them. There are only twenty-five new recruits and we can house them in the opposite corner, two to a room once we've modified the existing space."

Giles sighed, his eyes still on the blueprints, and ran his fingers over his family's private rooms. He knew Xander was right. He'd have to let go at some point and it might as well be now. He looked up and found Daniel's supportive hazel eyes seeking his and made his decision.

"Start the work immediately, Xander." He watched the younger man nod and make some notes in his journal. "The sooner we get more Watchers on the ground, the better off everyone will be. And Daniel was right, these really are some brilliant plans you've come up with. We are lucky to have you."

"Thanks, man. I'll go notify the crew and the household staff," Xander answered with his trademark wide grin, clapping his friend on the shoulder before leaving the other two men behind.

"Present that young man with a problem and he'll provide you with three different solutions, one of which is profoundly absurd, one that is entirely practical, and one that will blow your mind," Daniel mused, shepherding Giles from Xander's office.

"There's a reason I asked him to be my right hand man," Giles replied.

"I'm enjoying working with him."

"You pushed him for the Watcher's quarters."

"I did," the older man admitted. "We can't have them in the same wing as the girls. Besides the obvious age differences, their needs are very different."

"Much like having freshman and upperclassman dormitories on university campuses."

"Or graduate housing."

"Indeed."

"To that end, we will need to assess the situation again in six months time. We should probably provide a separate building for the Watchers," Giles considered as they headed to Daniel's office.

"I think you'll find that it will be the Slayers who eventually outgrow their housing," the older man suggested as they entered the sizable room. He settled himself into the chair behind the desk and set his cane in the umbrella stand behind him.

"Yes, you are probably right," Giles agreed, eyeing the books on the shelves next to him.

"How are your personal projects coming along?"

"Which ones?"

"Specifically, the one concerning Buffy's health," Daniel answered as he leaned back in his chair.

Giles' turned towards his former mentor, his green eyes narrowing. "What makes you think there is something wrong with Buffy?"

"Slayers don't get lost, Rupert, they have a great sense of direction. Buffy looked absolutely shattered that afternoon we first laid eyes on her, although I must say she had recovered rather nicely by the time we met for dinner. Also, your request for diaries concerning older Slayers led me to draw my conclusions."

"Buffy is an older Slayer, of course I am concerned about what that may mean for her in the future. She's surpassed the damned Cruciamentum by almost five years now and is a veteran of several apocalypses."

"There was a time you'd tell me anything and everything," Daniel reminded him gently, leaning back in his chair.

"Whether or not there are any issues with Buffy, I am not at liberty to discuss them with anyone." The matter of fact statement and the business like tone Giles employed closed the discussion.

Daniel took a deep breath and pointed to the bookcase next to Giles. "Two shelves over and one up. Crowley's diaries. Might be interesting. Especially volumes four and five. I would've sent them to you when you put the call out earlier, but I had boxed them up already. I only found them when I unpacked the other day."

"Nikki Wood's Watcher?"

"Nikki survived seven years as the Slayer. Same age as Buffy now. Crowley jotted down some strange effects on Nikki health. Did you know she was forced to suffer the Cruciamentum whilst pregnant?"

Giles shook his head, the clenching of his jaw the only visible expression of his outrage.

"Bernard never knew whether it was the side effects of the organic compounds he gave her or the effects of pregnancy on a Slayer, but while she was carrying she experienced strange lapses in her abilities. Once Robin was born though, they stopped."

"I can assure you that I am most definitely not injecting those bloody concoctions into Buffy and I can also say that she is definitely notpregnant," Giles said pointedly, his hackles up.

"It wasn't an accusation and more's the pity on the latter, Rupert," Daniel lamented, though there was a bit of mischief in his eyes. Standing up and grabbing his cane he stated, "Fatherhood might finally mellow you."

The two men stared at each other for a drawn out moment before Giles' lips twitched up into a smile.

"Though probably not," Daniel conceded amicably. "My library is yours, my boy. Take what you need. I'll look the other way and not breathe a word of it and should you need anything I don't have, let me know and I'll see what I can do to get my hands on it." With that he left Giles to peruse the shelves.

Giles trailed his fingers over the spines of the books in thought. He should probably come clean to the board about Buffy's issues. Even if she never experienced a problem again, it was important to document them and let the other Watchers know in case they held some key to the mystery. But it was true what he told Daniel. While Buffy still considered him her Watcher, theirs was an equal partnership and it wasn't his story to tell.

He stared at the seven volumes that marked Nikki Woods' tenure as Slayer. From the few excerpts he'd read during his days at the Academy, he'd known Crowley's entries to be notoriously terse. And while he wouldn't need volumes four and five since they dealt with her pregnancy and the aftermath, perhaps six and seven would yield more interesting information as to her health and mental state leading up to her murder.

As he pulled the volumes from their rest, he stared at the two volumes preceding the two. As if he needed another reason to outlaw the Cruciamentum. Subjecting the poor girl to those terrors during her pregnancy was criminal. Realizing that he might miss essential clues to her whole story, he took the rest of the volumes off the shelf as well and placed them all down on the desk.

No doubt Buffy would also find it interesting to read Nikki's story from her Watcher's perspective. Spike's account of Nikki's death was no doubt biased and meant to raise doubt in Buffy's mind about herself during a particularly vulnerable time in her life. Giles was fairly certain they would find a very different story, even in Crowley's extremely truncated narrative.

—

Buffy put away the latest volume of Thomas Giles' diary before closing the lid of her laptop. Rolling her shoulders, she looked at her dog and asked, "What do you think? Is it time to run into town?"

Seamus yawned and stood up leisurely.

"I'm sorry, am I disturbing your nap?" she laughed as he shook his body. "Well, I need to go pick up my new glasses. This close work is killing me."

He cocked his head and looked at her.

"Not literally, you silly goof." He really was quite expressive and she ran her hand through his shaggy fur. Obviously he didn't understand everything she said, but it was all too easy to anthropomorphize his actions an expressions. "Come on, let's go."

—

Xander wandered into Daniel's office finding Giles. "Hey, man, why don't you show me where you want that temporary door placed so we can section that part of the house off?"

Giles looked up from the diaries he had just stacked. "Sounds good."

"Whatcha got there?"

"The diaries concerning the life of Robin's mother."

"You planning on giving them to him?"

Giles scrunched his face in thought. "They belong to Daniel, but once I've finished with them and have copies made, I don't see why Robin shouldn't have them. I'll speak with Daniel about it."

"Need any help with the research?"

"You have enough on your plate, Xander, but thank you. It shouldn't take too long to get through these."

Heading towards his family's apartments, Giles and Xander climbed the stairs and wandered down the expansive halls.

"Never thought I'd see anything like this, much less live and work here," the younger man commented.

"It can be a tad overwhelming," Giles answered.

"Understatement much?"

"Quite."

So, this is the corridor. Do you just want to block the whole thing off? Or part way? I wasn't sure which rooms were used and I didn't want to go snoopin'."

"Thank you. Let's put the door here. I expect to have the rooms cleared out in a few months. As you might imagine, it is a rather daunting task."

"I would've just torched my parents' house, but the Hellmouth got it first, so yeah, I get it."

Giles winced. "How are you faring, Xander?"

"Starting to process, Giles, but I really don't want to go down memory lane," the younger man said, pulling out his tape measure and taking the width of the hallway before writing down the dimension in his notebook and doing the same for the height.

"Fair enough. Just remember that I am around should you want to talk."

"Thanks... and you know, if you want to do the same."

Giles nodded.

"Ready to head back down?"

"Go ahead. I'll catch you up in a little while."

"You know where to find me."

—

Buffy tied Seamus' leash to the lamp post outside the optometrist's shop. "Sit and be good. I'll only be a few minutes," she told him before entering the store. Looking out the window, she saw him sitting contentedly, his large tongue drooping from his mouth as he panted in the afternoon heat. The eye doctor and her staff were dog friendly and had left a bowl of water out for their patients' pets, so the wolfhound could drink if he was thirsty.

Walking up to the receptionist, she said, "I'm Buffy Summers. I got a call that my glasses have come in?"

"Yes, have a seat please and Marcus will be out to ensure the fit."

"Thanks."

Buffy sat down in the chair closest to the window to keep an eye on Seamus. People passed him and he looked up at them expectantly, his friendly eyes seemingly begging for attention. A few took a moment to pat him on the head before continuing on. A moment later, she felt a sort of odd tingle in her spine, alerting her to an inhuman presence.

"Miss Summers?" a young man asked as he approached with a tray in his hands. "I'm Marcus. I have your-"

He was interrupted by Seamus, who started barking and growling from the other side of the glass, frantically pulling on his leash as he lunged, trying to get inside. Buffy stood and evaluated the man. His eyes flashed a metallic purplish hue before he turned away from her.

When he faced her again, his eyes had changed to a steel blue color. He looked perplexed at the commotion the giant dog was making outside and looked to her in question. "A-animals usually like me," he said in confusion.

"He's… uh… very protective," she managed, trying to assess whether she were in any danger from the individual before her.

"Perhaps you should go to him and calm him down? I… I'm perfectly harmless," Marcus answered cautiously.

Buffy assessed his demeanor and relaxed, noting his unthreatening body language. "Yeah, I'll just be a minute."

—

Giles slowly opened the door to his parents' apartments. He wasn't sure when it was he'd been in last and he wasn't expecting the rooms to be as brightly lit or as dust free as they were. He supposed the staff kept the rooms tidy despite the fact that it lacked residency, and he marveled at the display of opulence. It had been a long time since he'd entered their chambers and he couldn't remember all the details.

When his mother had been ill, the rooms were kept dark and there had been an oppressive and sickly haze that had invaded his parents' quarters during that time. It had made the chambers feel very small in his memory, contrasting with the actual dimensions of their sitting room, dressing rooms, and the great bedroom.

In the corner of the sitting room were sat the boxes from his father's house in London. Deciding they could wait another week, Giles walked into the bedroom and over to his father's dressing room, knowing what he sought was in the wall safe behind the large painting of his parents from their wedding.

He studied the couple in the painting as he took it off the wall. His parents had truly loved each other. Tracing the outline of his mother, Giles took in a soft breath marveling at her youth and vitality, supposing it was only natural for the traumatic memories of her illness to overshadow other happier ones. Setting the portrait down, he turned to the safe in the wall. The combination was simple, the numbers correlating to the three most important dates in his father's life: the day he was called to serve his Slayer, the day she died, and his wedding day, and then a simple identification spell. Giles had been one of four granted access besides its owner.

Peering into the safe, Giles saw several files and small parcels of what he assumed were family heirlooms. Finally he found what he was looking for and pulled out a small purple velvet box. Stuffing it into his trouser pocket, he pulled the remaining items out. As he opened one of the older file folders, he found the Letters Patent granting the Baronetcy to his ancestor Sir Richard Henry Giles in 1758 by King George II - an elevation that benefited both parties at the time in that it rewarded his ancestor with title and power for some noble deed and granted the crown access to various tithes and taxes and manpower to fund what eventually became known as The Seven Years War.

Giles ran his hands through his hair. He would need to take the documents and heirlooms home with him, they were too valuable and couldn't sit at Hawkingridge any longer now that it belonged to the Council. He chuckled as he imagined Sir Richard turning in his grave with rage at having them removed from the property. Needing a box to carry the contents of the safe down with him, the current Baronet walked over to the stack of boxes and opened one to empty it of its contents and reuse it.

—

Buffy stared at the pasta primavera on the stove. It wasn't like Giles to be late and he wasn't answering his phone. As the evening wore on, she'd even gone out and brought the horses in from the field and settled them in the stable for the night. Picking the phone up, she dialed another number.

"Hey, Xand, it's me."

"Oh, hey, Buff, what's up?"

"I haven't heard from Giles and he's late coming home. Is he with you?"

"I thought he left a while ago, but I can't be sure, he never stopped by to say he was leaving, hang on." Looking out the window, Xander saw that Giles hadn't left yet. "His car is still here."

Buffy let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. He probably got caught up in some of Daniel's books."

"Yeah, probably, you know how he is. I'll go find him and tell him to head home."

"Thanks, Xand. You might want to tell him to pick up a pizza or something on the way home. The veggies in the pasta are now too soggy and the sauce is all congealed."

"Right, I'll chastise him for you and kick him out."

"Thanks. We'll see you Friday?"

"Yep. See ya then."

After setting the phone down on the table, Buffy took a seat, dropped her head in her hands, and started to laugh. Giles was fine, having gotten distracted by something. No doubt he would be contrite upon his return.

An hour later, a very excited wolfhound whined and begged to be let out the door to greet his tardy master. Buffy smiled and opened the door to Giles, who carried a large box and a sack full of food in his hands, a look of contrition on his face.

"I'm so sorry, my love." His tired green eyes begged her forgiveness as he set his parcels down in the foyer and took her hands in his. "I lost track of the time."

She pulled him into an embrace and gave him a long, languid kiss. "Just glad you're okay," she answered when she heard the plastic from the bag rustle. "Leave it Seamus!" The dog gave her a hurt look and then turned, leaving them for his bed in the library.

"I got enough for two if you haven't eaten," Giles offered.

"I did. The pasta couldn't really wait."

He looked sheepish and averted his gaze, apologizing again, "I'm sorry."

Buffy smiled at him. He was so adorable. "Come on, you need to eat."

He picked up the sack of food from the fish and chip shop he'd stopped at on his way home and followed her into the kitchen, grabbing a beer from the fridge and a glass from the cupboard before sitting down at the table.

"So what book or books had you so entranced you forgot to come home to your fiancée?" she asked with a teasing smile as he took a bite of the fried cod.

"Actually, it wasn't a book. I uh… needed to get a few things from my father's safe - the contents of which are in the box I brought home - and ended up sorting through the boxes from his place in London and then moved on to itemizing the furniture and things in the apartments. Most of it will go to auction."

"Oh, Ru," she began, placing a hand on his forearm. "I thought we were going to do that together. How are you holding up?"

Smiling at her concern, Giles answered, "Surprisingly well. It needed to be done. Next time I will do the same with Miri's things. How was your day?"

"I got quite a bit done today. Oh, hey, I thought you said the West Country was demon free."

"For the most part. As you know, port cities are exempt from that general rule."

"Well, there is this demony guy named Marcus who works as an optician at the optometrist's office in town."

"Really?"

"Really, really. Looks like us. I didn't feel any magick surrounding him, so I am fairly sure it wasn't a glimmer, but his eyes flashed this metallic purply color and Seamus went ape shit when he saw him. I'm really glad he was tied up and outside or it could've been bad news."

Giles shoved a couple chips into his mouth and thought about the description she gave.

"Oh, and he set my early warning alarm off, so he fits the demony category."

"You detected him?"

Buffy smiled. "Yeah, it seems all my Slayer abilities are back online."

"That's wonderful!"

"Yeah, well, Marcus was actually pretty cool. I think he sensed something about me, but we both sort of pretended everything was normal after I got Seamus to calm down and now I have my glasses for close work."

Giles drank deeply from his glass before expounding, "Could be fairy, which isn't demon, but still would've set the alarm bells off as he's not human…"

"He's not a threat, whatever he is," Buffy said, casually stealing a chip.

"Doesn't seem so," he agreed, finishing off the last of the fish.

They stayed in the kitchen talking for a little while longer until Giles finished his beer.

Taking his hand, she pulled him up from his chair. "You look exhausted, Ru, come on, let's go to bed."