Title: An Aussie Valentine
Author: Gail Christison

(notes and disclaimer with part one)

Part 6

Still breathing hard, Buffy leaned forward and kissed him tenderly before looking contentedly into his eyes. "They always say to watch out for the quiet ones."

He smiled back contentedly. "Now you know why...not that either of us is even remotely quiet when..."

She giggled and shifted. "Hold that thought. I think our timing is off today."

His face screwed up. "Oh, Lord. Go and start the shower. I'll be right behind you."

"But you already had a shower this morning...won't you get all pruny?"

"I'd rather be pruny than...oh...for goodness...did you *have* to use honey? It's every where, including some highly inappropriate places..."

"Then we'll put the sign out when we go to dinner," she called back. "New sheets tonight."

"It wasn't the sheets I was worried about," Giles muttered. He got out of bed awkwardly, doing an impression of a bandy-legged bronc-buster for a few seconds before deciding that there was nothing for it and striding to the shower and blessed relief.

Ultimately it was a more than pleasant experience, Buffy taking it upon herself as her personal responsibility to restore things to their previous order. He discovered she was also rather good with a soapy washcloth, good enough to provoke a partial erection by the time she was done.

"Are we done?" She asked playfully when she finally straightened. "Or would you like me to check every square inch again, personally?"

Giles cleared his throat and began soaping her shoulders and back before moving lazily to begin tracing soapy circles around the soft breasts.

"I think we're making good progress, but I'm not quite done yet." The soap moved south and Buffy gasped as he proved he was nothing if not thorough.

"Mmm...Now I think we're done," she told him, confiscating his soap before he started to enjoy himself just too much. Now that the intense strain of the last twenty-four hours was finally starting to abate, more basic impulses were starting to become insistent. "I'm starved."

"So much for the joys of romance," he grumbled, his errant hands still doing things to her back and buttocks that were making it awfully hard to concentrate on food.

"Rupert, I love you, and I'd happily spend all day in bed with you...as long as there's food. Ohhh..."

Giles smiled as she groaned and pressed against him when he slid his fingers back over her hips and down the sensitive trail to her silky groin, and the now hypersensitive flesh beyond.

"You're not playing...fair," she breathed, pushing against his provoking touch, before sliding her arms around his neck. "But I still love you. Of course, I'd love you even more if I wasn't so *hungry*."

"Is that so?" He teased. "And how do I feed this...hunger?"

It was difficult for Buffy to speak while Giles was caressing the sex he'd so expertly inflamed once again.

"Okay," she breathed, arching back to allow him even better access, "so you can take me out to dinner instead..."

"Woolloomooloo," Giles provided. "And Harry's has been here in one form or another since at least 1945. It's an institution, and a famous one. Surely you can't tell me that smell doesn't make you ravenous?"

Buffy made a small sound of capitulation and slid her arm through his. "Okay. Feed me," she told him cheerfully.

When Giles returned it was with two parcels. Buffy eyed the concoction in his right hand. "What *is* that and should I be afraid?"

"This...this is my dinner," Giles announced with genuine relish. "I've dreamed about these for years."

"You've been here before?"

"Well, um, yes. Council business. Not exactly the conversational kind, and over twenty years ago, actually, but I never forgot the smell or the taste of one of these..."

Again, Buffy eyed what looked like some kind of mini pie with mushy peas piled on it, and ketchup over all that, as though it might explode.

"Tell you what," Giles proposed. "You try this and if you don't like it, I've brought you a hot dog with the lot...as American as they could make it for you."

He was so genuinely pleased, so uncharacteristically kid-like and happy with his weird Aussie food that Buffy relented. She was starved and it smelled glorious, regardless of how it looked.

Giles watched her take a big mouthful, pies, peas, and meat and gravy filling and caught the edges as they fell apart, as Aussie meat pies were wont to do, then grinned as her expression went from extreme wariness to surprise to comical pleasure, to sheer bliss.

"Mm...oh, God, this is...you never said. Giles, this is...Mm..." She retrieved gravy and peas from her chin with the tip of her tongue. "Do I have to eat the 'dog?"

Amused, and obviously pleased, Giles shook his head and handed her the rest of the 'Pie and Peas,' before disappearing for several moments and returning with another one for himself.

When they were done, and sharing a soda, Buffy looked up at him and watched the sea breeze lifting the salt-and-pepperish locks and caressing a flushed but contented face. He looked so different...at peace.

"You didn't tell me that mushy peas and ketchup are like...the food of the Gods," she teased, enjoying this small moment, when for the first time in all their years together, she was seeing a glimpse of what Rupert Giles might be like without the weight of the world on his shoulders...

He looked down at her and grinned crookedly, remembering the pleasure on her face after her first taste. "They are absolutely brilliant, aren't they?"

"Totally," Buffy agreed, wishing their vacation could last forever.

The walk back to their hotel room was a long one, and Buffy was relieved and pleased to find not one vampire or demon on the way, only the silence of perfect companionship, leaning against Giles' warm side, his arm protectively around her as they ambled back, enjoying the beautiful night.

The magic seemed to fade away when they stepped into the relatively harsh lights of the lobby, and a slightly more subdued pair rode the elevator and let themselves in to their room.

Buffy went to the window and drew the curtains right back without turning on the lights. The night ocean view was quite breathtaking, and somehow made it feel a little magical again.

Giles came and slid his arms around her, smiling as she leaned against him. "It's Valentine's Day...as of about twenty-five minutes ago."

She tensed, obviously surprised, for a moment or two, then relaxed into his arms again. "Not exactly where or how I planned to spend it. Besides, I'd have sworn it was tomorrow..."

"Well it is, more or less, in the US...international date line, and all that."

"Oh." The note of disappointment was fleeting. There would soon be another chance to give him her gift, but it would have been nice...she sighed. "Well there's always next year."

Buffy turned in his arms, wrapped hers around him, hugging him tightly and sighing contentedly when he returned the bear-hug with one of his own...warm and engulfing and just about one of her most favourite things in the world.

Giles kissed the top of the blonde head. They'd come so far; overcome so many obstacles. He found it almost impossible at times to grasp that it was real...that it wasn't all some sort of mirage...or hallucination...that he wouldn't ultimately wake up alone yet again, to a nightmare realisation that it had been nothing more than dreams and mirrors...

"Actually I do have something for you," he said eventually.

Buffy pulled back enough to look up at him speculatively. "You do?"

"Well, yes. I'll just..."

While Giles went to his suitcase and undid the combination lock, Buffy slipped around her side of the bed and picked up her make up bag, slipping a small box from it and returning to the window just before he did.

When she realised he'd brought the soft black velvet bag Rogan had given him with the stones in, she wondered if she'd made a mistake. She was even more puzzled when he removed the protective amulet and undid the cord that drew the top of the bag closed.

She slipped the package in her hand into her jacket pocket, preferring to wait until she knew what he was up to. At least, she told herself, she would finally get to see what they'd done all those tests for and why they'd come halfway round the world to do it...

"Happy Valentine's Day, love," he said, surprising her again, before setting first one piece, then another and another on the glass top of the small breakfast table in front of the window.

Buffy stared. There were trillion cut earrings, a teardrop pendant and a bracelet set with six brilliant cabochons of the same stone, all set in exquisite white gold. The stones were the most intense, beautiful blue colour and when turned slightly, red and violet lights danced in their depths, entrancing her.

"The gem is called tanzanite, though it's actually a form of zoisite, but you won't find any specimens anywhere to match these. "

Buffy looked up at him fondly, used to his tendency to lapse into academic jargon, and waited for him to finish.

"Millenia ago, in what is now Tanzania, two powerful sorcerers, one Isgoth and one of the 'Old ones' who used to walk this Earth, fought an apocalyptic battle over its very survival. At times incredibly intense bursts of powerful magical energy missed their target and hit the earth itself. These gems were cut from stones that were struck by that energy. The colour is not only from the intense heat, but from the magicks that remain locked in them."

"You mean they're actually evil? I knew there'd be a catch."

Giles sighed. "In a manner of speaking, since the power contained within them in the wrong hands could be catastrophic. However, in the right hands they're no more dangerous than ordinary rubies, emeralds or diamonds."

Buffy picked up the pendant and turned the stone to catch the light, watching the fiery red and purple flashes in the intense blue-violet of the stone. "So they're mine, to have and to hold, and to keep away from the bad guys, forever and ever?"

He smiled fondly. "When Rogan informed me that we had been chosen as the next Guardians of the Stones, I asked him as personal favour to me, to have the Isgoth Mages arrange to fashion the uncut stones into these. Only they could produce strong enough wards to allow the cutting of the stones without drastic consequences."

"And...they didn't mind? I mean, I love them, Rupert, but I'm guessing they didn't love the idea of making something that dangerous pretty just for me..."

"Ah, but you see, when I discussed the idea of cutting them with Rogan he saw immediately the value of hiding something in plain sight. Tanzanite is no longer unusual. In fact, you can even buy it on the internet these days." He rolled his eyes. "The plan is that these are to be yours for as long as you live, and it was agreed that the best way to make them 'invisible' while in your possession, was to do the previously unthinkable..."

Buffy looked down at the magnificent stones. "It didn't spoil them, did it? Make them less than they were before?"

Giles shook his head. "There was always that possibility, but as you can see, they're quite magnificent and unlikely to be matched anywhere. The power also remains firmly locked within them. The Isgoth Mages and their craftsmen are obviously of the highest calibre. Nothing was overlooked. The settings even contain lapis-lazuli for additional protection."

Buffy turned the pendant over.

"You see," Giles pointed out. "The fine design in the metal...contains crystals of lapis-lazuli to enhance its protective qualities."

All Buffy knew was that the pieces were exquisite and that, as if it wasn't already, this Valentine's Day was continuing to turn out to be one she would never forget.

"I'm glad they weren't spoiled. I think this is one job as the Slayer that I'm going to really enjoy doing."

Giles chuckled. "I thought that might be the case."

And then, unexpectedly, he drew something from his pocket.

With a combination of fear and excitement, Buffy allowed him to place the item gently in her palm before looking down very slowly.

"Oh my God," she whispered. "It's beautiful."

The smallest, but most spectacular Tanzanite gem of all was an oval set above a circlet of fiery diamonds, on a band of the same design and material as the other pieces, except that tinier diamonds were also inlaid in the shoulders of the ring.

She looked up very slowly.

He cleared his throat. "I...um...well, we don't want your mother 'haunting my arse off' do we?"

Her eyes grew very bright and she passed him the ring, extending her hand and allowing him to hold her fingers as he slid it on. It fit perfectly, as she knew it would.

"So..." she said softly.

"So..." he agreed, not relaxing until she smiled...a slow burning grin that glowed even more brightly than the sparkling gems on her fingers and on the table.

"So...does this mean I'm going to have to dance naked by the light of the moon, now?"

Giles flushed red, something he did occasionally, not because he was truly embarrassed by much of anything anymore, but simply because he was Rupert.

A rush of love for this man who loved her like no other, and who could still be momentarily caught by surprise and blush so adorably, or be driven to giggle fits even in the middle of the most serious research, by something genuinely funny or whimsical, almost overwhelmed her.

"I was hoping," he admitted in a serious voice that convinced her for all of a few seconds...at least until the look of alarm on her face sent him into one of those infamous fits of giggles.

It wasn't long before Buffy joined him. It was some time before either of them could look each other in the face without starting up again.

"Oh...God...I can't believe we've made it this far. We should have either died or killed each other by now," she wheezed, finally able to get the words out.

"I can," Giles managed, coughing, and banishing the giggles with equal difficulty. "I've had fifty years to get it right. I was willing to concede you a half dozen or so to catch up."

Buffy's cheeks flamed, despite the teasing tone of his voice. She had needed every one of those years, and far too many apocalypses, ill-fated love affairs, not to mention *deaths* before coming anywhere near getting it right.

"Well, now that I'm closing in, maybe we could speed up the next stage so we can get to planning the one after that? I was kinda thinking sooner, rather than later...?"

Giles' jaw dropped, almost literally. Buffy was still young...and still very much Buffy. He'd always been certain it would be a very long time before she would want to consider the possibility of children, much less the less attractive aspects of child-bearing.

She moved very close to him and cupped his face with her hands. "Oh, don't worry: you're going to have to deal with me when I'm eight months pregnant and the stretchmarks are like train-tracks, the potty breaks are out of control, my boobs hurt and I can't lie on my stomach anymore...and those are just the ones I can think of right away..." She paused, a mildly appalled look on her face, then remembered what the point of it all was and smiled again. "You really will probably catch hell for all those, but there is nothing I want more than to spend the rest of my life with you and to make a small Giles and a small Buffy...in no particular order and not really caring who looks like who..."

Giles was still staring at her with wonderment as her arms moved around his neck. "I gather that this means you will marry me, then?"

Buffy kissed the tip of his nose, then his mouth. "Marry you, have your babies, help you find and train all those future Slayers...and have great sex until we're a hundred...ish," She confirmed. "I can't guarantee I can change overnight, but want to learn how to be better...to take care of you as much you've taken care of me. I'll probably make lots of horrible mistakes...but I will *never* stop loving you...if you still think you can put up with me, that is..."

Giles half smiled, then looked deep into her eyes. "And you're sure?"

Buffy stared back at him for a long moment, trying to fathom the lingering doubt that could spawn a question like that even now. And then she pulled the small box from her pocket and gave it to him.

Mystified, he opened it and stared at the contents. "Buffy..."

"Well, hey, you know me...not so good with the waiting. I figured if you weren't ready to do it, I would."

Giles lifted the heavy gold band from the velvet box, examining its finely worked design and bevelled edges, and reading the Latin engraving on the inside, courtesy of a protection spell from Willow. He didn't know what to say, so he simply handed it to her, and waited while she slid it on his finger. It fit perfectly.

Buffy beamed, her joy infectious. "We'll need it for the ceremony, but it looks kinda great there, doesn't it?"

Slowly, Giles grinned too, years slipping away, shadows disappearing as the truth sank in and the shape of his future unfolded before him.

"Yes, it does," he said softly, his voice charged. "It truly does."

The End