"…mad at us?" Buffy stared into the distance as she sat at the table, her chin in her hand. Around her, the Slayers in Training were all talking, gossiping about this or that. "Buffy." Buffy started, glancing over guiltily, realizing that Willow had been talking to her.

"Huh? What?" she asked. Willow sighed. Buffy had been in La La Land ever since she'd gotten home from school.

"I asked if you thought Giles was still mad at us?" Willow repeated. Willow narrowed her eyes as a dreamy look passed over Buffy's face. She'd been doing that every time Giles' name had been mentioned. "Buffy?"

"Hmm?" Buffy dragged herself out of her daydream. "Oh, Giles, um, I doubt it. You know he can't stay mad at us long." Buffy pointed out, shrugging. Willow looked confused.

"Didn't you talk to him last night?" she asked. [Why does Buffy look so guilty?] Buffy shook her head.

"Nah, couldn't find him." Buffy told Willow carelessly. A little too carelessly for Willow's taste.

"But, he's not here. He just took off and left a note about some possible new information…"

"Willow, don't worry about it. He'll get over it. Trust me." Buffy said, before pushing back her chair and walking quickly from the kitchen. [God, I am the worst liar. Willow is never going to buy this.]

Buffy made her way through the crowded house, stepping over the sprawled bodies of the potential Slayers, as she made her way up to the relative privacy of her room. Closing the door and locking it, Buffy leaned against it.

Giles had had it easy. He'd left before everyone came home, before there would be questions asked. All he'd had to do to explain his absence was leave a note about research. Not a soul in this house would question that. It was Buffy who was going to have to lie and sneak. And, Lord knew, she sucked at undercover. Sighing, Buffy went to the closet and began looking for an outfit for that night.

Marco's was a nice place, so a skirt was a must. Plus, Buffy wanted to knock Giles' socks off. Buffy rummaged through her selections, tossing some on the bed for a later decision, dismissing others immediately.

Buffy found the perfect dress in the back of her closet, a simple black dress. She must have bought it before her leap from Glory's tower, because she certainly hadn't been big on the clothes shopping after that. Buffy held it in front of her as she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. It was sleeveless and would show off her arms, and the scoop neck would give Giles a tantalizing view without making her look slutty. Buffy smiled. And of course, it was a short dress, so it would show off her legs.

Tossing it onto the bed, Buffy dove back into the closet for shoes. It took her longer than she expected, because she only found one of the pair she wanted. After a few minutes, Buffy emerged from the closet, victorious, a shoe in each hand.

Buffy pulled her overnight bag out from under the bed and began packing the things she'd need for the evening; her dress, the shoes, make up. Buffy hesitated and then went to her dresser. She pulled out a black silk nightgown that she'd originally bought for Riley, but never had the heart to wear while they were still together. Riley wouldn't have appreciated the floor length column of silk. Buffy had known that he would've yanked it from her body, breaking the delicate spaghetti straps, going straight for the sex. Buffy sighed as her fingers caressed the silk. [Giles will appreciate it.] she thought. [He'll totally enjoy the way the silk will feel against his skin.] Buffy shivered as she thought of Giles removing the silk from her body.

[Oh, wow. Way too hot in here now.] Buffy thought, fanning her face. She crammed the nightgown, as well as any other necessities she might need if she and Giles spent the night together, into her bag. Zipping it closed, Buffy glanced at the clock. It was nearly 6:30. [Damn it!] Buffy knew she was going to have to hustle if she wanted to be on time to meet Giles.

Buffy stuck her head out of her bedroom window, checking for anyone who might be watching. She didn't see anyone, so she cautiously clambered out onto the roof and hitched her bag to a handy tree limb. Climbing back into the house, Buffy grabbed a jacket and opened her bedroom door, dashing into the hallway.

"Oomph." Buffy grunted as she'd immediately collided with the person standing outside her door. Well, person was probably too loose of a term. Buffy had slammed into Spike, who'd been just about to knock on her door. [Shit.] Buffy thought, as Spike stared down at her soulfully. [So not who I want to see right now.]

"Buffy, we need to talk." Spike said, his voice as serious and expressive as he could make it. Buffy rolled her eyes, and pushed past him.

"Not now, Spike, I need to patrol." she told him. Trundling down the stairs, Buffy left Spike to trail behind her.

"I'll come, help out." he said, seeing his chance to separate her and Giles forever slipping away. Buffy whirled.

"NO!" she said in a panic. Seeing the shock on Spike's face, Buffy took a deep breath and calmed herself. "No." she said again, calmer this time. "I need to patrol by myself tonight."

"Don't you want to know what you're Watcher's up to tonight?" Spike asked as Buffy walked away. [Undercover time.] Buffy thought, whirling around.

"Giles is working on a prophecy." she told him. Spike snickered.

"Is that what he told you children?" Spike leaned toward Buffy. "Your Watcher man's gotta date." he whispered. Buffy's eyes widened, and then, recovering herself, she laughed.

"Giles? A date? Please, Spike, don't make me laugh. Giles is entirely too old to be dating." Buffy sent a silent apology to her Watcher for making such an insane statement. With that, Buffy turned her back on the vampire. Calling to Willow that she was going on patrol, Buffy flounced out of the house.

Spike watched Buffy go, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. If Buffy didn't catch her Watcher out on his date, she'd never come back to him. Spike turned and headed toward the basement. [Time to think of plan B.]

Once outside, Buffy ran to the tree, jumped up and snatched down her bag. Slinging it over her shoulder, Buffy started running towards the restaurant.

"Buffy!" Willow called, as she heard the door slam. She dashed out to the living room, flung open the door, but Buffy was gone.

"Something's definitely going on." Willow muttered to herself. She walked back to the laundry room and picked up the clothes basket piled high with clean and folded clothes. She went from room to room, delivering clothing to it's owners. Her last stop was Buffy's room. Opening the door, Willow froze in her tracks.

Buffy's room was a disaster area. Dresser drawers were open, the closet was open, clothes were strewn all over the place. Willow dropped the laundry basket and ran out of the room.

"Spike!" she yelled, trundling down the stairs. Spike burst out of the basement, expecting trouble.

"What? What's wrong?" he asked urgently. Willow skidded to a halt in front of him.

"Have you been in Buffy's room?" Willow demanded. Xander arrived in the kitchen, drawn by Willow's voice.

"No." Spike said defensively. Willow glared at him.

"Are you sure? 'Cause it looks like someone ransacked her room, maybe to steal some clothing." Xander stood menacingly behind Willow.

"Spike, if you've been in…" he started. Spike snorted.

"Whaddya gonna do? Sic Red here on me?" Spike mocked. Xander glowered at him. "And I'm telling you, I wasn't in her room."

"And we're supposed to believe that?" Xander demanded. Willow had been watching Spike the whole time, and placed a reassuring hand on Xander's chest.

"I think he's telling the truth." she told him. Xander looked down in surprise.

"Really? Well, ok." Xander shifted uneasily. "But just know…" Spike waved him off.

"Yeah, yeah, stake through the heart, dust on the wind." Ignoring Spike, Willow turned to Xander.

"There is definitely something weird going on." she muttered. She turned, as someone began pounding on the door.

Buffy arrived at Marco's only five minutes late. She'd stopped at Willy's to change, and she'd paused to threaten him with death if he told anyone. That and a stupid vampire had challenged her as she'd come through the park. But he was dust now, and she'd made it.

Buffy gave herself a quick pat down, checking that everything was still in place. She straightened her skirt, made sure her bra straps weren't showing and dusted off any residual vampire dust. Flipping out a mirror, she checked her hair and make up. Buffy shoved the mirror in her little black evening bag and hitched her overnight bag over her shoulder. Then taking a deep breath, Buffy swept into the restaurant.

The hostess greeted Buffy with an incredulous look.

"May I help you?" she asked, staring at Buffy's overnight bag. Buffy nodded.

"Rupert Giles' table." Buffy requested. The hostess nodded.

"Would you like to check your bag?" she suggested, pointing to the coat check. Buffy followed her gaze.

"Oh, sure." she said, striding over and giving the girl behind the counter her bag. Buffy smiled as she was given a numbered slip, and walked back to the hostess.

"Follow me, please." Buffy trailed behind her as they wound between the tables. The woman led Buffy to a small table in the back of the restaurant, hidden behind some green bushy plants.

Giles rose as he saw Buffy approach, smoothing down his jacket. Buffy felt her heart skip a beat. [He looks amazing in a suit.] Buffy thought. Giles sent a smile of thanks at the hostess as she told them their waiter would be right with them. Reaching out, Giles took Buffy's hand and brought it to his lips.

"You look beautiful." he told her, kissing her knuckles. Buffy blushed.

"Thank you." she stammered. "You look fabulous. I forgot how great you look in a suit." Giles held her chair while she sat, then sat across from her. For a moment there was silence, as they stared at each other. Finally Buffy laughed.

"We've known each other for how long, and now we're speechless." Giles ducked his head as he smiled, a huge toothy grin. Buffy leaned over and touched his cheek.

"I don't see that enough." she said softly. "I don't see that huge 'Dear Lord, I'm happy' smile from you enough." Giles reached up and covered her hand with his, kissing her palm.

"You're seeing it now." he said. Buffy knew what he wasn't saying, that there hadn't been much to smile about lately. She knew it, and he knew it, and they were both going to ignore it, because tonight was theirs, and theirs, alone.

Willow opened the door to find Principal Wood on the doorstep.

"Is Buffy here?" Wood asked, searching the living room over Willow's head. He saw the guy they'd rescued the night before, a bunch of girls sprawled in the living room watching tv and that damned vampire, all staring back at him.

"No, she's not." Willow was telling him. Wood looked at her in disbelief.

"I won't make her late for her date." he said, giving Spike a hard look. If he was here, Buffy had to be there. "I just needed to talk to her for a minute." Wood suddenly realized that everyone was looking at him like he'd gone mad. Spike swaggered forward angrily.

"Wait a minute. Did you say date?" he demanded. Wood nodded.

"I heard her talking to you on the phone earlier, when you were planning your date." he told Spike coldly. Spike shook his head in disbelief.

"Wasn't me, mate." he protested. "Oh bloody hell!" Spike shouted as he put two and two together. "The bleedin' Watcher." he cursed. Spike banged his head against a wall.

"Ok, as much as I'm enjoying watching you beat yourself senseless," Xander said, stepping forward. "You wanna fill the rest of us in on what's going on?" Spike didn't answer, so Xander turned to Wood. "You're telling us that Buffy has a date tonight?" Wood nodded and Xander swiveled back to watch Spike for a second. "Ok, I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that Spanky here thinks..." Xander's eyes got wide. "Buffy and Giles?" He turned to Willow. "Giles and Buffy?"

Wood followed this conversation, his eyes going back and forth between Xander and Spike, who had put his fist through the wall.

"Who's this Giles?" he asked, curiously.

"Giles? Oh, he's um, Buffy's, um,…" Willow floundered, trying to think of a lie.

"Her Watcher?" Wood suggested, remembering Spike's words. Xander nodded.

"Which is nothing like a stalker, mind you." he assured the principal. Wood rolled his eyes.

"I know what a Watcher is." he drawled. "I just never knew them to actually date their Slayers." This statement drew stares from every single person in the room, including Spike. "It's a long story, but I know all about Slayers."

"We've got to find Buffy right now." Spike said suddenly. "We've got to put an end to this." Xander stared at Spike, who was growing more agitated by the second. The front door opened, and Anya slipped in.

"What's going on here?" she demanded. Anya pointed at Wood "What's he doing here? Did anyone check to see that he's real?" she demanded. Without waiting for an answer, Anya poked Wood in the chest, hard.

"Ow." he yelped, rubbing the spot where she'd touched him. Anya nodded smugly, then turned to the others.

"Why are we all standing around?" Anya gestured vaguely in the direction of the Slayers in training. "Shouldn't they be doing something… I don't know, Slayer like?"

"Buffy's out on a date with Giles." Willow told her eagerly. Willow's eyes were bright with excitement. "Isn't it romantic?" she sighed. Spike's jaw dropped in disbelief.

"Have you gone off your rocker, Red?" he demanded to know. Xander smiled, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Oh, I don't know, Spike." Xander said, leaning against the wall. "Let's recap. First there was Dead-boy, who lost his soul and went all torture happy. Then, Scott 'I'm going to dump you right before Homecoming' Hope." Xander turned to Willow. "We should have staked him." Willow nodded solemnly as Xander picked up his thread of thought. "Dead-boy again. He learned at Scott's knee and dumped Buffy before Prom. Then, Parker "Didn't we have fun?" Abrams."

"Should've turned him into a rat." Willow muttered. Xander patted her shoulder comfortingly.

"Swiftly followed by Captain Cardboard. Mr. Where are they and how dead can I kill 'em?" Xander rolled his eyes in disgust. "He leaves Buffy in the lurch, her mom sick, a god hunting for her sister. Which leads me to" Xander's eyes turned to Spike "you, Spike." Spike held up his hands defensively.

"Hey, I didn't dump her. Buffy dumped me." he pointed out.

"And we applaud her decision." Xander mocked. Xander scratched his head as he pretended to think. "Now, let's see… who's always been there for Buffy? Hmmm, I don't know. Maybe Giles?"

"He left her." Spike hissed. "Left her when she came back from Heaven. I didn't see him there for her then." Xander had had enough of Spike. Grabbing him by the shoulders, Xander slammed the vampire into the wall.

"Giles did what he thought was best for Buffy. It may have been a sucky decision, and yeah, maybe he was wrong, but Giles did what he thought Buffy needed him to do to make her strong." Xander snarled. "Unlike you, who saw a weakness in her and kept digging at it to make her weaker."

"Xander." Willow said softly. Xander let go of Spike as if he'd been burned. He turned and looked at everyone gathered in the foyer.

"So I say 'Yay Giles' for Buffy." he told them, lifting his chin, as if daring anyone to disagree with him. Wood shrugged.

"I don't know." he said. "A Watcher and a Slayer together. It just seems, I don't know. Kind of kinky."

"It's only kinky if they do it right." Anya said matter of factly as she strode into the living room. Frustrated, Spike grabbed his jacket.

"Well, I'm not standing around here, doing nothing." he declared. Spike wrenched open the door and stalked out. Wood watched him go.

"I'll, uh, follow him. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." Wood said, darting after Spike. Willow, Xander and Anya stared at each other for a moment.

"I wonder if they're having orgasms right now." Anya wondered out loud. Xander winced.

"I do kind of wonder what Giles considers a fun date." he admitted. "Although, I'm willing to bet that Buffy doesn't have him tied up, hanging from the ceiling." Xander clapped a hand over his mouth as a mental picture zipped into his head.

"Oh, I don't know. Giles might enjoy it." Anya pointed out. Willow's face brightened.

"I know of the perfect spell. We'll be able to see where they are, and what they're doing." Willow walked toward the kitchen. "Help me clear the table."