"Do you think they've figured out that we're together?" Buffy asked, gesturing at the crystal with her fork. It had finally stopped glowing. Giles fed her a piece of chocolate cake.

"I wouldn't be surprised." he admitted, as he speared a piece of cake for himself. Giles nodded at the waiter as he slid the bill on the table. "Our friends have a way of finding out these things." Reaching into his jacket, Giles pulled out his wallet. He selected a credit card and handed it to the waiter, who took it with a small bow. Buffy looked at Giles in horror.

"No, you're not supposed to pay." she protested. "I asked you out." Buffy snatched up her purse from the table. "The person who does the asking pays." she insisted. Buffy pulled out some money and held it out to Giles. "I have money."

"Buffy," Giles said, gently but firmly. "you are not paying for dinner." He plucked the money from her fingers and put it back into her purse. "Call me old fashioned, but I was raised that a gentleman always paid for his date's dinner." The waiter returned with the credit card slip for Giles to sign. Giles added a generous tip and scrawled his name. "You are my date, so I'm paying for your dinner." Buffy sighed, torn between exasperation and delight.

Standing, Giles held out his hand to Buffy. Buffy took it and allowed him to lead her from the restaurant, pausing only to pick up her overnight bag. Giles looped the strap over his shoulder, despite Buffy's protests that she could carry it. Instead, Giles slid his hand around Buffy's waist as they walked. Buffy reveled in the feel of his hand on her hip, as he held her tightly to his side. Dropping her head to his chest, Buffy wrapped her arm around him as they walked to his car.

"Would you like some coffee?" Giles asked as he dropped Buffy's bag in the trunk. Buffy nodded, willing to agree to anything that would make this night last longer. She looked up at the moonlit night.

"I know I'll regret this, but, shall we walk?" she asked. Giles gazed down at Buffy as she leaned against him. He brushed a stray strand of hair from her face as their lips met briefly.

"We shall." Giles whispered. He linked his arm through hers and they began strolling along the sidewalk.

Wood grabbed Spike to keep him from barging out of the bushes when Buffy and Giles emerged from the restaurant.

"Do you want to get yourself staked?" he hissed at the vampire. Immediately, Wood slapped himself on the forehead. [What am I thinking?] "On second thought, maybe you should go confront them." Wood suggested hopefully. But it was too late, Spike had realized the wisdom of Wood's first sentence and returned to skulking in the bushes. He made sounds of disgust every time the Slayer and Watcher kissed.

"Bloody wanker." Spike cursed as Giles' hand slipped from Buffy's waist to her behind and squeezed it gently. "He's old enough to be her father." Wood rolled his eyes, he'd had just about enough of Spike's complaining.

"And your oh, so much younger?" Wood asked sarcastically. Spike harrumphed self-righteously, but said nothing. Silently, the duo watched Buffy and Giles walked away.

"Ethan, what are you doing here?" Willow demanded angrily. Ethan looked around the room.

"Believe it or not, looking for Ripper." he said calmly. "Where's he hiding himself?"

"He's not here." Xander said vehemently. "So, I'm afraid you won't be able to turn him into something nasty tonight. So sorry. Guess you'll have to leave now." Ethan rocked on his heels, his hands still in his pockets.

"You're sure Ripper's not here?" he asked. Xander resisted the urge to rip fistfuls of hair from his head.

"He's not here!" Xander all but shouted. "How many times do we have to tell you that?" Ethan considered this statement with interest.

"The locator spell I did indicated he was here." he said thoughtfully. "Ripper must've performed a spell to block magic." Willow's face brightened.

"That would explain why the mirror spell didn't work." she said to Xander and Anya. Ethan raised an eyebrow as he studied the redhead.

"Why are you trying to spy on dear ol' Rupert?" he asked curiously. "Not that I care, but it does seem a bit unlike you?" Willow leaned forward eagerly and explained to Ethan about Buffy and Giles' date. Ethan threw back his head and laughed. "So, Ripper finally told her. Good for him." Anya eyed Ethan suspiciously. She'd never met the man, but she'd heard enough about him to be wary.

"You knew?" Anya asked. "How did you know when we didn't?" Ethan looked at her in disbelief.

"Really, my dear. Anyone with eyes could see how he felt about her." Ethan took in the started faces in front of him and chuckled. "You didn't know." he snickered in delight.

"We knew." Willow protested. "We just…" Willow trailed off as she looked at Xander.

"Didn't have a clue." Xander finished. Willow nodded miserably. Ethan sighed contentedly. He did so love being one up on people.

"We just wanted to see." Willow said. "It's been so long since we've seen Buffy or Giles happy…" Willow's words faded. Xander and Anya nodded in agreement. Their faces were portraits of misery. Ethan sighed. It was no fun gloating with them making puppy dog faces at him.

"I'm all for spying." he told them. "But I don't know how we'll find them without using a locator spell." A thought occurred to Willow and her eyes lit up.

"I've got it." she said, rushing into the other room. She returned almost instantly, her arms full of supplies. "Spike knows where Buffy and Giles are. Spike's a demon. We can locate him."

Spike and Wood ran from tree to tree as Buffy and Giles strolled down the street. They whirled as they heard footsteps behind them.

"Did we miss anything?" Willow asked, her hair mussed from the run over. She peered around the tree. "Oh, they're kissing!" she squealed in excitement. Anya pushed her out of the way so she could see.

"They'll definitely be having orgasms tonight." she said knowingly. Ethan stared in surprise at the blonde woman, taken aback by her forthrightness. Anya turned and faced the rest of the group. "Buffy won't need a vengeance demon anytime soon." Wood, who had been staring at Ethan, finally spoke.

"Who are you?" he asked. Ethan stuck out his hand.

"Ethan Rayne at your service." He inclined his head toward Giles. "An old friend of Rupert's there."

"Robin Wood." Wood took Ethan's offered hand. "I'm the principal at the high school where Buffy works." Ethan arched an eyebrow.

"Robin Hood?" he asked, mishearing Wood's name. Ethan looked at Willow. "Who's she? Will Scarlet." Ethan smirked at his own joke. Wood rolled his eyes.

"Wood, with a W." he explained slowly. Xander stared at Ethan with undisguised dislike.

"You know, it would be worth Buffy's wrath to drag you over there and watch them beat you up." he told Ethan. Ethan smiled winningly.

"Ah, but you won't dear boy, because that would mean they would know you were spying on them." he taunted. Xander grumbled, but said nothing. He hated that Ethan was right.

"You know we're being watched." Buffy murmured, her cheek resting against Giles' chest. They'd paused yet again as their mouths had searched each other out. Buffy felt as well as heard the rumble of Giles' laughter.

"Yes, I know." Giles rested his chin on Buffy's head. "They've been there for awhile." Buffy nodded, sighing.

"Now what?" she asked, tilting her head back so that she could look into Giles' eyes. Giles smiled wickedly.

"Obscurus." he muttered.

"Huh?" Buffy looked at him in confusion. "Ok, as far as answers goes, that's a little bizarre." Giles put his finger to his lips, shushing her.

"We don't have much time. The invisibility spell will wear off shortly." he told her. Buffy smothered a laugh with her hand.

"I love it when you go all Gandalf." Hand in hand, the couple moved swiftly down the street, hidden from the view of anyone who was watching.

"Bloody hell!" Spike cursed, as Buffy and Giles blinked out of view. Ethan looked over Spike's shoulder with interest.

"He's using magic." he said in surprise. Ethan turned to Willow, who was frowning at the spot where Buffy and Giles had been. "He never uses magic any more." Ethan looked distinctly uncomfortable, much to Xander's delight. [Blocking spells was one thing, but if Ripper was actively practicing magic…] Ethan swallowed audibly, not wanting to think of the possible consequences. "Yes, well, I must be off…" he began.

"Oh, no." Spike said, grabbing his arm. "You're bloody well going to help me find them and put an end to this." he hissed. Xander began patting down his pockets.

"I know I have a stake here somewhere." he muttered to himself. Willow swatted his shoulder.

"You can't stake him while he has a soul." she pointed out.

"Watch me." Xander retorted. Spike gave Xander a two fingered salute, which Xander returned with the one fingered American version. Ignoring this exchange, Ethan shook his head at Spike.

"There is no way I'm going up against Ripper if he's using magic again. You'd be better off forgetting about Buffy and moving on." Ethan advised. "I'd only dropped by to cause some chaos before moving on." he continued. "But I don't need the kind of trouble that would come from trying to get between Ripper and his Slayer."

"Fine." Spike said, disgust coloring his voice. "I'll do this on my own." He stalked off into the night, leaving the group behind.

"Let him go." Xander said when Wood moved to follow. Wood looked at him questioningly. "Let's just hope he does something stupid and Buffy stakes him." Wood nodded, realizing that his window of opportunity had closed.

The invisibility spell wore off just before Giles and Buffy reached the Espresso Pump. Buffy giggled as they walked into the coffee shop.

"I didn't know you could do that." she said pointedly as they carried their coffee to a relatively secluded table. "Do you know how useful that would be for Slaying?" Giles shook his head, sipping at his espresso.

"It's a difficult spell to maintain." he told her. "It was hard enough to concentrate with you touching me, let alone while fighting."

"Do I distract you, Giles?" Buffy said, delighted. She placed her hand on his knee, sliding it up his leg. Giles glowered at her.

"You know you do." he said, catching her hand before it reached it's goal. Buffy pouted as he brought it to his lips and kissed her fingers.

"Tell me." she whispered insistently, leaning forward. "Tell me how much I distract you." Giles bent his head closer, lowering his voice so only Buffy could hear.

"When I'm near you, the scent of your perfume all but drives me mad. All I can think about is how soft your skin looks and wonder how it would feel under my hands, my mouth." Buffy's breath came in ragged gasps as Giles murmured in her ear. "I wonder if you'll scream when I'm inside you, if you'll be as uninhibited in my bed as you are out of it." Warmth pooled between Buffy's legs as Giles spoke. She crossed her legs, trying to relieve some of the pressure. Giles smiled as he saw her shift. He ran his free hand up the outside of her thigh. "And I wonder if I distract you as much as you distract me."

"Yes." Buffy whispered, the word out of her mouth before she could stop it. She stared at Giles, the words he spoke creating vivid images in her mind. "Giles, I…" Loud laughter from another table broke the spell that seemed to surround them. Buffy glanced over that the other table. "I don't think this is the place for this discussion." she murmured, a blush coloring her cheeks. Buffy reached for her latte, taking a hasty sip. [Oh, real sexy.] Buffy thought as she realized she'd gotten a dollop of whipped crème on her nose. Chagrined, she reached for her napkin. Giles' hand covered her.

"Let me." he whispered. His tongue darted out, scooping the crème from her nose.

"Oh God." Buffy moaned. "We need to leave, Giles." she told him, her voice somewhat desperate. Giles sat back, a smile on his face.

"If you wish." he said calmly, standing. Giles was amazed at how even his voice was considering just how urgently he wanted Buffy. Buffy swiped at her nose with a napkin to get any whipped crème he might have missed before she stood. Giles put his hand on her elbow as they left their barely touched coffee on the table as they hurried from the shop.

Outside, Buffy turned and pulled Giles into a hard kiss. Giles could taste the want and need on her lips. He returned the kiss, telegraphing how much he wanted her back.

"I need you." she whispered fiercely, pulling away from his lips. "Alone."

Giles nodded, unable to believe that Buffy had just announced that she desired him. He grabbed her hand and began to drag Buffy back to his car. Years of fighting in high heels made it easy for Buffy to keep up with the fast pace Giles set.

Spike looked up as his sensitive ears picked up the sounds of hurried footsteps. He'd staked out the car, knowing that sooner or later they'd have to return for it. Buffy and Giles came into view, walking quickly. Spike swore as he smelled the scent of arousal. From both of them. [Damn!] Spike cursed. He briefly considered trying to stop Buffy from getting into the car, but changed his mind. Spike knew that doing that would only lead to the pointed end of a stake. Sighing as the car sped out of sight, Spike stood and walked back to the house, his head hanging in defeat.

"Can't you drive faster?" Buffy demanded, her hand trailing up Giles' leg. This time, he didn't stop her and Buffy caressed the bulge in his pants.

"If I drive any faster, we'll end up dead before we make it to the hotel." Buffy giggled. Only Giles could sound so annoyed and turned on at the same time. Her eyes widened in surprise as he pulled into the hotel parking lot.

"You got a room here?" she asked in disbelief. Climbing from the car before he could come around, Buffy stared up at the building in awe. "Giles, this place is hugely expensive." Giles put his arm around her waist, her bag over his shoulder.

"Nothing's too good for my girl." Giles whispered in her ear. Buffy turned to look at him in surprise at his words.

"Am I?" she whispered. "Your girl?" she clarified. Giles nodded.

"Always." he swore, not sure why Buffy had tensed. Buffy threw herself at him.

"Promise?" she asked, her voice pleading. Giles nodded.

"You'll always be my Buffy." he promised, dropping a kiss on her nose. They walked through the lobby of the five star hotel, Buffy's eyes wide as she tried to take it all in, the serious moment forgotten.

"Wow, Giles." Buffy breathed as they stood on the elevator. Giles gave her a smile, squeezing her hand gently. They stepped off on the top floor, Giles leading Buffy to a room at the end of a quiet hallway.

"Incendo." he muttered as they entered the room. Instantly, the room was lit by the myriad of candles he'd set around the room burst into flame. Buffy stood in awe. Slowly she turned to face Giles, who was watching her reaction.

"You did this for me?" she asked. Giles nodded. Swallowing, Buffy reached out and took her bag from Giles shoulder. "Stay here, I'll be right back." Backing away, Buffy turned and dashed into the bathroom.

Giles watched as Buffy moved away, his thoughts whirling. Slipping out of his jacket, Giles dropped it on a chair as he went to the miniature refrigerator next to the television. The bottle made a soft popping sound as he opened it, pouring the pale liquid into crystal glasses. Hearing a door open behind him, Giles turned and was immediately grateful that he hadn't been holding the glasses.

Buffy stood before him, dressed in a black silk gown. She'd brushed out her hair so that it tumbled over her shoulders. Candlelight glimmered off her blonde tresses. Buffy shifted nervously as Giles stared at her wordlessly.

"Giles, say something." she demanded nervously.

"My God, you're beautiful, Buffy." Giles declared breathlessly, finally finding his voice. Buffy dropped her head, suddenly bashful. Giles swiftly snatched up the champagne glasses and handed one to her. Buffy took it and sipped at the sweet liquid, looking up at Giles over the rim.

"You're wearing suspenders." she whispered, reaching out to touch the elastic bands. Giles looked down in surprise. "Do you know how attractive I found these in high school?" she asked.

"Really? I'll have to remember that." he murmured, moving closer. He touched her hair lightly. Buffy looked up at his touch. Giles couldn't resist the unspoken plea in her eyes. Taking the champagne flute from her hand, Giles set both down on the table. Reaching up, he took off his glasses, and tossed them next to the flutes.

Buffy melted as Giles' lips covered hers, gripping his shirt to remain standing. She shivered as his hands trailed lightly up her arms to her shoulders, caressing her skin.

"Do you think they're having orgasms yet?" Anya asked, taking the bowl of popcorn Andrew had brought her. Dressed in an apron and oven mitts, Andrew scurried back to the kitchen. Xander and Willow had decided to take some of the potentials and do a quick sweep of the cemeteries in Buffy's absence. Ethan reached over and took a handful of popcorn.

"Oh, I would imagine they are by now." he assured her. Anya nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. Giles won't scorn her. Buffy will be happy and maybe she'll stop giving those long, boring "We're all going to die" speeches." Anya looked at Ethan and sighed. "I don't suppose you're any good at giving orgasms, are you?" Ethan choked on his popcorn and started coughing. Anya gave him a sharp slap on the back.

"Excuse me?" He coughed.

"It's ok if you aren't, being old and all. But I figure that if Giles can give Buffy orgasms, you should be up to it as well."

"Are you asking me to have sex with you?" Ethan asked in disbelief. Anya crossed her arms, huffing.

"Fine. If you don't want to." she muttered.

"No, no, no." Ethan said quickly. "I just wanted to make sure I was clear on your intentions before I said yes." Ethan reached over and grabbed Anya's hand, pulling her to her feet. "Let's go before the others get back."

Buffy moaned under Giles' ministrations. She'd been right, Giles had appreciated the silk nightgown. He was, in fact, still appreciating it. Buffy gasped for breath as Giles caressed her through the silk, his body pressing her into the mattress.

"I love you so much." Buffy whispered in his ear as his mouth nuzzled at her neck. Giles lifted his head to look Buffy in the eye.

"And I you." he told her. Buffy smiled and with one swift move, flipped Giles onto his back.

"Enough teasing." Buffy said, unzipping Giles' pants and tugging them down his legs. Giles tugged off his shirt and tie, tossing them to the side as Buffy slid her hands over his skin unimpeded. "I would've never guessed you for the type to go commando." she teased, her hand caressing his erection. Giles bucked his hips against her touch.

"Night stand." Giles groaned, reaching out to the small table. Buffy picked up the small packet and held it up for him to see.

"Is this what you're looking for?" Buffy taunted, waving the condom packet at him. Lifting his hand, Giles grasped for the packet, but Buffy snatched it from his reach.

"Let me." she whispered, ripping open the foil. Carefully, Buffy rolled the condom onto his cock. Giles gave a breathless laugh at the look of concentration on her face.

"God, Buffy, you're killing me." he laughed. Buffy gave him a sultry smile, giving the tip of his erection a kiss. Hitching up the silk gown, Buffy straddled Giles' hips. Giles hissed with pleasure as Buffy reached down to guide him into her.

Sliding his hands over her silk covered skin, Giles grabbed her hips as she began to ride him. Buffy threw back her head in pleasure as Giles thrust deep into her. The room was filled with the sounds of their coupling, of whispered endearments and sounds of pleasure.

Buffy dropped her head to Giles' forehead as her climax ripped through her. She felt him thrust and tense beneath her. Kissing him hard, Buffy swallowed Giles' shout of release as he came.

"God, that was amazing!" Buffy gasped, collapsing on to Giles. Giles rolled Buffy underneath him, divesting himself of the used condom and tossing it into the trash. "Can we do it again?"

Buffy opened the front door silently, popping her head through the opening to look both directions.

"Coast is clear." she whispered, gesturing to Giles to follow her. Giles slipped into the house behind her, shutting the door quietly as Buffy crept up the stairs.

"There you are." a voice said behind him. Giles jumped, clutching at his chest.

"Good Lord, Dawn." he chastised, whirling to face the girl. "Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Dawn blew on the mug of hot chocolate she held as she considered Giles thoughtfully.

"What are your intentions?" she asked, her head cocked. Giles looked at the girl in confusion.

"My intentions?" he repeated. Dawn nodded.

"For Buffy." Dawn clarified. Giles' mind raced.

"My intentions toward Buffy?" he repeated, trying to buy himself some time. "I don't know what you're talking about." he lied. Dawn rolled her eyes, a typical teenage response.

"Please, Giles. How stupid do you think I am?" she asked him. Giles raised his eye brow at her.

"Do you really want me to answer that?" he teased. Dawn grinned.

"Seriously, Giles." Dawn started. Giles held up his hand to stop her. He took off his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose as he thought.

"Leave Giles alone, Dawn." Buffy's voice floated down from the top of the stairs. Giles turned as Buffy came down the stairs, his eyes lighting as she came into view. Dawn watched Giles, smiling into her mug of cocoa.

"How did you know?" Buffy asked, linking her arm through Giles'.

"Please, I actually pay attention to what goes on around here." Dawn informed her drolly. "I saw this coming from a mile away." Buffy smiled at her little sister.

"Is that Buffy?" Willow called, running toward the door. Skidding to a halt, Willow flipped her hair out of her eyes. "Oh, yes. Hi Buffy. Hi Giles" she said, waggling her fingers at them. In her other hand, she held some marshmallow that she popped into her mouth occasionally. Giles groaned with embarrassment. Standing on tiptoe, Buffy pressed a kiss to his blushing cheek. "Xander!" Willow yelled up the stairs. "Buffy and Giles are back!"

"Oh dear Lord." Giles groaned as thundering footsteps echoed from above.

"G-man! You and the Buffster are home!" Xander declared, trundling down the stairs, a mob of potential Slayers close behind him.

"Oh, by the way." Dawn said casually. "Maybe I should mention that everyone knew you guys were out on a date last night."

"So, did you have a good time?" Willow asked eagerly.

"You're, like, together now, right?" Xander asked. "Can I tell Spike you're officially a couple? Please?"

Dawn smirked as questions were hurled at her sister and her Watcher. Giles was whole heartedly embarrassed by the attention, but Buffy took it in stride. Holding up a hand, Buffy stopped all questions.

"Yes, we had a great time. Yes, Giles and I are officially a couple. I will tell Spike." she said, much to Xander's disappointment.

"Damn." Xander hissed. Buffy shot him a quelling look.

"Actually, Spike already knows." Willow offered timidly. Willow cleared her throat. "We, ah, well, we…"

"They spied on you." Dawn finished. "I heard them talking about it last night when I got home from Janice's." Willow tossed the remainder of her marshmallows at Dawn's head.

"Thanks, just rat me out." Willow snapped. Buffy just waved off her concern.

"We knew." she assured them. The rattle of the door knob turning drew everyone's attention. Anya entered the house, a dreamy look on her face.

"Oh, you're back." she said upon seeing Giles and Buffy. Anya patted Buffy's arm. "I'm sure Giles gave you lots of orgasms last night." she said. "I figure he's at least as good as Ethan." Everyone stared in silence as Anya walked away, still floating on cloud nine.

"Ok, that I didn't see coming." Dawn muttered. Buffy shook her head.

"That's just disturbing on so many levels." she muttered.

"I have to say that I agree with you on that." Giles said. Buffy smiled up at him.

"C'mon, big guy. Since everybody knows about us already, maybe we could go upstairs and get some sleep." Buffy suggested.

"Oh, like we believe that there'll be actual sleep going on." Xander teased. Giles fixed him with a stare, and Xander held up his hands in defense. "Didn't say anything." Buffy led Giles up to her room, shutting the door behind her.

"Alone at last." she murmured turning into his arms. "Again." Giles kissed her softly, smiling.

"Probably our last chance to be alone for awhile." he murmured, nudging Buffy backwards until she collapsed on the bed. "We should probably take advantage of it while we can." Buffy nodded, holding him tightly to her.

"You're probably right." she said. Gently, she took Giles' glasses off and laid them on the night table, next to her lamp. Snuggling close, Buffy laid her cheek on his chest. Within minutes, they were both sound asleep, unaware of the closet door opening and a very disappointed vampire sneaking out of the room.