“Let him go,” said Buffy.

Giles studied her eyes and knew she’d made her choice.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Never been more sure about anything. Ever.”

Giles smiled warmly at her and gave her a quick kiss on the forehead.

“Hang on,” said Joyce. “Don’t you think we should talk about this? This is a monumentally big decision—you can’t just toss away the only solution you’ve managed to find.”

“Mom—there’s nothing to discuss. We can’t just dump and innocent baby in some weird dimension just because it shared a womb with a demon. Besides, we’re talking about my baby, Mom. Giles’ baby. And we’re going to keep it.”

“You think it’s as easy as that?” asked Joyce in disbelief.

“No, I don’t think it’ll be easy at all,” Buffy answered. “But I’ve got Giles and my friends…and you, if you’re willing. And we’ll get through this one day at a time.”

“Buffy, you know I’ll be here for you,” said Joyce. “It’s just that you’re still my little girl, and I hate to see you going through all this.”

Giles stood and began slowly pacing. “We’ve all got a great deal to think about over the next few days, but I think it’s best, for tonight, at least, if we give Buffy some time to adjust.” Buffy looked up at him gratefully. Right now she couldn’t bear the thought of talking any more about the future. The present was more than enough to deal with.

Willow coughed timidly and stood up. “I guess I should be going. But, Buffy, I want you to promise you’ll call me if you need to talk. Okay?”

“It’s a deal,” said Buffy, putting on a bravely cheerful face. Giles and Willow walked to the door and said their good-byes. As he was leaving, Buffy whispered to him; “Wait outside for me.” He gave her a brief nod and stepped out into the chilly winter night.

She turned around to find her mother standing right behind her with her arms crossed.

“I know you’re planning on sneaking out to meet him as soon as you can come up with an excuse,” she said. Buffy was ready for a fight, so her Mom’s next words took her by surprise. “You’d better get out there before he freezes to death—the two of you have a lot to talk about.”

“Alright—who are you and what did you do with my real mom?”

“I guess I’ve had a change of heart—moms can do that, you know,” she said. “Anyway, I know I won’t be able to stand between the two of you, especially now. I guess I should just be thankful this demon chose Mr. Giles and not some pimply kid who’d run at the first sign of trouble. At least I know he loves you and he’ll do everything he can to take care of you.”

“You mean it?” asked Buffy.

“I mean it,” said Joyce, and gave her daughter a kiss on the cheek. “Now go. Before I change my mind.”

Buffy pulled her into a tight hug. “Thanks Mom,” she said, then ran out the door to find Giles.

He was waiting for her by his car, pacing restlessly.

“Giles!” Buffy called.

He stopped pacing and went to meet her. Buffy put her arms around his waist and settled into a comfort hug. Giles rubbed her back, resting his chin on the top of her head.

“Does your mother know you’re here with me?” he asked.

“Yeah. She actually said we should spend some time alone together—sort through some stuff.”

“She did?”

Buffy nodded.

“Things really have changed,” he said. “She’s right, you know. We have a lot of ‘stuff’ to sort through.”

“I know we do,” she said. “But right now I could really go for a healthy bit of denial followed by some demon ass-kicking and dinner. Care to join me?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” said Giles, chuckling softly. “Any joy with the vampires yet?”

“Ooh! Actually, I caught one last night…” Buffy cheerfully began filling him in on her victory as they strolled down the street, hand in hand, towards the nearest cemetery.

When they were out of sight, Wesley stepped out from behind a tree where he’d been eavesdropping. His face burned with anger. He’d known his slayer had been keeping secrets, and now he knew why. If the Council found out what their precious Mr. Giles was up to, they’d have his head on a pike. He followed them, carefully keeping his distance.

“Can I come in?” Buffy asked at last.

Giles hesitated, finding it nearly impossible to turn her away, even though it was the right thing to do.

“Come on, Giles. I just want to chat—you know, get caught up? Maybe have a nice cup of hot chocolate?” She gave him her famous wide-eyed pout that always worked in getting her way.

“I don’t think it would be wise, Buffy. Having you so close, I don’t think I’d be able to…I couldn’t…restrain myself…”

“Giles, I don’t care! I haven’t slept in over four days—I’m too afraid to close my eyes at night. If you think I’m gonna last another six months like this you’re nuts!”

“Buffy, keep it down, please,” he said, seeing his neighbour’s lights flick on.

“I’ll keep it down if you let me in,” she shouted.

“Alright, just—shh!” He opened the door and she swept past him inside. He watched in resignation as she flung herself onto his couch.

“I’ll put the kettle on,” he said.

“Don’t forget the little marshmallows,” she said, and languidly stretched herself out on the couch.

Giles’ heart raced in his chest, knowing that Buffy was purposely displaying herself for his benefit. He made a break for the kitchen where he pressed his forehead against the cool metal of his fridge.

Perhaps she was right, he thought. Maybe it was pointless fighting against the bond. If they abstained much longer, they would both become raving lunatics. And there were no longer any outside obstacles holding them back. She was old enough, and her mother had all but giver her blessing…and even though he hadn’t quit the council, he was no longer technically her watcher…and she wanted him—she’d made that clear enough.

So really? What was stopping him? Giles turned away from the fridge and marched back into the living room, the hot chocolate forgotten. He approached the couch, ready and determined to give in to his desire. Then he heard the soft snoring of his slayer. He leaned over the back of the couch to look at her. She was fast asleep, drooling in a most unladylike fashion. Giles smiled at the sweet expression on her sleeping face.

Not tonight, then, he thought with a mixture of disappointment and relief.

He got a blanket for her and tucked her in, then reluctantly dragged himself up to his loft to go to sleep.

“You gonna get that?”

Giles nearly jumped out of his skin. Buffy was in bed with him.

“It’s okay, Giles—you were a perfect gentleman. I just needed to get a little closer, that’s all.” The pounding started again. “So? Are you gonna answer the door, or what?” she asked again.

“Yes…yes, the door. Umm…Buffy, would you mind?” he asked, gesturing at her to look away.

Buffy sighed; “For God’s sake, Giles, I’m having your baby—I don’t think I’m going to swoon at the sight of you in your boxers.”

He grumbled when he realized she had no intention of looking away. The knocking was becoming more insistent downstairs. Giles rolled out of bed, providing Buffy with a brief but memorable view of him in his shorts before he could throw on his robe.

“I’ll be right back,” he said, ignoring the appraising look she was giving him, and trotted down the stairs.

Giles opened the door and narrowly avoided a punch in the face. The stranger’s ineffectual swing put him off balance, making it easy for Giles to grab him by the sleeve and fling him into the apartment. He slowly advanced on his attacker who was cowering on the floor.

“Who the hell are you?” he growled.

Wesley, having decided that his plan had backfired, looked up at the furious watcher apologetically. “My name is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce,” he said and held out his hand, hoping for a hand up off the floor. Giles made no move to help him.

“Never heard of you. Why’d you attack me?” He towered over the younger man, and there was no question who would win in a fight should it come down to it.

“I was defending the honour of my slayer,” Wesley replied, mustering up as much dignity as he could. Giles took a step back, allowing him room to stand up.

“So you’re Buffy’s new watcher?” asked Giles.

“Yes,” he said, brushing off his clothes. “And you have a great deal to answer for. I saw you with Buffy last night, and I know she stayed the night with you.”

“Yes, she did,” said Giles, flatly.

“And you admit it openly?” asked Wesley, astonished. “You should be ashamed—what you’ve done is not only morally suspect, it’s also strictly forbidden by the Council. You know what they’ll do to you if they get word of this.”

Giles faced him down menacingly. “And who would tell them?”

Wesley swallowed around the lump of fear that had formed in his throat.

Giles stood his ground and spoke in a calm and quiet voice, just inches from Wesley’s face. “You have no idea what’s going on between Buffy and me. Your snide insinuations about our relationship are, perhaps, understandable, given what you’ve seen, but I will not have you breathe one derogatory word against her. Not to her, not to me, and definitely not to anyone else. Is that understood?”

Wesley nodded meekly. He’d heard stories about Rupert Giles, and he’d always assumed they were tall tales. But right now, looking into those steely eyes, he believed every word of them.

“Good,” said Giles. “Now, if you don’t mind, Buffy and I have a few things we need to take care of.” Giles opened the front door to usher him out.

“I’m not leaving until I know Buffy is all right,” he said, inwardly bracing himself for an assault.

“I’m fine, Wes,” said Buffy from the top of the stairs. She came down, wearing one of Giles’ shirts and very little else. Giles frowned at her—she was deliberately trying to provoke Wesley.

“Get dressed, Buffy. We’re leaving,” said Wesley.

“I don’t think so. You heard what Giles said.” She came up next to Giles and wrapped her arm around him. Wesley was just about ready to burst into flames, he was so angry.

“Buffy,” said Giles, gently. “Don’t be too hard on him—he’s only doing his job. I think we at least owe Mr. Wyndam-Pryce an explanation.”

Buffy pouted up at him, but backed off on the flirting.

“If we’re going to tell Wesley, I think we should tell the rest of the Scoobies too. It’s not like they won’t find out soon enough anyway,” she said.

“Do you want to tell them everything?” asked Giles.

“I think it’s time I did. We can get everyone together here tonight,” she said. “You too, Wes. And I’m sorry if I freaked you out. Giles is right—you do deserve an explanation. I have a feeling we’re going to need your help.”

Feeling somewhat placated, Wesley left Buffy with Giles and headed home to ponder the mystery that was his slayer.

“And hello to you too,” said Xander.

“Sorry, Xan, I’m starved. Trust a bachelor to have no food in his house.” Buffy spread the pizza boxes out on the dinner table and unceremoniously dug in. Xander grinned widely and did the same.

“There’s food?” asked Cordelia. “No one mentioned there’d be food. Does that mean this is going to take a while? It’s Saturday night! And I didn’t put this dress on so I could sit around Giles’ house eating pizza all night.”

“We’ve got some rather important news to tell you all,” said Giles, putting away his wallet after having paid the delivery boy.

“Yes. I’ve got a few questions I’d like you to answer,” Wesley piped up from the doorway.

“We’ll save the Q & A session for after our presentation,” said Buffy, her mouth full of pepperoni pizza.

Everyone except Wesley grabbed a plateful of pizza and they sat around the living room. Oz kept looking at Willow, wondering why she was acting so jittery.

As Giles and Buffy tag-teamed their way through their story, the group fell silent. Xander’s mouth dropped open and stayed that way through most of it—his pizza lying cold and forgotten on his lap. He thought he’d been in the loop, but now he knew he’d only seen a tiny bit of the loop—through binoculars.

Cordelia smiled to herself—she’d known Buffy was pregnant—her clothes alone had given it away. And it totally explained the Sybil-like mood swings.

For Oz, it was like someone had flicked a switch and shed light on a mystery that had been nagging at him for weeks. Willow just felt relieved. Now that it was out in the open it didn’t seem so scary. She looked at Oz, who was watching her with concern. She smiled and gave his hand a pat, as if to say the worst was over.

“So,” said Buffy, when Giles had finished the last leg of their story. “Any questions?”

“Yes,” said Wesley, leaning forward in his chair. “I’ve got a question.”

Buffy rolled her eyes at Giles before turning to Wesley. “Okay. Shoot.”

“Is this Preot demon responsible for your inability to kill vampires?” he asked.

“Hey! I got one two days ago, remember?” Buffy whined.

“Yes, it is,” said Giles, ignoring Buffy’s protest. “They can sense the Preot from a distance, and they scatter before Buffy can get anywhere near them.”

“So,” said Wesley. “We have a vampire slayer who repels vampires and will soon be too pregnant to kill them in any case.”

“Way to be optimistic,” said Xander.

“I’m merely stating the facts as I see them,” Wesley replied. “And you all seem to be blind to the fact that if this demon is allowed to live it will take complete control of them—they won’t be capable of killing it.”

“That’s where we’re going to need your help,” said Buffy. All eyes turned to her. “Giles and I know that when the time comes we’ll both be under the demon’s control. That means we’ll probably do everything we can to protect it.”

Giles took over: “Once the twins are born we’ll need all of you to act on our behalf—to complete the spell we tried last night. You must do whatever it takes to get the demon child away from us and send it to another dimension. Expect us to put up a fight, and plan your attack accordingly. And whatever you do, don’t discuss your plans with us. From this moment on, you’ll need to think of us as the enemy.”