Buffy’s head lolled forward and woke her with a start. She was confused—how did she get to be in Giles’ office? She felt an uneasy twinge in the pit of her stomach as tiny fragments of her dream filtered into her waking brain.

She looked at her watch; she’d slept through half of her first class. The chair let out a groan as she sprang to her feet.

“Buffy? Are you awake in there?” came Giles’ voice from the library. Buffy felt the butterflies in her stomach become agitated—a feeling she was getting used to around Giles lately.

“I’m awake,” she called back to him. “I’m a bit confused, but I’m awake.”

Giles walked in and Buffy found herself blushing at the thoughts that had been running through her mind. Then she noticed the large bruise under his eye.

“Giles? What happened to your face? Who did that to you?” The urge to protect him was powerful, and she was getting worse at hiding it from him.

“It’s alright, Buffy—just a bruise. You know I’ve had worse.”

She looked at his leg which wouldn’t bend properly. “I need to know, no matter how small you think it is. How can you expect me to protect you if you don’t keep me informed?”

“I can handle this on my own.”

“Like you did with that Eyghon thing?” Buffy saw the hurt that flashed briefly in his green eyes and wished she could take it back.

Giles debated a moment on how to proceed. In the end, though, he knew it was too much of a risk to let her know about the Preot demon. There was nothing she could do to stop it anyway.

Buffy took his silence as a reprimand for bringing up painful memories. “Look, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it that way. It’s just…”

“Just what?” he asked.

“Nothing. It’s silly…I’ve had a weird couple of days, that’s all.”

Giles was instantly apprehensive—did she sense the demon’s presence and what it had been doing with her body? “What’s been weird?” he asked, trying to sound casual.

“Well how about waking up in your office with no idea how I got there, for starters? Then there’s the vampires that keep running away before I can fight them. That’s getting really annoying, I can tell you. Oh yeah, and last night I woke up laughing so hard my mom reamed me out.” She thought about mentioning the dreams, but she didn’t remember much about them, and what she did remember was too embarrassing to tell Giles. She also couldn’t tell him that those dreams had left her aching for him in a way she’d never felt for anyone else.

“Well,” he said, “it certainly is unusual, but aside from irritating your mother, it doesn’t sound too serious. I’d like you to keep me posted on any other unusual occurrences, though. We don’t want to take any chances.”

“Giles?” she asked.

“Yes, Buffy?”

“Do you know how I got here?”

“No, I don’t. I found you in my office when I got here this morning. I’d assumed you’d fallen asleep here and thought it best to let you rest. Maybe you were sleepwalking?”

She wasn’t convinced, but she couldn’t think of any other explanation, so she let it drop.

She needed to do something constructive. Her thoughts turned to Giles and the unusual number of ‘accidents’ he’d been having lately. She knew he was fighting something and was losing. She also knew he was either too proud to bring her into the fight, or he was trying to protect her. That only made her more resolute. Tonight she would keep watch on her Watcher and find out what was going on. Nobody could wail on her Giles without meeting a gruesome end by her hands.

When she knocked on his door, he opened it with a look of sad resignation.

“You’re early,” he said, stepping aside to let her pass.

Buffy didn’t know what to make of that. “You were expecting me?” she asked as she side-stepped into his apartment. He stopped her, grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes as if searching for something there.

Now Buffy was freaked. “You okay, Giles? Did I come at a bad time?”

He sighed in relief and gave her shoulders a slight squeeze before letting go. That tiny gesture made Buffy’s heart jump in her chest and she glanced away from him.

“Yes, I’m fine, Buffy. Sorry for the rude welcome. I was a bit…distracted.” He headed into his tiny kitchen. “Can I get you anything?”

“A Coke, if you’ve got it, please.”

“I’ll see what I can do.” He rummaged through his fridge for the can of Coke he knew was stashed away at the back. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?” he asked.

“I’m staying here tonight,” she said.

Giles dropped the unopened can of pop on the floor with a clunk. “Y-y-you’re what?” he sputtered.

“No need to wig on me Giles, it’s not as if I was planning on jumping your bones or anything. Although…you have been working out…”

“Buffy!” He’d gone pale.

“Take it easy, Giles. Just teasing,” she said, but a part of her hadn’t been teasing at all and was hurt that he’d reacted so violently at the thought. “I came here to keep an eye on you. Whatever’s after you is slowly turning you into one big bruise, and I’m going to put a stop to it.”

Giles stared at her, his mind looping around this dilemma. Buffy plucked the Coke out of his hands, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“Alright,” he said, “you can stay. But I’ve already told you there’s nothing wrong. You’re just wasting your time.” And mine, he thought. He’d been planning to get more research done, but he couldn’t with Buffy standing guard.

Buffy tapped the bottom of the Coke three times and popped it open. She sauntered into the living room swallowing a large gulp of pop. She eyed the stack of books on the coffee table.

“What are you working on? Anything to do with your ‘personal demons’? I can help you if you want.” Buffy picked up Monk’s diary and thumbed through it.

“I’m sure you’d find this research more tedious than the usual. I’m going through the Watcher’s Chronicles to compile a list of demons the slayers have faced. Thought I might be able to determine patterns or cycles that could be useful to us.” It was a bald-faced lie, and he hated deceiving her, but he had to admit that it wasn’t such a bad idea. Maybe, when this was all over…

Buffy dropped the book as if it might transmit boredom by touch alone. “In that case, you’re on your own. I’ll just make myself cosy. Oh, can I use the phone?”

Buffy called home to tell her mother she was staying at Giles’ to catch a demon, then she settled into the couch, idly flipping through books and generally making a nuisance of herself. Giles researched under her nose well into the wee hours of the night. When he looked up from his notes to find her fast asleep on the couch, a jolt of fear surged through him. It was like watching a bomb that could go off at any time. He spent the rest of the night casting furtive glances at Buffy’s sleeping form, waiting for the inevitable encounter with the demon.

But it didn’t happen.

Buffy slept soundly through the night and awoke to find her frazzled watcher hovering over her.

“Giles? What time is it? Did I fall asleep?”

“It’s quarter to eight, and yes, you did fall asleep.”

She noticed that she’d been stretched out on the couch with a blanket over her and she smiled up at Giles gratefully. “You tucked me in. What did I ever do to deserve you?” she joked.

“You were born,” he said with a simple, sweet smile.

Buffy watched him go to the kitchen and felt an overwhelming urge to put her arms around him. Before she knew what she was doing, she’d followed him into the kitchen and acted on her impulse.

Giles’ first thought was that the demon had finally returned, especially when she gave his ribs a squeeze that nearly made him black out. But when she tipped her head up at him with a look of utter embarrassment, he knew it was Buffy. He couldn’t remember her ever hugging him before, and his surprise must have shown on his face.

Buffy backed away, suddenly finding the kitchen counter terribly interesting. “Sorry Giles. I don’t know what’s gotten into me. You’re not mad at me, are you?” She kept her eyes glued to the counter, her face burning red right to the tips of her ears. Why had she done that? What was she thinking?

“Of course I’m not mad at you. Buffy…I know I’m not the most demonstrative person in the world, but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate a good hug now and again.” He chose his words carefully, aware that he was treading a dangerous path. If the demon was telling the truth about her feelings for him, then he couldn’t do anything to encourage her. Things were already too complicated. But he also didn’t want to hurt her feelings. He was relieved when she grinned shyly at him and disappeared into the living room without further comment.

Willow and Xander kept researching, but the demon was a master at going unnoticed, and there was very little in the way of historical documentation on the creature.

After another week, the bruises on Giles’ leg and face were fading, although his toe and rib still bothered him. He was afraid he might relax and let down his guard—that when the demon did decide to attack, he’d be unprepared.

It occurred to him that the demon had chosen another victim, and that was why she’d left him alone for so long. He got together with Willow and Xander and co-ordinated an around-the-clock surveillance on Buffy. Two more weeks passed with Buffy being followed night and day, but they’d seen nothing suspicious except the absence of vampires when she went on patrol.

Xander was the first to voice what they’d all been hoping. “Giles, this demon is history. It’s gone, taken a vacation, expired—whatever. Buffy’s clean.”

Xander could be right,” said Willow. “This demon didn’t seem the type to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Maybe it has moved on and we missed it.”

“But the vampires…” Giles started.

“Word gets around…maybe that’s the only reason they’ve been avoiding her.”

Giles had tossed that theory around himself, but hearing it come from Willow made it sound more plausible. “I suppose you could be right. I hope you are, but if that’s the case, then we need to find out who the permanent host is.”

“But the pressure’s off, right?” asked Xander. “Buffy’s in the clear?”

“We’ll work under that assumption, but if you notice anything different in her behaviour let me know.”

Giles couldn’t bring up Buffy’s odd behaviour towards him—the flirtatious comments and the way she found almost any excuse to touch him—partly because Xander didn’t know anything about what the demon had done to him, and partly because he was pretty sure the demon had nothing to do with it. And if Buffy had a school-girl crush on him, she would kill him for telling her friends about it.

The three of them agreed to keep an eye on her behaviour, then went their separate ways, each of them looking forward to the first full night’s sleep in nearly a month.

The next morning Giles got on his track suit and was about to test out his toe with a brisk, Saturday-morning jog, when a knock came at the door. He opened it to find an exhausted-looking Willow on his doorstep. She was shifting nervously from foot to foot and twisting the hem of her shirt in her hands.

“Willow?” the alarms instantly went off in his head when her worried eyes met his. “Willow, come in. What is it?”

Willow rushed past him into the apartment and started pacing around the dining table. Giles followed her and attempted to stall her in mid-pace, but she slipped past him.

“I didn’t want to say anything yesterday in front of Xander, but I’ve noticed some things, and then last night she came to see me…”

“The demon? Did she hurt you?”

“No, it wasn’t the demon. It was Buffy. She asked me not to tell anyone, and normally I wouldn’t, but under the circumstances I thought…and she doesn’t even know yet—I mean how could she possibly know? Why would she even think? Oh, Giles!” Her pacing had become as frantic as her speech and Giles had to grab hold of her to make her stop.

“Slow down, Willow. Breathe…okay. Now tell me what’s happened.” His nerves were ablaze with the fear of whatever new hell this demon had inflicted upon them. Willow closed her eyes for a second to gain control before proceeding to tell her story.

“Buffy came by my place last night after patrolling. She was crying, but she didn’t know why, so I told her to just tell me everything…”

“And?” Giles prompted.

“And she spent the next hour and a half talking about you. About everything you’ve said and done since she got back to Sunnydale. She’s obsessed about you. You have no idea! And she’s ashamed about how she feels about you.” She couldn’t read Giles’ expression, but she thought he didn’t look overly surprised. He dug his hands deep into his pockets and stared off into space, frowning.

“She also told me that she hasn’t been feeling well. She didn’t want to tell us, because she’d noticed how weird we’ve been acting towards her lately. She figured we’d totally freak if we knew she was sick. I’d noticed she wasn’t eating much, but she told me she hadn’t been able to keep a meal down in nearly a week, and the sight of food makes her nauseous.”

Giles looked at her with the first inkling of dread.

“Then I remembered the other demon,” she said.

“What other demon?”

“Remember? I’d narrowed the search down to two demons. The Preot demon fit the bill, so we never bothered to check out the other one. But I remembered one thing I’d read about it last night, and I did some digging…”

“What did you find?” he asked anxiously.

“It’s known as the Changeling demon, but now I’m certain it’s actually the same demon as the Preot. And now I know how the Preot demon transfers to its permanent host.”

“Oh, God,” said Giles, already two steps ahead of her. Now he was pacing, hands firmly entrenched in his pockets.

“Giles, the Preot uses its temporary host to impregnate a woman, then transfers to the foetus just after conception.”

“Buffy’s pregnant,” he said numbly. He felt as if the wind had been knocked out of him. It explained so much. Why hadn’t he seen it?

Willow took her shocked friend by the arm and guided him into a chair at the table. He immediately dropped his head into his hands, his fingers rubbing at his temples to quell the pounding headache he’d developed. Willow didn’t want to go on, but there was more that he had to hear.

“It chose Buffy as its host. It chose you to father her child. The reason it chose you was because there was a strong bond between you that it could use to its advantage. It’s counting on the fact that you’re not likely to kill Buffy in order to destroy it—that you’re most likely going to defend her and keep her safe while she’s pregnant. The demon creates a powerful bond between the mother and the baby…it’s very likely that if anything happens to the baby, Buffy could die. I think that’s what happened to the other slayer who came across this demon. She had the baby, realised what it was and killed herself by trying to kill the baby. That’s how it stays safe while it matures.”

Giles heard what she was saying, but just couldn’t process it all—too many things had changed in the space of a few minutes. His stomach was churning up acid as his aching head tried to cope with the implications of Willow's news.

“Giles? Are you gonna be okay?” Stupid question, she thought.

He nodded, not yet trusting his voice.

“Do you want to be alone for a while?”

Giles nodded again, then cleared his throat; “I…uh…I’m going to need some time to think this through. To be honest, I don’t know where to begin.”

Willow lay her hand on his head and said; “When you need me, let me know.” She left quietly, looking back once to see his sad figure slumped against the table. Whatever decision he made, he would have to make it on his own. There was nothing she could do to make it easier for him.