Title: Family
Author: Rari

SPOILERS: None
RATING: FRAO for serious smooching, a few cuss words, and major Hank bashing
PAIRING: B/G (A light piece of fluff, relatively angst free)
DISTRIBUTION: Dword, Gabi, Dee, Nikki, Della
DISCLAIMER: It all belongs to Joss, the real king of the world, the WB, UPN, Fox, Mutant Enemy and anybody else who feels they own it. I'm just borrowing, and then giving them back, memories wiped clean.
SUMMARY: Life for the Summers/Giles family a few years down the road. Will Giles and Buffy finally figure out that they're meant for each other?
FEEDBACK: Absolutely.

NOTES: Set in and around 2006, Buffy's almost 26. ~~~~~~ = flashback. My own little AU after Buffy's death. She did get brought back, the how or why of that is not important to this story, except that is was not a bad thing for her. None of season six or seven has happened or will happen, ever..EV.ER. Except for maybe Giles singing.

THANKS: To Gileswench and Deb for extraordinary beta assistance, and to Donna for keeping such good care of my stories here. And to Ruth for keeping the story properly British.

FURTHER ANNOUNCEMENTS: This is a birthday present for Deb, who happened to have the good luck of having her birthday be close to when I got this story done. It is also a belated birthday present for Heidi, who did not have such luck. LOL. Happy birthday, dear friends. It is also part of my ongoing bribe to Maura and Gina for the next bit of Fated Connection, and for the lovely treats they've made for me. It is, in other words, a multi-purpose fic. <g>

Family: Part 1

Giles turned his key in the lock and opened the door. He put his suitcase down by the side of the couch and sighed, glad to be home. He called out, "I'm home." A squeal came from the kitchen and he smiled as Dawn flew around the corner and into his arms.

"Dad, you're home!" She hugged him tightly and he hugged her back. She pulled away. "We weren't expecting you until tomorrow."

Giles nodded. "I know. I got the job done faster than I expected and I couldn't wait to get here so I just hopped on a plane."

"I'm so glad. I've missed you." Dawn hugged him again.

After the hug he took her by the shoulders and held her at arms length looking at her. "You are getting more beautiful every time I see you." He gave her a stern look. "Any young men I need to threaten off with a sword?"

Dawn blushed, smiling, delighted at his words. "Maybe a couple." She was thrilled he was home even if it was just for a few days. She yelled for Buffy, snaked her arm around Giles, and walked him to the kitchen.

In answer to Dawn's yell, Buffy came running down the stairs and into the kitchen. "What's up? Where's the fire?" She saw Giles and shrieked. She threw herself into his arms and squeezed him so hard he protested.

"Ouch. Can't see that your strength has started going away yet." She pulled out of his arms and shook her head.

"I don't think it has. I still feel just as strong." She shrugged and smiled at Giles. "You're here early."

Giles nodded. "I was just telling Dawn I finished early and I was missing you both so I decided to come straight back."

Buffy hugged him again. "I'm so glad." She moved over to the oven and put the kettle on for tea. "Although it's a good thing you didn't get here yesterday." She and Dawn exchanged a grimace.

"Why?"

"Hank was here." Buffy never referred to Hank as her father anymore, not since she had come back from the dead for the second time. She watched Giles' eyes darken and she suppressed a grin. There was no love lost between Hank and Giles. It would be an understatement to say that they hated each other. The last time Hank had shown up she thought she'd have to get in between the two of them. Buffy knew that if she had needed to choose who to defend it would have been Giles. As far as Buffy and Dawn were both concerned Giles was the one they wanted and Hank could go screw himself.

Hank showed up a couple of times a year although he called more often. He inevitably ended the phone calls by yelling at Giles for taking his daughters away from him.

Joyce had made provisions in her will to have Giles assume guardianship over Dawn until Hank showed up, and to maintain it in the event that he never bothered to show up at all. When Buffy had died Giles had been a wreck, but he had never faltered in his responsibility. He had moved in with Dawn and taken her on. Things had been awkward for the first few weeks until Hank had called one night. Buffy remembered what Dawn had told her about that first call.

~~~~~~

When the phone rang Giles picked up the cordless. "Hello?"

"Who the hell is this?"

"Rupert Giles, who the hell is this?" Something about the man's tone had gotten immediately under Giles' skin. Dawn looked up in alarm at Giles' response.

"Hank Summers. Where is my daughter?"

"Ah, Mr. Summers." He watched as Dawn shrank into the couch, shaking her head. "Uh, Dawn isn't here at the moment. May I take a message?"

"Yes, you can tell her that I'm her father, not you. I don't care if you are her temporary guardian. Who the hell are you, anyway? How did Joyce know you? As soon as I finish up this deal I'm working on I'll be coming up to get her."

"Yes, well, I'll certainly believe that when I see it." Giles winced at his own words. He couldn't believe how rude he was being.

"Fuck you. I'm her father, and don't you forget it." Hank slammed the phone down and Giles jerked the phone from his ear at the noise.

Giles stood up, incensed. He looked at Dawn and without thinking he started yelling. "How can he even say he's your father? What kind of father is he? He's already lost one daughter, how can he not want to be with you every moment? How can he not want to see what an extraordinary young woman you're becoming? What kind of bloody pillock is he, anyway?" He paced around the living room.

Suddenly he stopped short as he realized that he was maligning Hank to his daughter. He looked at Dawn and sent her a wan smile. "Sorry Dawn." He threw himself into the chair and sat there in a funk. He looked over and saw that Dawn had tears in her eyes. He sighed, got up and went to sit next to her on the couch drawing her into his arms. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said any of those things. I'm sure your father loves you very much."

Dawn just wrapped her arms around Giles and cried. After a while she asked a teary question. "You really think he's stupid not to want me?"

Giles let out an exasperated sigh, still having a hard time holding his tongue. "Yes, I do. I'm sure he has his reasons but he just doesn't understand what he's missing out on." He squeezed Dawn.

Dawn asked another teary question. "So you want me to be here?"

Giles sat up and held Dawn by the shoulders, looking her in the eyes, seeing the sadness and confusion there. If Hank had been in the room Giles would have carved his heart out. He nodded his head. "Yes, Dawn, I want you here with me."

A few more tears leaked out. "Can I call you Dad?"

Giles' eyes widened and then he softly smiled at her. "I would be honored if you would call me Dad." He held her again and let her finish her cry.

~~~~~~~

She had called him Dad from then on and had never looked back. She was reasonably civil to Hank when he visited, never spoke to him on the phone when she could help it, and she and Giles took to each other like fish to water. They helped each other cope with Buffy's death and together they coped when Buffy came back.

Buffy had been taken aback when she first heard Dawn call Giles Dad. She, however, had no intention of calling him that. Rather, she made it clear, that it would be she and Giles together taking care of Dawn. They formed a partnership of sorts. Giles was introduced as Dawn's dad and vague comments were made as to his relationship with Buffy and they all left it at that. To all intents and purposes they were a family, and a happy one at that. Buffy and Giles ran the household together, and over time, assumptions were made by acquaintances that Dawn was Giles' blood daughter, and Buffy was his young wife. None of them ever bothered to correct anyone unless they crossed the line from acquaintance to friend. The people who needed to know, knew.

They all had separate rooms. And Buffy and Giles' relationship was completely platonic or at least that's what Buffy and Giles told themselves and they believed it, on and off. Giles felt lucky to be connected with Buffy so strongly and he loved them both as much as if they were his own family.

Hank called periodically, threatening to be there as soon as the next deal was done but he never made good on his threats. He showed up to visit but then would leave just as suddenly, usually after an altercation with Giles. Soon after Dawn turned eighteen and was free of any threats from Hank, Giles lashed out at him the next time he called and told Hank just what he thought of him. Hank hadn't called again, or at least hadn't asked to speak to Giles.

Giles grimaced when he realized how close he'd come to having to deal with Hank. He watched the girls watch him and he rolled his eyes. "Did you make him sleep on the couch?" He grinned.

They grinned back and nodded. Buffy spoke as if sharing a secret. "We never let him sleep in your room. It pisses him off so much." She bit her lip, knowing she was being bad.

Giles laughed and put his arm around her. "Good." He didn't know why but Hank brought out the worst in him. The kettle started to whistle and Buffy started pulling out mugs as Giles turned the burner off.

After dinner the three of them settled in the living room. Buffy watched Giles as he looked through the mail. After a couple of minutes she spoke. "So, how's my famous Watcher, anyway?"

He looked up smiling. "It's all so silly, really."

She grinned. "You're loving it, aren't you?"

He grinned back. "Yes, all of it, I'm ashamed to admit."

"Are you excited about actually getting to teach?"

He nodded. "Yes, working on the digs has been exciting but I am looking forward to spending time in England and seeing what if any changes I can make with all those new student Watchers. I'm sure I'll be considered a terrible influence."

Buffy watched his face glow. She was so proud of him. "I doubt it. They all think you're a hero. I'm sure they'll lean on your every word, hoping they can be as successful with their Slayers as you were with me."

Giles smiled tenderly at her. "Buffy, one of the reasons I was so successful is because you were my Slayer. They seem to forget that."

Buffy shook her head. "I was successful because you were my Watcher, and my friend, and.well.my family. I never would have made it this long with any other Watcher. I know it, and you know it."

Giles blushed, warmed through and through by her words. "Well, let's say it was a team effort." He looked at Buffy closely. He had noticed 'something' about her all evening. He finally put his finger on it. "You look especially happy."

She smiled and blushed. Dawn leaned forward and whispered loudly, "She has a new boyfriend."

Buffy blushed more and glared at Dawn. Dawn just grinned, unrepentant. Giles was a study in nonchalance. "Who is he?" Before Buffy answered he said in a fierce tone, "I swear if another man breaks your heart I am ripping his head off." Buffy stared at him. Giles blushed. He hadn't meant to actually say that out loud. He sighed to himself and repeated his question. "Who is he?"

Buffy was still looking at Giles with an odd look on her face. "I don't think I should tell you. Just in case. I'd hate to have to visit you in jail."

Giles scowled. He looked at Dawn. "Who is he?" He and Dawn had had numerous conversations about Buffy's continually abysmal taste in men. Dawn knew exactly who she wanted Buffy to be with. She didn't want any strangers mucking up her happy home. Buffy and Giles belonged together even if she hadn't gotten far convincing them of that. She could see the looks, but the two of them were blind as bats. She felt like she was finally making headway with Giles and she could have screamed when Buffy got this new boyfriend right before Giles was due home.

"Some butthead Xander introduced her to." Dawn could have killed Xander. The two of them had had a long talk after that.

Buffy glowered at Dawn. "He's not a butthead. He's an engineer." She glanced nervously at Dawn and made a little whiny noise. "You really think he's a butthead?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "You're dating him. He's a butthead."

Giles tried to suppress a smile but he didn't do a very good job. "Well, I'm certainly looking forward to meeting him." Which was a lie, of course. "You should have written me."

Dawn smirked. "Right, and address it to Rupert Giles, third Incan ruin to the right, Mexico. Besides, I didn't know. Buffy never tells me anything. I still wouldn't know if Xander hadn't asked how things were going." She looked at her sister with disgust. How she could even look at this Butthead when she had Giles was beyond her. She could just scream.

Giles reached for his tea and a magazine. Dawn went back to plotting how to get rid of Butthead and Buffy thought back to almost a year ago when the three of them had been sitting much the same way. Buffy had been approaching her 25th birthday. So much had happened that year - they'd averted another apocalypse, Xander and Anya were expecting their second child, and Willow and Tara had broken up and then gotten back together, more committed than ever. Giles, Dawn and Buffy were spending a quiet evening at home, well deserved after the hell they'd been through. Giles had insisted that Buffy skip patrol that night. He wanted her home, safe and sound.

Giles had picked up a large envelope that had come in the mail that day from the Watcher's Council. He'd shown the envelope to Buffy before opening it and Buffy had grimaced at the Council's emblem. She and Dawn had watched as he'd opened it.

~~~~~~~

Giles sat there and slowly read through the lengthy letter. He closed his eyes, and then opening them, he read it again. As he started reading it a third time Buffy snapped her finger against the letter to draw his attention. "Giles, you're making me crazy, what does it say?"

He turned stunned eyes to her and she started getting a nervous feeling in her stomach. He opened his mouth to speak and then shut it again. Buffy started to feel a sense of panic coming on. "Giles, talk."

He nodded. He clutched the letter in his hand, crinkling it. "Buffy, you know that you've lived a lot longer than expected?" Buffy nodded, wincing. Giles didn't usually talk about this. He continued, "Apparently you'll be only the third Slayer in recorded history to make it to her 25th birthday." She waited for the other shoe to drop. He saw her expression and hurried to explain. "You'll get to retire."

Her jaw dropped. "What?"

"Apparently another Slayer will be called when you turn 25. It's not generally known because it's so rarely happened, and hasn't happened for over 200 years."

Buffy just stared at him. He stared back. Dawn looked at them both. She looked worried now. "What happens to Buffy?"

Giles turned to look at her and smiled. "Nothing. I mean nothing bad." He turned back to Buffy. "The letter says that over time your powers will fade, but that it takes a few years. They want to hire you as a consultant, to work with the new Slayer and Watcher that will be assigned here on the Hellmouth." His heart soared as he realized that the chances of Buffy living to be a ripe old age, maybe getting married and having children of her own, might come true after all. He looked at Buffy and noticed that she still looked completely dumbfounded.

She finally spoke. "I get to retire?" Giles nodded. "I don't have to die so a new Slayer can be called?" Giles shook his head. "They're going to pay me?" Giles smiled and nodded his head. She looked at him for a few seconds longer and then she let out a squeal and threw herself in Giles' lap, holding him tight. She laughed for a while and then started to cry and Giles held her until she rode it out. She sat back and looked at him and then looked back at Dawn motioning her to come closer. Dawn came and perched on the other arm of Giles' chair. Buffy smiled at them both. "I get to retire." They all sat and grinned at each other.

Buffy got a concerned look on her face. She looked at Giles. "What happens to you?"

Giles pursed his lips. "They want me back in England. Apparently I'm something of a celebrity - as the only Watcher alive who's kept his Slayer around until her 25th birthday. They want me to teach at the Council and help reexamine the way they train the Watchers, perhaps make some big changes. They also have a few projects they need my assistance with."

Buffy watched Giles' face and saw the excitement there. She knew how much this meant to him, after all the time Giles had been considered somewhat of a bad seed of a Watcher. As far as she was concerned it was about time they understood how amazing he was. And she knew that he could make significant changes that would make things better for future slayers. She hugged him again, delighted for him.

Dawn gave a sad sniff. "Does that mean you have to go away?" She didn't like that idea much.

Giles snuck his arm around her. "If I agree to what they want, then yes, I'd have to go away. But I'd be back for holidays, and you'd come and visit me, and I'll call every week." He looked at them both with love shining in his eyes. "We're family. Nothing can keep us apart." He squeezed Dawn tighter. "No gloomy faces now. It's still a couple of months away. We have plenty of time to talk about it." He looked at Buffy and she saw the determination in his eyes. She knew he was committing everything he was to making sure she made it to her 25th birthday. She put out her hand, her fingers touching the letter.

"Can I read it?" He nodded and relinquished it to her. Buffy and Dawn sat on either side of Giles as Buffy read the letter out loud.

~~~~~~~~

That had been almost a year ago and Giles had yet to make it to England. The Council had him traveling all over the world looking at ancient artifacts, writings and prophecies. Suddenly he was the expert they couldn't do without. They flew him first class and he got the royal treatment no matter where he went. He was embarrassed at how much he was enjoying it, but Buffy was thrilled for him. In between missing him. A lot.

He had made it home every couple of months and twice he had flown Buffy and Dawn to where he was for a few days. Once he'd even flown Willow out and she had been beside herself. He would have brought out Xander and Anya as well, but between managing the store and taking care of one child with another on the way, they had their hands full.

Giles would soon be heading to England and his first term of actual teaching. Buffy suddenly sat up straight. "Oh, oh, I forgot to tell you. Oh my God, you'll be so excited." Giles looked at her, prompting her to continue with a circular motion of his hand. She obeyed his silent order and said, "Willow got accepted."

Giles' eyes widened. "She's been accepted to train as a Watcher?"

Buffy nodded grinning. "She worked like crazy all semester getting her prerequisites done. When she told the Council, they sped up her application and told her to come."

"She's already gone?" Giles started to smile.

Buffy nodded. "She'll be there when you get to England. She and Tara both went. Tara's always wanted to live overseas, so off they went. Willow cannot wait to see you and plans to sign up for all your classes."

Giles sat back, still grinning. He was thrilled that Willow had been accepted, and very glad that she'd be there when he arrived. It felt as if a piece of home was waiting for him. It almost made up for not having Buffy and Dawn with him. Almost, but not quite. The thought of Buffy's new boyfriend made Giles scowl.

Buffy looked at him. "What's the scowl for?"

Giles shook his head. "Nothing."

Dawn grinned. "We think Spike went there too."

Giles dropped his jaw but Buffy nodded, enjoying the look on his face, and finished the story. "He vanished at about the same time Willow did. He's been threatening to go. He and Willow have become good friends, and he and the new Slayer haven't exactly hit it off. Besides, he always sort of liked you and I think he missed you." She sent him a mischievous grin.

Giles rolled his eyes at her. "How am I going to explain Spike to the Council?" He actually had to bite back a smile at the thought. He figured he'd be setting them back on their ears anyway so why not throw Spike in the mix. He might be the first vampire most of the established Watchers had ever seen, let alone the students. Spike could prove useful.

Besides, Spike had grown on him and the two of them had sort of become friends. About three years ago, Spike had reconciled himself to working with Giles and Buffy and had become a reliable part of the team. Giles thought perhaps it was because Spike had finally come to realize that he was never going to get the chip out of his head.

Giles looked at both Buffy and Dawn. "Life in England just got interesting." He began to laugh and Buffy and Dawn joined in.

End Part 1