Paycheck: Part 4

Buffy was dressed in her new sweater and she had her arm firmly tucked in Giles' as they walked through the streets after the show, looking for a place to find some dessert. Neither of them was ready for the evening to end, each enjoying the relaxation, and the company.

Giles saw a place he liked down the block and started to walk in that direction. As they walked in the door his eyes widened in dismay and he quickly tried to turn Buffy around. Before they got out on the sidewalk a voice rang out. "Oh, my God. Look, it's Buffy and Mr. Giles."

Buffy glanced up at Giles with a look of chagrin. "Are they following you around?"

Rhonda and Michelle were beckoning them over, yelling across the room. "Come sit with us."

Giles wanted to run as far as he could. He didn't feel like sharing Buffy and he certainly didn't want to spend any more time with the two of them. But, as much as he wanted to, he didn't feel that he could be that rude. Taking a deep breath he escorted Buffy over to the table and the two of them sat down.

Rhonda beamed at them. "You guys made up. That is so sweet." She looked at Michelle. "Isn't that sweet?"

Michelle nodded. "Totally sweet."

Giles let out a long-suffering sigh and turned to Buffy. "What would you like?"

Buffy glanced up at the menu on the wall. "Hot chocolate and one of those." She pointed to the remains of an éclair sitting in front of Michelle.

Giles grinned and went up to the counter. Buffy looked at the two girls. "So, when do you go home?" Buffy crossed her fingers that it would be tomorrow.

"In a week."

Buffy had to work hard not to curse. With her luck they'd be on her plane. "You guys here on your own?"

Rhonda grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. "Well, yeah. We don't have a boyfriend who lives here."

Giles returned just in time to hear her comment. He opened his mouth to protest when Buffy shook her head at him. Frowning, he sat down. She leaned into him. "It's not worth it. They won't believe you."

Giles sighed and leaned back in his chair, stretching out his legs, trying to get as comfortable as possible for the grueling time ahead. Michelle took another bite of éclair and then looked at Buffy. "So, who's taking care of the baby?"

Buffy's eyebrows rose. "What baby?"

Michelle pointed at her. "Your baby."

Buffy placed her hand on her chest. "My baby?"

Michelle nodded. "Yeah, well, his baby too." She pointed at Giles this time.

Giles sat up in his chair. "I beg your pardon?"

Rhonda looked at Buffy appraisingly. "I didn't even know you were pregnant. You sure got your figure back."

Buffy turned to Giles. "I’m lost. How about you?"

Giles leaned on the table with an elbow. "I think you have the wrong idea about me and Buffy."

Rhonda looked confused. "What, you mean you guys don't love each other?"

Giles opened his mouth and then shut it. Glancing quickly at Buffy he spoke. "Well, yes, I suppose we do."

"And you guys haven't been like this ever since you met?" Rhonda had two of her fingers crossed.

"Well, in a manner of speaking."

"And tell me you guys aren't totally together right now."

Giles shot a look at Buffy, hoping to get some help but she was softly smiling at him and he found himself smiling back. Buffy reached for his hand and answered. "Right now, we are totally together." Being apart from him didn't even bear thinking about.

Giles laced his fingers through hers and squeezed her hand. His heart was pounding as he felt her skin against his and he couldn't stop looking at her. Then he realized that someone was calling his name. Giles reluctantly pulled his eyes away and searched for the caller. His order was ready. Giles looked down at their hands and knew that he didn't really want to let go of her hand.

Rhonda was grinning at them both and she nudged Michelle. Michelle stood up. "I'll get it."

Rhonda went back to the interrogation. "So, Mr. Giles, will you be moving back to Sunnydale now? Now that you're back together?"

Giles looked at Rhonda and furrowed his brow. "What?"

"You know, moving back with Buffy. You shouldn't really leave her to raise that baby all on her own."

Giles rolled his eyes, exasperated and he spoke very slowly. "There is no baby. We've never even…" Giles blushed and didn't finish his sentence.

Buffy blushed as well but she was still further back in the conversation. She tightened her grip on Giles' hand. "I want you to answer her question, about coming back to Sunnydale."

Giles tried hard not to wince as Buffy's grip grew even tighter. "It's not that simple, Buffy."

Buffy felt a surge of anger and loneliness go through her and she let go of his hand. "Oh." Giles could feel her withdraw.

Giles had to resist the urge to grab it back, to do anything to keep her from slipping away from him. "It's not. You know that."

"No, I don't. It seems really simple to me. You belong with me. You never should have left."

"I don't want to have this conversation here. Can we talk about this later?" Buffy turned her head away and Giles could see a sheen of tears in her eyes. He turned her head back to face him and then left his fingers lightly touching her cheek. "We'll talk about it, I promise."

Buffy's lips tightened. She felt lost again. "Will we really? Or are you just going to tell me no when we're alone. Are you even thinking about it? Have you ever thought about it?"

Giles let out a pained laugh. "Oh, Buffy. Every day since I left. Every hour of every day. I've almost gone back a thousand times."

"Why didn't you, then?"

Giles shook his head. "It wasn't time."

Rhonda helped out. "Besides you were with that other guy."

Michelle nodded. "Yeah, the guy with the coat." She leaned forwards, wanting to help, wanting to make sure Buffy knew who she was talking about. "You know, the one you had sex with at the Bronze." Buffy shot them both a look that usually made vampires run. They both ignored her. Michelle pointed to the éclair sitting in front of Buffy. "You gonna eat that?"

Giles stood up and grabbed Buffy, lifting her off her chair and onto her feet. He spoke to Rhonda, his tone curt. "Please, eat it. We have to go."

Buffy let out a protesting cry. "But I want it."

Giles swept it up, angrily, and with Buffy in tow he headed for the counter. "May we have a box, please?"

The éclair was soon in its own little box and Giles picked it up. Summoning up a terse smile he muttered good night to Michelle and Rhonda and then left the shop, dragging Buffy behind him.

Michelle watched the box leaving the store with a sad look on her face. "He just told me I could eat that."

Rhonda started picking at Giles' scone. "He left his."

Michelle brightened up a little at that. "I like scones, not as much as éclairs, but they're pretty good."

Rhonda nodded. Then she looked at the door. "They are so in love with each other."

Michelle agreed, spitting out scone crumbs. "Totally."

***

Giles was muttering. "Insufferable busy bodies."

He started to stride quickly down the street and Buffy had to run to keep up with him. Finally she dug her heels in and forced him to stop. "Giles."

Giles swung around and he snapped at her. "What?"

Buffy frowned at him. "What are you so mad about? What's with the record setting dash down the street?" Giles glared at her and then he let out a long breath. He shook his head and he took a step as if to start walking again. Buffy held him in place. "Giles. Talk to me."

Giles clenched his jaw but didn't respond. He spoke, but he didn't address what was really bothering him. He wasn't even sure what was bothering him, except that the mention of Spike and Buffy having sex made him want to strangle something. "Did you know that people talked about us in high school?"

"Is that what's bothering you? Gossip?"

Giles ran a hand through his hair. "Did you?"

"Sort of. I mean I never took it seriously. But kids would always ask me where you were, you know, in that certain tone of voice. But I just ignored it."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"What good would that have done? It's not like we couldn't just not see each other."

"No, but we could have been more discreet about it."

"Giles, it's no big. Trust me, that one didn't even leave a scar. In the soap opera that was my life in high school that barely showed up as a subplot." She shook his arm. "What's got you so angry right now?"

"I'm not angry, Buffy."

Buffy snorted. "Right. You look like you're gonna blow a gasket." She thought back on the conversation. "Is this about Spike again?"

Giles started walking again. "Can we please not talk about this?"

Buffy stopped him again. "Pretty soon we're not going to be able to say a word to each other."

Giles opened his mouth as if to speak but then he shut it again. In a few seconds he tried again. "I just don't…" He shook his head. "Never mind." He tried to walk again and again Buffy stopped him. Giles glared down at her. "I want to walk."

She let go of him. "Fine. Walk." She stood there as he started walking away.

When he realized that she wasn't with him he turned around and glared at her. "Buffy."

She glared back. "Giles." A woman walked by them and she gave Giles the once over, an appreciative look in her eyes. It made Buffy livid. She glared at the woman. "What are you looking at?" The woman quickly averted her eyes and walked past.

Giles shifted so he could watch the woman walk away. When he turned back to Buffy he was surprised by the angry look on her face. He gestured to her. "Now what are you so angry about?"

Buffy scowled. "That woman. She looked like she wanted to eat you alive. And you just looked at her."

"So?"

"What do you mean, so?"

"Why do you care?"

Buffy opened her mouth as if to speak but then she shut it again. She tried again. "I just don't like…" She frowned. "Never mind."

Giles shook his head at the insanity of this conversation and the uncomfortable emotions he was feeling. He walked back to where she was standing. "So you can have a relationship, with a vampire, no less, but I'm not allowed to have anyone?"

"I didn't say that."

"What did you say, then?"

"You can't have anyone here."

"Why?"

"Because then you might not come home to me."

Giles closed his eyes briefly, not even sure why he was pushing this conversation, not even sure where he wanted it to end up. He was reasonably sure that it would only end up somewhere painful. "So, if I moved back to Sunnydale, you wouldn't care if I got involved with someone?"

Buffy frowned. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Why? Because it's gross? Because I'm so very, very old?"

"No, because I just don't want… because you…" Buffy let out a cry of frustration. "I don't know why."

Giles almost jumped out of his skin when a voice spoke beside him. It was Rhonda. "Would the two of you just kiss, already? The sexual tension here is killing me." Michelle nodded.

Giles counted to ten. Then he did it again. He turned to Rhonda. "First of all, this conversation is none of your affair. Secondly, I'm not going to kiss Buffy, and thirdly, please go away."

Buffy put her hands on her hips. "What's so horrible about kissing me?"

Giles shot her an incredulous stare. "Buffy, listen to yourself."

"I don't want to listen to myself. I want to know why you won't kiss me."

"Why on earth would I kiss you? Just because they tell me to?"

A hurt look flashed across Buffy's face. When she spoke her voice was small. "You don't want to kiss me?" She was so tired of feeling unloved.

Giles ran a hand through his hair, hopelessly confused. He gestured at Rhonda and Michelle. "You do understand that they think we've been involved for years. They think we just need to kiss and make up and then we'll live happily ever after. They're wrong."

Buffy dropped her gaze. "Fine." She started to walk away. "Let's go."

Rhonda poked Giles. "Wrong move. I don't think you should have told her that." Giles glared at her.

Michelle pointed at a rapidly disappearing Buffy. "You better hurry."

Giles let out a frustrated groan and took off. Rhonda called out after him. "You really do just need to kiss and make up already." She sighed and looked at Michelle. "Some people just don't appreciate how hard I work."

Michelle sighed. "They really don't." They both watched Giles run after Buffy.

End of Part 4