Title: Taking A Chance On Love
Author: Gileswench

(notes and disclaimer with part one)

For some time after Buffy left, Giles continued to stand, staring, in the middle of his apartment. Of all the things she could have said, that was the one he expected least...which, he now realized, was precisely why he should have been less surprised.

"Loves me?" he whispered to himself. A slow grin spread across his face. "She loves me. Buffy loves me."

A joyful giggle escaped his lips. He looked up to see an elderly neighbor peer in his still open door.

"Have you gone nuts?" she asked bluntly.

"Hmm...? Oh! No, Mrs. Thurman. Everything's fine," he assured her happily. Even the old bat who kept trying to make something dirty out of his late-night visits from multiple pretty young girls couldn't spoil his mood now. "In fact, everything's wonderful."

"Wonderful," she grunted around her cigarette. "Well could you close your damn door? I don't want to have to stare at you grinning like Bugs Bunny."

"Mrs. Thurman, if you don't wish to see me smiling," he said sunnily, "I suggest you avoid my door from now on. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lady to find."

He swept past his astonished neighbor. A moment later, he passed her again when he came sheepishly back to close the door. That finished, he was on his way again. He knew Buffy. He knew her hiding places. He would find her, bring her back, and kiss her senseless.

All he needed to do was track her down.

*****

Xander looked up from kissing Anya when the door to his basement slammed open, then shut again behind Buffy. He watched her stomp down the stairs, his mouth hanging open slightly.

"Xander!" Anya scolded. "Why did you stop? I thought we were going to have - oh. What are you doing here, Buffy? Xander and I were going to have -"

"I know what you were going to have." Buffy stalled her with a raised hand. "I really don't need to hear it. I just need someplace to hide. Someplace Giles won't come."

"Um...why here?" Xander asked. "Not that I don't love to see you, but this isn't a good time. Besides, it's not completely unknown for Giles to come here. Speaking of which, why is it you want to avoid him?"

"Because I told him something I didn't mean for him to find out and now I'm totally embarrassed."

"So what?" Anya sniffed. "He's old. He probably won't remember whatever it is tomorrow. He's always telling me about how he forgets things I've told him almost as soon as I say them. I think he should be tested for Alzheimer's disease."

"Giles doesn't have Alzheimer's," Xander explained patiently. "He just doesn't want to hear everything you say to him."

"Then we should get his hearing checked, too."

"Believe me," Buffy said, "he hears just fine. In fact, he hears loud and clear. Guys, what am I gonna do?" She slumped onto the edge of the bed. "I am so dead."

"So what did you say to him?" Xander asked. "After everything you and the G-man have been through together, what the hell has you hiding from him?"

"You told him, didn't you?" Anya surmised.

"Told him what?"

"That she wants to have sex with him, Xander."

"Oh that. Is that what you told him?"

Buffy stared dumbfounded at her friends.

"What?" she managed at last. "You guys knew?"

"Guessed, is more like it," Xander said. "And then Will told me for sure yesterday."

"It's not like you've been very subtle," Anya said. "Every time you come over to the shop I see you ogling Giles."

"Oh God," Buffy muttered. "I thought nobody knew. Was Giles the only one who didn't?"

"I dunno, Buffy," Xander said. "How about your mom?"

"I am beyond doomed," the Slayer moaned as she flopped back on the bed.

*****

An hour later, Giles was running out of ideas for where Buffy might have gone. She wasn't with Willow, at the Espresso Pump, hanging at the mall, dancing at The Bronze, or sitting on her favorite headstone in Shady Meadows cemetery. He slumped against the monument and considered his options.

He could give up, go home, and wait for her to come to him. He could go back to the shop and sort books or research prophecy. He could retrace his steps and see if Buffy showed up anywhere he'd been before.

Or he could head her off at the pass.

He got in his car and headed for Revello Drive.

*****

Joyce looked up from her stack of paperwork when the knock sounded at the door. She was startled to find Giles on her doorstep, looking eager yet nervous.

"Rupert, hello. What are you doing here?"

"Hello, Joyce. Um...may I...?" he gestured to indicate he'd like to come in.

"Oh! I'm sorry." She stood aside and allowed him in. "I'm afraid Buffy isn't here.

"Is it alright if I wait for her, then? There's something I need to speak to her about."

"Of course. Would you like some tea? Or maybe you could join me in a glass of wine. I'm celebrating. The gallery is in the black, at long last."

"Oh, how lovely. Yes. Yes, I'd like that, if it's no trouble."

"Sit down. I'm not sure where Buffy is, so it could be a while."

"As long as I'm not putting you out." He settled himself on the couch. "I wouldn't want to intrude."

"I'm glad to have a friendly face around to cheer me on," Joyce said. "Just make sure you make happy noises for me, and you can stay as long as you want."

She headed for the kitchen. Giles settled himself more comfortably and reflected on the sense of his actions. He quickly realized this might not have been as good an idea as it had seemed at first glance. True, Buffy would have to come home some time. But how was Joyce going to react if he grabbed her daughter, covering her with kisses the instant she entered the house?

It was too late, though. Joyce returned with a bottle of white wine and two glasses on a tray.

"Is chardonnay alright?"

"Lovely." Giles really preferred red wines and didn't care for chardonnay at all. Still, if it helped Joyce accept him as Buffy's lover, he knew he'd drink motor oil and smile through his misery. "Shall I pour?"

"Why thank you, kind sir," Joyce laughed. "You really are a gentleman, aren't you?"

"My mother would be pleased to hear me called one," he demurred. Handing Joyce her glass, he raised his. "What shall we drink to?"

"How about to prosperity?"

"Prosperity."

They clinked glasses and sipped. Giles hid his grimace as best he could behind a smile.

"But you didn't come here to drink wine and hear about the gallery's profits, did you?" Joyce said. "You came here to see Buffy. What's on your mind?"

"Oh...ah...I'm afraid it's something..." He blushed and smiled shyly. "Well...I don't really feel I can say anything until I've spoken to Buffy about it."

"You don't need to be bashful. I think I can guess what this is about." She smiled broadly. "I think it's wonderful news."

Giles' jaw dropped. He gaped like a goldfish.

"Y-you...do?" he managed at last.

"Oh yes."

"You don't think people will consider it inappropriate?"

"Please! In this day and age, anyone who can't get past a little thing like that needs to wake up and join the modern world. I've actually been expecting this for a while now."

"Really?" Giles felt more and more at sea. He could barely stop himself doing a passable impression of a goldfish. "And you're not...I mean...in light of our...well...I'm not quite sure how to put this..."

"You mean the night we rocked the casbah?" She waved that away. "We really weren't ourselves that night. It happened. It's over. Let's just do our best to forget about it. We can't let one fluke stop us from looking for happiness elsewhere."

"That's...um...very generous of you, Joyce. I wasn't certain you'd look at it in this light. You're really pleased about this? Honestly?"

"Really and honestly. I hope you'll be very happy together."

"Thank you," he managed at last. He was still short of breath and terribly befuddled, but if Joyce wasn't angry, he felt it would be unwise to push the matter. "I want everyone to be...comfortable with this."

"Don't be ridiculous," Joyce said with a smile. "You have every right to happiness. So," she raised her glass again, "to finding love and happiness."

"Love and happiness. Yes, of course."

Joy bubbled up inside Giles. Buffy loved him, Joyce approved, and soon his wildest dreams would come true. All he needed was for Buffy to walk through that door and hold still long enough for him to tell her how much he loved her.

As if on cue, the door swung open and Buffy walked in. When she saw Giles, she went still.

"You're here," she said in an oddly flat voice. "I - I didn't see your car."

"I parked round the corner," he said as he set down his wineglass. "I didn't want you to bolt again before I could do this."

He moved to her, took her in his arms, and pressed his lips to hers for the first time. When her arms tightened around him, he felt a surge of love rush through his entire body and soul. Again and again he kissed her, all the while murmuring soft words of devotion.

The sound of shattering glass brought the couple to their senses. They turned as one to see Joyce staring in confusion and horror at them.

"What the hell is going on here?" She demanded.

"Mom, I know this is sort of a shock," Buffy said sheepishly as she disentangled herself from Giles, "but...well...surprise?"

"I - I thought...you said you were happy for us," Giles stuttered. "You said you knew..."

"Buffy? You were talking about Buffy? I thought...Buffy said...aren't you marrying that pretty black woman you brought into the gallery that time?"

"Why did you take Olivia to the gallery?" Buffy asked. "How many times?"

"I...I took her there, once. She collects African tribal art, and I knew your mother had some excellent examples," he said. "But that was months ago." He turned back to Joyce. "Where did you get the idea I was going to marry her?"

"Buffy mentioned her a few times, recently, about how close you two were," Joyce said. "I just...I guess I assumed...but that's not the point." Her voice went cold and gained strength. "The point is, how long has this been going on?"

Buffy took hold of Giles' wrist and glanced at his watch.

"About two minutes, give or take," she said.

"Don't take that glib tone with me, young lady. Now, we're going into the dining room, sitting down at that table, and talking about this." She looked pointedly at Giles. "All of us."

Giles took Buffy's hand and followed Joyce to the dining room table. He held out a chair for his love, then sat next to her.

"Joyce...I really don't know what to say," he began.

"I do," Buffy said. "Mom, I know you're worried, but this isn't a bad thing. Weird, yes. Bad, no."

"Really? Not bad?" Joyce scoffed. "Buffy, have you thought about this at all? What about Riley? When do you plan to tell him about this? I thought you had a date tonight."

"Not anymore. We split today...and that's after only two weeks of trying to call it quits with him."

"And what about your work?" Joyce persisted. "How are you going to handle being together and working together?"

"We've always been together," Buffy said. "Now...we'll just be more together. I watch his back, he watches mine, we both live longer, happier lives. The end."

"What Buffy is trying to say, I believe," Giles said more diplomatically, "is that the more committed we are to one another personally, the better team we make in the field."

"See? Giles speaks my language." She looked adoringly at him. "That's kinda neat."

"Oh brother," Joyce muttered. "Look, I just want to make sure you know what you're doing. You haven't eaten any chocolate lately, have you?"

"I had a mocha yesterday," Buffy said flippantly. "Seemed okay when Ethan Rayne handed it to me."

"Please don't joke about that," Giles shuddered. "And I've been...chocolate-free for a very long time."

"Mom, the long and the short of it is that this is up to us, not you. I'm all grown up." Her voice gentled as she turned to Giles. "My life, my choice. My guy."

"I know you don't need my permission," Joyce said. "And it's not as if you've asked my advice about your love life since you went on your first date. I guess I just want to make sure you've thought this through. And whether you want my advice or not, I'm going to give it to you both: don't rush into anything. Take some time to make sure this is real."

"What do you mean 'take some time'?" Giles asked, frowning in confusion. "What, precisely, are you asking?"

"I want you to wait a little while to...have this relationship."

"Still not getting it, Mom. Could you repeat that once more, this time maybe in English?"

"I know you're both adults, and you can ignore me if you want to, but...I'd like you to wait a while before you...consummate this relationship. Just to make sure this is really right for you both."

Buffy and Giles stared at Joyce, then at each other, then back at Joyce again.

"Um...Mom...I don't get it..."

"She wants us to postpone having sex, Buffy."

"I know that," the girl said with a disgusted glare at Giles. "Contrary to popular opinion, I do have a brain and I scored real high on my SAT verbals." She turned back to her mother. "What I don't get is why you thought Giles and I would fall straight into bed together before we've even had a single date."

"It wasn't entirely out of the realm of possibility," Giles mumbled. "At least, I'd rather hoped it wasn't."

"We'll get to that," Buffy promised. "Later, but the right time will come. For now, I sort of want to wait, anyway. Not because I'm not sure, but because I want it to be as special as possible when it happens."

"So...all I've done tonight is embarrass everybody?" Joyce asked sheepishly. "I feel like such an idiot."

"You're not, Mom. You're a concerned mother...which is sometimes a little difficult to tell apart from an idiot, but really isn't the same thing."

Giles felt a small kick against his ankle under the table. he got the hint.

"Yes, really, a very different thing. We're...we're grateful for your concern, actually." He glanced at his girlfriend to see if his response met with her approval. He gave a small sigh of relief when he saw her smile. "And I want you to know that Buffy means the world to me. It's always been my business to keep her safe."

"Goes both ways," Buffy said happily. "So you see, Mom? Nothing to worry about."

"Then I'm going to back off and lick my wounds," Joyce said with some humor. "Buffy, this isn't how I expected things to turn out, but it's not the first time you've surprised the hell out of me. And, as much as I didn't see this coming, I have to admit it could have been a lot worse. Whatever his faults, Rupert does at least have a pulse. Just be happy. That's what matters most to me."

"So...we can go now? 'Cause I was thinking patrol, maybe an after-staking snack, early bedtime. How's that sound to you, Giles?"

"Sounds lovely." He raised an eyebrow at Joyce in query. "We are done, yes?"

"Go on. Remember to keep your eyes open on patrol. Have fun - but not too much fun, okay?"

"Okay. You're the greatest, Mom. Bye!"

"Good-bye, Joyce, and thank you."

The pair headed out the door, holding hands and grinning delightedly.