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Chapter 2

Joyce Summers was standing at the sink of the rambling Victorian house she rented on the outskirts of London. Although large, it was cosy enough to feel like home. The stovetop had a bubbling pan with three eggs bouncing around inside and the grill was spitting and sizzling as the bacon and sausages cooked below.

Joyce ran the hot water into the bowl and added the detergent to soak the dishes. Singing softly to herself, she started to load the used dishes into the sink. As the water was running she didn’t hear the bare-footed pad of the man behind her, who startled her by putting his arms around her waist and nuzzling her neck.

“Morning, beautiful.”

“Oh! You made me jump! I didn’t hear you.”

“I’m wounded! Aren’t you supposed to know where I am at every minute of the day?”

Smiling, Joyce turned in his arms, taking in his sleep-mussed hair and heavy eyes. Reaching up to move an errant curl, she stroked her palm down the side of his face before leaning into him and kissing him softly on the lips. Enjoying the sensation, she moved nearer to him snaking one hand behind his back and the other into the curls at the nape of his neck as she deepened the kiss and felt his tongue slide into her mouth. Neither of them heard the door open.

“MOM! GILES! What the………..what are you……….”

Jumping apart, Joyce and Giles turned to stare at the intruder, guilty looks flitting across their faces.

“Erm, Dawn. I didn’t expect you until much later today. I thought you were staying with Willow and Buffy.”

“I am! I just wanted to collect some things before the big sex-fest hen night. And I say again, what the hell is happening?”

Giles and Joyce flicked their eyes at each other, unsure how to start, then Joyce just went for it.

“Dawn, I’m sure you know that Rupert and I have been spending a lot of time together of late, what with the wedding coming up and visiting Ethan and everything. And we’ve always been friends, haven’t we Rupert?”

Giles nodded, not anxious to take over the reins of this particular conversation. He regretted two things: one, he didn’t have his spectacles to take off and busy himself with and two, he wasn’t wearing anything covering his chest. Except his frantically moving hands.

“Well, we found that we had a lot in common. Apart from you and Buffy and the others, we have a shared interest in literature and music.”

“And smoochies it would seem!”

“Now Dawn, don’t be disrespectful to your mother.”

“Oh, sorry………..daddy…”

At the horrified look on Giles’ face, Dawn relented. Truth be told she’d already known there was something going on between them, but knowing it and coming across your mom making out in the kitchen were two entirely different things.

Laughing out loud at the matching looks of panic on her mom’s and Giles’ face, Dawn advanced towards Joyce and hugged her. Turning to Giles, she laid a hand on his arm.

“Really, I’m messing with you. You think I don’t know you’ve been spending the night?”

Giggling anew at the embarrassment that flooded her mom’s cheeks with a becoming pinkness, she continued.

“I’m happy for you really. Anything that makes Mom sing in the mornings is fine with me. Just don’t make me watch.”

Giles smiled tentatively. “It’s a deal. No repeat performance.”

“Good. Now can I have some of that slightly well-done bacon and an egg please?”

Joyce smiled at her youngest before turning to the grill-pan and squealing at the plumes of smoke that were spilling around the sides.

She dropped the pan with a clatter as Dawn tucked into her food after saying “and look into some soundproofing for your bedroom walls, Mom.”

******************************

After clearing away the breakfast dishes, Giles disappeared upstairs with a red tinge to his cheeks and ears as Dawn watched his every move. He’d been quite chatty in a very Giles-like way over breakfast, but nearly every sentence was punctuated with an “erm”, and “ah” or a “dear lord”. Dawn was having such fun teasing him, and she was ignoring the pointed looks her mom was shooting at her.

As Giles left the room and climbed the stairs, Joyce “ahemmed” loudly. Dawn turned to her with a practised look of innocence on her face.

“What? What did I do?”

“You know exactly what you did, Dawn Summers! The poor man is so traumatised right now he can hardly walk.”

This statement was borne out by the stumble and the “Bugger” from the direction of the stairwell.

As mother and daughter dissolved into fits of giggles, the footfalls on the stairs resumed. Joyce looked at Dawn and became serious.

“Are you really ok with this, with me and Rupert?”

The earnest look in her mom’s eyes melted any reservations Dawn may have had.

“Mom, if he makes you happy I’m fine with it. It’s not like I don’t know him and he’s practically brought me up with you anyway. Honestly, I’m happy for you.”

“Really? I’m so glad, sweetheart. I want you to be right with this because…….well, I kinda ……love him…….I guess.”

Dawn squealed, decibels in the high range audible only to dogs, and hugged her mother to her. She really was all right with it. Strangely so. In fact, when she thought about it, it was perfectly logical and natural. Giles had been the only father she’d ever known in truth and she knew he’d take care of her mom.

Releasing each other and giggling like schoolgirls, the two women sipped their coffee in comfortable silence.

“But Buffy’s gonna freak!”

Joyce spat her coffee out on the counter.

************************

Giles showered and dressed, his mind in a whirl. He’d been seeing Joyce in a romantic relationship for about three months but they’d only recently taken that relationship further on a physical level. He’d always admired her, and she was devilishly attractive. And never forgetting the memorable time of the enchanted band candy she was remarkably sexy and stylish. In all, she was his ideal woman – intelligent, well read, and gorgeous and to cap it all she knew of his world, the slayer, the vampires. Chuckling to himself, he wondered why it had taken them so long to get together.

But still, they’d decided to take it slowly, not wanting to involve anyone else until they’d had time to acclimatise to their new relationship. He supposed they’d have to ‘come out’ now that Dawn was in on it. He had to laugh at the scene in the kitchen as he remembered back to earlier. How very British the entire breakfast had been with him perched on a stool, arms covering his bare chest as he hunched over, making polite chit-chat with Joyce and Dawn but avoiding the obvious subject they all were trying to ignore until he felt it acceptable to excuse himself from the table.

He really hoped that both Dawn and Buffy wouldn’t be upset. He loved them both dearly, Buffy especially, and he didn’t want anything to ruin their relationships with him. But on the other hand, he wasn’t about to give Joyce up now. Dawn seemed fine, if a little jumpy but Buffy……..he remembered the last time Joyce had been ‘courting’ and Buffy’s complete inability to accept that her mother had a life of her own. Hopefully Buffy was now able to recognise that her mother wasn’t just a mother but was also an attractive woman who deserved some happiness. And he was just the man to give it to her. Also, he already thought of the two girls as ‘his’ and protected them with a paternal zeal; it wouldn’t be such a big step to actually step into the role for which he’d been understudy for so long.

As he started down the stairs he resolved to speak to Buffy sooner rather than later. He didn’t want Dawn to tell her before he could explain things dreading the spin the excitable young girl would put on it. Before he knew it, Buffy would think she’d walked in on a scene akin to a Roman orgy that morning! No, he would assure Buffy that his intentions towards her mother were entirely honourable. Mostly – he conceded as Ripper nipped in with a few thoughts of his own.

“Oh Giles! You’re dressed – how disappointing!” Dawn teased immediately as he came down the stairs back into the kitchen.

“Quite,” he retorted with a raised eyebrow, taking a seat next to Joyce at the opposite end of the table.

Joyce decided to break into the tense silence before the next round could begin. “I was just asking Dawn how she got on last night with Buffy and Willow, and Amber of course. Apparently they want to go up to the site today to check the arrangements. I think I’ll go along too.”

“Oh, yes – that’s a good idea. I was hoping to call in on Ethan anyway as I won’t get chance after today. We’ve got the stag night tonight then the final preparations tomorrow before the wedding the day after. I’ll give Ethan your regards, I know he’ll be disappointed but he’ll understand.”

Ethan Rayne had been transferred back into the hands of the Watchers’ Council after Sunnydale had collapsed into the Hellmouth and Giles had been instrumental in getting him placed in a rehab facility. He was making good progress and both Giles and Joyce were frequent visitors, helping him to renounce Chaos and come back to some semblance of normality. Giles was rediscovering exactly what an intelligent man he was and Joyce loved to sit and listen to their clipped English tones as they reminisced about the ‘good old days’ before the black arts had seduced them both.

“Thanks, Rupert. I’ll fix up a basket to take to him before you go.”

They smiled at each other, only breaking off when Dawn started making a gagging sound and rolling her eyes.

“DAWN! You are not twelve any more; if you carry on like this I’ll spank you as if you were though!” Joyce warned, her eyes conveying her mood of mixed amusement and sincerity.

Dawn backed away from the table, hands in the air as if in surrender. “Ok, ok! I’ll stop. I need to get my stuff together anyway for the partying on down later. Are you coming too, mom? I don’t know what Willow has planned yet but I think there’s baby oil involved.”

Giles choked on his tea, Joyce rushing to pat him on his back. Flinging her daughter a look that was supposed to be stern, she struggled to hold in her laughter, biting down on her lip and closing her eyes as her shoulders shook.

“Yes, yes. I’ll be there. Now go get your things, Dawn. I’m sure Buffy will be anxious to get her first look at the venue.”

As Dawn scurried off, Joyce turned to the now calmer Giles wiping away the tears that were running down his cheeks as he gathered himself together.

“God help us -- baby oil?” he queried breathlessly.

“Well, it’s probably just some cosmetics party or something. I’m sure it won’t be anything risqué. It is Willow who’s organising it after all. She’s not really …….that way inclined, is she?”

“Hmm. Well. I suppose not.”

Placing a soft kiss on his cheek, Joyce started to busy herself clearing away the breakfast dishes as he finished his tea.

“Do you know what Xander has planned for Spike’s stag night? That is what you call it, right?”

“Yes, it is. But no, I don’t know. All he’s told me is that he’ll be bringing Spike round to my flat at 7.30 pm and I’m to be ready to ‘party’. Sounds horrific.”

Joyce laughed quietly. “Oh, Rupert. You don’t fool me…..I’ve seen you ‘party’ remember? All swagger and attitude, with your curls all swept back. I’m willing to bet that underneath all this tweed and tea there’s a rock and roll animal dying to get out again. I’ve met him and I’d quite like to see him again.”

“Is that right? Well…if you’ve still got those knee boots and the feathery thing handy…” So saying, Giles pulled her towards him, capturing her lips again as he clasped her onto his lap. Joyce wrapped her arms around him and settled in for a long, deep kiss.

“Do I have to get myself a blindfold! Hello, people – impressionable young person here, traumatised for life! Sheesh! Get a room. I’m off – see you later – preferably not all tangled up.”

Realising that Dawn was only kidding, Giles tenderly kissed Joyce again, releasing her to her feet then followed Dawn into the hallway.

“Ahem, Dawn. A word please.”

Dawn adopted her familiar pose, hips kinked to one side, arms folded and head tilted. This was so much fun! She could torture Giles forever with this.

“Are you gonna tell me to drive safe and be home by 11.00? I’m a good girl, Daddy – really.”

Giles rolled his eyes, refusing to be drawn in.

“Very amusing. The thing is, Dawn, I’d like to ask you a favour if I may. When you see Buffy, don’t tell her about…well, you know. I’d like to tell her myself. I think I owe it to her. Would you do that for me, for your mother?”

Seeing Giles’ earnest expression, Dawn softened, uncurling her arms and taking a step toward him.

“Of course. I’m only playing with you. I understand. But just hurry! I can’t keep this in forever.”

Giles was stunned as she enveloped him in a hug and planted a quick kiss on his cheek before turning on her heels and disappearing through the door. Well that went well then. Maybe everything would be all right. Smiling, he returned to the kitchen plotting how to get Joyce back up the stairs as he went.

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TBC





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