__Safe Call__
By Adele



Giles anxiously checked his watch for what felt like the millionth time the past hour. In frustration he threw his book down on the coffee table and got up to check his phone again. Why had she not called? He felt his chest tighten when he imagined the possibilities of what might have happened to her. The past three months Buffy and he had experienced a growing closeness between them, and as a result they had created a tacit agreement that Buffy would call him after patrol to let him know that she was alright. The routine had playfully been baptised "the safe call" by her. He had laughed with her when she mentioned it, but he did not think she fully realised how important that phone call was to him. He slept better knowing she had made it home ok, but the downside was that anytime she slightly deviated from when she usually finished her patrols and called him, he would worry like he did now.

Giles was no fool. He knew why he worried so much about her. For several months now he had realised that he had fallen in love with her. He did not know how it happened and could not really remember when, but he had suddenly found himself fully aware one day that he was head over heals in love with his slayer. He had no illusions that he would ever be able to express that love for her, nor that she would ever feel the same way, so he made sure to keep a tight rein on his emotions. Keeping them all bottled up however made moments like these almost unbearable. In addition, there was also the fact that Buffy was dating Riley.

Giles really could not stand him. Oh he was sure a part of his dislike for Riley was the fact that he was jealous of him. Still, there were sides of Riley that he very much resented. He was sick of the macho attitude he always pulled around Buffy, making her feel guilty for her strength and power. Buffy deserved one who thought of her as an equal and Riley certainly did not want to treat her like one.

He was suddenly torn out of his musings by the sound of his phone and he quickly picked it up. "Buffy?"

"No Giles, it's me, Willow."

Suddenly he felt like his heart would stop beating. Why is she calling and not Buffy? "Is Buffy ok?"

"Well, kind of, but you don't need to…." And that was as far as she got before Giles slammed the phone down and rushed out the door to his car.

* * * * *

As Willow hung up the phone in the hallway she could still hear the argument going on in the living room. A few minutes earlier, Riley had entered the house carrying Buffy and placed her on the couch in the living room. It was nothing serious, a slightly sprained ankle and a cut on her foot, but Buffy wanted to avoid pressure on her foot, so she had asked Willow to call Giles and tell him she was alright. Her request was what had lead to the argument playing out as Willow joined Xander, Tara and Anya in the living room, who had come over for a video night. The video however was forgotten as they watched the argument unfold before them.

"I can't believe you Riley, I am getting so sick and tired of your jealousy issues, and especially the timing of them. Need I remind you that those were what lead me to where I am right now?" Buffy said as she was trying to peal her sock away from her bruised foot.

"Issue! Not issues. I only have a problem with one guy, not many. And the reason why I brought it up while patrolling is because it is the only time I get to spend some time with you, because as I have said many times before, you are spending all your time with HIM."

"Riley, you know that is not true" she said as she grimaced when pain shot through her foot.

"Oh please how stupid do you think I am?"

Xander went to open his mouth, but kept quiet when Buffy shot him a glare, knowing full well that Xander could not resist such an opportunity. It was no secret that her friends did not care much for Riley, and as of lately Buffy had started to question her own feelings for him. Buffy let out a long breath and then looked back up at Riley who was towering over her, making no indication that he would back off, nor help her with her cut. It was slightly hard to reach because her foot hurt when she tried to turn it to inspect her cut. "Please Riley, can we not do this right now. My foot throbs and I kind of want to clean this cut up before I bleed any more on this carpet."

Just as Riley was about to respond, and not very favourably based on the scowl on his face, the door flew open and Giles rushes into the living room and instantly goes to Buffy's side and pulls her into a hug. "Are you alright?"

Riley rolled his eyes and threw is arms up into to the air as he stepped away from them.

Buffy revels in the unprecedented display of affection from her watcher and beams a smile at him when he releases her. "Not to worry Giles, just a sprained ankle and a small cut that should be right as rain in a few hours."

"True, but is still hurts now doesn't it" he asked while carefully placing her foot in his lap, letting his fingers run over it, checking to see how big the swelling is.

Buffy carefully covers his hand with one of hers and almost whispers, "Yeah, it does."

Riley's eyes narrows as he watches the other man's fingers stroke her foot, and he can't contain his anger anymore when he sees Buffy's hand stroking Giles'. "See! This is what I am talking about!" he almost shouts out.

Buffy's soft eyes that was focused on Giles' face, immediately hardens and she turns to look at Riley. "You know what Riley, I am sick and tired of this, and in case you have failed to notice I am still bleeding. So right now I plan to take care of that and not worry about your bruised ego." After a short pause she says, "I think you should leave."

For a second it looked like Riley was about to protest, but then he turns away from her and says "fine!", and walks out the door.

For a few seconds nobody said anything, and Giles feels completely out of the loop. He quickly realises he is still stroking Buffy's foot, stops, then clears his throat to break the silence in the room. "So you are sure you are alright" he asks Buffy who was currently looking at her foot.

Her eyes rise to his and she gives him a small smile. "Sure, slayer healing is one of the perks of the job" she quips. Then her face gets a questioning look, "what are you doing here, did not Willow call you to tell you I was alright?"

"Yes I did", Willow says as she sits herself next to Tara on the floor, "but he hung up the phone and apparently rushed over here before I even got to finish my sentence."

Giles felt like an utter prat. In the midst of his emotional rollercoaster that came after Willow's call, the only thought in his head was that he needed to get to her. Needed to do anything to keep her safe. Now he braced himself for the inevitable teasing he was sure to come from Buffy. He almost jumped when he felt her fingers stroke his cheek, and he raised his eyes to hers, amazed at the emotions shining in her eyes.

"Thank you" she almost whispers, as she continues to stroke his cheek.

"For what" he said, as he felt himself getting lost in her eyes.

"For caring."

He smiles at her and says quietly, "I have always cared, Buffy."

The rest of the gang who are now watching the second feature of the evening play out in front of them, all smile knowingly at each other. While Buffy might be in denial, they sure weren't. They all understood Riley's jealousy as they watched the occupants of the sofa being completely oblivious to their surroundings. They had rooted for the watcher and the slayer for some time now, thinking that their relationship should be taken to another level. They had all seen the longing looks when one of them thought the other wasn't looking, and the lingering touches. Now it finally looked liked it would all come out in the open.

Oblivious to their audience, Giles had returned to stroking Buffy's foot, but was quickly pulled back to reality and she winces when he accidentally touches her cut. "Oh I am so sorry, let me help you with that, it must be quite awkward for you when your foot is sprained as well", he says as he removes her foot from his lap and stands to get the medical kit. "Where is your medical kit?"

"It's upstairs, but I kind of feel like laying down, do you mind helping me upstairs to my room", she says as she looks up at him.

He smiles gently at her, and then surprises her by simply picking her up in his arms and carries her towards the staircase. "Not at all Buffy", he murmurs, as she snuggles into his chest, taking full opportunity of the brief moment of closeness she has been given.

* * * * *

Giles gently deposits her in the middle of the bed and then quickly slips into the bathroom and returns with the medical kit. He carefully sits down next to her on the bed and places her injured foot in his lap, and while disinfecting her cut, he looks at her resting on her elbows and asks what has been nagging him since he got the phone call from Willow. "What happened tonight, Buffy?"

She blows out an exasperated breath while she watches him put a small bandage over her cut and then picks up a sports bandage to wrap her foot. "Riley. With his impeccable timing of asking annoying questions – he distracted me, and I tripped on his sword. Resulting in an annoyed slayer with a cut on her foot and a twisted ankle."

She sees Giles' teeth clench as he finishes wrapping her ankle. When he is done, he continues to sit with her foot in his lap, still looking down at her foot while his fingers stroke her bandage. "You were lucky, you could have landed on it differently and done much more damage. Much more….", he quietly trails off.

His hands start to shake as he realises the truth of his words, and his chest tightens once again as he feels his emotions getting the best of him. Buffy watches his shaking hands and quickly sits up and pulls him into a hug, trying her best to comfort him. She feels his arms tighten around her and he buries his head in her hair while his shoulders tremble. He once again surprises her by his unprecedented behaviour by pushing her down on the bed, and following her down engulfed in her arms and his face tucked into her neck. As she tightens her arms around his trembling form, she realises that this is the first time that he has needed her for support. Not only that, she also revels in the wonderful feel of his body stretched out to hers and his hot breath on her neck.

Giles suddenly realises what he is doing and starts to pull away, chiding himself for letting go of his emotions. As he lifts his head from her neck he tries to express how sorry he is. "B-Buffy, I am sorry, I never …"

She interrupts him and pulls him back into her arms. "I think we both need this Giles."

He immediately tightens his arms around her, savouring this once in a lifetime to be in the arms of the woman he loves more than life himself. He tries to stay awake while holding her and being held in return, but her soothing caresses that run over his back inevitable lulls him to sleep. Not long after, her breathing slows down and she joins him in sleep.

Willow and Xander quietly walk up the stairs, wanting to check on Buffy and Giles. Both walk over to her bedroom door and a smile plays across their faces as they notice the two curled up occupants on Buffy's bed. Willow quietly pads into the room and turns of the lamp next to the bed, and then she joins Xander in the door way and both smile at each other as she closes the door behind her.

* * * * *

Buffy came around the next morning to the wonderful sensation of waking up in Giles' arms. They had both moved during the night and he was now behind her, holding her close to his chest, his hand on her stomach under her sweater and his head was buried in her neck. How he managed to breathe was beyond her, but she was not dumb enough to wake him to ask that question. She closed her eyes again, refusing to let the harshness of reality ruin this wonderful moment. As she unconsciously started trailing her fingers up and down Giles' arm that was around her, she tried to pinpoint when her feelings for Giles had changed. She could not figure out when it had happened, it felt like he had made her heart skip faster for the longest time. Knowing that he would never look at her the same way, she had tried to make it work with Riley, but she knew now that it was impossible.

Xander's loud bang on the bathroom door, telling Willow to hurry up made her jump and she knew that reality had just come knocking in the form of a waking Giles. Holding her breath in anticipation of how he would react made her stiffen in his arms, and Giles who was still not fully awake tightened his hold on her and tangled his legs with hers and started stroking her stomach. "Mmmm" was all that rumbled from his chest like a purr, and she had to bite her lip to prevent herself from moaning out loud from the wonderful sensation of the vibrations coming from his chest.

Giles suddenly froze when he realised that his very vivid dream of him being draped around Buffy's body was actually a reality. However, he doubted that she appreciated his hand on her stomach and his growing arousal, so he quickly moved away from her before she noticed. "Buffy, I am sorry… I"

She turned towards him and cut him off before he could finish what he was about to say. "No Giles, I am the one who should apologize, I know you didn't realize it was me, and I certainly know you don't feel that way about me", she said as pain showed in her eyes.

"Buffy, I.."

Before he had the chance to even start that sentence both heard Willow shout "Riley, don't go in there", and the bed room door flew open, and a very pissed of Riley loomed in the doorway.

"I can not believe this!!" Riley yelled as he watched Buffy and Giles get more tangled up in the sheets as they jumped and tried to get away from each other – only resulting in Buffy falling smack into Giles. And another part of him that he had tried to hide from her.

In the meantime, both Willow and Xander had followed Riley into Buffy's room and a full blown shouting match started between them, distracting Riley from what was going on in the bed.

"Who the hell you think you are, Riley, to come barging into this house without knocking", Xander yelled at him.

"I am Buffy's boyfriend, that's who I am, and I would think that gives me the right to…"

"Rights?!", Willow shouted. "There are other people living here to who does not appreciate your attitude around this house and frankly speaking Riley.."

The argument continued as background noise as Buffy raised her eyes to Giles' blushing face. She could see desire and love for her and suddenly everything clicked. He did feel the same way about her as she did about him. All she had to do now was telling him before she knew his conscience would make him feel guilty about it. "You feel this way about me?" she asked softly.

He ducked his head and stuttered out "I . I am so sorry Buffy. I never meant for you to find out. I .."

He quieted when he felt her hand touch his chest and raised his eyes nervously to hers and was astonished by what he saw. Apparently he had been wrong. He sees her eyes drops to his lips and he starts leaning in towards her mouth the same time she moves towards him.

Across the room, Willow sees what is about to happen, and as much as she hates to break this up, she knows this is not the time for this moment of clarity for her friends to continue. She quickly puts a couple of fingers in her mouth and gives a mind-blowing whistle that startles all the occupants in the room. Unfortunately, Buffy's jumps so much that she flies of the bed and falls smack on the floor next to the bed.

Everyone becomes dead quiet and had the room not been carpeted you could hear a pin drop. The absurdity of the situation hits both Buffy and Giles at the same time, and Giles has to bite his lip hard from laughing out loud when he hears a tiny snicker coming from the floor. He quickly looks up at Xander and Willow, and almost looses it again when he sees they are both trying to keep smiles of their faces. The only thing that actually keeps him from laughing out loud is the dark cloud of anger that looms over Riley. Willow takes pity on Riley and motions to Xander to help her bring Riley downstairs.

"Come on Riley, let's Buffy find her dignity again and go downstairs".

Surprisingly, he follows Xander out the door. As Willow leaves the room she turns around in the doorway and looks at Buffy's form which is still on the floor and says with a smile on her lips "come down as soon as you can Buffy."

All she gets is a thumbs up in the air, and once again Giles has to bite his lip and looks down to prevent from laughing again. The door closes and the room is once again in silence.

A few seconds passes, while Giles tries to prevent his laughter to come out. He knows it is a lost cause when he feels a pillow being thrown into his face, and laughs out loud when Buffy's voice comes from her still sitting on the floor with her head barely above the mattress. "Enjoyed that did you, watcher mine?"

"Well, despite the circumstances I must say it has been quite amusing" he chuckles.

They both suddenly get serious and Buffy opens her mouth to talk. He stops her by bending towards her and presses his lips to hers.

At first their lips do not move, both just revel in the feeling of having their lips touch for the first time. Then Giles lets his lips move gently over hers and Buffy feels her heart skip a beat. She raises her hands to tangle in his hair and he snakes an arm around her waist and pulls her up into the bed never breaking the kiss. As she feels his body press into her while his lips gently play with hers she can't prevent a gasp. When Giles feels her mouth open he softly deepens the kiss and next thing he knows their mouths are fused together – their tongues twisting and exploring. He knows he needs to end this before he looses all control and gently eases the kiss, reluctantly pulling his mouth away.

He looks into her desire filled eyes and gently whispers "Riley is still downstairs, you should go talk to him."

She strokes his cheek lovingly and nods while saying "I know."

He gives her a final quick kiss then gets of the bed and moves towards her door. He turns to look at her and gives her a gentle smile. "I'll be in the kitchen if you need me", and then he turns back around again and leaves her room.

* * * * *

Buffy gave herself a couple of more seconds to calm down her breathing, before she stood on shaky legs and proceeded to go downstairs after a quick check in the mirror. She had absolutely no idea what she would say to Riley. Well, she knew she had to end it, that was not even an issue. But breaking up was never easy - even if you were the one doing it.

She stepped into the living room and saw Riley pacing, while Xander was sitting on the couch reading a magazine. Riley turned when he heard her come in and looked at her with blazing anger in his eyes and fists clenched. Xander quickly jumped up and headed for the kitchen.

"Riley, I am sorry but it was not as bad as it looked."

"Right, because finding your girlfriend in bed with another man is usually a good thing!", Riley scoffs.

Buffy crossed her arms across her chest and prepared herself to throw him a fast retort, but then realises that this was not the time for insensitive Buffy to come out. His anger was really justified. "No, Riley, you are right, but what I mean to say is that nothing happened between Giles and me yesterday. He helped me with my cut and then we both fell asleep on the bed." Buffy almost winced when she realized how lame that sounded.

Apparently, Riley agreed full heartedly because his face got flushed and his back and forth pacing increased in speed. "Oh please, Buffy! At least have the decency to be honest with me. Something might not have happened last night, but that is not what this argument is about! The fact is that you are in love with a man who is not ME!!" his voice thundered throughout the house.

Painfully aware that Giles was in the kitchen, and without a doubt heard that, Buffy tried to stall an answer to that question. "Riley, don't..", but she got cut off as Riley yelled at her.

"Don't even try to deny it! I have seen the way you look at him! Tell me the god damn truth, Buffy!"

"Yes" she suddenly exploded. As soon as she said it, all the anger seemed to evaporate from Riley's body. For what seemed like minutes, but in truth only was a few seconds, not a word was said, and all Buffy could hear was the thundering of her own heart. Oh God, oh God, this was not how she meant to let Giles know.

Riley suddenly drew in a deep breath and slowly exhaled as he looked at her. His voice sounded almost serene compared to the anger that had been laced in it when he yelled at her only a few moments ago. "Was that so hard?" He dropped his eyes to the floor, and then suddenly turned to grab his jacket that was on the coffee table and brushed past Buffy to the hallway. "Have a nice life, Buffy."

Buffy turned just as he left the living room. "Riley..." He stopped but did not turn around as he waited for what she was about to say. "I am truly sorry, I never meant to hurt you." she said with a sincere voice.

"Yeah, I know." he answered and then walked out of the house and her life.

In the meantime, not a word had been uttered in the kitchen since the argument had started. Xander, Willow and Tara's eyes had all been glued on Giles, who had kept his eyes on the tea cup cradled in his hands where he was sitting at the kitchen island. The only indication that he had even paid attention to the argument was the tightening of his hands and a brief closing of his eyes when Buffy had admitted to being in love with him.

And then Buffy was in the doorway, her eyes on Giles. He slowly raised his to hers and the air grew thick with tension. Xander suddenly needed to get out of there - fast! He tried to casually stroll towards the back door while as offhandedly as possible said "Oh wow, look at the time, it's...it's time for me not to be here!", and he bolted out the door.

Both Willow and Tara looked worriedly at each other, while Giles and Buffy took no notice of them, and Willow decided that they would not even care if Tara and her left without an explanation - so they quickly followed Xander's suit out the door.

"That was subtle", Buffy murmured, as she tore her gaze away from Giles' and started studying her foot instead.

"Indeed", Giles replied while his hands tightened on the teacup in his hands.

Buffy could feel her heart slamming in her chest and the nervous flutter in her stomach increased as she pondered what to say. Doubt started to fill her. What if he was not in love with her? For all she knew it could purely be a physical thing for him. She needed to say something before the silence would kill her. She raised her eyes again and looked at him. "Giles, I..."

"I am in love with you.", he interrupted.

For a second he was worried that he had said the wrong thing. It seemed as if she had frozen in time the way she looked at him with her slightly agape mouth and wide-eyed stare. Then the next thing he knew he had an armful of Buffy crushed to his chest, her arms clasped around his waist. "Oh thank God", she spoke into his chest as he buried his face into her hair and tightened his arms around her. Their embrace was fierce and possessive. As if now that they had found each other they would never let each other go. Minutes passed where the only sound that could be heard in the room was the slow dripping of the leaking kitchen faucet.

Finally Giles made himself move. Slowly he raised his head from her neck, reluctantly opening his eyes, as by doing so he would wake from a dream and find Buffy disappearing from his arms. In response to his movement, Buffy raised her face to his and he looked into her eyes as he leaned his forehead to hers. "God, I love you, Buffy", he said and before she had the time to say anything he tilted his head and took gentle possession of her mouth.

At first the kiss started off slowly, mouths gently brushing and nipping at each other. But as soon as Buffy felt Giles' tongue trace her lower lip, she could not hold back a moan which quickly granted his tongue access. In a matter of seconds the kiss had turned passionate and their hands were roaming each other's bodies.

Giles tore his mouth away from Buffy's when he felt her small hands run up under his shirt to roam his back, to draw in a much needed air. She proceeded to kiss his neck and he let out a moan as he felt her tongue trace his wildly beating pulse on his neck. "Buffy...", he growled and slightly turned her back towards the kitchen island and pressed himself closer to her body.

Breathless, Buffy looked up into his desired filled eyes and lifted her hand to his cheek, and gently stroked it, which caused his eyes to close due to the wonderful sensation. "Giles...", she said and his eyes quickly opened again to meet hers. "Please make love to me..." Buffy almost lost her breath as she saw his eyes darken with desire, and the next thing she knew he had possessed her mouth again with vigour as he proceeded to lift her up from the floor and coaxed her legs to wrap around his waist as he moved them out of the kitchen and up the stairs towards her room.

In her bedroom, he gently lowered her to the floor as his mouth and hands continued to work havoc on her senses. As their lips and tongues tangled, hands kept busy helping each other divest themselves of their clothing. When nothing but their underwear remained, Giles lifted his head and let his eyes roam her body.

Buffy suddenly felt like hiding her body from his stare, worried that she did not please him. As if Giles felt her inner turmoil, took her face gently between his hands and placed the tenderest of kisses on her lips, and barely removed his lips from hers before letting his breath wash over her lips as he spoke the words that made her heart soar. "God Buffy, you are like an angel..." His mouth moved back down on hers as he lifted her up in his arms again and gently eased them both down on her bed.

As his mouth continued to make love to her mouth, he let his hands trace her curves, making all of Buffy's nerves hum with pleasure. She ran her fingers through his hair and then let them wander over his back, down his sides and then to the front of his chest to learn as much as possible about the body of the man that was posed above her. Nothing in her life had ever prepared her for the feelings Giles was able to bring out in her.

Giles could not prevent a whimper to escape when Buffy's hands brushed his nipples, and he decided he needed to divert her attention before he lost complete control of himself. He started kissing his way over her cheek and spent time on her neck while he let his right hand gently cover her bra clad breast. He continued kissing his way down towards her breasts as he let his left hand move behind her back and unclasped her bra. No sooner had the bra been removed than he started kissing and licking her right breast as he put most of his weight on his left arm so she would not be crushed. Her responses to his ministrations made his stomach tighten in anticipation of what was to come.

He lifted his head to look at her face as he placed his hand on the remaining item on her body that separated her body from his. She jerked in response and her eyes shot open to meet his. She smiled at him and he removed her panties as he dropped his mouth to place kisses on her quivering stomach. He was about to kiss his way down towards her throbbing centre when he felt her hand tug on his shoulder. He raised his eyes questioningly to hers and was amazed at the desire he now saw in her eyes. She shook her head gently as he moved back up towards her. "Please I am too close, I want you inside me the first time."

He lowered his mouth to hers as he felt her hands tug on his boxers. Quickly they managed to remove them, and then they held each other close just kissing as they experienced their naked bodies pressed together for the first time. Soon Giles felt Buffy moving restlessly beneath him and he gently positioned himself between her legs and lifted his mouth from hers to look her in the eyes. When she opened them to meet his, he carefully eased himself into her.

Both moaned as their union was complete and Giles had to bite his lip to prevent himself from loosing himself right there. When he felt he had some more control he gently started to move slowly in and out of her with firm strokes. It did not take long until they were both straining towards each other in a fury of passion, both clutching each other tight while their sounds of pleasure filled the room.

Giles felt the waves of his orgasm starting to wash over him just as he heard Buffy cry out his name in her release. He held on to her tightly as stars exploded behind his eyes, and then fell exhausted into her arms. For a long time neither one of them could move, and all they heard was the sound of their laboured breathing. Not wanting to crush her, Giles eased himself off her and laid down on his side, and then gently drew her into his arms, holding her tight to his chest while he tangled his legs with hers.

After a few seconds Buffy raised her head from where it had been leaning on his chest to look at him. "Wow Giles, I...", she swallowed as she tried to get her voice to work. She quickly found out it was a lost cause, because he had apparently turned all her brain cells to mush along with her body after that intense love making session, and she couldnˇ¦t find any words to express what she felt.

He smiled at her and let a fingers slowly stroke her cheek as he said with slight mischief in his eyes, "Speechless Buffy? So apparently pigs have learned to fly."

With a smile she playfully swatted him on his chest and then placed her hand on his cheek as her facial expression grew serious again. "I can't believe how good we are together. As we have been made for each other." And then her eyes lit up as if she had an epiphany and slowly leaned in to kiss his lips, and whispered "like soul mates" against his lips as she pulled back and searched his eyes. As she saw his eyes mist, she suddenly realised she had never said the words to him, he had just overheard her when she had answered Riley's question, and immediately went to rectify it. "I love you Giles."

Giles swallowed hard, almost unable to believe how happy those words coming from Buffy could make him. "And I love you Buffy, you have become my entire world", he said as he lowered his mouth to her and once again let his hands roam her body.

As passion once again flared between them, both wondered how in the hell they were ever going to be able to get out of the bed, because how it looked right now it seemed like they could never get enough of each other.

* * *