Heart and Home

The Truth Spell

After the destruction of Sunnydale, Buffy and the Scooby Gang lived together with Giles in England. It was different than what they were used to but they made it work. Buffy sat up in bed with a gasp, staring wildly ahead, pushing herself slowly to her feet, she opened the door carefully and peeked out into the darkened hallway. She leaned against her doorframe for a moment as she waited for her heartbeat to calm down. Needing to comfort herself, she first checked on her sister Dawn who was in the room next to her. She was sleeping peacefully tucked in with a small stuffed animal in her arms. Buffy smiled as she checked in on Willow who was across from the bathroom. She went down to the other end of the hallway and checked in on Xander. She then walked downstairs and went to Giles' room which was next to the downstairs bathroom opposite the dining room. She smiled as she went into the kitchen and sat down. Buffy did sleep for the rest of the night, instead, she was sitting in a kitchen chair, looking at the monthly bills and figuring out what they needed to cut back on. Soon Willow stumbled into the room sleepy-eyed. "Buffy? What're you doing up this early in the morning." Willow said as she went over to the stove with a tea kettle on it. "I am going through the bills and I was working on my project in the basement, ya know the place that all of you are forbidden to enter. I've had it in progress ever since we moved here. There are also two surprises for a certain someone and one for you Willow." She said as she looked at Willow. "Ah, does this person have brunette hair and green eyes?" Willow asked her. "Yes, but it's for all of us." She said looking at him. "The water's still warm. Giles is up, then?" Willow mused, picking up the kettle from its resting place to pour herself a mug of tea. "Yes, I am." Rupert said as he slowly drank his tea. Buffy began making breakfast for everyone. She made pancakes, sausage, and eggs. She made orange juice as well as coffee. She set everything out at the dining room table. "Breakfast is Ready, Everyone!" She yelled and everyone came running and sat at the table. She smiled as she watched them all file in and sit in their seats. They all began to dig in and eat their breakfast together, as a family.

After breakfast, Buffy stopped everyone from leaving. "Everyone, you know that I have the basement off limits because of a project that I was working on. Since it's I have a surprise for all of you. Follow me." She said as she brought them downstairs into the basement that was cleaned out and carpeted. The walls were lined with bookshelves that had all of the books they managed to save. "So this is where all my books have gone." He said gently. In the middle of the room, there was a large rectangular table with six chairs around it. There were also three rows of empty bookshelves for Giles so he can keep up his collection. "I know it's not the large library at school but." She said but was cut off. "It's wonderful, Buffy. I'll start moving the rest of my books in immediately." Rupert said as he hugged her happily. She smiled as she hugged him back. "That's not all, follow me." She said as she led them into the sparring room which also doubled as their armory for their weapons. When everyone was finished being surprised, Buffy led Willow into a separate room that had all of her witchcraft supplies and books on shelves, a Cauldron, and in the corner an altar. "This is a safe place for you to be able to practice your magic, Will. What do you think?" She asked her best friend. "Oh, I love it!" She said as she hugged her friend before going inside and exploring the room.

Later in the afternoon, the sound of wood hitting wood echoed throughout their small library in the basement. It was a training session for Buffy, and another session of pain for Rupert, in their new room. She tried to hold back, she really did, but every time she pulled her strikes, Rupert would just get angry at her, before lecturing her before he hit back harder. "How are you ever supposed to learn precision, if you don't fight with everything you have!" Rupert growled, swinging the quarterstaff to meet hers. "Giles." Buffy said as she started to reply, parrying his blow, and striking out with one of her own. "No offense, but if I fought you with everything I have you wouldn't be standing." She said worriedly as she looked at him. "Let me be the judge of that." He said as he connected a hard blow against her shoulder. "And give me some credit! I have managed to defend myself since before you were born, ya know!" He said as he blocked her attacks. With that remark, her blows came faster and with deadlier accuracy. Rupert did all he could to keep up with the Slayer but was beginning to tire. Perhaps, he shouldn't have egged her on quite so much. About halfway through their next match, Rupert collapsed to the floor. "Ouch!" Rupert groaned out as he lay on the matted floor. Buffy dropped her staff and ran to his side. She gently placed her jacket underneath his head for support. "Giles! Oh my god! Are you okay?" She asked him worriedly. "I'm not sure." He said as he tried to move, and found a shooting pain racing down his sides, arms and back. "Ow! Damnit! No, I'm not." He said as she looked at him. "Let me see." She said, immediately helping him sit up and taking off his jacket, and loosening his tie. "I'm sorry, I feel so bad, Giles, I never meant to hurt you." She said softly as he unbuttoned his shirt for her. She saw bruises on his arms, sides, and back. "Oh Giles, I can not in good conscience get back to pummeling you." Buffy said as she gently ran her fingers over his bruises. She looked down at him with pure remorse and guilt in her eyes. "You were not pummeling me, ow!" Rupert protested, looking up at her. "I'm so sorry, Giles." Buffy said with tears in her eyes. "I'm going to be just fine, but could you help me to my room?" He asked her. "Of course." She said as she gently wrapped her arms around him and helped him stand and walk upstairs to the main floor before helping him into his room and into his bed. "Oh, Giles. You should have told me I was hurting you." She said softly as she took off his clothes leaving him shirtless. "Buffy, what are you doing?" Giles questioned. "I'm making sure that you're not bleeding internally or hurt too bad. I can't lose you too Giles." She replied as she inspected his wounds and injuries. "Okay, I will rest here and heal today if not only to put your mind at ease." Rupert said as he shifted on the bed and got into a more comfortable position. Buffy then ran down the stairs, into the kitchen, grabbing their First Aid Kit and a few icepacks. She then walked back upstairs and began treating Rupert's injuries. She placed the wrapped ice packs on each of his bruises and bandaged his wounds. She made sure that her movements were gentle but precise so as to not harm him further. She soon left him to rest for rest of the day, bringing him some food and tea every now and again.

When the night came around, Buffy, Willow, and Dawn went patrolling around the town. They encountered a rather large demon who was talking about the destruction of the town, so Willow used her magic to force him to talk. They got him to talk and absorbed all of the information he provided before Buffy killed him and buried the body in the cemetery. When they got back, Buffy cleaned up before she went over and entered Giles' room quietly opening the door, to check on him. Then out of nowhere the lights flicked on. "Buffy?" Rupert asked from the doorway She whirled around and looked at him. Rupert Giles was an older, intelligent, and muscular man. He had brunette hair and green eyes. He looked at the intruder in his home curiously. "Giles! Don't sneak up on people like that!" She said as she looked at him. "I was just in the bathroom." He said his sentence trailing off. Buffy nodded her head softly, her nerves still a little frayed. She had forgotten that her Watcher could move so stealthily. "Giles, How are feeling, why are you up?" She asked him curiously. Giles held up his hands placating, still a little wary of her incensed state. "I was actually just catching up on the latest reports from our friends in Denmark." Rupert said softly. Buffy sighed quietly, settling herself in as he shared his research with growing enthusiasm. She watched as her Watcher's eyes sparkled with so much life even as he recounted the gory details of a man-eating beast. "After some research, it seems our creature may not even be a werewolf at all, but instead, it appears to be a rather ancient being known as the Amarok, which isn't in fact a shapeshifter b-but..." He trailed off sheepishly as she stared at him smiling happily. "I-I'm boring you, aren't I?" He asked her gently. "No, not at all. I think it's adorable when you get all worked up about something. So was it an interesting conversation?" Buffy asked as she hopped off the stool where she had settled. Rupert frowned and tilted his head toward her. "Yes, I would say so." He said as he folded his arms and leaned forward, leveling a faux-stern look on her.

"Buffy Summers, why are you in my room though?" He asked her sternly. "I came in with the intention of checking on you but then I wanted to sleep and cuddle you." She said as the blonde's eyes went wide, and she slapped her hands over her open mouth. "I don't know why I said that." Buffy said bright red embarrassed as she ran to the bathroom. "Buffy, what do you mean?" He asked her. "I mean that I want to run my fingers through your soft, curly brunette hair and stare into your green eyes as you make love to me." She said as she tried to stop herself from talking. For once, Rupert Giles was speechless, had she really just said that to him, or was this all a dream? "Buffy, what's the matter?" He asked her curiously. Buffy buried her head into one of his pillows which muffled her response. "Buffy, do you feel the irresistible desire to answer all questions you're asked with the absolute truth?" Rupert asked her, as he walked over and sat down next to her. "Yes, it must have been the truth spell that Willow did to get the last demon to talk." She explained. Rupert walked over to the stack of books he had been reading earlier and began to flip through them again. It shouldn't be that hard to figure out how to undo the effects. He opened the bathroom door and faced his stricken slayer. "It's okay, I'll fix it." He said as he looked at her. She came out and sat on his bed. The two of them remained quiet for the hour or so that it took for Rupert to work out and then perform the solution and remove the effects of the spell. After it was finished, Buffy bolted out and upstairs to her bedroom. She slammed the door shut and jumped into her bed crying. Rupert followed her to her room. She had shut the door. He knocked gently. "Buffy, can I come in?" He asked her gently. "Yeah." She said as she wiped away her tears. He walked in and gently shut the door behind himself. "Buffy, we really should talk about what you said earlier." Rupert asked her gently as he sat down next to her. "Do we have to, Giles? I think that I am going to die of embarrassment before we even start the conversation." She said blushing madly. "Can I call you, Rupert." She asked him gently. He nodded curiously. "Why did you say all of that?" He asked her as he kneeled in front of the young woman. "I love you, Rupert Giles. I always have but I know that you don't feel that way about me." She said as the heat rose in her cheeks. "Buffy, I.." He started but Buffy raised her eyes to Rupert's blushing face. Suddenly everything clicked. "You love me?" She asked him gently. He nodded gently as he pulled her close and kissed her deeply and passionately. She looked at him curiously. "What are we, Rupert?" She asked him curiously. "Well, what do you want us to be?" He asked as he kneeled on the ground in front of his bed looking up at her. "Married." Buffy said looking down at him. The unfiltered shock on Rupert Giles' face was priceless. "I mean not right away but one day. We could start off by dating." She said looking at him. "Maybe tomorrow night, I have the perfect place?" Rupert asked her. "Of course." She asked as he took her hand and brought it up to his lips kissing it gently. She giggled happily as she pulled him up and kissed him deeply and passionately on the lips. He smirked as he kissed her back just as passionately.