Heart and Home

The Hospital

Buffy was tagging along with Xander and Willow at a house party. She was supposed to be their designated driver. When she arrived, Willow and Xander were having fun talking to one another in the corner. She went over to Willow and smiled. "Xander, you finally decided to join the world." Buffy said as she looked at them. "I'm not that bad." He objected. "Yes, you are sometimes." Willow said softly. "But I find it adorable." She added as she leaned in and kissed him deeply and passionately. Buffy to that as her cue to leave so she just walked throughout the house. A younger man came over and handed her a drink. Buffy accepted the drink before giggling as she danced with a few of the boys before she took a break. She stopped a waiter and grabbed two more drinks before downing them both. She stumbled over to the stairs where the phone resided and called Rupert Giles' phone number. "Hello?" Rupert's voice came through the phone. "Giles, I n-need you. I'm at th-that pa-party, Will t-took us. I am so v-very dr-drunk and d-dizzy." She said slurring her words. "Don't move. I'm on my way, Buffy." Rupert said. "Ok-Okay, I will be he-here w-wait- waiting for you." She said drunkenly before hanging up and waiting on the stairs. After hanging up, Rupert grabbed his coat, keys and gets in the car. He drove quickly to the location that Willow said she'd be. He walked straight into the house searching for her. He found Buffy who was passed out on the stairs. "Buffy, are you alright?" He asked her, shaking her gently awake. "Giles, yo-your h-here." She said softly. "Of course I am, Buffy. I am always going to be here for you." Rupert said as he picked her up and brought her back to his car. He gently put her in the passenger seat and buckled her seat belt. "G-G-Giles, I lo-love you." Buffy said gently. "Yo-Your my W-Watcher." She added gently as he shut the car door. "I love you too, my sweet slayer." He said as he went and got into the driver's seat. He started up the car and drove them home. Once they were there, Rupert parked the car, carefully picked up Buffy and brought her inside and up to her bedroom. "At le-least me be-being dr-drunk, got me a fr-free r-ride in yo-your arms." Buffy said as she looked at him. He chuckled. "Next time, all you have to do is ask." He said softly. She nodded as he undressed her completely, cleaning her up before dressing her in her panties, shorts and a nightgown. "C-Can you ju-just ho-hold me?" She asked him. "Of course I can, darling." He said as she moved over and made room for him. He went to his room and got dressed in a pair of boxers and pajama pants before he took off his glasses, placing them on the nightstand. He shut off the lights and joined her in bed. He gently wrapped her arms around her making sure to be very careful. She smiled happily as she snuggled up to him. "Th-thank you, G-Giles." Buffy whispered gently. "Whatever for?" He asked in a hushed voice. "For ca-caring." She replied. He smiled at her happily for kissing her forehead. "I have always cared especially about you, Buffy." He replied as he held her in his arms. He tried to stay awake while holding her and being held in return, but her soothing caresses that ran over his back inevitable lulled him to sleep. But, not long after, Buffy's breathing slowed and she joined him in sleep as well.

The next evening, Rupert and Buffy were out patrolling the cemeteries and streets for vampires or demons. They encountered two rather strong vampires. They fought but they overpowered her and Rupert. Everything felt like it was in slow motion. The vampire then stabbed Rupert Giles with his own disregarded knife. Pain shot up both of his arms, to his neck, then down to his stomach. He collapsed to the ground. Buffy killed her vampire then the one that had stabbed him. "No, No Rupert! Stay with me!" Buffy yelled as she grunted in pain. Buffy ran over and placed her hand onto his stomach. Rupert looked at her stomach and winced gently. Buffy used her shirt to try and control the bleeding. She grabbed her phone and called 9-1-1. She gave them their location and that they were mugged. Then she hung up, she continued putting pressure on his wound. She was soon covered in his blood. "I'm gonna be all right. All right? You don't have to worry." He said as he looked at her. She began crying softly as she yelled for help. "Rupert stay with me." She said softly. "Buffy, its so beautiful, the light. I can see them, Joyce and Jenny." He said softly. "No Rupert, stay with me. Stay with me." She begged before looking at him. "What about me? What about me when you go to the light?" She yelled at him as she grabbed his hands and held them in her own. "Buffy." He said softly. "No! I get it, ok? I get it. You'll be ok. You'll be fine, but what about me? So don't do it for yourself. Do it for me! Please try to live for me. Please do this for me! Because if you die I will never be able to forgive you!" Buffy screamed at him as she began sobbing hysterically. He pulled her into his arms. "For dying? Oh Buffy that isn't in our control, you know that." Rupert said as he looked at Buffy before coughing up blood. She was covered in cuts and bruises. His Slayer, who had tears streaming down her cheeks for me. "No you big git!! For making me love you! So please, Rupert! Please I am begging you to fight. Please!" She begged him, sobbing hysterically into his chest. "I can't do this do this without you. Please do this for me! I need you!" Buffy yelled as she continued crying, he looked at her as his hand went limp. She felt his neck for a pulse but got nothing, she began doing chest compressions. "No, Rupert! Please, stay with me. I need you, you can't leave me." She yelled as an ambulance came, the paramedics took over compressions and soon they revived him. When she heard his heart beat on the machine, she broke down crying. The ambulance took them to the hospital. She hadn't let go of his hand and wasn't planning to. When they got there, she was forcefully separated from him as they brought him upstairs to the OR for emergency surgery to repair the damage. She was questioned about the 'mugging' by the police. Dawn was staying over at her friends house but everyone else was at the hospital. She called home and broke down crying again as she told Willow everything. Willow and Xander came and joined her in the hospital waiting room. Buffy ran over to her, crying heavily. Willow comforted her friend, she had also brought her and Rupert, two clean outfits. "It's okay Buffy. He is going to be okay." Xander encouraged. Buffy nodded as she went and cleaned herself up and changed. She walked out of the bathroom and threw away her old clothes. She walked over to her friends as Dr. Wilkinson came out of the door. "Mrs. Summers?" She called out as Buffy and the Scooby-Doo gang came over. "Yes?" She asked her. "I'm Dr. Wilkinson, I have been assigned as Rupert Giles' health-care provider during his visit here." She explained. "Is Rupert okay?" Buffy asked worriedly. "We were able to stabilize him and repair his injuries. He should be healed fully in about a month but I wanna keep him here a few days, though. He has a lot of healing to do." She said as Buffy looked at her. "He needed a few few sutures to be placed on the artery to stop the bleeding then a few stitches to close the wound." She said as she looked at the young couple. "Where is he?" She asked gently. "Upstairs in the Recovery, Floor 3, Room 310." She replied looking at Buffy, ran upstairs to Rupert's hospital room. When she got to the room she saw him, he was so pale and looked weakened. He had an IV in his right hand and an EKG to monitor his heart rhythm. His left forearm was wrapped in an elastic bandage. She went and sat besides him in a chair as she grabbed his hand and held it in her own. As if on cue the monitors started beeping more as he began to wake up. "Buffy?" He said softly. "Rupert, I am right here. I am not going anywhere." She said as she placed her free hand onto his cheek. "Buffy, are you okay?" He asked as he turned and looked at her. "Am I okay? Look at you not even awake for minute and already caring about how I am." She said as she stood up and kissed his forehead. "No, I am not okay, Rupert." She said softly looking at him. "I watched the man I love die, my soulmate died in my arms, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. There is no way to get back to normal after something like that happens." Buffy said looking at him crying. "I know that we were able to get you back but I realized that you can't leave me. I can't do this without you. When you stopped breathing it felt like a piece of me died with you. I can't lose you too, Rupert. I love you." She said as tears streamed down both of her cheeks. "I love you too, sweetheart." He said softly as he placed his hand onto her cheek. "I am always going to be right here for you, no matter what." He said as her face softened and it took him a moment to realize that he had let the endearment slip out. "Are you worried, Rupert?" She asked him softly as he wiped her tears away. "Yes, am I really being that obvious?" He replied as he held her hand in his own. "Yes but only to me. Sometimes when when you are worried, you get a crinkle in your forehead and call me things like 'sweetheart' and 'love' and stuff. It's when you do stuff like that I can feel myself falling in love with you all over again." She said softly looking at him. "I promise that I am going to be just fine, Buffy." He said as he pulled her onto the bed next to him and held her in his arms. "Thank you, Rupert." She said as she snuggled up to him and held him closely. "I am so sorry about all of this. I should have protected you. I'm so sorry." She said, crying again. "Buffy, you don't ever have to apologize to me." Rupert said as he eyes snapped back open, protesting to the harsh light. "I'm sorry." She said again looking at him. His green eyes turned to hers fixing a gaze on his slayer. His brows furrowed in annoyance. "If you say you're sorry one more time I might have to." He said before mumbling a few things. "Might have to what?" Buffy teased with a cheeky grin on her face. "I'm afraid you seem to be in the position of not doing a lot, Rupert." She added. "I suppose that you are right, Buffy." The ex-watcher said as he chuckled for a moment. "I need a drink." She said softly. "Do you want me to get you some tea?" She added. "That would be very well appreciated, love." He said as he nodded gently. "I won't be long." She said as she disappeared through the door and down the corridor and in search of a vending machine. Rupert saw his chance then and pulled himself up painfully on his elbows he reached over to the small cabinet beside his bed where his clothes had been left. He never understood why every time he came to hospital he had to wear a ridiculous gown. Swinging his legs off the side of the bed his bare feet met the cold lino flooring that sent a shiver running up his spine. The new clothes were thankfully within reach and the doctors had been good enough not to strip him completely bare this time, underwear still remained on. He pulled the gown slowly off finding his arms unusually weak. He grabbed his new shirt from the pile and began pulling an arm into it with a slight struggle. He waited for a minute before pulling his arm through the second sleeve. He noticed that his head became rapidly light and he became unbalanced. The watcher braced his arms to the bed closed his eyes and took a long slow breath, hoping the nausea would subside. He finished putting on his shirt then took off his old pants. "What are you doing?" The Slayer's voice said concerned as she she entered the room. She placed the two cups of steaming green tea on the tray before she rushed over to him. "I'm getting dressed. What's it bloody hell look like I'm doing?" Rupert exclaimed before he grimaced and looked to her. "Would you like some help with your pants, Rupert?" She asked him. He then suddenly realizing that he was standing half naked before her. "Yes, please." He said shyly looking away. She helped him put on his new pants. Then she helped him sit back down in bed and get comfortable. She handed him his tea, she made it just how he liked it. He took a sip and looked at Buffy. "Not bad for hospital tea. Could use a little sugar." He said, his accent heavy. "I have a question for you, Buffy." He said looking at her.

"What is it?" She asked. "When Ethan Rayne turned me into a demon you said 'This was for Giles' as you stabbed me. What did you mean?" Rupert asked her. "I thought that the demon or you had killed well yourself, who is the man that I love with all of my heart. Riley and Spike already knew about my feelings towards you but they didn't care that I was using them. I wasn't going to just stab that demon and just end it. I was going to slowly torture it and make it feel the pain that I felt but that was before I realized it was you, Rupert. Then I felt so sorry about hurting you and about not realizing it sooner." She said looking at him. "Well Ethan told you that the monster killed me so you couldn't have known." He said. She nodded gently as she held him in her arms. "Please don't ever leave me, Rupert." She whispered gently. "I can't do this alone. I love you so much." She added as she cried gently looking down at him. He wiped away her tears and smiled softly. "I am right here, my love and I am not going anywhere. I promise." He said as he pulled her into a gentle but passionate kiss. She leaned in and kissed him back deeply and passionately. "I love you too, Buffy." He said smiling happily. "Aww, you owe me and Willow $50, Xander." Dawn said holding out her hand towards him. "Why?" Buffy asked as she giggled at them. "Me and Willow had an ongoing bet with Xander that you two would end up confessing your feeling to one another before I turned 20. He said it would never happen." Dawn explained as Xander took out his wallet and took out two $50 dollar bills handing one to Dawn and the other to Willow. She giggled at their childish behavior as they came into the room and sat in the various seating options. "Do you hear this, love? They were making bets on how long it would take for us to tell each other of our feelings for one another, how bloody rude." Rupert said, frustrated at them before Buffy soothed him with a gentle kiss on the lips. "It did take us almost a decade to admit our feelings for one another." She said softly looking at her lover. "Yes, you are quite correct." He admitted as he looked at her. "Sleep now, my love. You need to heal." She said softly as she kissed his forehead gently. He nodded and closed his eyes, she covered him up and tucked him back into the bed. "I love you and I will be right here when you wake up." She said as he drifted off to sleep. She sent everyone home and insisted that they get some sleep. She grabbed an extra pillow and laid her head down on the pillow that was placed onto the bed and gently fell asleep while holding onto Rupert's hand to make sure that he wouldn't disappear in the middle of the night. Buffy had woken up in the middle of the night to find that Rupert had turned his head in his sleep, so that Buffy was able to see his face clearly in the moonlight, she watched the tiny movements of his hands and eye. His dreams seemed to blossom into nightmare right before her eyes.  "So G-man, what's the deal with you and Buffy?" Xander asked him. "Don't call me that. And I am taking her out tomorrow night on a date." Rupert told them blushing embarrassedly. "A date, you know like a couple?" Willow said happily. "Yes." Buffy replied as she climbed into Rupert's bed and laying in his arms. Buffy and Rupert went to sleep, snuggling. She smiled happily as she changed into her nightgown and climbed into bed. Rupert did the same as she snuggled up with him. He placed a blanket on them and cuddled together. He read her a story and she slowly fell asleep in his arms. He smiled as he book his glasses and book down on the nightstand. He shut off the light and fell asleep holding Buffy closer to himself. She was cuddling her stuffed pig, Mr.Gordo in her arms as they slept peacefully throughout the night.