The Radio Incident

After Death

Rupert Giles was standing by the door, holding a couple of suitcases, staring at Buffy. Buffy stares back. Giles puts down his bags, comes forward. Buffy walks forward until they are face-to-face. "Oh God, Buffy." He said happily as he hugged her. She hugs him back, closes her eyes. "You're alive. You're here. And you're still..." His voice was cut off and became strained "...remarkably strong." He said. "Huh? Oh." She said as she let him go. "Sorry." She said softly. "Willow told me, but I didn't really let myself believe ..." Giles said softly looking her over. "I take a little getting used to. I'm still getting used to me." Buffy teased him. He looked at her. "It's, uh ... you're" Giles started unable to find the right word. "A miracle?" Buffy finished for him. "Yes. But then, I always thought so." Giles said as placed his hand on Buffy's cheek and looks at her fondly. "Giles, I love you." She said as she pulled him closer to herself and rested her head onto his chest. "Buffy?" Giles said softly confused. "I died and the first thing that I thought when I woke up was home much I needed you, Giles." She said looking up at him. "Take me back home, Please." She said looking at him. "Of course, Buffy. Dawn do you want to come?" Giles asked her. Dawn nodded and they took her back to the house. They walked inside and he walked into the kitchen and prepare a cup of chamomile tea to help her sleep. He walked back upstairs and gave her the tea. She smiled and reluctantly drank it. She took off her shoes, jacket, clothes. She grabbed on of his shirts and put it on before climbing underneath her covers.  "Me and you cuddle. I haven't slept since I got back. You being next to me always helps me sleep." She admitted blushing softly. "Alright then." Giles said as he took off his shoes, and got ready for bed, wearing only pajama pants. He climbed into her bed underneath the blankets besides her. She pulled him close and closed her eyes. She settled down onto her bed and smiled as she discreetly smelled the blankets that she stole from him. 'They smell like Giles. My wonderful, sexy, manly watcher.' She surprisingly thought to herself. 'Where the hell did that come from?' She asked herself as she slowly fell asleep. He took off his glasses, setting them on her nightstand. He then shut off the light and covered them up.

Buffy had fallen into a deep peaceful sleep while cuddled up with Giles. Dawn went and used the bathroom before she came back to them. "Giles, did you know that Buffy has been having really bad nightmares? She won't tell me about them and I'm her sister. She barely talks about them to Willow and they are best friends." Dawn said she walked into the room. "It's always been you, that she calls for." Dawn explained. "Willow told me. It really threw me at first, the sight of my strong older sister thrashing about on her bed, calling out people's names. Willow, Xander, Oz, Angel, Anya, Mom, me and sometimes even Jenny. Well that's what Willow said." Dawn admitted as she looked at him. Rupert's eyes jerked up and a hint of pain could be seen in them. "But whenever she's calling for help, it's always you, Giles." She said looking at the older watcher. He nodded gently as Dawn went to her room. 'Rupert and Buffy were walking in to a park at night. A hedge cut into the shape of an elephant, covered with festive lights. People walking around. They heard a circus huckster calling out. Buffy wearing overalls and pigtails, pulling Giles by the hand. "Come on! Come on!" Buffy yelled as she pulled him through crowds of people. "Slow down! I'm coming, Buffy." Giles yelled as he caught up with her grabbing her by the hand. Carnival booths, colorful lights. Buffy turns into a vampire and goes to a booth vender and gets a large bag of blood. She joined back up with Rupert. She was drinking it the blood with the face of a vampire. "Oh, now you're gonna get that all over your face." Giles said as he looked at her. Buffy turns and her face is covered in blood. The color changes as if a negative were inverted. The moment bled into the next and she was standing on a pile of bodies of everyone she knew and loved. They were all dead at her hands, she was completely covered in their blood. Buffy looked down and screamed her friends names. "This is all your fault, Buffy." The vampire Dawn said as she advanced towards Buffy. Buffy looked in her arms and Rupert was there, dead with two little holes in his neck. She was horrified, she held the body close and screamed for him.' She was thrashing around on the bed unable to move. She opened her eyes and saw a woman sitting on her chest. She tried to resist and was finally able too when she bolted up right in the bed trying to catch her breath. "Giles! Rupert!" She screamed as tears flowed down her cheeks. He continued to hold her in his arms. "Buffy, it's okay. Shhhh, I'm here." He said as he held her. "Rupert." She said softly as she hugged him gently. "Do you wanna talk about it? Talking about makes it less scary." He said looking at her. She nodded as she looked back at him. "It was horrible it started with us at the carnival and it was normal with us. Until I turned into a vampire and bought blood from a street vender and drank it. Then it turned into me standing on a pile of bodies of everyone with blood all over my body. Then Dawn showed up as a vampire. Then it turned into me holding your dead corpse in my arms from me killing you. There was so much blood everywhere, Rupert. So much blood." She said, crying her eyes out. "It's okay, Buffy. I'm right here, alive and well." He whispered to her as he dried her tears. "Then when I woke up, I couldn't move no matter how hard I tried. There was a woman sitting on my chest and it was really hard to breathe." She explained, looking at him. "Is it always the same dream?" He asked her. She nodded softly. "I'm not going anywhere. And I will do some research tomorrow when I wake up." He said as he looked at her. She nodded gently in understanding. He carried her up to his bedroom and laid her down on the bed. "Can you hold me, Rupert?" She asked him, she didn't want to be alone. "Always." He said as he climbed into the bed and pulled her into his arms. Buffy gently nuzzled her head into his neck like a child. "Now sleep, Buffy. You are safe, I am going to be right here by your side." He demanded as she closed her eyes. She nodded gently as he held her in his warm embrace. He then closed his eyes and they fell asleep holding one another.