Giles sighed as the machine picked up. Apparently, the Xanders were
still out.

"Um.. This is hard to say, harder still to believe. Buffy is
sitting in my living room. Oz and I found her outside my house. Um,
call me back, please."

He hung up and turned to Oz and Buffy.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry for leaving you all." The whisper came so
low that Giles barely caught it.

Giles frowned, immediately concerned. "You have absolutely NOTHING
to be sorry for. All that matters now, is that you're back with us.
And we'll all do our best this time around to make sure you stay with
us."

Oz nodded in agreement with what Giles had said and took a hold of
Buffy's shoulder's gently to look her in the face.

"Giles is right, Buffy. From what I heard, there was no other way.
Once Dawn's blood was spilt the only way for that portal to be closed
was to do something like that. You had only a few minutes at the
most, and of course you would protect her, protect everybody. That's
you. It's what you do." He gave her a hug then.

"You're a special lady, Buffy Summers." Oz moved back then as he saw
Giles moving over.

He crossed the room and dropped a kiss on her forehead. "I swear to
you, this time I'll protect you."

Oz smiled slightly at them both.

"See? Giles can do it. And he's not the only one here for you. I know
Xander and Xander are, and W...willow, and so am I now. I'm done
traveling for a while."

/I am, too, I want to see what can happen with me and Giles. The
Wolf's mostly under control now, so I can help Buffy with her duties.
But why is she blaming herself?/

 

Giles smiled at Oz, liking the thought of the young man sticking
around for a while. Maybe, just maybe, there was a bit of light in
his life.

"We're all here for you, Buffy. Don't forget that. We all love you,
in our own way, and we'll do what we can for you."

 

Giles looked up at the peal of the doorbell. "Ye Gods!! Now what??"

Oz looked up from staring at Buffy and Giles, agreeing silently with
Giles.

/Giles seems to be way more active socially since I left. Or may be
not, he looks pretty frazzled now./

Oz began to think of ways to help the librarian relax as he watched
him got o the door.

/Definitely tense. Maybe a little massage?/

He threw open the door, rather at the end of his rope for the day.
Seeing who it was, he gave out a rather undignified squeak.

Oz jumped up at the look of surprise on Giles face.

/He squeaked? Huh. Ah, now I see./

"Angel!!!"

 

Oz nodded to the vampire standing at Gile's door.

"Angel. Been a while."

 

The werewolf diverted Angel's attention from the man in front of him, and he wasn't sure if he felt relaxed, or more uncomfortable. "Yeah. It has" His eyes flickered from one to the other, as he knew this really *had* been a bad idea. Buffy was gone, and that was that.

What could coming here do to change, or make that better? Angel
swallowed heavily, and he looked up at the sky. Even though it was very early morning, and would be getting light soon, he could still go. Get into his protective car, and drive back the way he had come. "Um...that is." He was turning back again, looking into the Englishman's eyes, and trying to decipher what he saw. Angel's eyes went down to the floor, in some kind of embarrassment, as finally he muttered out in submission.

"Can I come in? Please?"

 

Giles winced when the vampire asked for permission to enter.

"Erm... That may not be for the best.. Um.. Oh, dear." The ex-
Watcher twittered for a few moments more, then relented.

"Oh, all right. Come in.. Just don't freak out on us, please.."

 

Angel frowned, and shook his head as he started forward. "Why would I...."

 

He stepped aside to let Angel in, and saw Ripper and one of the twins
over his shoulder.

"Where's the other Xander, and where's Spike?" he asked.

 

Hearing that familiar voice, Buffy looked up and realized Oz was blocking Angel's view of her. But, truth be told, she had know, deep inside, that he was in Sunnydale. Standing up, she moved into full view.

Like a shy schoolgirl, she gently leant her head to the right, and said
quietly, "Hi, Angel."

 

Angel stopped in mid stride and mid question and stared. "Buffy?" What the hell was going on? She was supposed to be dead. The fact that Giles had a twin, or something similar, failed to fully register, as he stood there looking at someone he had thought he'd lost forever. "Buffy?" He took another step, speechless. Really, what could he say. "I...um...You're...alive?"

 

Giles stepped around Angel and went to meet Ripper and the twin.

"Where are Spike and the other Xander?" he asked. "And which one are
you?" He peered at the twin, trying to determine if this was the
more aggressive or the shyer of the two.

"This is Xander. Alex and Spike went to go kill things." Ripper
shrugged. "We got the message after they left."

Oz stood back and watched everybody. Angel and Buffy both looked so
anxious. Giles looked about to collapse; Xander seemed ready to follow
while Ripper actually looked concerned for his older self.

He cocked his head to one side. "Are you all right? You look like
you need a stiff drink."

Ripper could recognize the signs of too much strain in himself? And
Giles looked about ready to fall over.

The older man shook his head. "Unfortunately, I need to be sober for
this. There's still so much we don't know."

 

"Why don't we go sit?" Oz suggested. "You too, Giles. You sit, I'll
go raid the kitchen."

/Let me take care of you. Looks like this is not going to be a night
for sleeping after all./

 

Giles and Ripper both flashed Oz identical smiles of gratitude.
Well, they would have been identical if one of the faces hadn't been
more age-lined than the other.

"Thank you, Oz," Giles said quietly as he headed for the kitchen.
From the looks of things, Angel and Buffy needed some time alone, to
talk.

Ripper looked to Xander. "Feel like sticking around? Or, would you
rather I walk you home?"

 

Xander considered his options, stay here and possibly
pass out on the couch from exhaustion or walk back
*again* to his apartment through Sunnydale at night
and pass out there. "I'll stay thanks." Despite
popular belief Xander did know, ~well occasionally
knows~ when to shut up. This was defiantly feelin'
like one of those times.

Out of the corner of his eye, Ripper studied the blonde girl and the
male stranger. The girl was attractive, if one was into the petite
blond thing. The stranger was disturbing.. There was something so
very melancholy about him.

Meanwhile, Giles sat down at the kitchen table, and propped his chin
on his hands. He watched the dark-haired vampire and the Slayer
closely. It wasn't really Angel he was worried about.. After having
been tortured by Angel's demon, he was rather inclined to keep as
much distance between them. It was Buffy that concerned him. Why
was she back from the dead? How? Why?
Ripper smiled. "All right, then, come on. Let's go raid the old
man's refrigerator. I haven't eaten in hours!"

He took Xander's hand and pulled him along. He snuck a glance behind
him, to see the girl Buffy utter those oh so fateful words. "We need
to talk."

 
The younger one just nodded. Something was rotten in Sunnydale, but
he didn't know what. And didn't know enough of the people here to
voice his opinion.  Little did Giles know but these very same thoughts were running through Xander's head, with a few quires about
Alex tossed in there for good measure.

 

Ripper smiled. "All right, then, come on. Let's go raid the old
man's refrigerator. I haven't eaten in hours!"

Making her fingers click, then cringing when she remebered Angel hated that,
Buffy sat down and patted the sofa in a gesture for Angel to sit.

"We need to talk."

He took Xander's hand and pulled him along. He snuck a glance behind
him, to see the girl Buffy utter those oh so fateful words. "We need
to talk."

Making her fingers click, then cringing when she remebered Angel hated that,
Buffy sat down and patted the sofa in a gesture for Angel to sit.

"We need to talk."

 

Huh. And how often had those self-same words ripped his heart out?
Ripper could list at least five times, and that was just the serious
relationships.

In the kitchen, Ripper took a seat opposite Giles. "So, that's
Buffy."

Giles looked at him wearily. "I see you've heard a few things about
her already. But, yes, that is Buffy, the Slayer."

Ripper nodded. "I take it from your reaction that you've no ideas as
to the hows and whys of the resurrection thing."

The older man shook his head. "None what so ever."

The younger one just nodded. Something was rotten in Sunnydale, but
he didn't know what. And didn't know enough of the people here to
voice his opinion.

 

Oz sighed and looked at Xander and the Englishmen, before turning to
rummage through Giles cupboards again.

/Two Giles, two Xanders, what was next? Two of me, two of Buffy?
Aha!/

Smiling to himself, he found a large tin and opened it to find
cookies. He could have used his sense of smell but hunting like this,
figuring out where Giles put things, was fun. And listening to the
halting conversations was as well.

 

Angel shook his head, just not sure what to do or say. Everyone else was
carrying on, like nothing of interest could be found in his discovery that Buffy was alive...and right in front of him. "Giles. How did this happen? What...something must have..."

The vampire stopped in mid sentence, as a new look dawned on his face.
"What?" His eyes went from Ripper to Giles and back again, as he took in the new information. "Is it just me, or there two Giles in here?"

 

"Buffy?" At her words, the rest no longer mattered. Another Giles, though younger...another anyone, just didn't matter. Buffy, for whatever reason, was alive.

Angel quickly sat down, looking over to the one he had thought he lost,
and had mourned in his own particular way. "Are you ok? When did you come back..." What could he ask? Angel wasn't sure. "Is here...anything I can get you?"

 

Ripper smothered a grin. Even there being two versions of Rupert
Giles wasn't enough to distract a man from his.. mate? He mentally
shrugged. Whatever the Slayer and the stranger were to each other,
it was their deal, not his.

However.. He leaned across the table. "All right, who's the
melancholy bloke?"

Putting the tin on the table in the middle of the three men sitting
there already he grinned slightly when they jumped a little. Going to
the fridge, he brought out a jug of milk and put that next to the
tin, before sitting down next to Giles and pouring himself a glass of
milk.

Giles looked away. "Perhaps someone else should answer that
question. I'm afraid I'm rather less than biased when it comes to
Angel."

 

Oz sighed and put his glass down before speaking.

"I can, a little. Angel's a vampire with a soul. Couple of years ago
he lost it and caused a lot of problems, then got sucked into Hell.
Before that he hurt Giles, hurt Buffy, killed some...people we knew
and did his best to make us all miserable. He got out of Hell with
a soul again and helped Buffy for a while, but then went to LA a
couple years ago. He's Spike's Sire and tends to sit and brood alot.
He's looking for redemption for the thing's he did when he didn't
have a soul. If ever he loses it again and you have the chance, stake
him."

The kettle whistled then and he got up to make Giles a cup of tea

As Oz spoke, Ripper fetched glasses for him and Xander. He poured
himself a glass of milk as well, and started in on the tin of cookies.

"So, he's an ensouled vampire? Isn't that something of an oxymoron?"
he asked, as he wiped a milk mustache off.

"Yes, well, one wouldn't really expect a vampire to be seeking
redemption either," Giles replied a little sourly. "Oh, thank you,
Oz. I appreciate that a lot," he said when he realized that Oz was
making tea.

Ripper nodded thoughtfully, hands wrapped round the cool glass.

 

Xander munched on his cookies and drank his milk
content to listen to the others and half-doze. That
is until a rather unhappy thought occurred to him.
"Umm guys I left a note at the apartment telling Spike
and Alex to come here. And I know that wouldn't be a
big deal, but ya know how Alex has been acting all
protecting and crap, well he got the entire Angel hating
and I don't think it's wise that they meet, not
without Alex getting a little warning." ~This is so
not good. What does a person have to do to get some
descent rest around here?~

 

Ripper looked over at Xander, and nodded. "If you want, I'll go find
them. That is, if you tell me where I'd be most likely to find
them. Or I could wait at your apartment. You could stay here and
rest."

Giles raised an eyebrow. "I hardly think you know Sunnydale well
enough to make that kind of offer."

The younger man grit his teeth. "I've survived as a prostitute in
London. This town probably offers me slightly less as far as danger
goes, since I'll most likely only run into the demonic dangers here."

The ex-Watcher looked down at his folded hands. "I just don't want
you to get hurt," he admitted grudgingly.

/Ripper doesn't seem too impressed with that./ Yawning again, Oz
thought idly about the differences and the similarities in the younger
and older versions.

/Ripper's both tougher and more vulnerable...more like a lone wolf, or
like he wants to be one. Giles is a leader, but he's actually done the
wolf thing. Wonder if he realizes yet not to worry Ripper too much?/

Ripper snorted. //As if my life for the last year hasn't been about
getting hurt.//

 

Xander shook his head. "No, no, Giles is right. There's no reason
for you to risk yourself unduly, geeze ya know that's the second or
third Giles-type word tonight. Kinda weird, I must've gotten the
vocabulary part of the skills. Anyhoo I think it'd be better if
Angel just left. Easier on everyone."

 

Oz put down two cups of tea, one for Giles and one for himself.
Sitting back down Oz looked at Xander.

"Easier for you. If that's really Buffy out there, it may be better
for her if he stays."

"What's up with Buffy anyway? Shock or something? And don't think I'm not grateful, but how did you spontaneously rise from the dead, without being vampiric or something?"

Looking at Ripper, he continued.

"That said, don't let anyone drive you away. You have more right to be
here than he does."

/Gee, Oz, protective much?/ Yawning once more, he continued.

"Stay. Have a cup of tea. Or," he said, and grinned at Giles as he did
so, "I could look for the rest of Giles hidden stash and we could all
have something stronger."

 

Xander jerked. "No, um, I don't think Giles or Ripper
need any, and we're both underage. Drinking is never
a solution." ~Plus it pisses Alex off and scares me
to death. I refuse to become, or let anyone else
become my father.~

 

/Oops. Forgot about that. Great, way to go, Oz./

 

Giles sighed. "I've imbibed in alcohol far too much this past week
anyhow. It's better that I don't."

Ripper raised an eyebrow at that, but said evenly, "I don't drink."

"Sorry. Just trying to lighten things a bit. It was a stupid thing to
do. And I sorta ignored the underage thing for a while, forgot about
it, really. I'm too tired to make sense, I guess." Oz picked up his
glass of milk and drank, before he could say anymore.

/...and with the fatigue comes the babble. More babble. Oh god, could
this get any worse? Next thing you know I'll be telling them how
tempting it was to not stop drinking after my last time back here.
And Giles asked me to help him with his drinking problem...hah!/

Looking down Oz stared at the table, deciding to keep his mouth shut
from now on.

He leaned back in his chair to watch the rest of them interact. Sort
of odd that his older self was the leader. He'd been Ethan's
follower, yes, but he was developing a need to be on his own.

The older man smiled at the comment and the posture. It reminded him
of the days when he'd been more cock-and-bull than anything else.

 

Xander just nodded. He really just wanted to finish
his cookies and milk and go to sleep. ~Its like my
brain's on overload, one too many weird things
happened and it's just completely shutting down. I
think it needs sleep.~

 

Giles put a hand on Oz's thigh beneath the table, giving the werewolf
a weary smile. "I think that we're all a little too tired to make
sense. Things will be just as confusing in the morning. of course,
but at least sleep will make us all a little better at dealing with
them."

Oz smiled back at Giles. Putting his glass down, he slipped his hand
under the table to rest on top of Gile's and gently squeezed.

/He's right. Sleep will help./

He peered at Xander, who seemed to be about to fall asleep. "Xander,
if you like, go ahead and pick one of the guest rooms to stay in."
He frowned then. "I think though, you'll have to share a bed with
someone. Oz and I can share, but there's Buffy and Ripper here. I
don't know if Angel will stay or not.."

 

 

Oz smiled even more, and felt himself grow hot in the face.

/He wants to sleep with me! Bed with Giles sounds great!/

 

Giles' ears turned a crisp shade of red then, as he realized what
he'd let slip. 'Oz and I can share' Gods! What on earth would
Xander think? Would Oz care that he'd let that tidbit trip off his
tongue?

"Giles is right. I don't mind sleeping with him at all! Err, sharing a
bed I mean!"

/This is why you were gonna keep your mouth shut. But it's truth.../

Ripper looked down at his clasped hands, smiling a little at the gob-
smacked look Giles had on his face. //Didn't mean to let that slip,
did you, Watcher?// He quickly let his face go impassive, not
wanting it to seem that he'd been laughing at Giles.

 

"Huh? Bed, oh that sounds good, but I should wait for
Alex to get here. He'll be soon though I'm sure.
I'll just wait here," Xander let out a hugh yawn,
"until he arrives."

 

Ripper clapped a hand over his mouth to suppress the giggle that
tried to bubble to the surface. It came out as a muffled 'snerk.'

Giles glared at him. He knew that sound. He'd made it himself many,
many times in the past. "And what are you laughing at?"

His younger self shook his head. "You. It's just so ODD watching an
older me go through the 'getting to know you' phase of a
relationship."

The elder Giles shook his head and said conversationally to Xander
and Oz, "Ignore him. I was an unbelievable prat when I was
younger." He said it with a smile on his face, to show he was
teasing Ripper. The younger man responding by sticking his tongue
out.

"Anyway, Xander, feel free to wait for Alex. Would you like me to
make some coffee?"

 

The only sounds to greet the question was a light
snore. Xander had fallen asleep sitting up, his hand
still gripping his glass of milk.

 

Xander jerked straight, "I've got it!" He yelled and
jumped up from his seat, rushing toward the kitchen
phone, where he picked it up mid-ring..... on the
first ring. "Alex?"

 

Nearly falling asleep himself, Oz jumped when
Xander leapt up suddenly to answer the phone.

/Did he actually pick that up before it rang?/

Leaning against Giles, he frowned as he listened to
Xander speak.

"Giles. I think something funny's going on."

 

Xander stared at the phone for who knows how long
before he started to move. He turned back to the
people at the table, "Alex and Spike are coming over."

 

Looking at the expression on Xander's face, Oz
recognized it as the look he got when he was trying to
hide something.

/Only he usually does a better job of it. And Xander
smells nervous, too. What is he up to? Or is it what
Alex is up to?/

 

Xander jerked and then trotted into the living room.
"They're here!" He called over his shoulder.

 

Xander threw the door open and pulled Alex into a
big hug.

 

Sighing contently, he tightened his arms, and nuzzled his
brother's neck inhaling deeply. Scenting him. "Hey
you." He whispered into Xander's skin. "You okay?"

 

Spike staggered back as Xander and Alex hugged and hugged hard,
nearly knocking him over. He flipped his smoke away and watched them.
He told himself he wasn't jealous. They were twins of a sort after
all. He told himself he didn't want to hurt Xander because that would
piss off Alex. He beat his demon over the head with the fact that
Xander was now family and it better get used to it. The demon piped
up with a hopeful plea for the same sort of 'togetherness' that made
Alex family. He beat it again, just not as hard.

~Alex would have my guts fer garters if I even went there.~

"Right. Move the love-fest aside so someone can get in the bloody
door." He said. "Peaches here?"

 

Xander sighed and relaxed. He was safe in his
brother's arms. He wouldn't have to worry about
making anymore hard decisions for awhile. He could
just lean back and let Alex be Alpha for awhile.
~Oooh. We need to talk about that, but in private.
Case how bad it is first.~

"Right. Move the love-fest aside so someone can get in
the bloody
door." He said. "Peaches here?"

"No. He left with Buffy to go somewhere I guess." But
since his head was tucked down into his better half it
came out more like, "mo. E mapht mit luffie ta co
cumflare e leste."

 

Spike blinked. Vampiric hearing or not, it took him a second to
decipher Xander's words. "Left. Buffy. Right. Figures. Bloody wanker.
Hope he doesn't do something stupid."

Of course Angel left with Buffy. He probably couldn't wait to get
into her tight pants. No, that wasn't quite right. Probably couldn't
wait to hold her in his arms and stare sadly at the moon, all
Heathcliff and tragic. Bleh. A regular gothic romance on the moors
for those two.

He slid past the Twins, feeling like he was going to vomit. He hadn't
even seen Angel or Buffy and already he wanted to break something. He
threw himself down on Giles' couch, a leg draped over one arm. Oz and
Giles and Ripper were in the apartment somewhere, but he couldn't
care less. Right now, he almost hoped the wolfboy would smell
something and get in his face. That Giles would snap at him to stop
messing up the furniture with his dirty jeans again, like the old
bathtub days. Something, anything to get rid of the thoughts
and ...he sniffed.. smells of Buffy and Angel.

 

Alex growled softly at Xander's revelation, and petted
his twin's hair soothingly. Not letting go of Xan, he
gingerly maneuvered them inside, and shut the door. "No
Deadboy, huh? Why am I not surprised? Cryptic
vanishing guy. Grab the dead girl. Err, or former
dead girl... Whatever. Get his own answers and leave
everyone else hanging..."

Still petting his twin, Alex looked to Spike and
frowned. He could feel his mate's uneasiness and
frustration. The rise and fall of his emotions...
~Wow. Okay, he like wasn't kiddin' bout the bonding
thingie... Can I kill Deadboy for this? Well, I could
kill him, but could I get away with it? Well, yeah. I
could get away with it... Not upset the rest of the
pack? Hmmm, probably not.~ He shook his head, and
slapped the sudden surge of anger away. ~Not gonna
help right now!~

He smiled at his twin, trying to lighten the mood. For
both him and Spike. "Think it's the hair gel? I think
it's the hair gel. Rotted Deadboy's brain. Hey
Spike? Better watch you for signs of hair product
induced senility... One 'Mighty Mousse' is enough."

 

Xander pulled away abit. Still in his twin's arms
though. Content to listen to banter, he was safe and
while there was a lot to do, it wasn't anything he
could do now. So he might as well revel in his safe-ness.

 

Spike's head snapped up. Logically, through the link, he knew Alex was
just trying to lighten his mood. Unfortunately, comparing him in any
way to Angel was not the way to do it. Especially not now. He glared
hard at his mate. Glared until the rest of Alex's feelings caught up
with him.

The bond was close to telepathy being so new. New enough that he
could tell Alex was thinking of killing... for him. This was new. Not
new maybe from Alex, but new to Spike in general. With Dru, he did
the killing. With Angelus, well.. they did enough killing, but never
for each other. Buffy, oh forget it. She wanted to kill him, no
matter how much he loved her.

He stuck his hands in his duster pockets and pulled it close around
him, slouching down deeper into the couch. Right, he was acting a
touch Angel right now. Alex didn't have to point it out though. But
he care. In his own bonded, instinctual way, he cared.

~Or is it just the bond? Would he give a flying fuck otherwise? Would
I?~ Spike knew he would. Stupid as that was, he would. Right? ~Just
felt so damn good to be a part of something...someone... God, I *am*
acting like the Pouf!~

He threw himself up off the couch and stalked to the kitchen. Stopped
on a dime when he saw it was occupied. Spun and stalked back out the
apartment door, passed Alex and Xander. On the stoop, he lit a
smoke , sighed and, in a blurry of motion, punched the cement/stucco
wall. The all cracked a bit. His hand crack a bit more, knuckles
bloodied.

 

"Well, that went over well..." Alex growled softly,
and pressed his forehead to his twins. Spike's blow to
the wall wasn't subtle. It didn't take enhanced
senses to hear it or feel it rattle the pictures on
the wall inside. But none of that really registered
to Alex. No, he could feel it on the inside, through
himself.

He sighed, kissing Xander gently on the forehead.
"Get whatever you need, 'kay? I'm gonna talk to
Spike, and then we're for home..." Reluctantly, he
released his twin, and smiled reassuringly. "Be right
back in."

Silently, Alex moved outside with one final grin at
his 'little brother', and shut the door behind
himself. He slid one arm around his vampire, and
grasped the Spike's wounded hand. Purring softly, he
raised the bloody knuckles to his lips and kissed the
wounds, licking lightly at the blood. "You wanna give
this party a miss? Head for home? Cause we can do
that. Right now."

 

Xander stared for a moment at the closed door.
Something besides sex had occurred between the two,
that was for sure. He had a feeling that he wouldn't
be able to find out about it until he got home. So he
headed for the kitchen. He grabbed his implements of
doom, and turned to the others at the table. "Alex,
Spike and I are leaving. We'll be around, if
something comes up, call, if we aren't there leave a
message. Umm," Xander turned his gaze to Giles and
Oz, "you guys have fun. And that's all I have to say
about that." Xander turned and left with a smile on
his face. Just goes to show that anyone with eyes
could see that those had some kind of chemistry going
on between them. Xander sat on the couch giving Spike
and Alex a few more minutes in case they needed it.

 

Spike couldn't stop the shudder that went through him. Alex's lips,
his tongue licking at his bloody knuckles... His eyes closed, lips
parted as he hissed softly. Finally, he let his eyes flutter open and
leaned in to rub his forehead to Alex's. "Yeah, I do. Don't think I'm
quite up to dealing with Angel or..." He could barely get the name
out of his mouth, "Buffy right now. Not looking forward to a huge
over-protective blowout, if you know what I mean." ~Not looking
forward to dealing with her now period. Or her great soddin' lover.~

"Got a clue. Too much. Too fast. All now. Yeah,
got sumthin' of a clue." Alex grinned ruefully, and
kiss Spike softly. "We deal... Later."

Yeah, he knew he was being chicken shit but didn't care. He *knew* he
wasn't up to facing the woman he'd proclaimed his love to, or the man
who's arms he'd spent so much time in, just now. Not while this...
thing... this bond with Alex was so fresh. They wouldn't
understand.  They get angry, pull stakes, throw him about, all in
the name of protection. Of protecting Alex from him. Never mind the
flood of emotions that as sure to come when he laid eyes on either of
them. The last thing he wanted was Alex to get confused and think
that he, Spike, didn't want him.

"Get your twin an' lets' bail." He said, pulling away and taking a
drag off his smoke.

 

Nodding, Alex turn and placed his hand on the
doorknob. He turned back hesitantly, and paused.
"They couldn't you know... Separate us. Not now. Not
ever after. I'd kill them." He shifted his gaze and
stared into space testing his own thoughts out loud.
"Even Buffy. I- I think. Wouldn't want to... But I-"
He shrugged unable to finish the sentence. ~Your the
only one who could end this, Spike... And you'd better
kill me to do it. Cause I will you... Break my heart
and I'll stake yours.~

He turned the knob quickly, and opened the door.
"Xan? You ready? Let's make with the leaving, 'kay?"

 

Xander jumped up from the couch. "Yeah. Cool, k.
Byes guys!" Xander shouted into the kitchen. Xander
thought about babbling, not meaning to babble but with
the knowledge that if he really started talking about
anything important that he would also start to babble.
So he choose to keep his mouth shut. See what
unfolded. And he slammed the door on the way out.

 

Giles propped his head on his chin, listening to the activity in the
living room. He chose to remain silent. Xander's behavior had been
decidedly.. ODD. Something brewing beneath the surface there,
something he hadn't wanted the others to know about.

The door slammed shut, and Giles knew that Xander, Alex, and Spike
were gone. The fact that Spike had arrived with Alex was
interesting..

"Well, that leaves the three of us. I need to get to bed. I've got
to open the store in the morning." One hand snuck beneath the table
to once again rub Oz's knee. Xander's parting comment to them. The
boy was more observant than he wanted anyone to believe.

Ripper shrugged. "I'm not really ready to hit the sheets. Do you
mind if I watch TV or something?"

The Watcher shook his head. "There's plenty of books, and plenty to
watch on the television. And when you are ready for bed, there's two
guest rooms upstairs. Take your pick."

[Oh yeah, both are definitely available for you to
use. I intend to spend the night with Giles. Well,
sleeping, anyway.] Oz thought to himself.

"Right then." Ripper moved into the living room and began perusing
the books.

Giles turned to Oz. "Xander WAS acting oddly, right? I'm not just
being paranoid?"

 

Oz shook his head.

"No, you weren't. There was something odd about when
he was on the phone, too. He smelt pretty nervous when
he hung up. Something's going on."

 

Giles shook his head. "I'm not going to try and figure out what's
going on in the twins' collective mind. At least, not right now.
NOW is the time for this old man to head for bed. Unlike you
children.. er, younger people, I can't function on less than five
hours of sleep."

[You still look good to me, Giles] Opening his mouth, Oz spoke.
"Good point, I'm tired too. But I think you could run us 'younger
people' ragged, usually."

He looked over at Oz. "Your choice. Guest room or my room?"

 

Oz stared back at Giles and thought for a minute. [Once I do this,
that's it. That big step. I've only been back in Sunnydale a day, seen
Giles for a few hours. Am I ready for this?]

He took and deep breath and stepped up to Giles. [Yeah. Let's give it
a shot.]

"Your room I think."

 

Giles smiled shyly. He'd hoped that Oz would reply that way.
Admittedly, he didn't expect anything to happen--he WAS dead tired,
and this -thing- between him and Oz was still so new.. But he
thought he might be able to sleep better knowing there was someone he
cared for next to him in the bed.

Oz smiled back. It'd be nice to get to bed at last, and somehow he
just knew he would feel rested for the first time since hearing about
Buffy from Devon several days earlier.

He took Oz's hand, then, saying, "To bed then. Gods know, I need
sleep." He then led the young werewolf through the living toward the
stairs.

Oz curled his fingers around Giles and felt himself begin to unwind.
Closing his eyes, he trusted Giles wouldn't let him walk into
anything.

"Goodnight, Ripper," he said as he passed his younger self.

"Night." Oz said in turn, opening his eyes to half smile at the
younger Giles.

Ripper merely grinned as he looked up from the book in his hand and
waved. Oddly enough, he was pleased to see his older self with a
spark of happiness in him.

 

Giles returned the wave with his free hand and continued to lead Oz
up the stairs. He carefully guided the younger man to his bedroom,
noting the closed eyes.

Once there, he let go of Oz's hand and gave him a gently shove toward
the bed.

"I'm going to brush my teeth and change into pajamas," he said as he
dug in a drawer for the aforementioned clothes. "If you want, help
yourself to pj's, toothbrush, whatever you need. I'll be right back."

"Okay Giles."

Oz lay back on the bed, feet flat on the floor and stretched his arms
out before sitting back up again. Taking his jeans and shirt off he
pulled on a pair of Giles pajama pants and snorted in amusement. As
Giles was about a foot taller than Oz, the legs were too and easily
covered his legs and feet, in fact, if he wasn't careful he'd trip.
Pulling them up he sat back down to wait for Giles to come back.

Listening to Giles move around in the bathroom Oz smiled to himself.

/This is...domestic. Oh wait./ Standing again, he pulled the sides of
the bed down ready for getting in.

Giles took the cotton night clothes to the bathroom and changed,
chucking the day's outfit into the hamper. He brushed his teeth and
headed back for the bedroom.

Seeing Giles appear again in the doorway Oz smiled at him.

"Hi."

 

Giles smiled back, more at the sight of his pajama pants puddling on
the floor around Oz's feet. "Hello, Oz," he replied, humor in his
voice.

/Wow. What a body. Tweed is very very deceptive./ Oz stared at Giles'
body, and the muscles usually hidden by his clothes.

He walked around to the side of the bed he normally slept on. "I'll
warn you, I tend to cuddle in my sleep. If I start to get annoying,
just shove me off," he said as he sat down and put his long legs on
the bed.

 

Swallowing, Oz began to speak, still stunned at how good Giles looked.

"Cuddling's fine. I do that a bit too." Moving to the other side of
the bed and holding the legs of his borrowed pajamas as he did so, Oz
got under the covers. Lying on his side, he propped his face on his
hand to look at Giles with a smile on his face.

/Now this is not how I expected to end the day. What a great surprise.
And cuddling, too. I love cuddles./

 

Giles grinned a little at Oz. "And what, pray tell, is so
interesting?" he asked, teasingly.

"You are. You surprise me." Oz put his hand down so his head was on
the pillow, still looking at Giles as he did so.

Giles raised an eyebrow at that. /HE/ surprised Oz. That was
something to ponder.

/Why not? Nice view. Very very nice./

He slid down until he was lying on his back and put on hand under his
head, the other his stomach. //Gods.. I can't believe how much has
happened. My doppelganger is downstairs. Buffy is back. There are
two of Xander. And Oz is lying in my bed. Definitely NOT a normal
day in Sunnydale. Normally I don't get this much weirdness, arcane
or not, in a WEEK.//

 

"That's okay though. I like surprises. As long as another me doesn’t
turn up, anyway. Or Spike. One of him's plenty."

He shuddered violently at the thought of there being two Spike's.
That would truly be the end of the world.

/You're babbling again. This is why you should keep to the laconic
thing. And Giles looks as if he has enough on his mind already without
throwing the idea of two or more Spikes at him./

Oz stretched his hand out and put it over the one on Giles stomach.

"You okay Giles? If you want to vent, go for it. You know I can keep
my mouth shut and I think you need to talk." He yawned, closing his
eyes.

"Okay, maybe not now, it's late. But if you need to, anytime. Or still
now, if you're gonna have trouble sleeping."

/Still babbling. Just want to let him know I'm here though. He's
smart, he'll figure it out./

 

Giles took the hand that Oz had placed on his hand and placed a kiss
in the palm. "I think I'll sleep fine. I'm too tired to ponder this
day's events in detail. Besides, you need your rest too. Let's just
sleep. Morning will undoubtedly shed some interesting light on
things."

 

"'Kay then." Oz muttered. After a minute he moved closer to Giles and
put his head on his chest.

Tomorrow was already here and he need his sleep.

Giles closed his eyes and placed one hand on the small of Oz's
back. "Sleep well," he mumbled, then tumbled into Morpheus' realm.