Title:  Floodgates (part 1 of 2)
Rating:  FRAO (Adults Only)
Pairing:  Buffy/Giles
Summary:  What should have happened when Giles came back in ‘Flooded’
Disclaimer:  These are not my characters.  They belong to Joss, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB & Mutant Enemy.  This is purely for fun.

**********

Giles stood in the doorway for several minutes watching them.  They were researching a new threat and didn’t notice him.  He smiled as Dawn found a reference to the M'Fashnik demon and attempted pronounce its name.  As Buffy confirmed that Dawn had found the correct demon, his smile grew wider.  They appeared to have everything under control.  He thought about leaving, but he couldn’t take his eyes off Buffy.  The sight of her mesmerized him; he couldn’t believe she was real.

When Buffy noticed him, his breath caught in his throat.  As he started to move towards her, he realized he was still holding his suitcases.  Setting them on the floor, he walked over to her.

“Oh God, Buffy,” he whispered before pulling her into his arms.  He could count on one hand the number of times he’d embraced her this way.

They talked, but he can’t remember what was spoken between them.  Instead, he could remember her strength as she clung to him - as though her life depended on it; he could remember how her eyes brightened as he caressed her cheek; he could remember how the world seemed to fall away, leaving only the two of them.

At that moment, he could almost let himself believe she’d never died.

Almost.

**********

Giles tried to keep his mind on the conversation as Buffy told him about her financial problems.  Though, his mind kept drifting to an earlier conversation.  He’d tried to talk to her in the training room at the Magic Box.  He’d stuttered and tripped over his words like a nervous schoolboy.  He barely remembered their conversation.

She had told him about her dreams, dreams of waking up in a box.  ‘If I’d known. . .’ he thought.  ‘What?  What could I have done?  Willow was determined to bring Buffy back, and she was just as determined to hide it from me until she could gloat about it.  She’s actually proud of what she’s done.’

His mind was brought back to the issues at hand when Buffy plopped herself down on the couch, letting out a sigh.

“Well, if it's any consolation,” Giles told her, “life can be. . . pretty overwhelming even for people who haven't been. . .where you were.”

Buffy mumbled half-heartedly, “I guess.”

Something was wrong.  There was something she wasn’t telling him, wasn’t telling anyone.  “Buffy, do you wish you hadn’t come back?”

She looked at him, shocked.  “God no.  It’s just – everything’s so different.  I feel like I don’t belong here.  No, that’s not it.  I feel like I’m being punished.”

Before he could answer, a noise from the front door caught their attention.  Buffy was on her feet in an instant.  As she reached for the door, it came crashing in.  She grabbed the M'Fashnik demon came inside, breaking everything in its path.

Giles watched as Buffy led it to the kitchen and threw it into the basement.  He was at a loss as to why she didn’t just take the fight outside but didn’t question her motives.  She’d fought it before and knew more about its tactics.  By the time he’d gone down the stairs into the basement, the fight was over.

He looked around, not believing the sight.  There was water everywhere.  “Buffy, what happened?  Did the demon cause this?”

“It’s a long story,” she said as she turned to look at him.

**********

Giles waited as Buffy changed into dry clothes.  She’d been a different person when she was fighting the demon.  As soon as the threat was removed, though, she reverted to an unemotional state.  He was worried about her.  This wasn’t the Buffy he’d known for over five years.  Something had changed, and he wasn’t entirely certain it was due to being brought back to life.

He needed to talk to Willow.  Her method of bringing her back could be to blame.  If she was channeling dark magic –

**********

Giles walked out of the kitchen, putting Willow from his mind.  He would deal with her later.  Right now, Buffy needed him, now more than ever before.  Not only did she need financial help – another mess caused by Willow, no doubt – she needed emotional support.

“Giles?”

The voice made him stop.  “Buffy.  I thought you were upstairs.”

“I couldn’t sleep,” she admitted.  She was silent a moment before asking, “How can you be glad I’m back but hate Willow for doing it?”

“Buffy, I –” he searched for the right words.  “I love having you here, but Willow shouldn’t have used the methods she did.  She put everyone in danger, including you.”  He noticed her confused expression.  “She didn’t research the spell thoroughly and didn’t think to dig up –” he stopped abruptly, not knowing how Buffy would react.

“It’s okay, Giles.  You can say it.  She didn’t dig up the coffin.  So, I had to dig myself out.”

Giles glanced towards the kitchen.  “We shouldn’t talk about this here.”

“We could go to the Magic Box.  I’m more comfortable there anyway.”

“What about Dawn?”

“Xander’s on his way over to fix the door.  I’m sure he’d stay and watch her.  Tara’s here, too.”

**********

Anya was still at the Magic Box when Giles and Buffy arrived.  She looked up from her work when the bell above the door rang.  “Giles.  What are you doing here?  If you’re trying to take back the store –”

“Anya, I’m not here because of the store.  Buffy and I need someplace where we can talk privately.”  Giles turned to Buffy and spoke quietly.  “Go on.  I’ll join you soon.”

Buffy nodded and headed for the training room.

He turned his attention back to Anya.  “We are only here to talk and to perform a bonding ritual.  This has nothing to do with the store.”

“Oh,” Anya said cheerfully.  “I understand.  You’re going to have sex.  I’ll leave now.”

He grabbed her arm as she walked past him.  “Anya, this is not about sex.”

“It’s okay.  I understand.”  Anya winked at him.  “Don’t worry.  I won’t tell anyone.”

He groaned as he locked the door behind Anya.

Slowly, he walked to the training room.  Buffy was sitting on the couch, staring at nothing in particular.

He sat next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.  “Buffy, are you alright?”

She turned her head to look at him.  “Yeah.  It’s just been a really long day.”

They sat in silence for a while before Buffy asked, “What’s wrong with me?”

“That depends.”

Buffy gave him a sideways glance.  “On. . .?”

“Where you were before Willow brought you back.  Willow thinks you were in a Hell dimension.  Is that true?”

Suddenly, Buffy pulled away from him and stood, but she said nothing.

“Buffy, I can’t imagine that living would be so difficult for you if it was true.”  He stood and reached out to her.

She fell into his arms.  “I’m not sure where I was, but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t Hell.  I felt safe and warm and I didn’t want to leave.  I felt like I died all over again when I woke up in –” She buried her face in Giles’ chest as she cried.

“I can help,” he said quietly.  “I can make it better.”  He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head.

“How?” Buffy asked.

“It’s complicated, but it involves a bonding spell to fix our severed bond.”

“I didn’t know we had a bond.”  She pushed away from him and sat on the couch again.

“It formed slowly, as it should.  We grew into it, so to speak.  It began when I saved you from Amy’s mother, and it was complete the day your mother died.  It always begins and ends with physical contact.”  He once again sat next to her.

“Then how can you help?  If it’s supposed to form slowly, how can you. . .?”

He could see the confusion on her face.  “The bond should form naturally over time, but the spell will accelerate the process.  We can even do it tonight.”

“Why rush?”

“There are complications.  When you died, our bond was severed.  If you had been brought back by normal means, I wouldn’t even suggest using a spell.”

“But I wasn’t.”

“No.  The complete bond leaves a small part of each of us in the other.  When you died, I still had part of you with me.  I held on and couldn’t let go.”

“What happened to the part of you I had with me?”

“It was lost when you died, and when you were brought back, the hole was still there.  Something will try to fill that hole.  The sooner we perform the spell, the less likely that hole will be filled with something you don’t want.”

“Oh,” Buffy said before falling silent again.

Giles let her digest the information.

“You said that the bonding requires physical contact?” she asked.

“Yes.  We started the bonding earlier when we hugged.”

“So, what happens now?  What do we do?”

“I light the candles, speak the incantation, then. . .”  He hesitated, not certain how she might react.

Buffy’s eyes grew wide.  “There’s going to be sex, isn’t there?”

“I don’t know,” he whispered.

“How can you not know?” she shouted.  “It’s your spell.”

“It works differently each time.  It could take nothing more than touching our hands together, or it could . . .”  His voice trailed off, fearing to say the words.

Buffy was still and silent for a long time.  When he couldn’t take it any longer, he tried to stand.  Buffy’s hand on his arm stopped him.

“Do you want. . .  Would you. . .  Have you ever thought about me that way?”

He stared at the floor for a moment, gathering his courage.  “I can’t lie to you Buffy.  I’ve dreamed about you for a long time.”  He looked up to see her reaction.  She was smiling.  He brushed a strand of hair away from her face before caressing her cheek.  “You are a beautiful woman, Buffy, and I’ve loved you for years.”  He felt her cheek blush before he saw it.

“Do you really feel that way?”

He nodded, not sure he could trust his voice.

“I wish I’d known,” she said as she leaned towards him slightly.

Giles took a chance.  He slipped his hand behind her head and slowly pulled her forward.  Her eyes met his as his lips touched hers for the first time, and he knew he’d done the right thing.