Title: Band Cookies (3 of 3)
Author: Michelle
Date: Oct 30, 2003
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Buffy/Giles
Summary: Willow makes some cookies with unexpected results. Response to Challenge #9 on ODD
Disclaimer: These are not my characters. They belong to Joss, Twentieth Century Fox, UPN, WB & Mutant Enemy. This is purely for fun.
Spoilers: Thru the end of season three, so not really.

Author's note 1: This is in response to a challenge. I do not want to spoil the story, so the challenge is listed at the end of the story.

Author's note 2: Giles was put on probation after the events in "Helpless," not fired. Wesley was brought in to be Faith's Watcher, not as a replacement for Giles. Wesley will report to the Council if Giles disobeys the Council again. Faith is not bad. Cordelia's family has not yet been audited by the IRS. I use these < > to denote thoughts.

Thanks to my betas for helping my characters stay in character. Without your help Wesley would have sounded too much like Spike.

* * * * *

Angel and Faith reached the school parking lot at the same time. They had each followed a group of vampires. As they approached, they saw Buffy being bitten. It seemed like an eternity to Angel. He knew he couldn't get to her in time. Just when he thought it was too late for her, the vampire turned to dust. Wesley was behind her and caught her as she fell. Wesley tended to Buffy while Faith and Angel easily killed the rest of the vampires.

"We need to get you to the hospital, you've lost a lot of blood." Angel told Buffy.

"I don't understand what happened. They didn't attack me," Wesley said. "They only wanted Buffy."

"Somebody saw a weak slayer and decided to take her out." Faith said. "My guess would be the Mayor. He hates us."

Buffy groaned and put her hand to her neck. When she pulled her hand away and saw the blood, she rolled to the side and threw up.

Angel ripped off part of Buffy's skirt and pressed it to her neck. "Wesley, get your car." He picked Buffy up as he waited for Wesley.

Buffy moaned in pain. "Call Giles. He needs to know."

Faith tried to reassure her. "I'll call him, B. Everything's gonna be all right."

"You don't understand." She moaned again as she clutched her stomach. "I can't lose it. We have to hurry."

"I don't understand. Lose what?" Faith asked.

"The baby." She answered as Wesley brought the car to a halt in front of them.

"Buffy, You're not making any sense." Angel said. He turned to Faith. "Open the back door." He put Buffy into the car and climbed in after her.

"Call Giles. He'll tell you. We can't lose this baby."

Before shutting the door Angel told Faith. "Call Giles and Mrs. Summers."

* * * * *

Giles and Joyce rushed into the emergency room. Wesley let Joyce go by, but stops Giles. "Mr. Giles, do you want to tell me why I shouldn't call the Council and have you fired?"

"For what reason?"

"You have put Buffy's life in danger. She was in no position to fight that many attackers. If Faith and Angel hadn't been there she would be dead. They distracted the attackers long enough for me to save her life."

"You cannot possibly blame any of this on me. I know I didn't return to the library, but it couldn't be avoided. I had some. . . unexpected visitors, and they didn't want me to leave."

"I know that she's pregnant, and from the way she talked on the way here, I have reason to believe that the baby is yours. Now, unless you give me good reason not to, I will call the Council. I doubt they would look favorably on a watcher that has been intimate with his slayer, especially a watcher who is on probation."

"Wesley, there is more to this than you know." Giles began.

"I know enough. Do you know that she might loose the baby? She almost lost her life, and through all that she was worried about you, about your reaction. She's young and naive, and you took advantage of her."

"I did no such thing. I never intended to let her know of my feelings for her. I never even imagined that she could have feelings for me. What happened between us wasn't planned. If we hadn't been under the influence of magic, it never would have happened."

"You're blaming this on magic?"

"Not entirely." Giles sat in one of the chairs in the waiting area. "You had better sit down. This is a long story."

Wesley thought he'd better at least listen to his story and sat down. It was then that Joyce stormed over to them. She glared at Giles. "Angel just told me that Buffy's pregnant and you're probably the one to blame. I want an explanation. Does this happen a lot with slayers and their watchers?"

Wesley took her arm and pulled her down to sit and the chair next to him. "He was about to explain it all to me. Go on, Mr. Giles, explain."

He took a deep breath. "It started on her birthday." He proceeded to tell them what had happened since then, leaving out the intimate details of the night in the library. He didn't want her to know exactly what he and Buffy had done in the library that night. When he finished, they were silent. He couldn't tell what they were thinking. He hoped he had convinced Wesley not to call the council.

He looked at Joyce. She knew what the band candy could do to a person and to him especially. "You didn't hurt her, did you? That day in the library, Ripper didn't hurt her?" She asked. He shook his head. "Was that the only time?"

"We have only shared a few kisses since that night. I don't intend to do anything more until we are married." He looked at Wesley. "Do you still intend to call the council?"

"I don't think it will be necessary." He stood. "I'm going to call her friends. They should be told what has happened."

There was an awkward silence after Wesley left. Finally, Joyce asked, "Do you really love her?"

"Yes, I do. I want to spend the rest of my life with her. I cannot imagine life without her."

"Why didn't you tell me? I think I understand why you didn't tell Wesley, but why didn't you tell me?"

"I haven't known myself for long. I think she denied it until she could no longer ignore the symptoms. I had planned on talking with her soon about telling you. I think she's afraid that it would leak back to Wesley and the Council. She hadn't even told Xander. The only person that she talked to was Willow, and I think that was only because Willow felt partly responsible. She probably felt she needed to give Willow a chance to help."

"So, you are planning on marrying her?"

"Yes."

"When?"

"We are planning on getting married the Saturday after graduation."

"I see. Will you still marry her if she loses the baby?"

"Joyce, Buffy asked me to marry her before she told me about the baby. The baby isn't the reason I'm marrying her. If the baby doesn't survive, I will still marry her. She will need me more than ever if that happens."

"I just wanted to be sure."

* * * * *

They waited through the night for word on Buffy or the baby. Angel left just before dawn. Joyce had fallen asleep on a couch in the waiting area. Giles was sitting close to her. Wesley was sitting by himself. Joyce was starting to wake up, when Willow, Xander, Cordelia, and Faith showed up. They had brought food and drinks.

"We brought donuts and drinks." Xander said while sitting a box on a table.

"We have juice, tea, and coffee." Willow set the cups of tea and coffee and bottles of juice on the table.

Faith sat next to Joyce when she sat up and took a bottle of juice. "Has there been any word?"

Joyce shook her head. "No."

Xander grabbed a donut. "So, would someone fill us in." He gestured to Cordelia and himself. "What's going on? Buffy's been through this before. The Master, remember. She should be fine. Why is everyone so worried this time?"

Giles looked at him. "Xander, this is not like the other time. She's lost more blood this time, and . . ."

"This time she's pregnant." Wesley finished for him as he walked over to join the group.

Cordelia looked at Giles. "Buffy's pregnant. That's why you're getting married. I couldn't understand why she would . . ."

Giles cut her off. "No, Cordelia. That is not why we are going to be married. I love her. That is the only reason I am going to marry her. The fact that she is going to have a baby has nothing to do with it at all."

"Is it your baby?" Xander asked quietly, afraid Giles would be angry with him for asking.

"Yes, Xander. The baby is mine. Although we are not sure if the baby will survive."

"What happened last night?" Willow asked.

Wesley answered. "We were attacked in the school parking lot. She was kicked in the abdomen and bitten. She lost quite a bit of blood." He was about to go into more detail when the nurse appeared in the doorway.

"Is one of you Rupert?"

Giles stood. "That would be me."

"Buffy's awake and asking for you."

"The baby . . .?"

"The baby is fine." They all breathed a sigh of relief. "I'll take you to her. The doctor will be out soon to talk to with rest of you." She led him to Buffy's room.

Buffy smiled when she saw him. "I'm glad you're here."

"I've been here all night."

"Did Faith call my mom?"

"Your mother is here. She is talking with the doctor."

"She is going to be so mad."

"She was angry at first. I explained everything to her and Wesley. They understand what happened." He pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down.

"Is he going to call the Council? Will they make you go back to England?"

"I convinced him not to contact the council."

"Who else is here?"

"Angel stayed all night, but he left just before dawn. Xander, Cordelia, Oz, and Willow arrived a short while ago."

"So, they all know?"

"Yes."

"The doctor told me that the baby is going to be fine, and I should be able to go home tomorrow."

There was a soft knock on the door. "May I come in?"

Giles turned to look. It was Buffy's mom. "Joyce, come in." He turned back to Buffy. "I'll leave you alone. I'll be back later." As he stood he gestured to the chair. Joyce took the offered seat as Giles left.

"Mom, I know your really mad, and I know what you're going to say."

"I don't think you do. I've been here all night worrying about you and watching Mr.Giles worry about you. I've come to realize just how much he cares for you and loves you. Buffy, he told me that the two of you are planning to get married." Buffy nodded. "I asked him if he would still marry you if you lost the baby. I thought he would say 'no,' but he surprised me. He said, 'The baby isn't the reason I'm marrying her. If the baby doesn't survive, I will still marry her.' I realized that he truly loves you. I'm not angry with either of you. If you truly love him and want to marry him, I will support you. I want you to be happy."

Buffy was really surprised. She had imagined a lot of reactions, but she hadn't expected this. "I really do love him. I am ready to spend the rest of my life with him. Thanks for understanding, Mom."

They both cried as they hugged. "I'll always be there for you when you need me."

"Thanks."

* * * * *

Buffy was allowed to go home Sunday afternoon. She even returned to school on Monday.

Angel had found out that the vampires that had attacked Buffy had been sent by the mayor to "take Buffy out of the picture." He had heard rumors that she was weak and vulnerable. Faith and Angel were watching out for any threat to Buffy.

Everyone continued to help plan the wedding, only taking time out to plan for the prom. Giles kept his word and showed up on Buffy's doorstep in a tux. "I hear someone needs a date to the prom." He said when she opened the door.

"Yep, that's me. Are you offering to take me?" She asked, playing along.

"If you don't mind arriving in this old thing?" He stepped aside so she could see the classic Rolls Royce limousine waiting for them.

"I'm sure I could live with arriving in that." She grinned.

He held out his arm. "Shall we go?"

As she took his arm, they heard Joyce. "Not so fast, you two. I have to get pictures first."

"Indulge her, please." Buffy whispered. He nodded.

They let her mom take several pictures before she let him walk Buffy to the waiting limo. As the limo began moving, Buffy held out her hand. "I think you're forgetting something."

He took he hand and kissed it, feigning ignorance. "What's that?"

"My corsage. The guy is supposed to buy a corsage for the girl."

"But the flowers would pale in comparison to your beauty." She blushed at his compliment. "You need something that will match your beauty." He reached inside the pocket of his tux and pulled out a small velvet box. Buffy felt her heart skip a beat. "I thought we should do this properly." He opened the box to reveal the most beautiful ring she had ever seen. It was a simple gold ring with a single diamond that shone with a clarity she'd never seen before. It took her breath away. She barely heard him as he asked, "Buffy, will you marry me?"

She looked him in the eyes and said, "Yes. I will marry you." Her hand shook as he took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger.

"I love you, Buffy."

"I love you, Rupert Giles." He kissed her.

* * * * *
The End
* * * * *

This story was written in reponse to this challenge on ODD:

Write a fic about a marriage Proposal (B/G of course :-D)

It can be Buffy or Giles who proposes, BUT I havent seen any fic where Buffy proposes, so hmmm....)

Anyway, make it very Romantic and VERY creative. Its up to you if you want to have the scoobies involved, but if you do make it core scoobies (Willow and Xander), but Anya Tara and Dawn can be optional too, if they work into the idea well :-D.

That's about it, oh and the rating can be anywhere from PG to NC-17, your call Lets see how many people can come up with a great proposal fic :-)