When You Wish For A Wish

Great white flakes of snow, floated to and fro on the gentle breeze of a winter's evening, landing softly upon the earth only to melt away from sight in a flash. Rupert Giles, Sunnydale High Librarian, blew onto his hands to warm them and shivered the vestiges of the cold from his body, as he made his way from the class to his car.

Subconsciously he tapped at his pockets. Anyone looking on would have thought he was checking them for his car keys, but anyone who knew Sunnydale at night, knew that he was checking for his protection against the uglies that lurked in the darkness.

Smiling, he carefully pulled out a vile of Holy Water and a sharpened stake, and then his keys as he approached his old Citroen car he had had imported. He put the vile and the stake in one hand and jangled his keys until the right one fell free, enough to grasp one handed. A sudden sloshing sound caused him to turn to face a possible attacker. He was surprised to see Willow Rosenberg slipping and sliding in the slush that the melted snow had formed across the parking lot. "Willow...?" he called, putting the stake and Holy Water back into a pocket. "What- what are you doing here at this time of night...?"

"G-Giles..." she called back almost falling, "Buffy needs help. She came to your place thinking you'd be there, but when you weren't she called me, told me where she was and said for me to get you..." she finished a little breathlessly as she reached his side.

He held onto her arm as she slipped again; falling a little against him, and then straightened her. He didn't reply, just simply turned back to his car, unlocked the door and guided her inside before she fell again. He quickly ran around to the driver's side and made to get in. A sudden roar stopped him from opening the door and he turned in time to be shunted roughly against his car.

He heard Willow scream the same time he heard precious air leave his lungs in a *whoosh*. Before he could retaliate, he felt the vampire in front of him grab his throat and then squeeze with all its might. His larynx constricted immediately and his head felt ready to explode as black spots danced in front of his eyes.

Vaguely he felt himself jolt once to the left and then to the right and then suddenly, without knowing how, his throat suddenly gasped freely for air. His legs immediately gave way and his head throbbed with the sudden intake. His lungs protested painfully against the coldness of air that was being forced into them, but he did not stop. Even he could hear the wheeze but could do nothing about it. Then he felt a warm hand rest easily on his cheek and then the warmth of wet tears moisten his face.

"- Please wake up..." a soft, melodic, sobbing voice urged him and roused Giles like nothing else could. The cold then penetrated his back and he shivered. He heard a gasp from above, opened his eyes, he had not realised before had closed, and looked up. His gasp echoed the one before as he took in the face above him.

Willow, hair ruffled and billowing in the breeze, was looking down at him. The light from the parking lot haloed the edges of her hair and, though her face was mostly in darkness, Giles still thought her to be beautiful. "I'm okay, Willow..." he whispered, "...No need to worry." He added trying to right himself, ignoring the perpetual moans and groans from every muscle in his body as he did so.

Once standing on his own two feet, he took Willow's face in his hands, tilting it one way and then the other, looking for any signs of her being hurt. Not a scratch... He took her in his arms and hugged her against him, whispering in her hair, "Are you alright...?"

He felt her nod against his chest and sighed audibly with relief. Then the thought of his Slayer, hurt and lord knows what else, entered his mind... He abruptly let Willow go and scrambled to the car again. "Buffy..." he whispered with alarm.


Willow's heart sank a little at that. She had never felt so warm and safe as she had just a moment ago in Giles' arms and she had wanted it to last a lifetime. She still could smell him now, though he was away from her. His cologne, tea and musty books... All that made him to her... Giles... A man of immense knowledge and, to her, wisdom... But he was also someone whom cared and loved with passion and strength. He was a "guy" guy and nothing or no one could persuade her otherwise. 'But' she sighed inwardly, 'it was always Buffy and always will be with him.'

She had an urge to tell him that there was no need to hurry, that Buffy was safe and well, but it was a surprise and she could not break that. She felt he, of all them, deserved a surprise once in a while and she could not let him down. So, with a slight frown on her face, she slowly made her way to Giles' car and dutifully got in next to him.

The drive was a relatively quiet one, occasionally broken with Giles' whispered assurances that Buffy would be fine and that she should not worry so. Willow almost laughed at that. He had done the "guy" thing and had completely mis-read why her face, she imagined, was longer than the Mississippi. Still, she would let him think her concern was for his Slayer and not for him. Besides, if she were to say anything of the contrary, what would he think then...? Nope, better that he did not know and that they stayed friends and companions on research nights, than estranged and loveless and friendless...


He could not help the glances towards his companion. Tonight had been a close one for him, but it could so easily have been the other way. He could have lost his beautiful passenger tonight, and what would he have done then...? He shivered slightly at the thought and how close he had come to admitting everything afterwards. He had never thanked the heavens so fervently when he had been reminded of his Slayer at that particular moment. What would Willow have thought, to be forced to endure a silly, aged man, 'Well,' he silently corrected himself, 'a man old enough to be her father,' gushing love and sentiments at her...? Better to have her as a friend and for his thoughts to remain so...

He pulled into his drive a little recklessly and leapt from the car. His bruised chest and throat protested his movements but he ignored them. His only thought was to get to his Slayer and hope he was in time. He cursed a couple of times when his cold hands would not obey his command of grasping the correct key and he fumbled the lock a couple of times, before he finally managed to turn the lock and push open the door.

"*SURPRISE*" suddenly bellowed at him from all four walls, followed by loud noises of clapping and cheering. Lights blinked at him from a Christmas tree that someone had erected by his fake fire, and Christmas decorations dangled and swayed in the sudden gush of wind he had caused with the opening of his door.

He blinked against the sudden light that shone in his eyes and then winced at the noise. The *surprise* that had been laid on for him had still not sunk in. "B-Buffy...?" he whispered. He felt a tap on his arm and looked down to find his Slayer alive and warm and grinning from ear to ear back up at him. He held her at arm's length, blinking in disbelief. "You're-you're okay... Alive..." he finally breathed, checking for any signs at all that she was playing the healthy, happy Slayer bit for him. He couldn't find anything other than the obvious.

If possible her grin got wider and her eyes sparkled with affection. "All thanks to you, Giles."

He took her in his arms, crushed her to him and whispered. "You're alive... Thank God..."


At that moment Willow entered the room behind them both, in time to see Giles tightly hug his Slayer and breathe the "Thank God..." Her heart sank a little further. 'Always Buffy.' she thought sadly. She delicately moved around them both and then plastered a false smile upon her face as she neared her best friend, Xander, who in turn, turned towards her, engulfed her in a hug and whispered his sentiment that she had done good tonight. She could not help a genuine smile then. He always managed to do that. She then looked towards the man that this surprise had been held for and her smile vanished.

She watched as Giles gently kiss the top of his Slayer's head and smile a smile that she had never seen before, but had wished for so many times. 'Well,' she thought, 'I guess I got my wish... Sort of...' Next time she would be more specific and wish for *that* smile to be directed at her.

Not wanting to see anymore she bowed her head and looked to her feet. Much better sight than what she had just seen. Other than it did not include Giles. She could feel the tears in her eyes and felt her heart constrict painfully as she replayed all that she had just seen. Suddenly the surprise party she, Xander and Buffy had planned wasn't going to be her favourite place, so she tugged once at Xander's arm and indicated towards the bathroom. He nodded and she left.


Buffy then started to cough and pulled away from Giles. "What's with the dust, Giles...?" she spluttered, "Can't you get new books in...? Ya know, the shiny surfaced ones that say 'printed in 1997' or something...?"

Giles looked down at himself and sure enough his coat was covered and there was a large dark patch of dust and grime that had collected in a circle of water at the front. 'Lord knows what the back looks like...' he thought. He took off the offending coat and explained, "Ah, th-that would be the vampire Willow and I encountered on our way here..." The silence in the room was deafening and it made him feel a little conspicuous. "Though... Though if you want details then you'd have to ask Willow. I'm afraid I was nothing more than the potential meal... It was Willow who staked him." He flinched a little at his obvious pride in her and hoped that no one had noticed.

Buffy turned from him and grinned, saying "Way to go, Willow..." but then her grin faded and all and sundry started to look around the room for the girl in question. "Giles...?" Buffy suddenly questioned, turning to her Watcher, "What have you done with Willow...?"

Such were the images that the question had invoked in him, Giles simply coughed and spluttered something that he thought resembled an answer, but by the way that Buffy was now frowning at him, he knew then that he made no sense at all. He opened his mouth to reply with something indignant and hopefully something that would lead them off this path that they appeared to be on at the moment... One that he was finding increasingly hard to ignore... when he was saved by Xander, who had approached, leant down to Buffy and had whispered something in her ear.

He watched with a sense of bemusement as Buffy then nodded and appeared satisfied with whatever Xander had whispered to her. He shrugged and silently thanked the young man for his intervention. However, Willow was still nowhere to be found, so when Buffy suddenly announced that his party was officially open and fun was to be had, he went in search of his earlier companion.



It did not take him long to find her, but he was suddenly nervous about disturbing her. He looked past the door to his spare room at the figure who's shoulders were hunched and head was bowed, weeping on the bed. Willow was crying... weeping... and he did not know why... Taking what little courage he had, he took a step inside the room and then closed the door. He guessed that the noise of a fully blown party was the last thing she needed to hear. "Willow...?" he whispered.

She looked up immediately and in the same moment dried her eyes, sniffed back the tears and attempted a smile at him. He could tell that it hurt her to do so, but refrained from mentioning anything. He smiled back at her and then sat on the same side of the bed as Willow, but a little away from her. He did not want to frighten her. "So," he began, lifting a finger to point at the tears still on her face, "what are these for...?"

"I-I don't know..." and she shrugged. "I was looking forward to the party and to see the surprise on your face, but-but I guess I missed them both..." With that she bowed her head again.

He chuckled at her. Not vindictively, but at the fact that he had been set up again. Though he had to admit that this was a set up he had rather enjoyed. "Well," he said looking to the door, "the party is still going, so you haven't missed that as yet and...and the surprise on my face felt rather like it would look when being confronted suddenly by a demon or vampire..."

She giggled at that. She had seen his face once or twice when patrolling for Buffy. She had giggled back then and giggled now. Even she had to admit that it was quite a funny face that he pulled, but also a little "cute" at the same time. She loved that face, which had been the one of the reasons why she had wanted to see it again tonight. That thought brought forth another bout of tears and before she knew it, Giles was hugging her and softly hushing and shooshing her tears away with a gentle rocking motion.

"Come on, love," he urged, "It's alright. *I'm* all right. *You're* all right, so everything is all right with the world."

She felt him stiffen and begin to pull away from her. She guessed that he had suddenly realised he had used an endearment in regard to her and was probably wondering how she would react to it. Well, he was right about that, she *had* noticed and could feel a full-blown blush instantly redden her cheeks, but it had sounded so wonderful to her ears. She had also noticed that he had only included her and himself in why the all was all right with the World. And that also had sounded wonderful. She then suddenly snatched at his jacket with such ferocity that she thought she was never going to let go... In that moment she took all her courage in one hand and whispered, "It's all right, Giles... love..."

She then decided to look up at him and find out just how he had received that endearment she had added, and got his full blown look of *surprise*. She started to laugh... It was such a wonderful, *wonderful* face. "So, your face this evening," she laughed at him, "was like the one I'm seeing now, eh, Giles...?"

He blinked a couple of times as though suddenly coming out of a spell and looked down at her. Her face was alive and vibrant with the smile that curved at her lips. And the tears she had shed only, in his humble opinion, accentuated her beauty. Without any thought at all he leant forward to her, lifted a hand and lightly brushed away a tangle of hair that had fallen forward with her laughter. "Well, love, looks like you didn't miss out on that either." And he smiled the smile she had wished for all along.

Just for her...

She then took his hand in hers and kissed the back of it, chaste but hopefully conveying her love for him. Then before he could do anything at all, she scooted closer to him, raised her face to his and kissed him on the lips.

At first she felt his lips stiffen at her touch, but then they relaxed and opened slightly, inviting her in if she was so inclined. She was and took full advantage of the invitation. It was a slow kiss at first... Warm and secure and a little tentative... She was kissing *Giles*... The man she had loved so long from afar and she was making him moan with pleasure. And what that moan did to her body, words had not been invented. She wanted more, much, *much* more...

"Hey, G-man, you found Willow yet...?" Xander called. "It's just that the party is going full force out here and she's missing out on it..."

Both broke away from each other in an instant, breathless and straightening their clothing as they stood. When he could find his voice, Giles yelled back at the infernal young man that had broken the best spell he had ever had to endure, "On our way, Xander..." and after a beat, "And don't call me that..."

Willow looked up at him and smiled. All traces of a schoolgirl vanished in that smile and she blossomed in a moment into a woman. Then, for the others at the party, the schoolgirl was back and she was leaping away from him, "Later, Giles..." she grinned.

His heart plummeted to the bottomless pit of hell with no immediate inclination to return...


The party apparently was a hit. Well, that's what the other participants mumbled to Giles as they were leaving. He was not so sure. He had spent the entire evening watching Willow dance with every boy there, including Xander. She was enjoying herself, and while before the kiss he would have been happy for her, now it had made him a little sad. Had the kiss been a dream...? *Had* he dreamt it...? He couldn't've...? Could he...?

There his thoughts were interrupted. Before he knew it he had an armful of Slayer hugging him painfully tight around the waist. "Merry Christmas Giles..." she whispered and then she was gone.

Xander approached at that moment with a hand extended in front of him and a shy smile on his face. He ducked his face, shook Giles' hand and then mumbled his "Merry Christmas" and what not at the Librarian.

Giles took Xander's proffered hand, then gently pulled the boy into a quick embrace and returned the salutations, with an adage that if things were not to go well for him at his own home, then he could always find a place for the night here.

Xander grinned from ear to ear at that and it made Giles smile, however that smile soon vanished when he saw Willow's shocked expression. He frowned...

Xander took a hold of Willow's hand and began to leave with her.

Giles watched with his heart in his throat and sorrow in his soul as she and Xander left. 'It *had* been a dream...' he silently concluded and closed the door... He turned to survey the damage to his home and knew that the clear up would have to be a job for the morning. He just wasn't in the mood...

He began the duty of turning the lights off when there came a gentle tapping at his door. He automatically looked at the clock on his table. 12-15am... It couldn't be Buffy she was patrolling and Willow and Xander were probably tucked up safe and sound in their beds or at least on their way there. The tapping continued. He picked up a stake on his way to the door and then slowly opened it.

Willow looked up at him and laughed. "Don't you think you're overplaying that "Surprised" look now...?"

He blinked away his surprise, because he was indeed surprised to see her, and motioned for her to enter. "W-Willow," he finally managed to stutter, "W-what are you doing here...? I-I th-thought you were away with Xander...?"

She nodded, "So did I, but then I suddenly realised that you were just being you with the offer to Xander and I wanted to come back and say thank-you for making my friend smile..."

Giles frowned severely, causing the ridge of his nose to divot considerably. "W-well, that's all right. I-I've heard that this is the least happiest time for Xander and I w-wanted him to know that he does not have to endure it if it is not n-n-necessary..."

Willow nodded again, "Yep, I got that Giles and so did he..." Then all of a sudden she started to glance nervously around the room. Her confidence deflated in an instant. "Well, I just wanted to thank you and let you know that I have got a present for you, but I left it at my home and I couldn't go back for it. Not that I wouldn't, 'cos I would, but I couldn't tonight..."

Giles took a tentative step towards her. She was rambling and he suddenly realised why... He took another step and another, each one causing his heart to beat faster with anxiety. He hoped he had not got this wrong, but he kept his thoughts on the kiss earlier in the evening and bolstered his courage the best he could. Before he knew it, he was standing over her. He leant down and placed his lips to hers and then kissed them. He felt her surprise, much the way he had been earlier, and then she softened and he deepened the kiss.

For what seemed an eternity of long unfulfilled wishes coming true, he released her and stood, slightly breathless away from her. "Willow, love..." he whispered, his voice husky with emotion, "You are by far the best present that I have ever had and will ever have..." And then blushed furiously at the implication within that statement...

Willow laughed loud and raucously. She had never been happier and felt she probably would never be and to tease him further she finally managed, "I hope so..."

He then drew her close to him and again smiled the smile that she had always wished for, for her alone...

And then she suddenly realised that it would always be for her alone...

The End



Site Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, etc. own the Buffy characters. All products, movies, books, songs, etc. are owned by their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended. All plots and original characters are owned by the authors.