Doctor's orders

"No, Giles. You're sick and you'll stay in bed until Doctor Buffy says you can leave."

"Doctor Buffy?"

"Exactly."

"But I have to wo-"

"There's no arguing. I won't let you go to the store."

"Buffy..."

"No."

"Buffy, we need..."

"...the money. I know. I called Willow and Oz and they agreed to help out. The store will be open and you will be a good boy and let us nurse you back to health."

He sighed.

"I guess you're right."

"I'm Doctor Buffy. Of course I'm right."

He smiled.

"I guess Willow knows enough about the store after making that database, that you two insisted on."

She wanted to justify that decision, when it occured to her what he had said. That Willow and Oz would take care of the store. Actually, she had planned that they would look after him, while she was at the store. She worked there after all. But he obviously thought she would stay with him. And somehow that was very sweet.

"If you don't think they'll handle it, I could go to the store, and they could stay with you."

"Would you rather work than look after your old man?"

"You're not old. And it's up to you. Who do you want? Willow and Oz or...?"

She spread her arms, smiling at him 'Tadaaa'.

He smiled back from the bed, she had insisted he stay in.

"I guess I'll go with Doctor Buffy."

"Good choice. And Doctor Buffy's first order is that you have a good breakfast."

She ran downstairs to prepare it and also to tell Willow and Oz to go to the store. She started to hum a melody as she prepared the fried eggs. It wasn't that she didn't like to work in "The Library", but it could get pretty dull, especially, if you were alone and she also looked forward to taking care of Giles. A little role reversal, telling him what to do and what not to. And he looked so cute in his pyjamas with his tousled hair and his feverish look.

Willow and Oz knocked and Buffy prepared the tray with the eggs and orange juice. They went upstairs together. Willow and Oz just said hi and told Giles to get better and then they were off, leaving Buffy and Giles alone.

They spent most of the morning in bed, Giles lying under the sheets while Buffy sat next to him on the sheets. They talked about nothing in particular, as they often did in "The Library", when they had nothing to do.

Buffy cooked spaghetti for lunch (it was actuall not bad) and in the afternoon, Doctor Buffy ordered that Giles should sleep. Buffy went to the store to see if everything was all right, and when she returned Giles was sleeping.

She lay down next to him and watched him. She had done so before in the store, when he was reading and she had found out that she could do so for quite an amount of time, never tiring of it. He had aged over the years, but so had all of them. She had found an old picture of them, when she had moved out. It now hang on the wall in the backoffice of the store together with other pictures of them. Cordelia hadn't hesitated to point out that he looked a lot older and she had just said "Sometimes older is better", smiling at Giles, who had smiled back in a that particular way, that she couldn't quite place. She loved it when he looked at her that way. And she loved it even more when she caught him looking at her. She would purposely ask him something just to hear him stutter incoherently. And one time she couldn't help it and went to him, tousled his hair and kissed him on the cheek. "You are so cute, Giles." He had turned red in an instant and had stuttered the whole afternoon, blushing whenever she looked at him.

She enjoyed working with him immensely and it wasn't that she got paid so well for doing so little, it was being with Giles. Getting to know him on a non-watcher level. They had hardly had time for that in the past and it sometimes surprised her just how little she knew about him. But it was also wonderful that there was still so much to learn about each other.

Giles turned around in his sleep, so that he was face to face with her. She kissed him on the forehead and closed her eyes dozing off herself now.

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

She woke to a knocking at the door and went to stop the visitor before Giles woke up.

"Buffy?"

"Go on sleeping. I'll see who it is."

"Surprise!"

It was Xander. Well at least it was his voice. She couldn't see him as he was holding up a white costume.

"You woke us up!"

"'Us'?"

"What do you want and what is that? Your new uniform?"

He glared at her. Then grinned.

"Not *my* new uniform. Will called to tell me the bookman isn't doing so well, so I thought of a way to cheer him up."

Buffy had the uneasy feeling, that Xander's and Giles' idea of what was cheering up could differ.

"And that would be...?"

"A nurse uniform."

He got the clothes out of the transparent bag.

"I don't see how you will fit in these."

"Not me. You."

She took the clothes and held them up in front of her.

"There's no way I'm wearing these in front of Giles."

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

"Hey G-man, we got a little surprise for you."

"Xander, I really appreciate your visit, but you real-"

He stopped short, when Buffy entered in with a combination of something that was more a belt than a skirt, a blouse that was not only tight, but also provided with a more than generous cleavage, a cap and white stockings and suspenders. She didn't wear any shoes and looked quite embarrassed.

"I told you it would cheer him up."

She looked at Giles, who just stared at her from head to toe, then he turned to the nightstand and grabbing for the glass of water that stood there, knocked it over, so that it spilled on the blanket.

"Oh no."

She was on the bed in a second. Picking up the glass and removing the sheet, before the water could get through. Xander angled his head to take a better look at her butt. She was kneeling on the bed.

"Xander!"

Even when he was sick, Giles could sound quite intimidating, so Xander looked to him.

"Sorry. You know, I have to work tomorrow, so I better get home. Hope you get better. I'll check with you tomorrow after work. And by the way I rented this thing for a day..."

Buffy turned around a threatening look on her face.

"Bye."

He was out in a second.

"Damn him."

"He meant well."

"Yeah right. I should have known that this would only cheer up boys under age 13 or at least with the maturity of a 13-year-old."

She got up from the bed. Removing the blanket. She laid it onto a chair then took a look at herself. There was a wet spot on the "skirt".

She sighed and removed the skirt, not even thinking about him. She sat down on the bed and removed the stockings, then the suspender. She put down the cap, then let herself drop on the bed. When she saw Giles' stare, she got up immediately.

"Oops, I'm sorry."

She went to his cupboard and grabbed a white shirt. Then she disappeared into the bathroom. She got out of the blouse and put on the shirt, then went back into the bedroom.

"Where do I find a spare blanket?"

He pointed at another cupboard.

She got out the blanket and covered him with it then went downstairs without a word.

While she warmed up some spaghetti, she berated herself. < Well done, Buffy. Why didn't you just strip in front of him? > She could imagine that the costume was made just for that. Why on earth had she let Xander talk her into this. Giles had to think she had the maturity of a 13-year-old.

When the food was warm, she went up with a tray carrying both their dinners. They ate silently. Buffy didn't look at him.

"Don't scold him please."

She looked up at him.

"It was a stupid idea."

"Maybe it was, but it did cheer me up."

She raised her eyebrows.

"Well, it sure was a change."

"It was embarrassing."

"You looked good. Far better than Xander would have."

They both laughed.

Later that evening Willow and Oz checked in on them to tell them about their success and to see if they would be needed the next day.

"I think I'll better stay another day with Giles."

They both smiled and nodded.

"I understand."

"What?"

"Nothing. You're staying over night?"

"I don't want to leave him alone."

"Ah ha."

"What?"

"Have a good night, Buffy."

They grinned at each other and went out.

< What the...? >

She went back to the bedroom.

"Shall I sleep downstairs or...?"

They looked at each other for a moment, then he pulled back the blanket. She smiled and got in cuddling to him. He kissed her on her forehead.

"Good-night, Buffy."

"Good-night, Rupert."

He loved it when she called him Rupert. She had done so the first of a precious few times, when they had talked about Angel and she had thanked him for helping her get over that difficult time.

Arm in arm they drifted to sleep...

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

When he awoke the next morning she was lying next to him. His shirt had ridden up so that it just covered her breasts. He could see her stomach and a bare shoulder (so much askew was the shirt). The blanket was covering her lower body and he thought for a second to remove it so that he could look at her whole body. But he didn't dare. He was too afraid to be caught.

So he just looked at her, covering her skin with his eyes. He bent beneath her ear as if to kiss her on the neck, but just smelled her intoxicating scent.

He felt himself harden and started stroking himself, watching her intensely as her chest rose and fell with her even breathing.

He wanted her so much. His desire had grown ever since they had started working together. He had loved her for a long time, but the need to touch her didn't use to be so... almost painful.

When he felt that he was close, he got up and went into the bathroom.

She awoke to a noise in the bathroom.

A moan. Then a muffled "Buffy."

She quickly got up, worrying.

"Giles, are you okay?"

"Oh, yessss."

He didn't seem okay, but he also didn't seem to be in pain. Then she heard water running.

When he got out shortly after that his face was flushed.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm..."

He slumped onto her and she helped him to the bed.

"God Giles. What happened?"

"I'm just a little dizzy."

She was lying next to him and now reached out to feel his forehead.

"You're still so hot. Doctor Buffy orders you to measure your fever, while she makes you a good English breakfast."

She kissed him on the forehead and went downstairs. She hoped he was okay. The idea that he could be seriously ill was frightening. She tried to push those thoughts away and instead thought of him. He had looked so... cute, when he had come out of the bathroom. Almost... sexy.

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

"It's still awfully high."

Drinking the orange juice seemed to take quite an effort so she offered to feed him.

She was a little surprised, when he agreed. It worried her slightly.

When he had eaten everything she had prepared, she wiped a few crumbs of his face and was startled when he took her finger in his mouth licking the crumbs away. She didn't move her finger away too shocked, not only by his action, but also by the jolt it send through her body. When she gained control she moved her finger out of his mouth, then used her thumb to wipe away a few crumbs at the other side of his mouth. Then she pushed the thumb into his mouth. He licked it clean slowly, then began sucking on it.

She jumped, when she heard a knocking at the door. She looked at him for a second, then practically ran to the door.

"Willow, Oz, hi."

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"What? Yes. Thanks. What are you doing here?"

"Just wanted to check in on Giles before we go to the store."

"Giles is still asleep."

"Long night?"

"What? No. He should get as much sleep as he can."

"Uhemmm," Willow agreed.

Buffy was disturbed by the way they looked at her and she couldn't help the color that crept into her cheeks.

"You'll call, if you have any problems."

"Sure."

"Great, bye."

She closed the door in front of them, then ran back up, stopping shortly in front of the bedroom before going in. But he wasn't there. She looked around and was about to get worried, when she heard the water running in the bathroom.

She sighed then carried the tray downstairs.

When he got out of the bathroom, she went in right after him. As she showered she kept imagining him there with her.

< It was nothing. > Yeah, right, nothing. That was why she had blushed so in front of Willow and Oz. And lied. And kept thinking about doing naughty things with Giles. She turned the water a little colder.

When she got out of the bathroom, he lay in his bed watching her from under the covers. He pulled them back and motioned for her to join him. She hesitated for a second, not aware that her wet hair made the shirt she was wearing practically transparent at a few spots including her right nipple.

She looked so beautiful in just his shirt and underpants. He wondered how far he could go. How much he could pass as foolishness, caused by the fever.

She crawled into the bed next to him and lay down. He moved to her and lay his head on her shoulder, not caring about her still wet hair.

She was at first a little tense then relaxed.

"Tell me something."

"What?"

"Anything. About your childhood. About your figure skating."

She began to talk and grew more comfortable. At some point he turned around, so that his head was still on her shoulder, but one of his arms was over her body pushing her breasts upward. She didn't quite notice it until she felt him stroke her other shoulder with his fingers.

"Giles...?"

"What?"

"You're... getting a little heavy."

"Sorry."

With one movement he turned around, taking her with him, so that she was on top of him, straddling him just across his groin. She could feel him through the thin material of her panties and his pyjamas. They lay chest to chest and their faces were so close that they would hardly have to move to... Their breathing grew ragged as they looked at each other, not moving. Then Giles moved his head towards her.

Buffy moved backwards, unintentionally pressing herself onto his groin.

"Buffy."

"I should make lunch."

She started to get up, but he held her arm.

"I'm not hungry."

She was confused about what had happened.

"I... you should eat. Doctor's orders."

She tried a smile and got out of his grip. She looked back at him once before going downstairs.

He had his eyes closed.

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

She couldn't really concentrate on the soup, she was preparing. She kept thinking about what happened. It wasn't the first time that she had felt a certain sexual tension between herself and Giles, but it had never been remotely as... If she hadn't stopped, they would have... probably all the way.

Had she done the right thing? It wasn't that she didn't want to (god, how much she had wanted to). But this was nothing she could mess up. Nothing she could just write off as a mistake. She loved Giles too much for that.

She brought him his soup. When he took the first spoon he made a grimace.

"Could it be that you mixed up something?"

She tried a spoon herself and spat it out.

He smiled and put the tray aside.

"I'm not hungry. Why don't you come back to bed?"

"Giles, I... I can't."

"Buffy..."

"No, I'm... I'm sorry. I guess I'll check in on Willow and Oz. Try to get some sleep."

She bent down and kissed him on the forehead. Then she hurried out.

Giles looked after her.

"Good job, Rupert. Now you managed to drive her completely out of your life."

He turned around in his bed and closed his eyes.

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

"Something wrong with Giles?"

"No. I mean... oh, Willow, I don't know what to do."

"What happened?"

"Well, Giles and I... we..."

"You had sex?" Oz tried to help out.

"No! I mean, no, we didn't but... I think we might have."

"What does that mean?"

"Do you know the term sexual tension? Well, it was very, very, very tense."

"Oh! Really?"

Willow obviously was quite excited.

"And I just don't know what to do."

"Do you love him?"

"Of course I love him, but I never thought of him that way."

Buffy wasn't watching them, so she didn't see the 'yeah, right'-look they exchanged.

"And he's... well he's sick. So what if this is nothing more than... I don't know, a fever thing. I couldn't live with it if he ever regretted it."

"Buffy, I don't thing you need to worry about that."

"Why not?"

"Because Giles is head over heels in love with you, stupid."

"Will!"

"It's true."

Buffy looked at Oz.

"He loves you."

"But how do you know? Did he tell you?"

"Not in words. But just the way he looks at you and how he asks about you in a totally casual way."

"He does?"

They both nodded.

"And you do that, too."

"I do not, " Buffy lied.

"Then what was that: 'Hi, Will, everything okay? Oz doing well? How about Xander? Oh, yeah, by the way, is Giles all right?' And then three weeks ago, when you checked him out while he was changing his clothes."

"You saw that?!"

Willow smiled. Buffy blushed. They were right. This had started long before yesterday. She had fallen in love with him a while ago. She just hoped that they were right about Giles as well.

"I guess I'll go back."

"Have fun."

She turned around glaring at Oz. Then she went towards the door again.

"Don't exhaust him too much."

"Will! You're spending way too much time with Xander."

They waved her good-bye, smiling.

*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~*

Giles was relieved to hear see her. Somewhere inside he had feared that she wouldn't come back. She was carrying quite an amount of little boxes.

She dropped them onto the bed, then watching him all the time she slowly slid out of her jeans. She crawled under the blanket and started feeding him with her hands. She didn't say a single word. The consistency of the food gave her more than one opportunity to push her fingers into his mouth. He licked them and sucked on them watching her, just as she was watching him. He started to feed her as well and she took every chance to suck on his fingers. When the food was empty, they were both breathing heavily. She threw the boxes to the ground.

"Still hungry?"

He shook his head.

"Then maybe we should go on where we stopped?"

He nodded, then gulped.

She straddled him over the groin and pressed her breasts on his chest. She moved her head down to kiss him, when he stopped her by grabbing her shoulders.

They looked at each other, then he spoke.

"I love you, Buffy."

"That's what they told me."

"They?"

"Willow and Oz."

"And you?"

"They say I love you, too."

She smiled, but his look was serious.

"And what do *you* say?"

"Giles, I... you need to hear it, don't you?"

He nodded.

"I love you, Rupert. I love you so much."

He moved his hands from her shoulders around her neck and drew her face to his. The kiss was tender, but passionate. They were tasting each other, their tongues exploring.

"Oh, wow."

Buffy laughed when she came up for air.

"Good?"

"Not bad at all..."

"But we could do better..."

"We should keep trying."

"Is that a promise?"

She shook her head.

"Uh uh. Doctor's order."

She bent down to kiss him again.

THE END