Hush-a-Bye
By Gibberish

Title: Hush-a-Bye
Author: Gibberish
Disclaimer: They belong to Joss, Mutant Enemy and the WB.
Rating:   G (Can you believe it?)       B/G
Spoilers:  Hush
Summary: Very short and, I hope, sweet. Buffy and Giles discuss their luck, or lack there of, with love.
Distribution: Solo, Jessica, Sai, Cassandra, Sal. Tevye, if you want to put it at  Cap's. okay. Anyone else, please ask.
Feedback: Be kind
Comment: Hey, it could happen. It probably won't, but it could. *g*

    Buffy walked silently through the cemetery. How could Riley be a part of the Commandoes? They hurt Willow. <Great.> Buffy thought. <Another guy that hurts my friends.> She saw a figure on a bench ahead of her. "Giles?" She said when she reached him.
 Giles looked at her. "Hello Buffy." He said in a low voice. He turned so that he was staring straight ahead again.
 "What are you doing out here?" Buffy asked as she joined him on the bench. "Where's Olivia?"
"She left." Giles told her. "It seems that my life is too scary for her."
 "I'm sorry, Giles." Buffy said softly.
 "I suppose I should have known better." Giles said. "Romance on the Hellmouth. Sounds like a bad horror movie."
 "My fault again." Buffy said.
 "No, Buffy." Giles said. "I chose to stay here. I can''t leave knowing what I know, what I don't know. It's just difficult."
 "I know." Buffy said. "Riley's one of the Commandoes."
 Giles looked at her. "What?" He couldn't have heard her correctly. The boy she liked so much ... "Oh Buffy."
 "If I hadn't shown up when I did, they'd have taken Willow." Buffy said, barely a whisper. "Why Giles? We fight so hard, why do they keep taking everything away from us? Why do they make us care, only to snatch it out of reach? Why?"
 The part of his heart that wasn't already broken, broke for her. "I don't know." He was quite aware of the 'we's and 'us' in her questions. She was looking beyond herself and he was rather pleased by that, even if the circumstances were painful. The Hellmouth had managed to tear apart even Willow and Oz, something he would have that impossible. The only couple left was Xander and Anya. He shuddered at the thought. He looked, once again, at the young woman beside him. They had endured so much pain. Was it too much to ask for them to have someone? Apparently. "I'm sorry, Buffy."
 "We don't have a chance, do we?" Buffy asked. "At anything remotely normal. Angel left for nothing, I could have felt this miserable with him here."
 Giles looked at her surprised. "If you were miserable, what difference did it make that he left?"
 "We were miserable together." Buffy said. "Now, we're miserable apart." She looked away from him. "I know it's better that he left, but at least when he was here ... It was just nice to be held sometimes. Even though we knew there couldn't be more ..." Her words trailed off in surprise when Giles wrapped his arms around her.
 "There, now you don't need Angel." Giles told her. He waited until she relaxed against him. "You're right, this is nice."
 "Yeah." Buffy said faintly. She couldn't help herself, she leaned her head against his chest. <Who knew?> She placed one arm around his waist and held him in return. Who needed Angel or Riley?
 

   The Initiative had gone out to make certain that all was quiet. Riley stopped when he saw the couple on the bench. He started to smile, until he realized that Buffy was the female half of the couple. They would have to talk; about her fighting abilities, her knowledge, her strength and ... And why the image of those two on the bench looked so right. Who was he? Who was he to her? Riley turned and led the group away.

END