"You've been quiet," Giles said, glancing at the girl sitting in the passenger seat beside him. He caught a brief answering grin from Megan before he had to turn back to the road.

"I am the quiet one, Giles."

"You don't necessarily need to take that label to heart," he replied, teasing her gently.

"I'm just thinking about what to get Ethan."

Giles –who had quite possibly been the only person alive, other than Ethan himself, who'd known that Ethan's birthday was next week– had let slip this fact to the Slayers a couple of days ago. This trip to Exeter was in order to buy appropriate surprise gifts.

"Any ideas?" Giles asked Megan. He himself knew exactly what he was going to get, trusting that Ethan would let him indulge his romantic side when he presented it.

"Something foxy," she said. "Um, as in to do with foxes. I found out online about something that I'd like to look for."

"Foxes?" Giles asked, remembering the way that Ethan's eyes had seemed to change briefly a few days ago; if Giles had had to describe them, he would've said that they had looked like a fox's.

"Yeah, you know, his fox thing? Um, you did know he had a fox thing, didn't you?" Her voice took on a concerned tone.

"Depends. What is the 'fox thing'?" It couldn't be anything serious, Giles told himself, not if Ethan had shared it with Megan.

"Well, I suppose it's almost like his animal totem. Are you sure he hasn't told you? He saw mine for me, an owl, and when I was in the hospital he bought me this necklace." Her hand went to her neck where Giles knew she wore a silver charm of an owl in flight; he hadn't realised it had been a gift from Ethan.

Giles had never had any discussions with Ethan about animal totems, but Ethan as a fox... It fitted. "It hasn't come up in conversation," he told Megan. "Not specifically." He was beginning to wonder how much more there was that he didn't know about Ethan. Hard on the heels of that thought came the realisation that he had the rest of their lives to find out.

Megan nodded. "That might be because of the... oh." She stopped suddenly, as if realising she was about to put her foot in it. Which, of course, made Giles all the more curious.

"Because of the...?" he repeated. "Please, continue."

She wriggled in her seat. "Giles, he told me not to talk to you about it. He said you'd be upset."

"Ethan has an exaggerated sense of what upsets me," he told her gently, even as part of him became increasingly... uncomfortable at the thought of Ethan keeping secrets from him.

"So you weren't upset when he turned you into a fyarl?"

"When he..." Giles glanced over at her in surprise. "He told you about that?"

"Um, yes?"

"While telling you about animal totems." He wasn't sure he followed his lover's logic.

"Sort of." Megan started speaking very quickly. "We were talking about transmogrification and being turned into things more suited to our personalities, and I asked him what he'd turn me into, and he said an owl. Then I asked about you, and he did that cringe thing he does and told me about the fyarl, which he said was an 'ironic statement' and not the real you. What do you think the real you would be?"

Giles was glad he'd had all that experience with Buffy, Willow and the others in keeping up with the speedy and slightly non-linear nature of teenage chatter. Filing the 'ironic statement' reference for discussion with Ethan later, he answered Megan's question. "My totem is the badger."

"Cool!" She grinned over at him. "A fox and a badger. They kind of go together, I think? So what are you going to get him?"

"I've got an idea or two," Giles said evasively. He wasn't sure why, but he wanted to keep his plans private until he was able to give his present to Ethan. Which meant, he realised, he was going to have to get another, public gift to keep Megan –and Kat, when they got back– from pestering him about it. "I'll see what I can find."

They were in the outskirts of Exeter now, and it wouldn't be long before Giles would need to start looking for car parks. Megan was looking out the window when she said, "He's going to be really sick by the time of his surprise party, isn't he?"

"Quite probably, yes," Giles replied quietly. He still had hopes that they'd be able to do something before Ethan reached the same physical state he'd been in when Giles had rescued him, but he was aware that they were faint hopes at best. "I'm afraid it won't be much of a wild party this year."

She looked back towards him. "Giles, I... Is it okay to ask questions? About you two, I mean."

"Of course," he told her with a smile, his natural reticence to share his private life not an issue it seemed when it came to Ethan. But still... "I reserve the right to refuse to answer however."

"Ethan's told me things, bits and pieces, so I know you were friends before, when you were young. But there's a lot of time he won't talk about, except for dark hints about how... " She paused, obviously searching for words. "Well, stuff about Chaos and how unhappy he was... Well, not that he actually says that, but, um, I seem to hear it. And anyway, you're back together now. So have you, um..." She trailed off.

"We're in a committed relationship; is that what you're asking?"

"No," she said, sounding a little helpless. "I mean, I assumed that. You, er, seem committed. I meant, um, have you always known?"

"Have I always known that Ethan and I should be together?" he asked, attempting to clarify.

"Er, maybe?" There was definitely something bothering Megan. Her legs were now tightly crossed and her arms wrapped around herself.

"I've always loved Ethan, even when we were... estranged." Giles reached out and touched her arm. "You know you can ask me or Ethan anything. If there's something troubling you–"

Megan made a little squeaky noise and then rushed out, "Whendidyoufirstknowyouweregay?"

Giles blinked. He certainly hadn't been expecting that. But he did his best to hide his surprise and to answer her question as if it were any other. "Actually, I'm bisexual. I think on some level I knew it all along, but I consciously put a name to it when I was... about your age." He paused then gently asked, "I take it this isn't just an intellectual interest?"

"No," she admitted, seeming to relax slightly now she'd finally broached the subject. "I've never been like other girls. I don't... Well, Justin Timberlake just isn't attractive!"

"That could be a sign of good taste as much as preference," Giles pointed out. He paused then asked, "Who do you find attractive?"

"Um, well, lots of people... female people. Liv Tyler is really nice. And her sister. And um, Jessica Alba and, oh, I like lots." Giles could feel Megan watching him carefully. "Is it really okay to talk about this?"

"It's really okay." Giles gave her an encouraging smile. "Buffy and her friends broke me in quite thoroughly. There's very little you can say that could shock me."

They were in central Exeter now, and Giles was following the 'P' signs towards a multi-storey. Megan asked, "Is Ethan bisexual too?"

Giles chuckled, recalling the wild-eyed look Ethan had developed the time Deirdre had tried to seduce him. "No, Ethan is definitely gay."

He found himself remembering Ethan drunkenly chatting up the waitress the night before the fyarl incident and wondered a little about that again. To start with, Giles had thought the initial remark had been aimed at him, and when he'd realised otherwise he'd simply disregarded it as another masking behaviour from his ex-lover. But as he now planned to get the true facts of that night once and for all from Ethan, Giles added that question to the list.

Megan asked, "Was he, um, out when you first met him?"

"The only way he could have been further out is if he'd hung a sign around his neck," Giles said, with a fond smile, remembering the provocative way Ethan had gone about getting his attention that first night. "Come to think of it, I don't think even a sign would have made him any more obvious."

Megan giggled, but then became more serious again. "Do you think I should, you know, be out like that?"

"I don't think anyone but Ethan could be out like that," Giles said dryly. He turned into the car park, pausing the conversation while he acquired the ticket and drove past the risen gate. "I think you should be as out as you feel comfortable being."

"That isn't very out," she said glumly. "Back in the States, there was someone, a girl..."

Giles pulled the car into an empty spot. "A girl you like." It was more a statement than a question.

"It was more that I thought she liked me. She kept hugging me and stuff and stroking my hair." When Giles looked over, Megan was staring down at her clenched together hands.

"How did that make you feel?" he asked gently, reaching out and brushing her hair back from her face.

"It made me want to kiss her."

"There's nothing wrong with that." He paused. "It can be scary though, I know."

"Yeah. Like when she ran away going 'ewww, eww, eww' and telling everybody that I'd tried to have sex with her."

Giles winced, his heart going out to Megan. "That must've been... I'm sorry."

"I was glad to come to England," she said quietly. She looked up at Giles and smiled warmly. "And I'm really happy to have you and Ethan as my Watchers. I think you're both... well, pretty much the best things I've ever had in my life, together with being a Slayer."

"I'm glad you feel that way," he said, returning her smile. "And I'm glad that you felt you could share this with me."

They left the car and made their way out of the car park. Exeter was a small but attractive city with plenty of shops, both usual and unusual. Getting what they wanted for Ethan should be easy enough. Giles had a short list of things to hunt out on Kat's behalf as well.

As they made their way to the high street, Megan said, "I want to look in old book stores."

"All right," Giles said, mentally running through his knowledge of antiquarian bookshop locations. There was one next to the jewellery shop that he needed to go to; he could get his purchase while Megan was browsing. That decided, he led them in the appropriate direction.

Megan was quiet once again, although she didn't give the impression of being unhappy. When they stopped in front of Green Dragon Books, her eyes seemed to light up at the multitude of old musty volumes she could see inside. "Oh, I have a good feeling about this."

Giles chuckled, seeing some of his own enthusiasm for places like this in her reaction. "Take your time," he said as she headed for the door. "I have a quick errand to run; then I'll join you inside."

"You're not coming in with me?" Megan asked, suddenly alarmed. "But I won't know if... You're supposed to tell me if I've chosen right."

"I'm sure your choice will be fine," Giles told her, giving her a reassuring smile. "And I won't be long. Go in, look around, and find what you want my opinion on. By that time, I should be back." She paused further, but then nodded and smiled, and Giles waited until he could see her starting to peruse the shelves before he headed next door.

It didn't take him too long to find what he wanted and make his purchase. Safely stowing it away in his pocket, Giles headed back over to the bookshop to find Megan again. She was standing at the counter with the owner, and together they were absorbed in several old leather bound volumes.

"Find what you were looking for?" Giles asked as he moved to join her.

Looking up with a smile, Megan said in what, for her, were excited tones, "Giles! I need advice about which to get of these two." She moved two of the selection of books toward him; one was entitled 'Reynard the Fox' by Thomas James Arnold and was a small leather-bound volume, not in the best of conditions. The other was a larger second-hand paperback called 'Reynard, Renart, Reinaert and Other Foxes in Medieval England'.

"I'm sure Ethan would like either one." Giles glanced at the other books she hadn't brought forward. "These ones have already been dismissed?"

"I can't afford them," she answered with simple honesty.

There was something about the wistful way in which Megan glanced back at the books that told Giles she wasn't completely happy about the choice that had been forced on her. "But there's one that you wish you could."

She carefully lifted a larger leather-bound volume and brought it forward. Called 'The History of Reynard the Fox', it had an embossed emblem of a fox in a frock coat on the front. Megan opened it and delicately flicked through the pages revealing plates of both engravings and full colour images, all featuring animals dressed as humans and up to no good. It was like a twisted Beatrix Potter.

The shop proprietor smiled at Giles and said, "It's a relatively late edition, but presented in a more luxurious format than previous printings and in excellent condition. I'm afraid I'm asking seventy-five pounds for it."

It was clear that Megan was drawn to this book, and Giles could easily picture Ethan's reaction to receiving it. Making a decision, he reached for his wallet. "We'll take it."

Megan's hand grasped his wrist. "Giles, no. I can't possibly. Mom... she doesn't send me much, and she likes me to send her the bills for all the big purchases."

"Consider it part of your workman's compensation for what happened a fortnight ago," Giles said, taking the money out of his wallet and pressing it into her hand. "A bonus for going above and beyond."

For a moment, Giles was genuinely worried that Megan was going to burst into tears, but then she swallowed and turned back to the proprietor, solemnly passing over the four twenty-pound notes. Once the book was carefully wrapped in tissue and a plastic bag, and they'd left the shop, Giles suddenly found himself with his arms full of exceedingly grateful young woman.

"You're welcome," Giles said with a smile, patting her back.

She pulled back, still grinning hugely, and asked, "Where now?"

"St. George's Market," he replied, naming the large indoor marketplace he'd been to several times with Willow when she had been here. It had a nice eclectic collection of stalls, and hopefully, he could find a more public gift for his lover there.

As they walked, Megan asked, "Do you think I'll ever meet someone like Ethan? I mean, someone who will be for me what Ethan is for you."

What Ethan was to him... Lord, was that a complicated thing to try and define. But Giles thought he knew what Megan was asking. "You'll fall in love some day."

"Yeah..." Megan seemed dissatisfied with his answer.

"Not the answer you wanted?" Giles asked.

She waited until they had passed a screaming child and its harassed-looking mother before replying. "It's just that you and Ethan... Well, everyone says how you're meant to be together."

"So it's destiny you're looking for?"

"I'm not sure. Just, maybe, a sense of rightness." They were entering the marketplace as she spoke.

"There's no guarantee with any relationship," Giles told her. "Even Ethan and I... Well, we've spent more time apart than together, for a lot of reasons. A sense of rightness is something you have to work for, and at." He regarded her for a long moment. "All that being said, yes, I do think you'll find someone you can have that with."

Her smile was startling in response.

The market was busy and the long aisles of stalls were a tight squeeze to get through in places. They arranged to meet at the door if they got separated, and while Megan studied some silver earrings on one table, Giles' attention was drawn to the bric-a-brac stall next to it, where he spied a battered box that rang a bell with him.

Moving closer, Giles picked it up. It was an old Scalectrix racetrack set, the very one that Ethan had mentioned wanting for Christmas as a boy. The box looked in good, if not perfect, condition. If it were complete...

A nod from the stallholder gave Giles permission to open it up and look inside. There were two cars and a great deal of track, but it was hard to tell for sure if everything was there. He couldn't very well take it out and put it together to make sure; Giles decided he'd take it on faith that it was complete. This was too good a find to pass up.

"How much?" he asked. It turned out to be a pittance, and the exchange was quickly concluded.

Giles was just taking hold of the carrier when Megan appeared at his arm, tugging. "Giles, you have to come and see this!"

Bemused, Giles let her drag him off. "What am I supposed to be... oh."

Megan had led him to a nearby craft stall where she'd pointed out an oval-shaped hand mirror. What was significant about it was the frame – carved mahogany showing a twisted design, almost like those found on old church pews. The intricate carving was a wild, interweaving dance all around the mirror of foxes and badgers.

"Oh, that's just perfect," Giles murmured. Not only foxes and badgers, but the mirror itself; he hadn't forgotten Ethan calling him his mirror.

Megan grinned, clearly proud that she'd found it.

It was fairly expensive, but as the stallholder pointed out, it was exquisitely hand-carved by a local craftsman, and anyway, Giles really didn't care about the money when the gift was so apposite. He handed over the money, accepting the wrapped mirror in return.

Turning to Megan, Giles exchanged a warm smile with her. They clasped their respective parcels with satisfaction.

Sick or not, Ethan was going to have the very best birthday they could provide.

***

Giles and Megan left the gifts safely stowed in the car's boot when they got back from what seemed like a very long morning's shopping in Exeter, and they immediately went in search of Ethan and Kat.

Hearing voices, they followed them to the kitchen.

Kat, who had her back to the door, seemed to be making tea and sandwiches. Ethan was perched on a barstool by the central island. The local newspaper was spread out in front of him, but he clearly wasn't reading it, since he was looking at the doorway when Giles and Megan walked in, and he was already grinning in welcome.

"Hello, you two," he said, holding an arm out to catch Giles for a kiss. "Did we have a nice time playing tourist while others slaved diligently over their lessons?"

Giles leant over to give Ethan the requested kiss, relishing the little zing of their magics brushing against each other; it seemed to accompany every touch now.

"It was fun," Megan said, sliding onto the stool opposite Ethan.

"Get me anything nice?" Ethan asked, smirking fondly at her. Giles saw her face freeze in confused alarm, and he hurriedly coughed to draw Ethan's attention away from the girl.

"We might've picked up a little something for you," Giles said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out the wrapped package of one of Ethan's favourite type of sweets.

Grinning wolfishly, Ethan unwrapped the small box, revealing cubes of rosewater and lemon flavoured Turkish delight. He immediately popped a piece into his mouth and only then thought to offer the box around.

Kat, Giles noticed, had yet to turn and say hello. She seemed to have been focusing all her concentration on making the sandwiches and tea, but finished, she turned around with the plate she'd arranged her work on. "Good thing I made lots of extra," she said, smiling at them.

Megan made a small noise in her throat as she stared at her fellow Slayer, and Giles himself felt a little stunned. Kat's face was lavishly made up. She looked like... a singer from an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical perhaps, or even a Kabuki character.

Someone –and Giles could easily guess who as he recognised the artful style– had carefully matched the wild colours in the girl's hair, creating huge and extravagant eye displays like butterfly wings, cheekbones highlighted with something iridescent and peacock-coloured, and lips like a Victorian china doll's.

She looked unreal and fae, especially in such a mundane setting, and yet quite stunningly beautiful.

"Slaving diligently over your lessons?" Giles asked, glancing at Ethan with a raised eyebrow.

"I never said that we slaved over anything," Ethan pointed out, chuckling. "Just that 'others' had, and I'm certain that's true of someone somewhere. You really should listen more carefully, dearheart. Well, aren't you going to tell Kat how delightful she is?"

Megan slipped from her stool and went over to the other girl to take a closer look at the masterpiece. "It's amazing," she said. "Wow, Kat..."

Kat smiled brilliantly. "It's great, isn't it? Ethan's a wiz with the makeup."

"He always has been," Giles said, casting a fond glance at his lover, before turning back to Kat. "You look wonderful."

She beamed at him and put the plate of sandwiches on the island. Giles noticed that the girl's nails had mysterious grown into multicoloured talons, complete with what looked like sequins. Ethan immediately switched from Turkish delight to sardines in malted granary as if the tastes didn't clash at all, which Giles sincerely doubted.

Kat brought the teapot over, standing it carefully on the cork mat on the Formica work-surface. "Did you manage to get the things on my list?" she asked.

"Yep!" Megan replied, picking up one of the sandwiches. "Every single thing. Giles and I were a shopping machine."

"Where are they?" Kat asked, looking around Giles and Megan as if they somehow had the bags hidden on them.

Megan opened her mouth, about to answer, when Ethan suddenly reached over and put his fingers to her cheek, pushing her face gently to the side. He stared, apparently at the Slayer's ear, then said "Megan?" questioningly. "Is there something you've neglected to mention to your favourite Watcher?"

"I... uh..." Megan glanced at Kat then back to Ethan. "Yes?"

Ethan seemed to notice the hesitation. "Do you want to come into the other room with me and have a little chat?"

Megan hesitated again, shooting another glance at Kat, then at Giles, her hand going to her ear and toying with her earring, which Giles couldn't quite get a good look at. Then her spine straightened, and she turned back to Ethan. "That's okay. I don't need... The whole point of getting these was... was to start coming out. To let people know that I'm... that Ilikegirls."

Ethan nodded slowly, but was quiet for a few seconds. Then he slipped from his stool, walking around to the other side of the island, and he wrapped his arms around Megan. "Well done, my dear. Very well done indeed."

Kat looked at the pair in utter confusion and then up at Giles. "Um, what?"

Giles opened his mouth to say... he wasn't quite sure what, but was interrupted by Megan who had pulled away from Ethan to face Kat.

"I'm gay," she said clearly.

Kat stared at the other Slayer, the expression exaggerated by her outlandish makeup. "Yeah, and? What's the big deal here?"

Ethan made a noise Giles could only describe as tittering.

"You're not..." Megan began, pausing as if searching for the right word and finally settling on, "surprised?" Her hand moved to one of her ears, playing with the studs in her lobes, and Giles could finally see that they showed linked Venus symbols.

"Should I be?" Kat's puzzlement seemed utterly genuine. "Like, I always thought you were. Was I not supposed to know?"

Ethan slipped his arm around Giles and murmured into his ear, "Aren't you proud of our little ones, darling?" and then giggled.

Megan was looking at Kat in total shock, and Giles judged that his and Ethan's combined presence was no longer needed. "Come on," he said quietly, taking Ethan's hand and pulling him towards the door.

Ethan resisted briefly, apparently reassuring himself the girls were fine and then pushed his box of Turkish delight into a pocket and a couple of the small sandwiches into his mouth. He picked up his mug of tea with his spare hand, and grinning at Giles around his mouthful, he then allowed himself to be led from the room.

By unspoken agreement, they headed upstairs to their bedroom. As soon as the door was closed, Ethan put down the things he was carrying and wordlessly moved into Giles' embrace. Giles wrapped his arms around him and closed his eyes, just soaking up his presence.

After a long moment, Ethan moaned happily. "I might have missed you. Possibly."

"I definitely missed you," Giles replied. "I can safely say I was thinking about you the entire time."

"That's sweet," Ethan chuckled, clearly not believing him. Giles felt a wet tongue playing with his earlobe.

Giles relaxed his controls and let more of his magic flow over them both, loving the way it made Ethan all but purr. "Do you know we're relationship role models now?"

There was another low chuckle close to Giles' ear, then, "That's quite reprehensible of us. Really. Little Meggie wants to grow up to be just like daddy and daddy, does she?"

"She asked me if I thought she'd ever meet someone who'd be for her what you are for me."

Somehow, Giles could feel Ethan grow more serious in response to that. "What does she believe that is?"

"Destiny." Giles slid a hand up to cup the back of Ethan's head, threading his fingers through his hair. "She said she wants the sense of rightness we have."

"Oh..." Ethan tensed momentarily then relaxed again with a soft snort; Giles felt the little puff of air on his neck. "We really do have that now." Ethan's tone sounded almost awed. "I... Well, it's a little bewildering for my poor old brain to take in. Sometimes even now I..." He stopped, tense again.

"Have problems believing this is real?" Giles asked softly.

"Yes," Ethan admitted very quietly, his body utterly still. "Sometimes I fear I'm still hallucinating."

Giles pulled back and took Ethan's face between his hands, urging him to meet his eyes. When Ethan did, Giles leant in and kissed him gently, consciously directing his magic through them both. "This is real," he said, pulling back enough to watch Ethan's dark gaze. "I'll keep telling you that whenever you need to hear it."

Ethan met his eyes, but he seemed to be blinking a lot. "If this were a dream... well, what would that say about me? That I've secretly longed to be redeemed all this time? That I wanted to be a... father? That I wanted to find out that I was more than just Chaos, to myself and to you?" He laughed without humour. "When I put it that way, I become ever more convinced I'm off in Never Never Land. It's too much, too perfect..." He pulled away from Giles and went to the window.

"With everything we've been through, I'd say we deserved a little bit of rightness." Giles crossed the room, sliding his arms around Ethan's waist from behind and looking out the window. "If you need convincing it's real and not a perfect dream, I could always ring Francesca and tell her you want her opinion on Slayer training."

Some of the tension in Ethan's body immediately vanished as he laughed. "I'm sorry, Rupert. I don't really know where that came from." Giles felt Ethan's arms wrap over his own. "Tell me more about your morning."

"Shopping with a teenage girl is always an adventure," Giles said, keeping his tone light, and not getting into any specifics. "And, of course, there was the big revelation on the drive to town."

"Our little girl's a dyke. I'm so proud."

Giles chuckled. "You did exactly the right thing in the kitchen just now. Megan's had... issues about being accepted in the past."

"Her ghastly mother again?" Ethan asked, sounding concerned.

"I doubt she's even considered broaching the subject with her mother," Giles said, thinking about what he knew of that very strict and overly critical woman. "No, this was a girl her own age."

"Oh. Poor Meglet." Ethan sounded upset for the Slayer, and he tipped his head back to nuzzle against Giles' cheek. "I suppose a little bit of matchmaking on our part wouldn't be the done thing?"

"Know a lot of teenage lesbians to set her up with, do you?"

"We could hold auditions."

Giles nuzzled Ethan's ear. "Wouldn't Francesca love that?"

Ethan sniggered and rubbed back against Giles like an affectionate cat seeking a stroke. "Perhaps it would give her apoplexy. That would be one thorn in our side nicely removed at the same time as one Slayer is made happy. Very efficient."

"Perhaps we should see if we can just put Megan in a target-rich environment and give her a chance to stretch her wings on her own," Giles counter-suggested, sliding a hand under Ethan's shirt and over the bare skin of his stomach.

"Mmm." Ethan responded to the touch, rubbing more energetically back against Giles. Then he sighed and stilled, slumping a little. "Before this goes any further towards where I very much hope it's going, I really ought to tell you about our other girl's little revelation today."

"Does this have to do with the new image you helped give her?" Giles asked, continuing to move his fingers lightly over Ethan's skin – a comfort to both of them.

"Not in any direct sense. Kat is having doubts about her path." Ethan twisted around in Giles' arms. "Can we sit down? My legs seem to be tired."

"Of course," Giles said immediately, moving to sit in the overstuffed armchair and pulling Ethan down onto his lap. He did his best to ignore the surge of worry about Ethan's health and turned his mind back to their conversation. "Kat doesn't want to be a Slayer?"

"She's... uncertain. Megan's injury has scared her." Ethan pulled a wry face. "Can't imagine why."

"It's always difficult when fate proves exactly how vulnerable you can be," Giles said softly. He still moved his hands over Ethan's skin, lightly, absently.

Ethan moved on Giles' lap and looped his arms loosely around Giles' neck. "Kat isn't scared for herself. She fears harming someone through a failure to act effectively or on time. For all the bravado, she's a gentle soul, I think."

"She's very sensitive to the emotions of others around her," Giles agreed. "I should have talked to her more when the attack happened." He shook his head, letting go of the doubts and self-recriminations as counter-productive. "I'll do so now."

"Now now?" Ethan asked, pouting slightly.

Giles smiled a little. "Not right this minute, no."

"As you see, I'm a sick man," Ethan said, continuing to pout, but with a twinkle in his eye. "I need care that is loving, but not necessarily all that tender."

"Any kind of care in particular?" Giles asked, his hand sliding down from Ethan's chest to rest on his thigh.

Ethan's face moved in close, and his tongue flicked out and across Giles' lips. "Well, I've had my Turkish delight," he purred. "Now I think I'd rather like a taste of a more home-grown variety."

"Greedy," Giles murmured against Ethan's mouth, although all he did was deepen the contact.

Ethan's tongue slipped inside Giles' mouth, and with it came a breath-catching throb of Ethan's magic; magic that made Giles' lips tingle and his cock twitch in response.

"You taste sweet," Giles said, tilting his head back and letting Ethan drag lips down his throat, trailing magic behind. "Still not used to it."

Ethan licked around Giles' Adam's apple. "Presuming you're not just talking about the Turkish delight, how did I used to taste?"

Giles closed his eyes, his free hand coming out to brush against the soft hair at the nape of Ethan's neck. "Sharper, more bitter."

Ethan wriggled around until he was straddling Giles and then returned to licking and kissing, planting traces of magic wherever he touched. "I hope I don't become saccharin," he murmured.

"I don't think that's going to be a problem," Giles replied, grasping Ethan's hips and thrusting up against him as he lost himself in the magic. Groaning in response, Ethan began to rotate his hips. Giles felt a hand slip behind his head, lifting it slightly, and then Ethan was kissing him deeply.

It was then that someone chose to knock loudly on the bedroom door.

"Bloody hell," Giles growled. Raising his voice, but making no attempt to move out from under his lover, he asked, "What is it?"

"Um, Giles?" It was Kat's voice calling through the door. "There's a phone call for you."

Giles sighed and buried his face in Ethan's shoulder for a brief moment, soaking in his presence before reluctantly pulling back. "I shouldn't be long," he tsaid as he stood, leaving Ethan sitting in the chair alone.

"Can't they take a message?" Ethan asked, clearly a little exasperated.

"Don't you think the girls would have already asked that?" He leant over and kissed Ethan one more time. "It's probably Council business."

Ethan muttered something about the Council under his breath as Giles left the room. Giles considered it was probably a good thing that he couldn't make it out.

***

Well, that was just fine. Ethan was not particularly happy with being left, hard and wanting so that Rupert could talk to Watcher HQ or whoever it was. They were on holiday. There wasn't meant to be any business here. Ah well, at least he could drink his tea.

Or not, as it was cold.

Ethan ate the sandwiches instead and looked out of the window for a minute or so. Then he mooched around the room, weakly kicking at things. Still no Rupert.

Oh sod this. Ethan quietly opened the door and went out. He headed downstairs, not exactly creeping, but being careful not to make much in the way of noise.

The phone was in the living room, and the door was open a crack, enough to hear Rupert's voice, which sounded... stressed. Ethan sat down on the bottom step and listened.

"I don't care what she's blathering about, Pamela. She can insist all she wants. She can paint herself bright blue for all I care. That doesn't change the way things are run."

Right. So Francesca was creating trouble for them even here. That didn't surprise Ethan at all.

There was a pause before Rupert, sounding even more stressed, said, "No. Absolutely not. There's no way–" A short pause. "No, not even for a couple of days."

Oh no. They wanted Rupert to go back to London. Not now. Ethan needed him. Ethan always needed Rupert, but the Chaos withdrawal sickness was only going to get worse for a while yet; the thought of doing without Rupert during this time was... not fun. He wrapped his arms around his legs and resting his chin glumly on his knees

Giles' voice rose, took on a sharp edge. "I said no, Pamela. We're in the middle of something that's impossible for me to leave. Ms Travers can bloody well wait for the next regular meeting, just like everybody else. Emergency meetings are only for impending apocalypses, not whining about the way business is conducted."

Ethan didn't want to wait on the stairs anymore. Rupert was getting angry and needed soothing. Rupert was refusing to leave him and needed... rewarding. Ethan stood up, wincing when his knees cracked, and pushed open the door to the living room just wide enough to slip inside.

"There's nothing you need to do," Giles was saying when he spotted Ethan; his gaze softened, and he held out an arm to him as he continued on the phone. "Francesca can throw as many temper tantrums as she wants; it won't change anything."

Slipping into Rupert's open arm, Ethan wrapped his own arms around Rupert and gently hugged him, nuzzling into his neck. He was worried, truth to tell, about Francesca and what she might be up to. Ethan recognised qualities in the woman that he feared Rupert was blind to. Well, not blind, just unaware of how deeply they ran.

Rupert tightened his arm around Ethan, and Ethan could feel the rumble of his voice as he spoke. "Of course I'll keep in touch. You're doing fine, Pamela. Don't let Francesca get to you. Now if that's everything..." There was a brief pause. "Goodbye, Pamela."

He hung up the phone and turned to pull Ethan into a full embrace.

Snuggling as close as possible, Ethan kissed Giles' neck and the line of his jaw. "What has Cruella done now, dearheart?"

"Same tune, different verse." Rupert sighed, turning his head enough to catch Ethan's lips. "Nothing for you to worry about, love."

"I sincerely doubt that," Ethan argued, but then he kissed Rupert, effectively ending conversation for a few minutes at least.

If Rupert didn't want to talk about it, Ethan was prepared to drop the matter for now. He wished briefly that he'd made more of an effort to get along with Pamela Smythe-Tompkins, Rupert's right hand woman in the Council. Had he done, Ethan could have called her now and got the facts of the matter directly. Ah well, he'd get them one way or another.

He wasn't about to let Francesca Travers hurt Rupert.