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AUTHOR - LightLes
DISCLAIMER - These characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, 20th
Century Fox, and a bunch of lawyer-types. I'm just borrowing them for
a
little while.
RATING - PG (just to be on the safe side)
SPOILERS - This takes place some time in a mythical Season 5 where Oz
doesn't
exist and Cordelia never left town.
DISTRIBUTION - Those sites that already have some or all of my work
are
welcome to this one too. Everyone else, please ask.
NOTES - This is for Laura Smith, who wrote me a lovely happy fic for
my
birthday. She wanted a Willow/Giles piece that had our heroes lost
in a car.
Here it is and I hope she likes it.
Rupert Giles was not a happy man. In fact, he was extremely unhappy.
What
was supposed to have been a wonderful, life-changing afternoon, had
swiftly
deteriorated into a disaster of monumental proportions. His head was
throbbing, his legs were starting to cramp, and he had an irrational
urge to
drive the car into the small, nameless pond that was passing by on
the left.
The radio's ceaseless, pounding beat was prohibiting any rational thought
or
conversation (although this fact was obviously lost on at least three
of the
car's occupants) and the smell of Xander's burrito was making him nauseous.
Just as he was seriously contemplating an act of ultimate road rage,
Willow
came to his rescue. Without any sort of warning, she simply turned
off the
tape player. Predictably, a cry arose from the back seat. She ignored
the
complaints, until Xander made the mistake of taking matters into her
own
hands. He leaned forward and reached for the play button, only to have
his
hand smartly slapped by his best friend.
"Xander." she said in her calmest, most deadly voice. "My head hurts
and I
can see the vein throbbing at Giles' temple. We are not listening to
this
noise any more. You have a walkman, use it!" With that, she popped
the tape
out of the machine and handed it to him.
"God, who died and made you the music police?" Cordelia asked. "It's
not
even your car......"
"..... but it is mine." Giles interrupted, before the argument could
go any
further. "And I, for one, would like some peace and quiet for a while."
Cordelia huffed and went back to discussing current trends in nail
enamel
with Buffy. Meanwhile, Xander took Willow's advice and put on his
headphones. Willow went back to contemplating the view, while Giles
returned
to his ruminations on how the day had gone so terribly wrong.
The plan had been wonderfully simple..... Giles had come across some
information indicating that Mesa Verde–a small town that was located
about
three hours north of Sunnydale–was a center of magickal studies and
harmless
paranormal activity. Things had been quiet on the Hellmouth and he
had
determined that the Slayer and her friends needed a few days away from
the
pressures of college life and demonic activity. Therefore, he had suggested
the road trip. Everyone in the group had taken to the idea immediately,
particularly Willow. When they had decided to drive, it had been a
given
that they would take two cars. Willow had immediately volunteered to
ride
with Giles. Nobody had questioned her motives–Giles had even heard
Buffy
exclaim ".... they can discuss obscure bits of mythology and the preferred
method of casting ritual circles to their hearts' content!"
If Giles were going to be totally honest with himself, both subjects
would
probably have come up eventually, but he'd hoped that the focus of
his
conversation with Willow would be their relationship. About half-way
between
Sunnydale and Mesa Verde, he had planned to "accidentally" take a wrong
turn
which would eventually bring them to a secluded bluff that overlooked
the
Pacific Ocean. There, Rupert Giles had planned to ask Willow Rosenberg
to be
his wife. In his mind, he could see the scene perfectly. He would pull
off
to the side of the road and tell Willow that he needed to check the
map. He
would then suggest that she take the opportunity to stretch her legs.
Once
she got out of the car, he would retrieve the card on which he'd written
the
words he wanted to say to her and the ring he'd found at a small antique
shop. He would get out of the car and Willow would be standing near
the edge
of the bluff, looking out at the ocean, bathed in sunlight. He would
drop to
one knee and an expression of surprise would cross her face. The wind
would
gently move her hair as he asked her to spend the rest of her life
with him
and she would cry and say.....
"Punch buggy!" Xander yelled and proceeded to hit Cordelia. This sparked
a
heated argument in the back seat which managed to completely wipe away
any
traces of Giles' fantasy. His mind turned to what had actually happened
that
day. Things had started out well enough–the sun had been high in the
sky
when everyone had met at Giles' apartment. Buffy, Xander, and Cordelia
had
piled into Xander's car and taken off at a dangerously high speed.
Willow
and Giles had set out at a much more sedate pace and slowly, but surely,
their conversation had taken on a romantic tone. Due to their need
for
secrecy, Giles and Willow rarely had the opportunity to revel in their
love
and complete privacy was both a novelty and luxury. The clouds had
started
to gather, then the rain had started to fall, but he hadn't let that
deter
him from his mission. About an hour outside of Sunnydale, Giles had
begun to
mentally prepare himself for his upcoming "ordeal" when Willow had
suddenly
gasped and told him to pull over.
The minute he'd see the bedraggled, pathetic looking group on the side
of the
road, Giles had known that any plans he had were as good as dead....
all
because Xander Harris got a flat tire. At first, he had held out some
hope
that Xander had a spare in his trunk, but he hadn't been in the least
surprised when Xander admitted that he'd taken it out to make room
for
another cooler of food. There had been a brief debate over whether
or not to
turn back, but Giles had finally decided to keep going. After all,
they
still needed a vacation and there would surely be an opportunity to
pull
Willow aside. Of course, they had to get to Mesa Verde before that
could
happen and that was becoming less and less likely by the minute. Giles
was
terribly embarrassed to admit it, but he was hopelessly lost. Fortunately,
this hadn't become apparent to anyone else in the car.... yet.
"Giles!" Buffy's voice broke into his reverie.
"Yes?" He made no attempt to hide the weariness in his voice.
"I just saw a sign for a rest stop. Can we stop and rest?"
".... and pick up some snacks!" Xander added.
"..... and use the facilities..... after disinfecting them, of course."
Cordelia added her two cents.
"Wonderful idea." Giles readily agreed. "I need to consult the map....."
"Real men don't need maps!" Xander shouted.
"What would you know about being a real man?" Cordelia asked sweetly,
provoking another argument. Willow merely rolled her eyes and shot
an
encouraging smile at Giles. He, in turn, noted that the rain had stopped
and
that the sun was beginning to poke through the clouds and took this
as a good
omen. They reached the rest stop–which turned out to be a small gas
station
and convenience store–and Buffy and Cordelia immediately raced to the
ladies'
room. Xander headed towards the store, while Willow stood by the car
and
began to stretch her legs. Giles opened the glove compartment and cursed
when its contents spilled out over the floor and passenger seat. Without
a
word, Willow handed him the map and began to pick up the debris.
"Thank you." he murmured. He was truly grateful–he wanted to have his
directions figured out before the three teens returned to the car and
in just
a few minutes, knew exactly where they were and where they were going.
"Good
news!" he said, his voice sounding much more cheerful "we're not as
far
afield as I thought." There was no response. "Willow?" Giles looked
up
from the map and drew in a sharp breath. Willow was frozen in place,
bent
over double, and was holding a card in her hand..... the card on which
Giles
had written the words he'd intended to say when he asked her spend
the rest
of her life with him. "Oh Lord...." he murmured. He found it ironic
that
the sun chose that moment to break through the clouds, almost as if
it were
planned.
"Giles, this says..... I mean..... do you really want to *marry* me?"
Willow's eyes were rapidly filling with tears.
"Yes." he said. "God knows, I didn't want to do this at a gas station,
but
Willow, I love you and you would make me so very happy if you would
even
consider..... helping me with that research."
"Uh....." Willow's brows knit in confusion.
"Hey, hey!" Xander merrily slapped Willow on the back and she stumbled,
nearly falling into the car. She kept a grip on the card and smiled
at Giles.
"Of course I will....." Xander was standing behind her and didn't see
the
tear slide down her cheek. ".... help you with that research." she
added
hastily.
"Wonderful!" Giles sighed in relief and picked up the small jewelry
box that
had fallen into the space between the two seats. "You have no idea
how happy
you've made me."
"Boy, you two sure get emotional about research." Xander commented,
completely oblivious to what had just happened. Willow hastily wiped
her
eyes and turned to her best friend, quickly distracting him by gently
scolding him for his rapid intake of sugar. Giles took the opportunity
to
pry open the box and remove the small ring that was nestled inside.
He threw
the empty box back into the glove compartment, along with the map,
and held
it in his right fist. In a few moments, Xander clambered into the back
seat
and Willow climbed into her seat next to Giles. When he was sure Xander
was
occupied with his walkman, Giles took Willow's left hand and, without
a word,
slipped the ring onto her ring finger. The smile Willow bestowed on
him made
his spirit soar and as he pulled out of the gas station and headed
for the
highway, Rupert Giles began to make plans for his wedding and honeymoon.
