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Just in Time for Christmas

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Summary: Secret Santa for Tara Keezer - Features Giles/Patti Halliwell, Giles/Buffy, and Giles' Aunt Minerva McGonagall

Categories Author Rating Chapters Words Recs Reviews Hits Published Updated Complete
Harry Potter > Multiple Pairings(Moderator)TeriFR1324,006011,24119 Dec 0319 Dec 03Yes

Just in Time

Title: Just In Time

Author: Teri

Summary: Just how did Giles escape the Bringer's battle-axe in "Sleepers"? Just what is going on with Buffy and Giles? (Giles/Patti Halliwell; Giles/Buffy). Christmas Fluff

Author's Note: This was written for the Twisting the Hellmouth Secret Santa Event

- Story dedicated to Tara Keezer. ~ Merry Christmas, I hope you enjoy it.

- Thanks to Danielle for beta reading this for me.

Note to Tara: I have been in a tizzy trying to make sure this story turned out, but I am not use to writing relationships and I know nothing about your primary interest Anita Blake. The note I received said for the story to be about Giles (whom I love as well) with anyone but Willow and no WWE. So, here's the deal. I really hope you like this, but I am giving you a story-back guarantee. If for ANY reason you do not like the story (or some aspect of it), I will not be offended and I will write you another story or edit this one after questioning you endlessly about your likes and dislikes. So, I hope you like this one, but if not we WILL get you one you will. :): )

Archive: Twisting the Hellmouth or elsewhere at Tara's discretion since this story is for her.

Story Notes: The opening is taken from Buffy, season 7 "Sleeper" (#130) and borrows some dialogue from "Bring on the Night" (#132). I suppose this story is AU due to the relationships mentioned. Background - Buffy: The story begins from the end of the episode "Sleeper" Background - Charmed: No particular spoilers; however, I have taken some liberties with the character of Patti Halliwell.

Disclaimer: I am not associated with the creators or owners of "Charmed," "Harry Potter", or "Buffy: The Vampire Slayer." This story was written for my own amusement and hopefully Tara's enjoyment and the enjoyment of others.


* * * * *

London, December 2002

Giles enters the flat and looks around. Almost immediately he sees a young woman lying dead on the floor.

"Oh, dear God! Robson, are you here? Robson!"

Giles continues to look for his fellow watcher and friend, Nigel Robson. He finds him near a chair in the next room. Giles goes to his side.

"You too?" Giles is overcome, taking off his eyeglasses as he begins to tear. He feels a surge of relief when he realizes that his friend still has a pulse. "Dear God, I thought you. . . ."

Robson's eyes flashed open and he cut off Giles, "Gather them. It's started."

"It's all right. I understand. I'll take care of it. . . "

One of the robed men, known as Bringers, sneaks up behind Giles wielding a battle-axe. He swings it at Giles and everything goes dark as Robson lapses back into unconsciousness.


* * * * *  

Giles turned as he heard someone approach him from behind. He turned too late as he saw the axe descend towards him. He decided to do the one thing he swore he would never do, but how could he not use every option available to him? It was more than just his life on the line; the entire slayer line was at risk. He had a sacred duty and that came before pride.

"Patti," he barely whispered as the axe fell.

He did not even have time to register his surprise as he noticed a flash of blue and white lights beside him. Before he knew it, he was no longer in Robson's flat. Rather he was in his own flat in Bath with Patti Halliwell standing beside him looking as beautiful as she did the last time he saw her. He was so taken for a moment he hardly noticed the young blonde man who was also in the room.

The moment passed as he quickly remembered what had just happened. "Robson?!" Giles was desperate to get back to him. He was in danger.

Patti glanced to the young man next to her. "Leo?"

Leo nodded. "On it." He quickly vanished in the same flash of blue and white lights that had brought them there.

"Leo will take care of him." Patti smiled at Giles. "Don't worry, he is safe."

"I'm sorry," he started to stutter out.

"It's okay, Rip." She smiled at him as she reached her hand to his shoulder.

"I never wanted to take advantage."

"I only wish I could help you in Sunnydale, but we're not allowed to interfere there." She smiled at him. "In fact, I am not even a Whitelighter anymore, haven't been in many years. The Elders worried I would have run in to my daughters. So now I am just playing 'Ghost Mom'."

"You look wonderful."

"Well, it is amazing what being dead does for the complexion."

The beauty of her laughing smile stunned Giles as she teased him.

"Thank you for saving me," he smiled and put his hand over hers, "yet again. You always arrive . . . just in time."

"I . . ." She looks at him slightly at a lost.

"Oh, hell." Giles puts an arm around her and leans in for a long deep kiss, full of love, affection, memories, and even perhaps a little lust. Patti returns the kiss and the emotions as they greeted each other for the first time in years.

The two broke apart after a few minutes.

"Patti, I'm sorry." He blushed. "I seem to always be saying that to you."

"Oh Rupert, when will you ever learn you don't need to be sorry with me?"

He looked down and started to pull out his glasses to polish.

"No, you don't Rupert Giles." She reached over and stopped him. "You will not do that now." Instead she pulled him to the couch and patted the place next to her indicating for him to sit. "Now tell me what is going on with you. You were my very first innocent after I died, my first charge, and I think I have a right to know what is going on in your life now."

"Your first charge? I still can't get over that. I was a watcher-in-training who was raising demons and they sent a new Whitelighter to stop me." He shook his head in amused disbelief. "'Course, I was hardly an innocent."

She just glared at him trying not to laugh as he tried to appear innocent. He gave her the 'who me? What did I say' look that just sent her laughing.

They sat and talked about old times and new. They talked about when they first met. They talked about Ethan. Patti told Giles about her daughters.

However, Giles had been very quiet about the personal details of his own life. Sure, he told her about the fight against the First. He talked about his worries for Willow, Xander, and Dawn. He even talked about the latest gossip he had heard from his maternal Aunt Minerva, a teacher at the fabled Hogwarts School, although he had not attended the school himself, he always tried to keep abreast of the wizarding news. They talked about all this and more, but somehow Giles neglected any real details about his slayer.

Some how the silence told Patti much more than words could ever tell. Patti's eyes twinkled mischievously. "So tell me about this Buffy?"


* * * * *


Patti and her mother were able to help direct Giles over the next few days towards finding the potentials. Where their information was short, his Aunt Minerva filled in the gaps. Between both sets of witches, he was well on his way to finding the girls.


* * * * *

Several days later. . .

Buffy opened the front door of her house, prepared to leave, but was surprised to see Giles standing there on her front porch preparing to knock."Buffy." Giles smiled, happy to see her again.

"Giles." Buffy smiled, already feeling better just because he was there. She moved to hug him, but was prevented as three Girls she didn't know, Molly, Annabelle, and Kennedy, walked between them and into the house.

Buffy confused by the new arrivals turned to Giles.

"Sorry to barge in. We have a slight apocalypse."


* * * * *


Buffy and Giles are walked side by side down Main Street, Sunnydale.

"This place you originally saw 'The First'," Giles began, "you say it was in a Christmas tree lot?

"Under it. There was a hidden cavern. Just happened to be under a tree lot." She looked at him and gave him a quizzical look. "So not actually anything about Christmas, although it was kinda odd. Anyway, the Bringers were doing some kind of ritual." Her look shifted to worry as she looked up at Giles for reassurance. "Giles, this is bad, isn't it? A new kind of bad."

"Just in time for Christmas."

Buffy nodded as they continued to walk. "You know, I didn't even realize it was December. Maybe when we get home, we should decorate the rubble." She stopped walking and looked over at him again. "Think you'll ever show up for a real visit? The kind where the world isn't about to end?

"If we survive this, I promise."

"Good. 'Cause I miss you."

"I miss you too."

Buffy and Giles continued to walk together, arm-in-arm, both some how feeling happier than they had in a long time. Buffy saw something in a shop window and began to drag Giles towards the store.

A sprig of mistletoe with a magical light golden dusting, appeared out of nowhere in the doorway of the store.

As they are about to walk underneath the mistletoe, Buffy noticed it and pointed it out to Giles. "Look Giles." She smiled at him. Not the dull smile she had since Glory, but the vibrant happy smile she always had through high school. "It's tradition."

Giles was delighted to see that smile. The smile that he never thought would grace her face again. Something inside of him just snapped. He knew what he had to do. He smiled as he leaned down as if to kiss her.

"A little nudge in the right direction," Patti whispers unseen or unheard by Giles or Buffy. "I hope you like my Christmas present." She smiled widely. "Non-interference on the Hellmouth? Well, like my daughters, I never was very good at following the rules."

"Merry Christmas Rip; Merry Christmas Buffy." Her smile grew as she laughed at herself as she stolen. . . er. . . borrowed Livingston's famous line, "Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night."


* * * * *


I hope you enjoyed this Tara and I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. Hope everyone else has a wonderful Holiday (whatever your holiday may be) Season as well.




* * * * *


If the magic mistletoe didn't work, Patti would just have to get Buffy to write a 'Dear Phoebe' letter or else she would write Professor McGonagall. Yes, Minerva would make sure things turned out for her favorite nephew. She had a way of getting people to listen to her, but that was another story for another day . . .

Or was it?

Interested? See the sequel, "Just in Time: The Conspiracy"
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