Title: Deceptions and Betrayals 1/21
Author: Ness
Contact: sessa1_2@yahoo.com
Written: 09/08/2003
Spoilers: Nothing after "Wrecked" in season 6 on BtVS and anything before "Sleep Tight" on AtS. But this is completely AU.
Summary: This one is a sequel to "When You Least Expect It". If you didn't read that one, this will probably confuse you.
Pairings: Cordelia/Giles and Buffy/Wesley
Rating: PG most of the time but there are NC-17 parts.
Distribution: Anyone that already has permission. Anyone else, please ask first.

Disclaimer: We all know who owns 'em and it ain't me. Joss and Co. are gods in their universe, I'm just a peon in mine.
Thanks to Suzanne for the beta. It is much appreciated, Chica. *G* A/N: I did a bit of juggling with this after Suz saw it, so any and all mistakes are mine--as usual. ;-)
Dedication: This one is for Kerrie. She gave me the idea that ended an almost six month block. She read this puppy even though she didn't normally read these pairings. Now, I've corrupted her or that's what she says anyway. *G* Thanks darlin', you're the best.

The door to Cordelia's apartment swung open just as Giles was inserting his key in the lock. He and Cordelia looked up to see a 'welcome home' banner hanging in the living room. Obviously, Dennis was glad to see them.

"Hi, Dennis!" she greeted the ghost as she entered the apartment.

"What do you think you're doing?" Giles asked, the tone of his voice freezing her in mid-step..

"Umm--going inside?" she ventured tentatively.

"Not quite yet." Giles contradicted her.

"Why?" Cordelia was tired from the flight. She had enjoyed their honeymoon immensely, especially the parts where they had never left the room, but right now she couldn't wait to sit down and relax.

"Stay right here," Giles commanded. He grabbed their bags and took them inside, while Cordelia stood in the hallway, tapping her foot impatiently. If he didn't get his cute butt back out here soon, she was going in whether he liked it or not.

Giles returned to stand beside her.

"Giles, what's--" Cordelia didn't get to finish. Giles swung her up into his arms.

"I believe there is a custom, is there not, whereby the groom carries his bride over the threshold of their home?" he whispered next to her lips before kissing her.

Cordelia couldn't answer; she was lost in his kiss. She thought she would have had her fill of this man after the two weeks they had spent in Hawaii, courtesy of her Aunt Alicia. But every time he touched her she wanted him more. Cordelia was dimly aware of being carried into the apartment. But she couldn't seem to make herself focus on anything but him. She grinned to herself as he slowly slid her down his body to set her on her feet. She wasn 't the only one affected by that kiss. Slowly, they broke apart.

Giles leaned his forehead against his wife's.

"You're going to be the death of me, Cordelia Giles." He was as breathless as she was.

"Maybe. But what a way to go!" Cordelia quipped as she pulled him into another kiss.

Dennis discretely closed and locked the door as they made their way to the bedroom.

****

The next morning, Cordelia woke feeling deliciously sated. She reached for her husband only to find he wasn't there.

"Giles?" She rose up on one elbow to look around.

He came out of the bathroom.

"Why are you dressed?" She did not like how this morning was beginning.

"I have to work, remember?" he answered as he knotted his tie.

"I thought you didn't have to go in until Monday?" she protested. "This is Friday."

"No," Giles corrected. "You don't return to work until Monday. Robert has a shipment of rare antiques that he needs my assistance with." The curator had told him about the shipment right before his honeymoon and asked the Englishman if he would mind coming back to work a bit sooner than originally planned.

Giles had arranged for his consultant's position to become full-time. The curator, Robert Matthews, had been happy to accommodate him. The knowledge and experience Giles brought to the museum yielded benefits the curator hadn 't even contemplated when he had hired the ex-Watcher. Potential clients contacted the museum solely on the basis of Rupert Giles' credentials.

"But, but--we just got back," Cordelia contended a bit sullenly. She wasn't ready to face the real world; she wanted her husband to herself for a little longer.

Giles leaned over to press a kiss to her lips.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "But he's expecting me."

She considered pouting, but the last time she had done that, he'd told her she looked cute, kissed her and then ignored her.

"When will you be home?" She swung her legs over the side of the bed. There wasn't much point in staying in it if he wasn't going to be there with her.

"I'm helping Robert with the in-take and cataloging of a new shipment." He shrugged into his jacket. "He said it is a small shipment and shouldn't take more than two or three hours."

Cordelia visibly brightened. The day wouldn't be a total waste. She could go to the Hyperion and check in on everything there while Giles was at the museum.

"Would you wait for me and drop me at the hotel?" she asked over her shoulder as she headed to the bathroom.

He took one last, quick look in the mirror before turning back to his wife. "Certainly."

He went to the kitchen to start coffee and found it already brewed.

"Thank you, Dennis." He was beginning to care as much for the ghost as his wife did. He had been a bit wary about living with a ghost, but was finding it less intrusive than having Buffy and the others barging into his home at all hours of the day and night. In fact, Dennis was more considerate of their privacy than the others.

Giles sat down with his coffee and went over the paperwork that Robert had sent over this morning. He could catch up on some of it while waiting for Cordelia.

****

Fred was the first person to notice the Seer when she walked in.

"Cordelia!" she exclaimed, hugging the brunette.

"Hi, Fred." She looked around. "Where are the guys?"

"Gunn is out getting breakfast. Wesley is in his office and Angel is upstairs with Connor," Fred replied. "How was the honeymoon?"

"It was fantastic!"

"Then what are you doing here? We weren't expecting you back until Monday."

"Giles had to go to the museum today." Cordelia answered as she moved towards Wesley's office. "I figured since he was working, I'd check things out here."

She knocked on the office door.

"Come in," Wesley called out.

She opened the door to fine the ex-Watcher on the phone. He waved her in with a welcoming smile.

"Yes, Buffy. As a matter of fact, I do think they're back. I have Cordelia standing in front of me." He listened for a moment before replying. "I'm sure that she will give Giles a message for you--hold on one moment and I'll let you speak to her."

Wesley handed Cordelia the phone as she sat down in the chair opposite his desk.

"Buffy?"

"Cordy, I'm glad I caught you." Buffy said relief evident in her voice.

"What's up?" Cordelia was curious. How long had Buffy been calling Wesley?

"I just wanted to let Giles know that I'm coming to L.A. on Monday. I didn't know if you two planned on coming to Sunnydale this weekend or not."

"We hadn't planned on it."

Buffy chuckled.

"I'm sure you didn't. But I also know how Giles is. He probably would have tried to talk you into coming for at least a day. I just thought I'd save him the effort."

"I appreciate that." Cordelia really did. She didn't want to argue with Giles on the last two days of their honeymoon, but she had no intention of going to Sunnydale this weekend.

"Just let him know I'll give him a full report when I get there, okay?"

"Okay."

"Do you mind if I talk to Wes again?" Buffy asked. She still had a couple of things to talk to the Englishman about.

Now the Seer was truly intrigued.

"Sure, no problem." Unanswered questions threaded through her voice. She handed the phone back to Wesley.

"Yes, Buffy?" Wesley listened as he noted the curiosity radiating off of the woman sitting across from him. "Yes, I'll be here. I look forward to seeing you. Goodbye, Buffy." Wesley smiled as he hung up the phone. He looked at Cordelia. "What?" He resisted the urge to look down at himself to see if anything was out of place.

"Since when did you and Buffy become such good buddies?" she asked, lifting a brow questioningly.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about." He could feel a flush creeping up his face.

"Come on, Wes." Cordelia couldn't get over the change between Wesley and Buffy. "You two were barely able to be civil to one another the last time I checked."

"Buffy and I have managed to put aside our differences," was the stiff reply.

"I can see that." The woman across from him couldn't contain herself any longer. "May I ask a question?"

"Yes," he agreed warily.

"When did you really start talking to Buffy? I was serious when I said I thought you two still had problems being civil to one another."

"Actually, it was about the time you and Giles became friends."

"What do you mean?" Confusion was evident.

"Do you remember the time you called Angel from the hotel room in Sunnydale?"

"Yeah."

"Buffy called me shortly after that weekend." He shrugged. "She wanted to know if I had any idea what was bothering Giles."

"And?" she asked curiously.

"I suppose you could say that phone call broke the ice. We have spoken several times since then," he finished.

Cordelia didn't know what to say. She knew that Wesley had always felt he'd failed both Faith and Buffy when he was back in Sunnydale. If he could be friends with Buffy and gain some measure of peace from that--more power to him. She was glad.

"Well--all I have to say is they thought Giles and me being friends was weird." She grinned to take the sting out of her words.

"Indeed." Wesley smiled at her.

Cordelia looked at her watch. "Oops, I gotta go. I want to see Angel and Connor before Giles picks me up."

"What were you doing here?" Wesley said as Cordelia stood up. "We weren't expecting you before Monday."

"Giles had to go to the museum for a couple of hours. I decided that I'd check on all of you." She headed to the door.

He nodded. "Well, enjoy the rest of your weekend. You have a lot of work to do when you return."

She stopped dead and turned slowly. "What work?" she asked carefully.

"Oh, filing among other things."

"What do you mean?" she demanded incredulously. "Didn't you do any of the filing while I was gone."

"Cordelia, no one can decipher your filing system." Wesley hid a smile. "You would be indispensable, even if you weren't Angel's seer."

"Oh, you are so gonna get it," she laughingly threatened.

"I live in perpetual fear." He chuckled.

"You should." She snickered as she headed towards the stairs.

****

"Angel?" Cordelia knocked softly. She wasn't sure if Connor was asleep and she didn't want to wake him.

"Come in."

She opened the door and found Angel sitting in a chair next to Connor's crib. He held a book loosely in one hand and there was a mug on the table next to him.

"Hey," she greeted him quietly.

"Hi, Cordy. Welcome back." He gestured her in.

"Is Connor--?"

"He's awake." Angel nodded towards the crib. "He's just playing."

She walked over and saw the little boy staring with rapt attention at the mobile suspended above his crib. When the baby saw her, he started to gurgle and laugh.

"Hi, little guy." She picked up the baby and gave him a hug. "Did you miss me?"

He gave her a big, toothless smile.

"Hey look! He smiled at me," Cordelia exclaimed excitedly.

"He's--." Angel started.

"Don't you dare tell me that's gas. I'll spike your blood with holy water if you do," she threatened.

Angel held up his hands in mock-surrender. "I was going to say that he looks like he really missed you."

"Sure you were." She smirked.

The vampire grinned. "So, how's married life?" he asked as he watched her play with Connor.

"Fantastic!"

"I'm glad." And he was. He knew Cordelia had had a rough time and sometimes people forgot that because of the way she handled herself. He was happy that she'd found someone.

Cordelia put Connor back in his crib.

"I've gotta go. Giles will be here anytime to pick me up. We're going to enjoy the last few days of our honeymoon." She grinned at the vampire.

"Have fun," Angel told her.

"Oh, we plan to." Cordelia grinned over her shoulder as she left.

****

Giles entered the hotel just as Cordelia came down the stairs.

"Hello, Luv." He greeted her with a quick kiss. "Are you ready?"

"Just about. Let me say goodbye to Wes and Fred."

She stuck her head in Wesley's office.

"Hey, Wes. I'm leaving now."

"Goodbye, Cordelia." He raised his head from the text he had been studying. "Have a good weekend."

"Do you know where Fred went?"

"I believe she and Gunn decided to take their breakfast to the park."

"Oh. Okay." Cordelia shrugged. "Tell her I said 'bye."

"I shall."

"Thanks, Wes," Cordelia said as she turned to leave. "See you Monday."

"Goodbye." He went back to his book.

Cordelia met Giles in the lobby.

"Did you find everyone?"

"Yeah. Wes is in his office and Fred is with Gunn." She hooked her arm through his. As they left, she whispered, "And have I got some gossip for you."

****

"Buffy and Wesley are speaking to one another?" Giles repeated, as they sat on the sofa in Cordelia's, now their, apartment..

"Yep. Apparently, when you and I started getting serious, Buffy called Wes after one of our weekends because she thought something was wrong."

"Did she now?" He asked, amused.

She nodded. "Anyway, they started talking and now they're friends."

"I'm glad for them. But I actually have something I would like to speak to you about," he changed the subject as she leaned against him.

"What?"

"How would you feel about renting a bigger flat?" He asked as he stroked her hair.

Before she could answer, the bedroom door slammed hard enough to cause her to jump. Dennis was making his presence known.

"Not to worry, Dennis. I have no intention of leaving you behind," he assured the seemingly nervous ghost.

"How exactly do you plan to take him with us?" Curiosity colored her voice. "Because you know I'm not leaving him here," she added firmly.

"Of course we're not leaving him. I have a friend in England that has informed me he knows of a spell to capture ghosts. Usually, it's done to trap ghosts when they have become violent and an exorcism cannot be performed. But he assures me that I can use it to relocate Dennis to a new flat."

"And it's safe?" She wasn't taking any chances with her non-corporal friend.

"I plan to research the spell very thoroughly when he emails it to me. If I have any doubts, I won't do it," he swore before continuing his explanation. "Kevin is very good at this sort of thing and I explained the situation in great detail. However, if it will make you, and Dennis, feel better, I will check with a few other contacts to see if they have any knowledge of this particular spell."

"Would you?" Cordelia asked as she leaned back to look at him. "I don't want anything to happen to him."

"Of course. I don't wish anything to happen to him either."

"So where do you want to move to?" she asked, settling back against him.

"I'm not completely sure," Giles answered, as he stroked her hair. "I do know that this flat is entirely too small for the both of us. I would like a place that has more room for my books and weapons. I would also like extra room in case we have visitors."

"Sunnydale visitors, you mean."

"Among others," he conceded with a smile.

"As long as we can take Dennis, I don't care." She snuggled closer to him. "So, what are we doing this weekend?"

"What would you like to do?"

"Pretty much what we're doing right now," she responded in a silky tone.

"I think that can be arranged." He smiled as he kissed the top of her head.

****

Cordelia woke with a start, and she instinctively reached for her husband. His even breathing told her that he was still asleep. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. The dream had seemed so real. She'd been sitting with Giles, like they had been tonight, when all of a sudden he had disappeared. She'd called out to him, but no one answered. She had looked for him frantically, but had been unable find him. No matter what she did, he was gone and she couldn't get him back.

She scrubbed her face with her hands. She hated dreams like that. The panic and terror had nearly overwhelmed her. She hated feeling helpless--even in her dreams. She sighed and settled back down against her husband. He curled his arm around her and pulled her to him. Even in his sleep, he could make her feel safe. With that reassuring thought, she drifted back to sleep.

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