Title: "Her White Knight" (1/?)
Author: TheQueenly1
Pairing: Giles and Buffy, of course!
Rating: PG for this chapter. Later chapters may have different ratings.

Disclaimer: As far as I know, all the characters of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" are owned by their creator, Joss Whedon. I do not own them; if I did, Buffy and Giles would have been together as a couple long ago. I am a B/G 'shipper, and proud of it! Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so please don't sue. No infringement of copyright is intended or should be inferred. The original characters in this story are mine, however.

Spoilers: At least up to "After Life." It is AU after that. Buffy never became sexually involved with Spike. "Tabula Rasa" might have taken place after this story, but if it did, it had a very different beginning and ending.

Summary: Buffy and Giles are sent back to the thirteenth century, and in the trials and travails they experience, they discover their love for each other.

Notes: This story was written in response to Challenge # 4 here at the ODD website, "The B/G Knight Challenge." The specific requirements of the challenge will be given in the final chapter, and perhaps readers can tell me how well or how poorly I fulfilled the requirements. [Brackets] indicate unvoiced thoughts; *asterisks* are for emphasis.

Feedback: Would be greatly appreciated!

Giles stood back from their swordplay, his expression severe. "Buffy, you can do better than that, surely."

"What? I blocked it, didn't I?" She tried to look unconcerned, which was difficult with her Watcher glaring at her. Both of them were sweating; the day was warm and sunny--as usual--and they had been practicing sword fighting for some time. Normally it was something Buffy enjoyed, but today Giles seemed to be in an ultra-stuffy mood, and as always, he could make her feel like a complete incompetent just by giving her one of his patented Rupert Giles glares. [Well, I'm not a kid any more. I'm not going to let him know how much his disapproval gets to me.] Still feigning unconcern, she strolled over to the nearby cooler they had brought, fished out a cold bottle of water, and took a long drink.

"You blocked it with your arm," Giles said with exaggerated patience, as if explaining to someone who was either a child or mentally deficient. "Had this been a real sword fight, you would have lost your hand."

Buffy shrugged as she finished twisting the cap back on the water. "But it wasn't a real fight, Giles--and I knew you had enough control not to do me any harm."

"Buffy, that's hardly the point."

She shrugged again, smirking--and then suddenly tossed the water bottle to him. "Catch!"

Giles automatically caught it one-handed; he still held his sword in the other. He sheathed the sword in the scabbard at his side and took a swallow of water from the bottle, but his glare showed no sign of diminishing. "Buffy, just because Glory is no longer a threat to us is no reason for you to slack off in your training."

Buffy picked up her own sword, not looking at him. "Yeah, yeah, I know. There is always a new Big Bad over the horizon. Is that why you're still here?"

"What?"

The Slayer twirled her sword in her hand, giving this simple action far more attention than necessary. "Is that why you've been pushing me to train so much lately? Because you're planning to leave me when I don't need you any more?"

"Buffy, I..." Giles was momentarily speechless. He had occasionally entertained thoughts of leaving, and for that very reason. His Slayer was one of the finest to walk the earth in centuries; he doubted if she would need a Watcher much longer. That Buffy might need him for any purpose other than training her to be a better Slayer did not even occur to him. Training and guiding her was simply the role he knew best, so he had more or less fallen back into it since her ressurection. He loved her dearly, but he had no reason to believe that she reciprocated his feelings. "Why do you say that?" he managed at last.

Her head snapped up. "I knew it! If you weren't thinking about it, you just would have said, 'No.' You're planning to leave me, just like every other guy in my life ever has." She turned and stalked away from him, but not before he caught a glimpse of angry tears in her eyes. "Color me shocked. Once again, Buffy finds that she can't get a man to stay with her. You all wise up and leave me, sooner or later." As she spoke, she grabbed up her scabbard and thrust her sword back into his viciously.

Giles was dumbfounded. He had never seriously believed that Buffy might miss him to any great extent, much less that she might interpret his possible departure in terms of a failure on her part. "Buffy, wait!" Dropping the water bottle, he quickly crossed the distance between them, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "You don't understand."

Not turning to face him, she scrubbed angrily at her tears with the back of her hand. "What's there to understand, Giles? I may be a big- shot Slayer, but obviously I'm no great shakes as a woman. I just don't have what it takes to keep a decent man in my life."

"How can you say such a thing?"

"Hey, look at the record, Giles. My dad abandoned me after the divorce. Angel left me, supposedly for my own good, but when I went to see and talk to him, he chose *Faith* over me, and more or less told me to get lost. Riley left me, and told me it was my fault when he did. Maybe it was. Parker couldn't even be bothered hanging around for more than one night. Owen and Scott both wanted me to be someone I wasn't, and when I couldn't do that, they dropped me. Merrick, my first Watcher, died. Okay, that wasn't his fault, but he still left me alone. Pike ran out on me shortly afterward, telling me it was for the best. Even Wesley left after he'd been around me for awhile! So now you're planning to leave, too. I should have seen it, Giles. Every man leaves me, sooner or later..."

She was openly weeping now. Giles was shocked and horrified. He had never dreamed Buffy felt this way. He took her gently by the shoulders and started to draw her close to him, intending only to comfort her. She leaned on his shoulder, crying. Abruptly, he became aware of the sweet smell of her hair, the softness of her skin, the firmness of her breasts as her body pressed against his. He felt a stirring in his groin and almost panicked. [Stop, this isn't right! You would be taking advantage of her while she's upset.]

Hurriedly, more abruptly than he meant to, Giles thrust Buffy away. For an instant she stared at him uncomprehendingly, her face still wet with tears, then darkening with anger and a bitterness he had never seen before. "Oh, you can't even stand to be close to me now? Fine, Giles, I get the picture. You're free. Go back to England, if that's what you want. You're not responsible for me any more."

She whirled and stalked away from him, moving so fast she was almost running, her sword sheathed but still held as if she meant to attack something. Giles started after her. "Buffy, no! You must listen--"

Then there was a swirl of multicolored lights so bright they were painful to the eyes, and a pain shot through his head. Giles cried out Buffy's name, and he thought he heard her scream his, and then all was blackness.

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