Disclaimer: Buffy and co' are owned by Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I own  nothing

Teaser:  Things begin to go awry when Giles begins to see Cordelia in a whole new light at a  reunion and inadvertently sets a chain of events in motion that may cost her her life.

Assumptions:  Spoilers for Homecoming. Assumes W/X each break up with their perspective others to be with each other. The others don't take it well.

Notes:  Well, got inspired on day, and decided to write a Giles/Cordy piece, mostly stemming from my freaked out reaction to the events in Homecoming.  Was supposed to be just a short piece, mostly from Giles POV, but then I got longwinded.  Meant to be only for fun, enjoy! Also serves the grand ole purpose of venting my anger on Xander. I'm still C/X all the way, but while I was writing this story, I fell in love with it. Hope you have as good a
time reading it as I had writing it. :)
 

 Giles quietly stared out the window of his bedroom, Cordelia silent on his bed, her head to the side away from him. He didn't know what she was feeling right now.  Her wounds had been bandaged, her bleeding had stopped, she lay in a clean flannel that Giles had dug up from his drawer,  but her eyes were wounded.  She lay still, she hadn't moved in the past ten minutes.  Giles was worried.  He wondered what was going on in her head.  And then he knew.

 "Xander did this to me, didn't he?"  she suddenly asked.  Giles turned, she hadn't moved, so he moved around the side of the bed, and sat down on the chair where he had dressed her wounds.  He stared at her face, and considered lying to her, but seeing her eyes glancing up at him, the trust in them, he found he couldn't.

 "I'm afraid so." He said slowly.  She flinched, closing her eyes. "but it wasn't him.  He's.. he's possessed."  She didn't move, staring blankly ahead of her, and he knew that more than her body was wounded.  He felt furious at himself.  "Cordelia, I'm so sorry. If I hadn't been so ... distracted, I could have figured it  out-"

 "Giles." Her eyes opened, and she looked at him. "No. It's not your fault.  Xander...  no one could have known.  I should have guessed myself. I sort of sensed it...  He said he wanted me back, tonight, before, and I turned him down.  He ...  he almost went ballistic."

 Giles took off his glasses, laying them on the small dresser next to the bed, and looked back at Cordelia, who looked at him intensely for the first time since she had spoken.

 "Why did you turn him down?" he asked her quietly.  She sighed, her face coming up and gingerly touching her lip, wincing when she felt the pain.

 "I'm confused."  She looked at him her eyes sincere. "Because for reason now I close my eyes and I think librarian instead of army man."  Giles looked up, and they stared at each other silently.  He felt his heart well up.  He knew what she was saying.  And in a weird way, it filled him with joy.  He didn't know how.  Or why.  But she did, and it was enough. Unconsciously, they both reached out their hand at the same time, and their fingers intertwined.  They stood silent for a moment, looking at their entwined hands, their fingers moving against each other, longing to be closer.

 "Why?" was all he could ask.

 She sighed. " I don't know.  Because when I'm with you, I know I'll never get hurt. I know.. I feel safe. I trust you." She finished simply. And Giles knew the difficulty she had saying those words to him.  He said nothing, he simply concentrated on their hands.  His soft, aged, and hers smooth, silken, perfect.  It felt right.

 "I'm scared Giles." She said truthfully. Giles looked up, and squeezed her hand.

 "Why?"

 "Because." She began, almost frustrated.  "I'm scared that everything I thought I knew is different.  And I'm scared of how I feel when I look at you.  I never felt that way before.  It feels like it's come out of nowhere."

 Giles chuckled at the twinge in her voice.  "I know." He said. "I feel the same way."

 "But it didn't did it?" Giles looked up.  "It didn't. It started a long time ago.  When I cried on your shoulder." Giles smiled softly, and nodded.

 There was silence again, and Cordelia focused on his face.  She looked at his eyes, and her face creased slowly as she slid into a smile. Reaching up, she ran a thumb tenderly across his face, before her smile froze and she brought her hand down.

 "We can't go back, can we?"  Giles was quiet
.
 "Do you want to?"

 She smiled grimly.  "Yeah.  Everything was so much easier when I was Cordelia, your clueless research assistant, not this.  The way you look at me, the way I respond...  it feels so right and yet in my mind, I know it can't be. It just would seem so much easier to go back than try and go forward from here. I'm so scared of going forward."

 There was a silence,and Giles sighed heavily.  After a moment, he let her hand go gingerly, aware of the emptiness he felt when he lost the contact, and aware she felt it too.  He put his hands together, and waited.  Cordelia winced, and suddenly reached out again, grabbing his hand in hers, caressing his palm with her fingers.  Giles felt the contact, and felt his breath catch.

 "Some times you have no choice, Cordelia." He said painfully.  Her eyes registered his face, as he leaned forward, tenderly taking her fingers in his two hands and kissing the knuckles of each hand softly.  The feel of his soft mouth moving against her skin caused a stirring in her stomach, and she suddenly knew that this was impossible.  Her feelings were real.   She was utterly still as he kissed each finger softly. And when he lifted his eyes to hers, she was again struck by how beautiful his eyes were.  And she suddenly wanted to get close to them. She wanted to see those blue eyes closer.  She couldn't move, her wounds still pained her horribly, but she let her eyes convey her desire.  Giles was still, and then he leaned forward, staring at her face  as he brought his closer to hers. They stared into each others eyes for a full minute, searching, and then Cordelia felt herself move forward, and finally pressed her lips gingerly against his. His lips clung to hers, and they opened and caught each other again.  Cordelia felt warm, her eyes closed unconsciously as she reached up and, despite the protesting of her stinging lip, pressed the back of his neck, bringing him toward her.  It was tender, full of feeling, of love.  And it left her breathless.  His lips moved so sweetly against hers, and she almost cried from the pure beauty of the kiss.  They released each other almost regrettably, and Cordelia opened her eyes to find him staring at her, his blue eyes filled with wonder and desire.

 "Easier than we thought." He said huskily.   Cordelia stared at him in surprise, and then chuckled.

 "For now.  What happens when we wake up?"  He grinned, reaching up and kissing her forehead.

 "Why don't you try going to sleep first?"  the dominant tone in his voice made her smile.

 "Yes, Mr. Giles." He arranged her pillow, and she lay on it, suddenly feeling very tired.  Her eyes fluttered sleepily, but she managed to ask, "Stay with me?"  She felt the comfort of his hand covering hers as he answered,

 "Yes, I'm here.  I'm always here."