Author: Sandra Pascoe

Pairing: B/G (D'uh!)

Rating: FRC - squeaky clean

Setting: Future - how long - who knows?

Notes: Based on my own birthday challenge - I couldn't resist! Details are: An ASHblf (any of them) remembering watching Dr Who with affection (no slagging off of the good Doctor!) Something from Dr Who being useful in a situation. Mention MUST be made of that old faithful: the Sonic Screwdriver

"Just one more place…please, Giles?" Dawn turned pleading eyes to him and Giles sighed heavily, resigning himself to yet more trudging around this seemingly endless mall that Dawn was going through with all the energy of a locust. Giles nodded tiredly and found himself dragged into a large video store. Whilst Dawn shot off to pester one of the assistants, Giles began to wander aimlessly around the store, peering disinterestedly at the multitudinous racks of videos, DVD’s and assorted extras that were jammed into almost every available space. He sighed, starting to turn back to look for Dawn, when a familiar logo caused him to stop dead, his eyes widening in surprise. My god, he thought, a broad grin on his face as he stared at row upon row of videos all with the same logo, I don’t believe it. Giles reached out, grabbing one at random, running his hand over the casing and chuckling softly at the pictures on the reverse. I’ve got to have these…I’ve got to see them again. He glanced around, snagging a passing assistant and waving the video at him.

"I want every one of these you have," he said quietly.

"All of them?" Asked the young man in disbelief.

"I want a copy of every story…every videotape of this programme…do you understand?"

It took fifteen minutes for the young man to gather together the videos, pack them and put a considerable hole in Giles’ credit card whilst he was about it. Dawn had tracked him down and, in order to keep her quiet about his purchases, he had added a few items to his total for her.

"How are you going to get these in the house without Buffy seeing?" Asked Dawn as they left the store, both laden with bags. "And where are you gonna store them?"

"I’ll think of something," he muttered and Dawn sighed.

"So…how many did you get?"

"Twenty," replied Giles and Dawn grinned.

"And how many more did you order?"

Giles glanced at her in surprise and then smiled slightly.

"Thirty."

"Buffy’s going to Willow's tonight," said Dawn with a smile, "and then she’ll patrol. I could always disappear for the evening so you can watch a couple of them."

"And how much will that cost me?"

"The price of a meal and a movie for four people."

"Four?!"

"Yes, Giles, four," replied Dawn patiently. "Now do we have a deal?"

"We do," muttered Giles, mentally ruing the fact that both the Summer’s girls could twist him around their little fingers with considerable ease.

The rest of the day had passed in an agony of interminable waiting for Giles. He had decided to leave the videos in the car and sort it all out later...when Buffy wasn't around. I will tell her, he thought, just not yet...I want to enjoy it alone...like I used to do...just for a while...then I'll tell her. Buffy glanced at Giles and sighed slightly. He had been distracted all day...he'd even given Dawn money to go out with and Buffy was starting to get suspicious. She thought about calling Willow and putting off their girls night in...but then when Giles flashed one of his old smiles at her, she told herself she was being stupid...after all, it was probably nothing. When she was ready to go, Giles walked to the door with her. He bent to kiss her goodbye and Buffy frowned slightly. There was that distraction again.

"Okay," she said, breaking the kiss, "spill it."

"Spill it?" That familiar befuddled look crossed his face and Buffy smiled slightly.

"What's wrong, Rupert? You've not been yourself all day."

"I'm sorry, love," he said with a sigh. "It's nothing for you to worry about...honest. I've just got a couple of things on my mind."

"You sure?"

"I'm sure," Giles bent to kiss her again and then straightened up. "Now, go and enjoy yourself."

"Okay, okay, see you later."

As Buffy left, Giles waited...pacing for a few minutes until he was absolutely certain she was out of sight, then he ran for the car. He unloaded his bags, hurrying indoors with them and tipping them all out on the lounge floor. Sitting cross-legged amongst his tapes, he picked them up, one after another, smiling at the pictures on the covers and remembering simpler days...simpler times.

Buffy glanced at her watch and sighed heavily. She had deliberately cut short her evening with Willow and done just a cursory patrol. She still wasn't convinced that there was nothing wrong with Giles. She picked up her pace as she came within sight of the house, her heart racing as she noticed that it was shrouded in darkness...no light except for a brief flickering in the lounge. She approached slowly, opening the front door silently and slipping inside. She crept to the lounge, stopping in the doorway at the sight that met her eyes. Giles was sat on the floor, hugging his knees to his chest, his gaze fixed upon the television. Buffy smiled at the rapt, transfixed expression on his face - she could suddenly see the little boy he had once been, the little boy that had been shut away inside for too long. She walked silently towards him, glancing with a smile at the videos that littered the floor. Buffy settled herself behind Giles, stretching her legs out either side of him. Giles didn't notice, he was still too involved in the intense battle that was going on before him...he was lost in the story that was slowly unfolding before his eyes. He hadn't noticed the time...hadn't noticed darkness fall...hadn't noticed anything except the television screen in front of him. Buffy leaned forward, placing her hands gently on his shoulders and softly kissing his neck.

"Hey there, big guy," she whispered into his ear and Giles visibly jumped. She felt him tense under her hands.

"Buffy," he said, almost nervously, "I...um...well."

Buffy lowered her hands, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close.

"So, are you gonna tell me about this?" She asked, feeling him relax. "What is so special about this that you're sitting here in the dark so completely into it that you don't even notice my arrival?"

"I don't know whether I can explain," Giles smiled, reaching for the remote control.

"No," said Buffy, "leave it on."

Giles stretched out his legs, leaning back into Buffy's embrace.

"Well, Dr Who was always rather important to me as a child. It started when I was about 9 years old. It was SO different, so unusual. There was nothing quite like it. It was…my escape if you like…I always thought of it as mine…something that no-one could ever take away from me. I collected everything about it I could lay my hands on…all the books…"

Buffy listened silently as Giles related tales of his childhood - a time spent away from other children, a time of constant teaching and instruction, a preparation for his life as a Watcher. Buffy hugged him tighter - he’d missed out on so much…suddenly she began to see why this seemingly silly programme meant so much to him.

"Buffy," said Giles softly, "when you look at that screen what do you see?"

Buffy gazed at the television, where a curly haired man with teeth like tombstones and a scarf that went on seemingly forever, was patiently explaining something to a scantily clad young woman.

"Well…" Buffy stopped, not wanting to hurt Giles’ feelings.

"The truth, Buffy," smiled Giles, "nothing but the truth."

"Okay," Buffy took a deep breath. "Well, the effects aren’t up to much…and look at that - it’s blatant sexism."

Giles giggled suddenly. "I knew you’d pick up on that."

"And that," Buffy pointed to the screen, "what on earth is that?"

"That is the Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver," Giles remarked pompously. "I’ll have you know that has got him out of a lot of scrapes…I was rather sad when it was destroyed…like losing a friend."

"So...what do you see?" Asked Buffy softly.

"Oh Buffy, I see so much," a grin crossed Giles face. "I see endless worlds…endless possibilities…hope…trust…good always triumphing over evil. I see despair…pain…revolution. Civilisations rising and falling…war…death…but through it all there is that…" Giles pointed at a large blue box on the screen with a flashing light on top. "A symbol of hope and peace…life and joy…one person, Buffy, one person can change the world." Giles extricated himself from her embrace and turned to face her. He reached out and gently touched her nose with his index finger. "One person, Buffy, one person."

Buffy felt tears in her eyes. That Giles would link her with this…she flung herself into his arms, hugging him tightly.

"Two people, Giles," she corrected him softly. "You and me…without you it would all be worthless."

Buffy felt his arms tighten around her and smiled…she could almost picture the slightly stunned expression that would be on his face. She drew back and grinned up at him.

"So…you feel like sharing this programme of yours?"

"I thought I already had," remarked Giles with a smile.

"No," Buffy shook her head. "Let’s watch one from the beginning…so I can see what I’ve obviously been missing out on all these years."

Giles eyes lit up and he immediately began searching through the videos.

"Let me pick a really good one," he replied. "Of course, the conditions aren’t really conducive to good Dr Who viewing…"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, in England, Dr Who was always on in the Winter…so you’d sit there on these cold winter evenings with the wind howling around the house and the rain pouring down…with a plate of toast and marmite…sat in front of a roaring fire."

Buffy grinned and got to her feet. "Back in a minute," she said and ran to the phone. Giles watched her with a smile before going back to sorting through his videos.

"Wills?" Buffy glanced back at Giles who was huddled over two videos, weighing them up in his hands. "I need you to do something for me."

"Hmmm," Giles pondered. Both of these were good…question is which of them would Buffy prefer? "The Daemons"? No…maybe not. Classic though it is, it’s a bit close to home. Ohh I know, he scrabbled around, grabbing a video and grinning. Perfect, he thought. "The Talons of Weng Chiang"…she’ll love this. He glanced up as Buffy entered the room.

"Alright, love?" He asked, surprised at the grin that lit up her face.

"Yup," she said, "start the show, watcher-mine."

Giles frowned and popped the video in, settling on the couch with Buffy. He started to forward through the warnings and BBC logo, when a sudden noise made him stop. He glanced at Buffy in surprise as the wind started howling outside and rain suddenly began to hit the windows.

"Buffy…"

"Rupert," replied Buffy, snuggling against him, "I wanted this to be as perfect as possible…only Willow couldn’t do the…marmite…thing…whatever that is."

"Thank you," remarked Giles softly, kissing the top of her head. "It’s perfect."

The words had no sooner left his lips than there was a slight pop and the television screen suddenly went black.

"Giles…what did you do?"

"Do?" Giles furiously pressed buttons on the remote control but to no avail, "I didn’t do anything."

"Right," replied Buffy slightly sourly. "Looks like we’re gonna have to do this another night."

Giles suddenly grinned and stood up. "Not necessarily," he replied, walking over to the television.

"No, Giles," Buffy started panicking, "you’re not good with mechanical stuff…please don’t try to fix it."

Giles gently ran his hand across the top of the set and Buffy raised an eyebrow.

"What are you doing?" She asked and Giles held up a finger.

"Something I learnt from Dr Who," he replied, suddenly clenching his fist and bringing it down with a bang on top of the television.

"If it breaks, hit it?" Said Buffy incredulously, the words dying on her lips as the television sprang into life. Giles hurried back to the sofa and with a grin, Buffy snuggled up to him once more.

"I’ve obviously been watching the wrong programmes," she muttered.

"Definitely," replied Giles. He settled further down into the sofa, smiling at the wind and rain outside…the warm figure snuggled up beside him…and Dr Who on the television. Ahhh, he thought contentedly as the credits started, what could be better?