She slowly opened her emerald eyes and returned from the land of dreams. Smiling, she said in a voice rife with sleep, "Home--a wonderful place to be." She looked around the parking lot and realized that they were at Giles' condo. Her brain tested the thought that this _was_ home and found it good. She loved the thought of living with him, being there always, having him all the time.
A soft kiss was a pleasant distraction from her reverie. "We have to go in, Willow. "Ready? Once we get settled, I should call Buffy. Let's hope her crises can wait till morning." He took her hand and helped her gently from the low slung tramp. Quickly, he gathered their bags and taking her hand, led her into her new home. He set her gently on the couch, then placed their bags by the stairs. He grabbed the phone and quickly dialed Buffy's number. After a pause, he said, "We've arrived home, Buffy...yes, thank you, we had a very good time...Buffy, I don't mean to be abrupt, but it was a tedious drive and we are very tired. Will this wait for tomorrow?"
A small smile tugged at his lips. "Good, then we will see you at the shop after your last class. Good night, Buffy. Yes, I'll tell her. Yes...we had 'a heap of fun.' Yes, well, right then." After he hung up, he turned to his witch and said, "Buffy told me to say she was sorry, she thought we'd understand, and it'll wait until tomorrow."
Willow frowned. "If it would wait, why didn't she just wait for us to get home?" she snapped. "We planned to be here before classes were done, anyway." She sighed. Well, this wasn't a surprise, after all. This was SO Buffy. "We could have stayed the night and just come home like we'd planned," she muttered with a pout.
"I know, luv. If it's any consolation, she did sound quite upset. I don't know what's wrong, but it has disturbed her deeply." He yawned, then bent down to lift her into his arms. "I think we should take advantage of our bed and get some 'sleep.'" She caught his meaning. Cradling her to his chest, he carefully ascended the stairs. Turning sideways, so as not to catch either her feet or her head against the door facing, he entered their bedroom. Then he tenderly kissed his love before he grinned and tossed her on the bed.
As she bounced, she growled indignantly at him for a moment. But soon, desire shoved indignation into the cheap seats. Willow pushed her body up and grabbed his narrow leather belt, pulling him down on top of her. She pulled his shirt from his trousers and ran her hands up to his taut chest, tracing the scars with loving attention to detail. He shuddered under her tender assualt, bracing himself with his arms to keep from crushing her. He crushed her lips beneath his own, teasing with the tip of his tongue, until she opened her mouth for him to explore further. He delved deep into the warm cavern of her mouth as he slowly slid his hand down her throat, then to her heaving bosom, to unbutton her blouse. His fingers dipped into the shadowed crevice between her small breasts, teasing as he deftly opened the front clasp of her bra. He smoothed the silk and lace away from her soft skin, abandoning her lips to suck first one, then the other tip to pebbled hardness.
Willow moaned as his lips coaxed her breasts to swollen abandon. She writhed under him, responding to his tender mercies. Her hands slipped down to his waistband and slowly opened his trousers. She grinned naughtily when she felt the silk boxers she had bought for him in San Francisco. Her tiny hand dipped beneath his boxers and grasped his swollen cock. It still baffled her, after all this time, that he desired her so much. She felt her stomach quiver as the connection between her breasts and her pussy responded to the man she loved so much. She arched her back, giving him better access to her breasts and stroked his erection. Languidly, she guided her hand up and down his cock, just grazing the head with her thumb, using his pre-cum to lubricate him. Slowly, she slipped his trousers, then his boxers down his muscled thighs. Her entreaties had managed to elicit a deep moan from him and she grinned in satisfaction.
His right hand slipped down and popped the button on her jeans. A shock of electricity bolted through her, as he skimmed them down. Taking shameful advantage of her nakedness, he flicked the swollen nubbin between her thighs. A deep, purring moan issued from her throat when he gently, but firmly inserted one and then two fingers inside her moist nether lips. Then she felt a mournful emptiness as he withdrew them. She whimpered, opening her eyes, ready to beg him to return his fingers to their delightful task, when his curly chest hairs brushed against her torso, shortly followed by the blissful entry of his incredibly hard cock into her hot passage. Immediately she tightened around him, urging him onward. Soon he established a rhythm and fucked her, hard-and-fast.
It wasn't long before her pelvis rose off of the mattress to meet him and she screamed, signaling her orgasm to anyone who might have been awake in the building. She shuddered with delight as she felt him explode his juices inside her. Her very soul responded to this man. She loved him so much and resolved not lose him or drive him away with her jealousy. Still, she needed to have a chat with Buffy regarding pager etiquette. The two lovers fell asleep, still intertwined.
Willow woke the next morning to find herself being ravished. Wrapping her arms around her lover, she enthusiastically responded, whimpering as he repeated, like a mantra, "I love you," over and over again. Finally when they lay sated, he said, "I suppose we should shower, dress, and go to The Magick Box. Anya's not expecting us until this afternoon. It might be wise to pull a surprise inspection, considering what the lot of you have been known to get up to in my absence." Although his loving grin took all sting from his words, she decided to respond with a mock smirk. In response, he swatted her bottom and she shrieked. Then she sprinted for the bathroom with a laughing Giles right on her heels. ____________________________________________________________________ The Magick Box
It was 8:57 in the morning when Xander carried Anya over the threshold of the shop.
"An, Honey," he said with a grin, "although I think this is a capital idea, if the G-Man ever finds out about this one, we're both toast." He set the beautiful ex-demon on the counter and ran his hands down her back to cup her butt. He leaned in and kissed her. "I'm just glad that Giles and Wills are in San Francisco. If they ever caught wind of this... well, let's just say it wouldn't be pretty."
Anya pouted prettily at him. "You're ignoring me and thinking about your bisexual friend who always tries to come between us and her really old lover who happens to be my employer. You're not supposed to be thinking. You're supposed to be giving me orgasms, here," she said, pointing at the area near the cash register, "on the counter."
"An, is there a time when I'm not thinking about giving you orgasms? Also, while we're at it with the questioning thing," he taunted, "don't you think doing it in the shop is, hey, just a little public?" He ran his talented hands under her full skirt, taking full advantage of her lack of underwear. His busy fingers caressed and toyed with her cleft, paying particular attention to her swollen clit. Soon, he dipped one, then two fingers into her tight passage. Adroitly, Xander snagged a chair from the table with his foot and dragged it over. He sat in the chair and sought more comfortable access to Anya's core. He threw her flowered skirt back and exposed her, in all her glory, to the world, if the world had cared to look through the darkened shop windows. With one last flick of his fingernail, he buried his face between her lovely thighs.
Anya whimpered when his tongue began to work it's magic on her. She thrust her pelvis as far forward on the counter as she could and leaned back on her hands while Xander ran one hand up beneath her loose dress to caress her unbound breasts. She gasped. This man certainly pushed all of her right buttons. Then she bit down on her bottom lip, distracting herself so she wouldn't come immediately. Yet he was so good and holding off was so hard...But she steadied her resolve and intended to enjoy this for as long as she could; after all, who knew when they would get another chance for her to share in this enjoyable human experience--of having sex on your boss's desk. She frowned. Well, she thought, although this wasn't technically a desk, Giles didn't really have one and this was where he transacted most of his business, so it still counted...then Xander's tongue did something particularly naughty to her and Anya fell over the edge into orgasm, her choked scream drowning out all of her resolve as well as the sound of the bell that signaled someone's entrance into the shop.
Through slitted eyes, she spied four people standing in the doorway with differing stages of shock showing on their faces. A tall, muscled black man appeared to cast an admiring look her way. A reed- like, effeminate man turned a lovely shade of puce and seemed to want to turn away, but couldn't help but continue to watch. An attractive and fit blonde woman with an earnest face had a smirk on her face. Finally a tall, familiar-looking brunette with regal bearing grimaced and muttered, "Can I just say...eww! Once a loser, always a loser."
Xander's head snapped away from Anya's pussy in response to brunette's words. Then, as recognition of the situation blazed in his eyes, he lowered her skirt, carefully trying to protect her bounty from eyes other than his. He turned and found Cordelia...and friends? The blonde looked at his dazed expression and said with a chuckle, "You guys are lucky that I don't work vice anymore."
The tall black man turned to Cordy, "Damn, P.Q. if our office was like this I wouldn't need a pager."
Xander looked confused. "PQ?"
Cordelia sighed. "It's short for 'prom queen.'"
An annoyed but slightly bemused Anya noticed the faint color that found it's way into the Queen C's face. "I hate to interrupt YOUR interruption, but Xander was in the middle of giving me orgasms. State your business and leave."
"I need to see Giles and Willow, then I'll be EXTREMELY happy to leave! Where are...?" she paused, then responded to her own question. "Willow is probably in class, but where's Bookman?"
"Willow and Giles are in San Francisco, doing the wild thing," the well-built construction worker replied.
"No, we're not," a velvet-smooth English voice proffered from the doorway. "And what, pray tell, is going on here?" Giles shot a darting look at Xander, looked puzzled for a moment, then sniffed the air. With a familiar smirk, Giles said, "Oh dear lord--go and wash up Xander, and, please, never tell me about it. Ever."
Everyone in the room swung around to look at the odd couple framed in the doorway. A gasp caught in Cordelia's throat, then she muttered, "Jeans...Oh. my. god."
Giles had unbent enough to wear jeans to work and a grinning Willow stood in his embrace, cuddled at his side.
She winked at Xander, then drawled, "Fashion tip, Cordy. Mouth looks better closed."
She reached up and pecked her lover on the cheek, loving the group's reactions to her affectionate play with Giles. Then she parted from her man's side to offer the former cheerleader a tentative hug. Cordy returned it just as tentatively. She offered Wesley one hand in a firm handshake, then nodded a friendly greeting to the blonde woman and noted (in passing only since she was taken) very good looking man next to Cordy. "Hi, I'm Willow, you are?"
Cordy stepped between the witch and the black man and drawled, "Turn off the charm, Netgirl. He, and the rest of us, are here to save your life."
Giles swung his head around sharply. Willow caught that look and shuddered.
Cordy got a pained and saddened look on her face. "Of course, Giles." she paused. "I didn't mean to upset you. I HAVE changed a lot since I've been gone."
"Yeah, loving the hair cut and the blonde highlights, Queen C." Xander muttered.
When the tall, black guy glared at Xander and growled, even Anya felt the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Then, her uneasiness was replaced by confusion, when the guy calmed from the wisp of Cordelia's touch on his hand. Smiling genially, Cordy searched for the words to explain. "You guys remember Doyle, don't you?" There were several nods from the group around her. "Well, he sacrificed himself to save a whole bunch of people, including me and Angel. Well, he kissed me before he died, and the Powers that Be transferred his visions to me, along with his head-crunching migraines. Talk about a pain-in-the-ass venereal disease that just keeps on giving! I must have kissed everyone that I could catch within a six block radius of the office but I couldn't get rid of it! Just my luck, I kiss a guy once and I'm cursed for eternity. I tell you there's no joy in this life for this struggling actress! So now I get these bone- crunching visions and headaches without warning."
"The point, Cordelia?" Giles said with strained patience.
"Sorry, Giles." Cordy shot a look at Willow. "The last one was really bad. I saw you lying on the ground inside a casting circle." She coughed to disguise the tiny break in her voice. "Willow, you were dying. Then I saw something that really made me sick." There were several questioning looks from the people surrounding her. "I saw Buffy carpe-ing Spike's diem. And, can I just say--Ewww! She was astounded by the Scoobies' reactions. Pandemonium reigned until Willow put her fingers between her lips and brought silence with a sharp whistle.
"Bloody hell!" Giles spat. "If that's why she called us back so urgently, I swear I'm gonna do something permanent, both to her and that peroxide git!"
Anya didn't know when she started to tremble but she had never shook like this before. It took a few moments for her to realize that her shaking had been magnified by the quivering of Xander's body next to her. Then she heard Xander mumble, "Er...why is Giles so mad...and when did he revert from Oxford man to Cockney brawler? I didn't smell any cursed beer on his breath."
Anya didn't have an answer for her man. She looked at Willow, hoping to glean something and saw the red head mouthing a single word. "Ripper?" Anya muttered under her breath.
�
�
Magick Box - 10:00 a.m.
Willow gulped when she spied his handsome face grow cold and angry. His expression caused her mind to tumble back to a Halloween night four years past. She remembered how Rupert had changed right before her eyes after they had found Ethan Rayne in that costume shop. Gone was the shy and concerned Watcher and in his place stood rage and violence personified. After her incorporeal form had passed through the shop's wall and raced to find Buffy and Xander, she recalled that nothing had ever frightened her more than the cold rage she had seen on his face.
She blinked, returning to the present. Willow gently gripped his left forearm with her tiny hands, tugging slightly on it. In response, he glimpsed down, his gaze meeting her earnest one. She graced him with a wistful smile, masking her face with a calm look that belied the fear she locked away inside. As he stared into her eyes, she felt the tension in his arm melt away like ice in the summer sun. The furrows on his brow softened and his lips relaxed from the thin, angry line of a few moments ago to the full, kissable lips she so thoroughly enjoyed.
He quirked a smile at her, then said, "I suppose I should wait and hear her out, shouldn't I?"
She nodded.
"All right." He brushed a kiss against her forehead and murmured, "Thank you, luv."
She shuddered both from the warmth of his body and his low, velvet- tinged voice. Willow almost couldn't help herself, nearly using her telekinetic power to toss him to the floor so she could ravish him. Instead, she turned to the group from Los Angeles. "Cordelia, I'm so glad you're here! If we're going to work together, I think introductions are in order, don't you?"
All-business now, Cordelia nodded. "Right. You know Wesley, ofcourse."
Wes flashed a friendly smile. "Hello, Willow. You're even more lovely than I remember." She beamed at the Englishman. "You're a very lucky man, Mr. Giles."
"Thank you, Wesley. And please, call me Giles."
Cordy then turned to the other man and the blonde woman. "This," she said, touching the man's arm, "is Gunn. He's a great vampire hunter who's been working with us for two years now. And this," she said pointing at the young woman, "is Kate Lockley. She used to be an LAPD detective; now she's a private investigator and a security consultant. She helps us outsometimes."
Giles smiled at them. "Thank you for coming. I'm Rupert Giles, the Slayer's Watcher. This, of course," he signalled with a glance at his witch, "is Willow Rosenberg. She is a powerful wiccan practitioner and my research partner. And," he said, with a glance at the other Scoobies, "these two are Anya and Xander. Anya has a wealth of experience in occult matters and Xander is our stalwart colleague in our battle against evil."
Willow glimpsed at her childhood friend and saw how his chest swelled with pride at Giles' words. She grinned and gently gripped her man's arm.
Giles returned her smile, then continued. "The final two members of our little family are Buffy and Dawn Summers. Buffy is the Slayer. Dawn, her little sister. They should arrive later this afternoon after their classes are finished for the day, around three o'clock or so."
Cordy pursed her lips. "Hmm. Well, we rushed up here this morning; we thought we might be needed sooner rather than later."
A concerned look dawned on Giles' face. "Then you must be hungry." After several responsive nods, he continued, "Xander, Anya, Willow- why don't you take our guests to Brady's Caf�? They're serving brunch now. Willow," he handed her his American Express Corporate Card� , "use this to pay for your meals. Also, we should find our guests some hotel rooms. Willow, please use the card for that as well. I'll stay and mind the store."
She nodded. "You want me to bring back something for you from the caf�?"
He smiled. "No, I'm fine. But if you think of it, could you stop and fetch two jelly donuts for me when you return?"
She gave him a mock frown. "Wait a second, mister! I don't want you to get a spare tire or anything; it might detract from your performance," she said, suggestively wriggling her eyebrows. "I suppose I'll overlook it...this time."
He smirked and said, "Why, you little minx!" then gently swatted her bottom. "I'll make certain we shall vigourously burn the calories at home tonight!"
As the gang headed for the exit, Cordy scrunched her nose. "Ewww! How can I eat after hearing that? Talk about an appetite suppressant!"
Willow rolled her eyes, then gently shoved Cordy out the door.
#
Four and a half hours later, the gang returned to the Magick Shop. Willow found Giles preparing purchase orders for his inventory. His face beamed as she sauntered over to him. "Hello, darling! Did you take care of everything?"
"Yep. The L.A. crew have had their grub and are bedded down in the bunkhouse."
He shot her a slightly befuddled look and drawled, "I shall take that to mean that they are settled, 'Annie Oakley.' I am glad you are here. Buffy and Dawn should arrive shortly."
Cordelia sighed. "Great. Then we can grill Buffy about her undead boy-toy."
"Er...Chase," Kate said, "this Buffy person is a slayer, right?"
Cordy turned to Kate. "Yes."
"And she's as strong as that Faith girl that turned herself in last year?"
"Probably stronger. Buffy could kick Faith's ass."
"Uh huh...and Faith knocked you silly with one blow, beat the hell out of Wesley, and nearly knocked Angel into the next time zone, right?"
"Yeah...what are you driving at?"
"Well," Kate paused for a moment, then continued. "You're getting ready to expose and embarass a woman who can easily beat the snot out of everyone in this room without breaking a sweat."
Cordelia swallowed hard. "But," she stammered, "Buffy wouldn't...she's a...she's not..." Her voice faded away for several moments before she turned to Giles and said, "Do you have Oz's tranquilizer gun still handy, Giles?"
Giles scoffed. "Cordelia, I am certain that won't be necessary. Buffy is a professional. She is unlikely to become violent over this. Besides, I am certain I can step in if she becomes agitated."
"Right," she drawled, "like that time when I had to drive her home from the library after she told you never to touch her because you stole her strength..."
Giles blinked several times, then said, "I'll prepare a double dose dart-that ought to do the tri-Oh. Dear. Lord..."
"Hey, guys! We've got to put our heads...? Oh...hello, Cordy, Wes, "Buffy said as she walked through the door with Dawn tagging along behind. "What are you doing here?"
Willow watched Cordy nearly leap out of her skin. "It's Buffy! Hi, Buffy!" the former cheerleader noted a bit too brightly. "We're just here to help out..." she said as she shuffled behind Willow, then said in a stage whisper, "would she go through you to hurt me?"
The witch rolled her eyes.
Buffy took a deep breath, then said, "Last night, Dawn and I ran across three demons who had been brutally murdered. They were just a family unit--mom, dad, and a kid. Just before the father died, he blamed me for their deaths even though I didn't do it. Dawn and I were at the cinema when they were beaten to death."
Willow pursed her lips and felt a twinge of guilt. Buffy had been right to page them. "Okay. Cordelia," she said, turning to Queen C, "tell Buffy what you saw in your vision."
Cordelia glared at Willow with a trace of fear in her eyes. "Tell her everything?"
Willow nodded. "Yes. Don't worry, Buffy won't do anything violent where Dawn could see it."
"Okay," Cordelia muttered. "I saw Willow die after magical combat with a powerful sorceress. I also saw..." she gulped, then pressed forward, "BuffyreallygroinywithSpike."
Suddenly Willow felt like she and Cordelia were surrounded by wide open spaces. Buffy asked, "What was that, Cordelia?"
Cordelia swallowed a large lump that caught in her throat. "I saw...you having wild monkey sex...with Dead Boy, Jr."
Willow could have sworn she heard the sound of crickets chirping in the empty wilderness for several moments before the Slayer directed, through gritted teeth, "Dawn, close your eyes. Will, move out of the way."
Cordelia freaked. "Why do I listen to you, Netgirl?!?" The struggling actress glared at the advancing Slayer. "Look, Little- Miss-Likes-to-Fight!
I can't help it if my vision saw the tru-"
Buffy snapped, "The truth? You wouldn't know the truth if it up and bit you on your skinny ass! Where in the HELL do you get off saying I'm having sex with that peroxide-haired maniac?"
Cordy stared warily at the Slayer. "You're not boinking him?"
"Earth to Cordelia! Been there, my life sucked at that! Remember my relationship with your boss?"
Cordelia appeared to relax a little, but she pressed on. "Well, if you aren't boinking him now, you may boink him later. Sometimes my visions reveal events that will happen in the near future."
"Let me put this in terms that even you'd understand, all right?" Buffy ground out with a hint of mayhem. "I would give up sex all together and become a nun before I'd boff Spike. Got--?"
Willow heard the bell as someone entered the shop. She whirled and gasped. The most stunning woman she'd ever seen in her life stood just inside the doorway.
"Hello," the woman said in a lilting voice with an English accent. "I'm searching for some rare..." She hesitated when her gaze settled on Giles.
Then her face flashed a wanton, predatory smile. "Why...fancy meeting you here, Ripper," she purred.
Willow barely heard him as he answered in a hushed whisper, "Hello, Lizzie."
�
Rupert Giles had always known the Powers that Be would pay him back for his time as Ripper but this tread well into the bounds of cruel and unusual punishment.
He blinked several times, totally surprised by the tableau set before him. His first love had just walked in the door while the love of his life stood in the middle of the room blocking his gorgeous angry Slayer from committing homicide against a beautiful former charge in front of his lovely ex-demon employee and a very pretty former police officer. If it was someone else's life, he would have sat back and enjoyed the impending fireworks. Resignedly, he pinched the bridge of his nose and saw his life flash before his eyes.
Lizzie glanced around the room and chirped, "I'm sorry...did I interrupt something?"
He focused on her voice and heard the well-disguised challenge underlying her words. She was up to something and he had to get to the bottom of it. "Actually, no, nothing important."
She smiled and sauntered over to him. "How nice. So, this is quite a surprise, finding you here."
She sounded anything but surprised. "Yes, quite. If I may paraphrase Humphrey Bogart from Casablanca-`of all the lousy occult shops in the world, she had to walk into mine.'"
She chuckled. "Oh, Ripper...you are still amusing to a fault. I suppose surrounding yourself with all of these young people is a good way to tweak your sense of humor."
Giles clenched his jaw surreptiously. So that's it! She's fishing to see if I'm involved with any of the women in here. Well, he mused, I'm not going to give her the satisfaction. "Is that your explanation for your youthful appearance, as well, Lizzie?" While he chatted with his old flame, he glanced at Buffy. The Slayer caught his look and read his signal.
"Guys," Buffy said, "let's move this to the backroom."
As they Los Angeles crew, Anya, and Xander shuffled toward Buffy's exercise room, Lizzie turned and glimpsed at Buffy. "Now, Ripper, aren't you being rude? I would think that you'd at least introduce me to the other woman in your life?"
Giles regarded her coolly but saw Willow stiffen at Lizzie's words.
She scoffed. "I've heard you were a Watcher, silly man! Now the only reason a Watcher would be on the Hellmouth is if he had the Slayer as his charge."
She turned and smiled at Buffy. "You must be the Slayer. I'm Elizabeth Cantrell. My, aren't you a precious little thing?"
Giles squeezed his eyes shut and groaned under his breath.
Buffy flashed a saccharin smile at Lizzie. "I'm Buffy Summers, Ms. Cantrell. Being short makes me a harder target. So, how'd you hear about me? Is there some billboard outside of town that tells everyone about my `secret identity?'"
Lizzie smirked. "Oh no, dear. I'm an entrepreneur and I always make it my business to know the lay of the land in any market that we penetrate."
"Really?" chirped the Slayer. "I'm sure you're quite the expert on penetration."
The Watcher gulped. He knew Lizzie still practiced magick. Waves of power emanated from her body like light from a beacon. She was certainly powerful enough to make a go of it with the Slayer, who was clearly annoyed by the `precious little' crack. He needed to take control of this situation before it spiraled out of control.
Lizzie frostily regarded Buffy for a moment, then smiled. "I like her, Rip. She's got fire. You told me once that the Watchers drain the fire out of them. How did she avoid that fate?"
He had to end this before she could turn her attention to anyone else, especially Willow. "Buffy is special. She's so special that the Council even recognizes her uniqueness." He saw Buffy beam at him with her 1000 watt smile and was glad to see the flash of her old self after the long, hard year filled with death and change.
Lizzie smiled slyly. "My word, Ripper. I've never seen you look so content. I'm SO glad that life didn't turn out for you like it did for the protagonist in that novel by Nabakov. It's so good that things are working so well for you two."
If he hadn't been sure before, he was certain now. She was definitely fishing for the extent of his and Buffy's relationship. He hoped that Buffy would work with him and play along until they could uncover her game.
Unfortunately, Willow wasn't in the loop on the Watcher/Slayer nonverbal signals. "Excuse me, but I think you misunderstand-"
"Oh, Willow," Giles cut Willow off, "no need for that. You and Buffy need to see to the others and get them working on that `research project,' right, Buffy?" he said, glancing at Willow, then the door to the backroom.
"Er...right!" Buffy chirped. "Well, it was nice meeting you," she said to Lizzie. "Will, let's leave Gi-I mean Rupert to help his old friend." Willow looked like she wanted to stay but Buffy judiciously applied Slayer strength to guide the red head away from Lizzie and Giles.
"Lovely girls you have there, Ripper."
"Yes," he smiled furtively. Although he wondered why she was here in this place at this moment, he asked, "So, what are those items that you need?"
As she mentioned several herbs, he overheard Buffy ask Willow as they left the front part of the shop, "Will...what book did Nabakov write?"
Giles took Lizzie's elbow and guided her to the front of the shop just in case she needed to make a quick getaway after Willow answered Buffy's question.