The storm came up without warning. When Giles set out the sun was shining brightly. By the time he had bought the milk and papers at a nearby shop black clouds were gathering overhead. Five minutes later the heavens opened and Giles was caught in one of Sunnydale's periodic torrential downpours. He began to jog the rest of the way home but stopped when he heard a noise. It was only just audible over the rain but it sounded like something was wailing. He looked around and saw a cardboard box in the alley where the noises were coming from.
***
Buffy paced up and down in the hall waiting for Giles to arrive. Normally she could be perfectly calm when he went out but he had been gone a long time, there was a storm raging and a lot of the bad things that had happened to her had happened when there were raging storms. She heard the key in the lock of the front door and was standing waiting when it opened.
"Where have you been? Do realise it's raining our there? How long does it take to buy milk? You're soaked!" Buffy paused for a moment. "Why is you're jacket squeaking?"
Giles carefully opened his jacket, keeping one arm positioned to protect his precious cargo, and revealed a small bundle of bedraggled fur. He handed it to Buffy and the bundle revealed itself to be two tiny, shivering kittens.
"Aww, Rupert, where did you find them?" Buffy asked as she struggled to hold onto the squirming bodies.
"W-well, I, uh, found them in a box in an alley." Giles removed his damp jacket and rain speckled glasses so he did not need to look at her. The kittens looked to be the only survivors of a litter of five. In spite of her occupation his wife was soft hearted where helpless creatures were concerned, a fact he was proud of because he had seen first hand how easily someone could go completely the other way. "They seem to have been abandoned."
"Who would want to abandon them like that? They could have died."
"As we have been shown many times, some people can be as cruel as some demons."
Buffy held the kittens closer. One was deep black with a white patch on its cheek and the other was white with several different hued patches. "What are you going to do with them?"
"I'm not sure. But if they'd stayed out there any longer . . ."
Buffy nodded. "That's why I love you. Well, I guess they need to be dried off first."
At that moment Willow burst though the front door, shaking water off her yellow raincoat. "Hey Buffy! Wow, the rain is - why are you holding kittens?"
"Rupert found them," Buffy told her.
"They're so cute! Don't you think they're cute? Are we keeping them? I love cats. Can I hold one?"
Buffy handed her the black kitten and began to make her way upstairs, talking over her shoulder. "I don't know if we're keeping them. I killed my goldfish and I'm not even getting into what I did to my egg baby."
"Buffy, in all fairness that was entirely unavoidable," Giles said from behind Willow.
"But with my life can I really look after someone? Even a cat?"
She reached the linen closet and pulled out two hand towels. The she looked at Giles and pulled out a larger towel for him. He was beginning to drip on the floor. She and Willow went into Willow's bedroom to dry the tiny cats and Giles went into the bathroom to dry himself off.
As she dried the kitten Buffy examined it. She would check with Giles but she thought it was a female. At first sight she appeared to be an unusual looking cat, but Buffy thought she actually quite liked the quirky features. Her legs were a bit too short and her ears looked too large for her head. Her ears and the top half of her face had tabby markings with a narrow stripe of white down the centre. She had a pink nose and the rest of her face and most of her body was white. Her left front shoulder and leg had another tabby patch and her back had a black one. Buffy decided her tail was probably more suited to a racoon and as she dried the tiny kitten she found that its fur was actually quite fluffy. Not long certainly, but not short either. Gizmo, Buffy thought as she looked at her face. Looks like Gizmo.
"I'm gonna name him Button because that white patch looks like, well, a button." Willow was smiling at the cat, which was starting to purr now it was dry.
Buffy continued rubbing her little one with the towel even though she was dry. The tiny thing was starting to stop shivering but it seemed to like the towel. "This one looks like Gizmo from the Gremlins movie," Buffy grinned.
"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed.
"Well she does. But she's kind of cute."
"She'll grow into her ears, I'm sure."
"You think?" Buffy asked doubtfully. "I sort of like them. She's unique."
"That's one way to put it."
When Giles returned from his shower, running a hand though his damp hair and relieved to be in dry clothes again, he found the girls still admiring the kittens. Willow's black one was curled up on her lap asleep and Buffy was playing 'catch the feather' with her patchwork one.
"Do I take it that we've acquired two more members for our family?" he asked dryly. He had a feeling it would be easier to stop a herd of stampeding buffalo than take the kittens away.
"Can we?" Buffy asked turning imploring hazel eyes on him and smiling hopefully.
Willow said nothing, knowing that Buffy would persuade him much better than she could.
Giles sighed. "I'll go down to pet shop and get them some food shall I?"
Buffy flashed him a delighted grin. "Could you get a basket too? And a litter tray? And some toys? And maybe . . ."
"Do you want to go instead?"
"It's raining. You wouldn't want me to get wet, would you?"
"Perish the thought. After all, I didn't get soaked not half an hour ago."
"Grumpy."
Giles gave in and left. After all these years he still needed to be quick witted to win an argument with Buffy.
"You two are so sweet," Willow commented.
"Huh?"
"Even when you're doing the arguing thing you look all gooey at each other. It's sweet."
"Will, I'm sorry if you've been feeling neglected."
"Neglected?"
"Well, I've been so preoccupied with Giles and getting used to being married. I'm sorry you felt you had to go to Cordelia-"
"Buffy, that's not why I went to her."
"It isn't?" Buffy was surprised. Willow and Cordelia had always had a poorly concealed hatred so she could not think of any other reason for them to suddenly be friends.
Willow smiled gently. "Well, not completely. You were doing you're best but you just don't understand what I've been feeling. There were good reasons why you and Angel split. There weren't any when Oz and I broke up. I think Cordelia understands that better than you can."
"Will-"
"I knew you were there but for once I think Cordelia understood me better than you could. Which is pretty weird."
"It's the last thing I would ever have expected you to say." Buffy smiled at her friend, relieved.
"So, what are you and Giles planning to do for Valentine's Day?"
"I don't know. He's planning something."
"No hints?"
"He just said to keep the evening free."
The slamming of the front door and then the sound of someone hurrying up the stairs interrupted them. As Xander rushed past the open door Buffy called out to him.
"How's Anya?"
Xander paused and replied. "Now I've persuaded her she's not dying I think she'll be fine."
"It's only flu," Willow protested.
"Keep that in mind when she gets better and tries to kill you for giving it to her," Xander told the witch.
***
Buffy woke to the sound of loud purring. Something rough licked her nose. She opened her eyes and found a pair of green ones looking at her, although not the green eyes she was used to.
"Goway Gizmo, 's too early," she mumbled.
"Love, as much as I hate to disagree with you it's not," Giles said from behind her.
"Can't be morning yet."
Giles kissed her shoulder as Gizmo licked her nose again. "It is. Happy Valentine's Day love."
"You set the cat on me to wake me up?"
"No, she's hungry and you didn't latch the door properly last night."
"I'll remember tonight." Buffy began to drift off again.
She found herself flipped on her back and her husband grinning at her. "No you don't. I know your tricks. You're getting up."
"What's in it for me?"
Giles kissed her and she sighed happily.
"I like mornings," Buffy commented when he released her.
"They have they're uses," Giles agreed. He turned to his bedside table and got out a small package. Turning back to her he began, "I thought-"
He stopped when he saw Buffy turn white, then slightly grey, then finally a greenish colour and scramble out of bed.
He found her in the bathroom emptying her stomach of everything she had eaten for the last day. He knelt behind her and held her steady, reassuring her with his presence. When she calmed he grabbed a wash cloth, dampened it and wiped her face. Then he gave her a glass of water and watched anxiously as she sipped it.
"Buffy-"
"Must have caught Anya's flu. Great timing," Buffy rasped, her throat raw.
"It could be worse," Giles said philosophically.
"How? It's Valentine's Day! Our first and I'm . . . going to throw up again."
When she was sure she had stopped Giles picked her up and carried her back to their room, laying her gently on the bed and pulling the covers up to her chin. He put a hand on her forehead to check her temperature and then brushed a strand of hair away from her face.
"I'm sorry," Buffy whispered tearfully.
"There's nothing to be sorry about. You can't help having flu. I'll call the doctor-"
"No! I don't want a doctor. It's just flu." Buffy protested.
"I'm not-"
"No. Give it a couple of days and I'll be fine."
"If you're sure . . ."
"I am."
"Well, I'll stay with you then."
Buffy reached for his hand and kissed the palm gently. "I'll be fine. I just want to sleep. And never see food again. You go to work."
"I-"
Buffy pointed at the door sternly. "Go."
Her husband sighed and kissed her forehead. "I'll call you at lunch. Can I get dressed before I go to work?"
***
By lunch Buffy had stopped wanting to throw up every five minutes, so she was able to honestly report to Giles that she was feeling better and persuade him to stay at work. She spent the afternoon on the couch watching videos and when Willow came home they went over the notes for the lectures she had missed. It was late afternoon when she and the red-head moved to Willow's room. Buffy sat at the desk writing an essay with Gizmo perched by her books avidly watching her pen moving. Willow lay on the bed reading the spell book Giles gave her at Christmas.
"I think I've got it!" Willow exclaimed suddenly.
"Got what?" Buffy asked.
"A spell to turn Amy into a human," Willow explained excitedly. "It'll take a bit of planning, but I think it'll work."
Buffy had stopped writing and was now tapping her pen absently on her pad of paper. "That's great Will. How long will it take?"
"I should be able to try by the weekend."
"Need any help?"
"Always." Willow eyed Gizmo. "Buffy, I think-"
Her warning came too late as Gizmo wiggled her little bottom and pounced on the pen.
"I think that's her way of telling me she's hungry," Buffy said standing. "Want anything?"
Willow glanced at Button, who was asleep on her pillow. "No. We're good for now."
Buffy walked slowly down the hall, followed closely by her hungry cat. When she reached the top of the stairs her stomach lurched and she put a hand out to steady herself on the banister, willing herself not be sick. A buzzing began in her ears and her vision fogged.
"Will?" she called faintly as her vision went grey, then black.
Willow heard several thuds from the hall, and then there was silence. Worried, she rushed out and halted at the top of the stairs looking down. Buffy lay in crumpled heap at the bottom with Gizmo anxiously licking her nose.
*finis*