As Buffy, Tiger-Giles and the Slayerettes made their way out of the park they were unusually quiet; still a little disconcerted by Tiger-Giles virtually tearing the heads off of two vampires.

As Buffy had pointed out, it *was* the only way a tiger would be able to dust them. And their Giles would most certainly do whatever had to be done to protect Buffy and the others. They had known this in the abstract for a while. But to see such an unequivocal example of what Giles would do for them both frightened and humbled them. (Even Xander had nothing to say.)

So when Giles suddenly growled, they all jumped. Riley and two other commandos walked out of a clump of trees. They very wisely kept a safe distance from Buffy and the Slayerettes.

"Hi Buffy. What are you guys doing out?" Riley asked, keeping his voice even.

Buffy smiled a greeting. "Patrolling. Looking for Ethan. Don't suppose *you've* had any luck with that?" She asked hopefully.

"Maybe." Riley responded his tone dubious. "We haven't had any luck with the usual methods. But your, um, friend, Willie, said that a demon told him about a magician in town over by Crawford street. I don't know if it's real or what."

"Were you guys going to check it out?" Willow asked, her green eyes hopeful.

"No," Riley replied, his eyes meeting hers, then dropping guiltily "Our official position is that there's no such thing as magic." His voice dripped with irony, still not meeting her disappointed gaze.

"Then what did they want with Ethan?" Xander asked, confused.

"You're looking for logic, aren't you, Xand?" Buffy asked with a grin. "Don't. They don't think that Slayer's exist either."

"Uh." Xander began, then broke off, as he understood her point. "Okay, I get it."

Buffy grinned at him, before turning to Riley. "We'll check it out. If it's something that I think you should be warned about, I'll page you."

"Thanks." And Riley and the commandos moved off.

Buffy and the others continued on their way. At the end of Crawford Street, they stopped. Tiger-Giles' head had come up, and he growled low and menacing.

"My guess, Ethan is nearby," said Xander.

The other just nodded as they slowly moved forward. Tiger-Giles stopped in front of a house. They all stopped in the shadows and Buffy spoke as she absently petted Tiger-Giles' head. "Ethan's a lot of things, but he isn't stupid. He has to know that we'd figure this out and find him. So be *very* careful and stick close together." Buffy met each of their eyes, then nodded as if satisfied. "Let's go then," she said as she led the way.

They carefully made their way into the house. Just as they stepped into the dark house, Buffy realized that Giles wasn't with them <shit>, she thought. She decided not to mention it, fearing the reaction of the Scooby-Gang.

Once they were all inside, the door slammed shut behind them, and Ethan's wicked voice came out of the darkness. "Come into my parlor.."

"Give it up, Ethan," Buffy said, with more confidence than she felt.

"I'm shaking in my boots," came Ethan's cocky reply.

"You should be. Do you have any idea of how pissed off Giles is? He's gonna' rip your throat out." Her tone was matter-of-fact, calmed by the truth of her own words.

Ethan didn't sound quite as certain when he replied. "Ripper the Tiger won't recognize me, nor give a toss about me."

"Who said anything about the tiger doing it? Also, you *so* totally underestimated Giles. He not only knows who *you* are, but is probably standing right behind you ready to attack."

As if on cue, they all heard a roar, then Ethan's voice, "Oh shit!" Next they heard Xander fall over something as he searched for a light switch.

Suddenly the room was lit. They all saw Ethan lying on the floor, with Tiger-Giles straddling him, one paw raised ready to strike.

Buffy rushed over, "No Giles. No Ripper. Don't." She gently put her hand on Giles' head. "No. I know you don't understand, but you will later, I promise. Just don't." His green eyes met hers as he searched them, then slowly he moved off of Ethan. He stood next to Buffy, maintaining a low growl as Ethan carefully stood. Buffy scratched behind Tiger-Giles' ears and the growl turned into a purr. "Thank you, Giles. You did very well." He blinked sleepily at her, and she smiled.

The smile fell off of her face as she turned to Ethan. "Give it to me now, Ethan, or I let him have his way with you." Beside her Giles growled. Buffy interrupted Ethan's protest of innocence. "No, Ethan, I mean now." The look she gave him had sent vampires running home to their crypts.

Giles growled again as Ethan reached into his pocket. Ethan stopped. Then very carefully reached two fingers in and pulled out a folded handkerchief. Buffy took immediate possession of it. Willow walked over and very carefully snipped off a lock of Ethan's hair. She placed in a small ziploc bag, then in her pocket.

Buffy stared at Ethan coldly. "We've threatened you, we've beaten you, physically as well as magically, and we've incarcerated you. The only thing left is your death. This is the last time you walk away, Ethan, 'cause we're out of options. You hurt Giles again, and *I'll* rip your throat out. If you think for one second that I can't or that I won't, just remember that Giles trained me, and that means that Ripper trained me. I will *not* let you hurt him again." Buffy's expression was implacable.

Ethan nodded his understanding.

Buffy turned to Xander. "You have the stuff?" He nodded and handed her a roll of duct tape. Buffy proceeded to bind Ethan. Then she turned to Willow and Tara. "Will he be able to do magic like that?" She asked with a gesture.

"No," Willow answered, after exchanging a look with Tara. "He can't speak or move his hands."

Buffy gave a satisfied nod, then looked at Ethan. "We're going to Giles' house, call those wonderful government guys, tell them where you are, then undo the spell on Giles. If you can manage to be gone by the time they get here, that's fair. If you try to do something else to Giles before you leave.." Ethan nodded again.

They trooped out of the house and down the street. At the end of the block, Buffy stopped. "You guys go on home, I can burn a hanky. Willow, would you call Riley and let him know where we left Ethan, after you do the spell?"

"Sure, Buffy, but are you sure?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine. When he's Giles again, we're going to have a nice long talk. And Will?" Willow met her eyes. "Say hi to Riley for me?" Their eyes held as Willow nodded her understanding of the message.

Several minutes later, Buffy let herself and Tiger-Giles into Giles' apartment. She got the fireplace lit, and sat the handkerchief next to it. She looked nervously at Giles, who came over and put his paws on her shoulders. His eyes met hers, and he licked her face until she giggled. "Okay, I get it. Everything will be fine. Thanks, Giles." He gave one last lick and moved away. Then he looked expectantly at her. She nodded, and tossed the handkerchief in the fire.

The fire shot up then flamed green. She heard a growl from Giles, then a very human moan. She looked at him. He was on all fours; naked as the day he was born. She knelt next to him, and put her hand on his back. "Giles?" She asked softly.

He sat on his haunches and looked at her, his expression dazed. "Buffy? Did it work?" He blinked at her.

She threw her arms around him, and he returned her hug awkwardly. "Yeah, Giles. It worked. Thank God." She knew the exact second that he realized that he was naked. He started to pull away from her embrace. But she held him firmly by the back of his neck. She pulled just far enough away from him to hold his eyes.

She slowly unbuttoned her blouse. His eyes widened in shock. "Buffy? Wh-what are you doing?" He asked, his voice strained, his penis already hardening from just the bit of skin she had exposed, and the fact that she hadn't stopped.

"What does it look like I'm doing? You're naked; in a minute, *I'll* be naked, then we'll see what comes up." Her eyes shifted downward. "Okay, plan revision. Already *very* up." She released his neck only to push her blouse completely off. Holding his eyes the entire time, she continued to strip. He held still, unable to look away.

Once she was as naked as he was, she put her hands on his shoulders. "Giles?" He just blinked rapidly at her. "Giles?" She repeated. When he still didn't respond, she kissed him. He struggled, just a little. So she kissed him again.She continued to kiss him until she could feel his capitulation. "Giles?" She all but purred.

"Yes, dearest?" He murmured, raining kisses upon her face and neck.

"Do you think I'm your mate?" She asked quietly.

"Hmmm? Mate?" He pulled back a little. "Yes, I rather suppose that's one way to put it." He returned to the kisses, also nibbling lightly on her neck and shoulder. She shivered against him, then pulled herself together.

"Giles? If you can catch me, you can have me." She said, then pulled away and took off running to the other side of the sofa.

The part of Giles that remembered being a tiger understood this. He took off after her cautiously, not really being dressed for athletics. He made a few swipes to try and grab her, but she danced out of his reach.

She darted past him towards the hallway, and Giles gave a flying tackle, capturing her around the knees. They fell to the floor with joint grunts, Giles on her back. He pulled himself up onto his knees, then grabbed her hips and pulled her up onto all fours in front of him. He carefully probed her, to see if she were ready for him. Finding only warm slickness, he guided himself to her and claimed her as his mate in one strong thrust.

"Giiiles!" She exclaimed in pleasure as he more than filled her. He pulled out, only to thrust back in, even deeper. She pushed back against him. Faster and faster he thrust, until he felt her body tighten around him. Then with a growl, he let go and followed her into release.

They lay on the floor in a sweaty, satisfied heap.

Giles turned her to face him, "Buffy, did I hurt you, love?" He asked worriedly.

"D'uh, Giles. Slayer, remember?" She tenderly brushed hair out of his face. "I'm fine. More than fine actually." She sat up. "I guess I should.." She broke off with a squeal as he grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder.

"Not quite yet, love." He purred as he carried her up the stairs to the loft.

He laid her on his bed and covered her body with his. Their first loving had been somewhat fast. Their second was slow and lazy. Giles explored every inch of her body, covering it with kisses and gently nips. And when he entered her, she was more than ready.

He slowly built up the tempo of his thrusts, Buffy encouraging him with moans and husky whispers of his name, culminating in her drawing out his name as she reached her climax. He continued to pump into her, as she came down. Then he carefully turned them so that she straddled him.

As she sat straight up, forcing him deeper inside, he moaned. Then she started to ride him. As her movements once more became urgent, Giles held her hips and thrust upward with all his strength, releasing his seed into her welcoming body. A few seconds later she tightened on him.

They lay snuggled up in his bed, Buffy's fingertips tracing lazy circles in his chest hair. "You realize that you'll never get rid of me now. I'm your mate ." Buffy told him seriously.

"I can live with that." He replied, before pulling her to him for a deep kiss.

END