I'M ALREADY THERE

By Kalia

He called her on the road, from a lonely, cold hotel room

Giles gazed around the tiny room of the "no-tell motel" he and Buffy had been forced to stop at when their Watcher/Slayer meditation retreat had taken an unexpected turn. He sighed as he sat down on the edge of the bed. Bloody Council. This was going to be a very long weekend. A tired smile came to his lips as he picked up the phone on the bedside table and dialed the familiar numbers that would connect him to his heart.

Just to hear her say "I love you" one more time

His heart rose in his chest when Willow answered the phone. The sound of her sweet voice lifted his spirits and the small room suddenly wasn't quite so dismal anymore.

And when he heard the sound of the kids laughing in the background he had to wipe away a tear from his eye.

His children, their children. Twins, a boy and a girl. Tiny miracles he never thought he deserved.

A little voice came on the phone

His daughter.

And said, "Daddy, when you coming home?"

She hadn't wanted him to leave. She had held her ground, staring up at him, all of six years old, daring him to challenge her. With her mother's "resolve face", his eyes (complete with the same brown speckle he had) the spirit of both her parents combined, and a little bit of Buffy's stubbornness somehow thrown in for good measure, Giles had almost called the trip off. Ah, fatherhood.

He said the first thing that came to his mind.

He knew that he was supposed to be good at rational thought, always having an answer and explanation for everything, but when it came to his children he was often at a loss. He knew whatever he told her had to be good.

I'm already there. Take a look around.

He knew that she was in the master bedroom. That was the only room in the house with a phone. He knew that any placed she looked in that room she would see some aspect of her father.

I'm the sunshine in your hair.

What a beautiful color that was. Giles' breath had caught in his throat one lazy Sunday when the late afternoon sun had captured the red in her and Willow's hair as mother and daughter chased each other in the back yard.

I'm the shadow on the ground

Giles remembered how both his children's eyes had lit up when Xander pointed out that they would always be protected by their daddy because they both disappeared inside Giles' shadow where danger couldn't see them.

I'm the whisper in the wind

The twins had caught Willow and Giles in a warm embrace one night as the two stood outside enjoying the warm winds blowing through Sunnydale, Giles whispering sweet endearments to his wife. She had smiled down at them and told them "Daddy was whispering in the wind" and their precious little souls believed from that day on that, whenever the wind blew, it was their father was whispering to them.

I'm your imaginary friend

When she was three years old, his daughter had asked Giles if she and him were friends. Although a bit taken aback by the question, he had told her that yes, they were friends.
"But you're my Daddy. You can't be my friend too, can you?" had been her response.
He had chuckled lightly and gave her this suggestion,
"How about I be your imaginary friend? That way I can be both your Daddy and your friend."
She had really liked that idea and so, from then on, he was both Daddy and her imaginary friend, "D."
A strange backwards technicality that worked on a three year old.

And I know I'm in your prayers.

Yes, they all realized the irony. But Willow's parents had insisted that the children be exposed to Judaism. Not that Willow and Giles hadn't planned on their children having religion in their lives, they just felt it was hypocritical of them to teach any one religion or belief exclusively. That had caused some discord between the in-laws, but in the end Giles and Willow had relented and allowed her parents to discuss Judaism with the twins.

Oh, I'm already there

Satisfied, she handed the phone back to Willow.
"Ok. Here's Mommy again."
Willow took the phone as her daughter skipped out of the room.

She got back on the phone and said,
"I really miss you Darling. Don't worry about the kids, they'll be alright."

Willow knew that Giles had hated to leave them with a fiery passion. Not only would he not be home to protect his family if need be, but he was taking the Slayer with him. Yes, he absolutely hated it.

"Wish I was in your arms, lying right there beside you, but I know that I'll be in your dreams tonight.
And I'll gently kiss your lips, touch you with my fingertips. So turn out the light and close your eyes. I'm already there.

"Why must you torture me so, Love? As if it weren't hard enough to be away from you all, now I have that image in my mind. "
Willow gave him a light laugh. "It is my right and privilege as your wife and as the mother of your children to torture you any way I see fit."
He laughed softly and they talked a while longer until he had to go.
Both telling the other, "I love you" they hung up reluctantly.

Don't make a sound

Willow and Giles had their own private good-bye session the night before he had left. Things had gotten a little…intense…and they ended up in a fit of giggles under their soft bed sheets when they remembered that sound travels

I'm the beat in your heart

Willow straddled Giles, watching the rise and fall of his chest, breathing heavy following their private goodbye. She smiled down at him, very proud of herself that she could still make his heart beat like that.

I'm the moonlight shining down

The moonlight was streaming in through the half open curtains, illuminating the room and the two of them in a soft bluish glow.

I'm the whisper in the wind and I'll be there till the end.

"I'll love you till the end of time."
Giles whispered to his wife, just as the wind picked up and they lay back in bed, wrapped in each other's arms.

Can you feel the love that we share? Oh, I'm already there

Oh, they felt the love between them…frequently.

We may be a thousand miles apart

Well, Giles and Buffy may have not been a thousand miles away, but anything more than the width of their bed seemed to be too far for Giles and Willow.

But I'll be with you, wherever you are

They were bonded, heart and soul. Without Giles, Willow wasn't complete and vice versa. They carried a part of each other with them. They were soul mates, always had been, always would be. No matter what.

I'm already there
Take a look around
I'm the sunshine in your hair
I'm the shadow on the ground
I'm the whisper in the wind
And I'll be there till the end
Can you feel the love that we share?
Oh I'm already there
Oh I'm already there

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