Archive of Our Own

Giles suddenly found himself jolting awake to a high-pitched, blood curdling scream. His heart shot into his throat as he bolted upright, sleep addled brain making it difficult for him to register whether what he'd heard was actually real or just something from his dreams.

It wasn't until he heard the tearful, terrified and very real voice of his little girl calling for him that he realized it was her screaming that had in fact woken him up.

"Daddyyyyyyy!"

Giles scrambled for his glasses on the nightstand and practically leap out of bed once he found them and half-hazardously threw them on his face, almost tripping over his own feet in his haste to get to his little girl down the hall. He skid to a halt in front of Buffy's door and yanked it open.

In the faint glow of the nightlight that sat perched on her nightstand, he could see Buffy sitting up in bed, tightly clutching her stuffed dog and blanket as she cried. The moment she saw Giles, though, she let go of them and desperately reached out for him. Giles immediately took a seat on the edge of her bed and pulled her into his arms, flicking on the lamp at her bedside as he did so.

"It's alright now, my itsy-bitsy girl, it's alright. Daddy's here. Daddy's got you." Giles began to rock her and rub circles up and down her back. "Was it a bad dream that woke you, poppet?"

Buffy nodded against his neck. "Th-the ba-ad, scary m-m-man h-hurt you a-an' taked m-me a–huh–way!"

Another Ethan related nightmare, then. Those had been occurring more and more both in and out of headspace since their last encounter with him.

Giles swore the next time he saw Ethan he was going to put an end to him for good.

"My poor, sweet girl. That must have been very scary."

"D-don't wanna be t-taked away da-daddy!"

"I would never let that happen, bunny. There is nothing or no one that could ever take you away from me without a fight–that I would always win."

"P-p-p'omise?"

He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I promise, baby."

Giles continued to rock and whisper reassurances to her until the little girl's crying slowed to a stop. Reaching into his pajama bottoms, he pulled out his handkerchief and used it to clean Buffy's wet face.

"Are you ready to try going back to sleep, sweet girl?" Giles asked after stuffing the handkerchief back in his pocket.

"No," Buffy whimpered, tightening her grip on Giles' shirt. "Don't wanna sleep 'gain."

"I'm sorry, dear girl, but you have to. It's far, far too early for little girls to be awake."

"B-but what if the bad man shows up in my dream 'gain? Please don't make me, daddy!" Buffy's eyes glistened with fresh tears.

Giles opened his mouth to comfort her and reiterate that she needed sleep, an idea popped up in his head.

"What if daddy sings to you until you fall asleep, lovey?" When Buffy still didn't seem convinced, he added, "I'll even sing you a song that will help keep the bad man out of your dreams."

At least he hoped it would, otherwise he was going to feel like the worst daddy in existence.

"Mmm... okay." She still sounded hesitant but was always willing to trust Giles' word.

God, he really hoped she didn't have any more nightmares tonight.

"My brave girl," Giles praised, planting a kiss on her forehead. "Now, lie down, lemon drop."

Buffy slowly slid down until she was on her back with her head resting on her pillow. Giles handed the girl her dog and blanket before drawing the covers over her, brushing her fallen hair out of her face.

"Alright, dear, are you ready?"

She nodded. "Mm-hm."

Giles quietly cleared his throat and took a breath before beginning to sing the song he remembered his mother playing all the time on their record player when he was growing up.

Dream a little dream of me

By the end of the song, Buffy was fast asleep once more.

"Sweet dreams, poppet," he whispered, carefully standing and turning her lamp off before exiting her room.