Title: Reaping the Rewards
Author: Ahn
Email:nooma@hotmail.com
Summary: The results of Mom Summers meeting Wesley Wyndham Pryce.
Content: G. Violence implied.
Author's Note: Feedback Please!
Disclaimer: Joss and the bigwigs own all that you know and love, I
merely own the situations that they find themselves in.

Title: Reaping the Rewards

*****
On Monday morning, Buffy waddled in the library with several bags in
each hand.

As Xander and Oz were arguing which snack yielded more energy, Cheesy
Chips versus Cheese Puffs, Willow looked up from the book she was
reading. Her eyes widened as she saw the Slayer struggle into the
library.

"Hey, Buffy! Was there a sale in school that I didn't know about?"Willow
joked as she headed over to her friend. Buffy shot her a look.

"No, but there was a baking fest at home,"Buffy said as she handed a
couple of bags to Willow."Is Giles in?"

"Right here,"Giles said as he came from his office. He sniffed the
air."What smells good? Anything wrong?"

Buffy placed all the bags on the library table, then turned to face him
as Xander and Oz rapidly abandoned their arguement and headed straight
for the bags."Yeah, there's something wrong. You have to talk to Mom,
Giles. Mom's on a Baking Homemaker frenzy."

"Oh, dear. That's terrible,"Giles clucked as he dove into a large bag.
"What has she cooked or baked now? Oh, my! Tea cakes! Currant Scones!
And she made crumpets!"

Xander pulled out plate."Oh, wow! An apple cobbler!"

"I got a plate of chocolate chip cookies!"Willow squealed as she peeled
off some foil over a plate."What did you get, Oz?"

"I got brownies, and I smell a peach pie in here somewhere,"Oz said as
he took a deep breath. Buffy stared at her friends. Then at Giles.

"Guys! This is serious! Mom's on a serious frenzy here!"Buffy
cried."Giles! Put that plate of lady fingers down! Mom's in a serious
worry mode! She was baking since Saturday night!"

"Oh? What happened on Saturday night to make her so upset? Oh, she made
a jelly loaf and cheese croissants!"Giles sighed in contentment. He
caught Buffy's annoyed look."She really was in a-a baking frenzy. So
what happened?"

"Mom wrangled me to go do food shopping with her Saturday night. Said
that I have to know how to cook,"Buffy said, her arms crossed. Oz nodded
wisely.

"Always a good thing to know,"Oz said sagely, then he smiled as he
sniffed homemade bannana bread.

"When we were leaving the store, I heard something in the alley, and
headed to do my duty."Buffy continued. Giles nodded as he pulled out  a
plate of oatmeal cookies. Then he pulled out a loaf of bread."And that's
where the trouble started."

Giles pulled out another loaf of bread. Then another. And another. And
another. When he pulled out seven loaves of bread, he looked at Buffy a
bit worriedly. He saw Buffy's knowing look on her face. The significance
of the loaves of bread on the library table was not lost on the
Slayerettes. Willow's eyes were round as she stared at them.

"Wow, Buff! Your mom really was in a pounding mood! Who'd she want to
pound on when she made this many loaves?"Xander whistled.
Buffy crossed her arms."Now, you see that I have a problem? Giles, you
have to call Mom and calm her down. If she continues this way, we're
going to have to open a bakery to get rid of all this stuff!"

Giles scratched his ear. He wasn't so sure that he wanted to confront
Joyce if she was in, what Xander called, a pounding mood. He had already
faced her when she was once like that. In the beginning of the summer.
And after he had performed the Council's test on Buffy."Well...I'm not
sure...that she would listen to me...I mean, shouldn't you send Wesley
when she's in this mood? I mean, he is your Watcher now."
Buffy winced."That would not be a good idea."

"Buffy? What happened on Saturday that made you mom bake?"Willow asked.
Buffy sighed.

"Well, as I was slaying vamps, Mom came in swinging with a broken broom
handle when one knocked me down. When the dust cleared, so to speak, we
headed out of the alley,"Buffy said."And that's when the trouble
started."

Xander glanced at Giles, then at Buffy."What trouble? Vamps in alley
dusted, you and Mom Summers alive."

Buffy rolled her eyes at him."As we came out of the alley, we saw
Wussley standing in the alley."

"So, your mother finally met Wuss-, I mean, Wesley,"Giles commented as
he took that in."Did the meeting go well? I hope."

"At first,"Buffy conceded."I mean, he grabbed her hand and everything
and started kissing it. He gushed over her hand as if she was Queen of
England the way he acted."

"He...gushed over your mother?"Giles asked delicately as his eyebrow
rose. A faint urge to do violence to Wussley rose as well."How did she
take it? Did she like him?"

"She kinda liked it at first. Then was a bit confused when he wouldn't
give back her hand,"Buffy said. Giles's faint urge to do violence to the
new Watcher was growing."I nearly had to wrench it away from him."

"As to liking him, that ended as soon as he opened his mouth and started
upsetting her,"Buffy continued."That's where the whole problem with Mom
baking started. He opened his mouth."

Giles stared a her."Oh dear. Wesley upset your mother?"

"In capital letters,"Buffy confirmed."I'm telling you, Giles, I won't
have him upsetting her."

Xander scowled."You mean that Wussley upset your mom enough to have her
bake seven loaves? What the *hell* did he say to her?"

"What I want to know is how upset did he make her?"Oz asked."I mean, is
it mite, tad, mondo or 'run for the hills' upset? Need to know more than
the amount of loaves she's cranking out, like is she still?"

"If she didn't have to go to the gallery today, she'd still be
baking,"Buffy said flatly as she noted the reactions around her. Xander
let out a strangled sound while Oz raised his eyebrow. Giles winced as
Willow cringed.

Buffy looked at Oz."Remember how upset she was after Hansel and Gretel
nearly made her burn me at the stake?"

The Slayerettes nodded. Buffy continued."Remember how upset she was
after you did that stupid test on me, Giles?"

Still feeling his ears ringing from the memory, Giles winced."Yes. She
was that upset?"

Buffy looked at him."Try putting those two upsets together and then
you'll get what I was dealing with since Saturday night."

Giles blanched."I see...then it would be a 'run to the hills as fast as
you can' upset then."

"What did Wussy say to her to make her so upset?"Xander demanded at her.

Wincing, Buffy looked at him."Well, the conversation went sort of like,
badly."

*****

Joyce looked at her daughter's new Watcher after Buffy made the
introductions. He was a tad young. Younger than Mr. Giles. And obviously
very earnest in his...calling as a Watcher."So...you're Buffy's new
Watcher?"

"Yes, I am. Perhaps Buffy had spoken about me,Wesley Wyndham Pryce, her
new Watcher," he said proudly. Joyce merely nodded as she looked at her
daughter with a lifted eyebrow. Her daughter merely shrugged at her
mother.

"She said that she was getting a new Watcher to replace Mr.Giles, yes.
She never said that you had arrived,"Joyce commented diplomatically.
Feeling slightly generous, and wanting to know about the new Watcher  in
her daughters life, Joyce smiled brightly at him."So, as her Watcher,
would you like to come over for dinner?"

*****

"Your *mother* invited him over for dinner?"Giles demanded."She never
invited me over for dinner! Ever! In fact-"

"Giles,"Buffy said as she looked at him. Giles caught the look on her
face, then the looks of the other Slayerettes.

Giles gave them a sheepish look."Ah, yes. Well, I'll take that up with
your mother later. So, ah, go on...your mother invited the prat to
dinner..."

*****

"Oh, that'd be lovely, but against the rules,you see,"Wesley said
apologetically to her.

Joyce stared at the man."It's against the rules to have dinner?"

"Not dinner, my lady. Dinner with the Slayer and her family. If she
should have one. There is to be no fraternization between the Watcher
and the Slayer, save for the routine business of slaying vampires,
demons, and that sort of thing,"Wesley corrected."The Watcher merely
guides the Slayer in what she must do, trains her, then sends her off to
do her duty and battle."

Buffy looked from her mother to Wesley, then to her mother again. She
winced when she recognized the dangerous light in her eyes, and tried to
stop the conversation."Ah, Mom? The ice cream is melting, and I think I
hear the, uh, car-"

"In a minute, Buffy. I'm finding, Mr. Wyndham-Pryce's views of a
Watcher/Slayer relationship fascinating,"said Joyce as she gave the  man
a strained smile."And while the Slayer is doing this, the Watcher is
doing what?"

Enthused, Wesley warmed to the topic."The Watcher waits for the Slayer
to complete her assigned task. And makes sure that she is prepared for
it."

"So then the appointed Watcher doesn't go with her in battle very
often,"Joyce commented. Wesley shook his head.

"Oh, no. Not often at all,if ever. It is highly recommended that the
Watcher allow the Slayer to fight the battle while the Watcher provides
the tactics. She is, after all, the Chosen One,"Wesley agreed as he
looked at Buffy."It is encouraged that the Slayer go into battle alone."

He missed Joyce tightening her lips as he blindly continued."In fact,
Buffy as the Slayer is in a very unusual situation because she has so
much help in slaying, you see. And the fact that she had a Watcher that
held her with great affection. In fact, it was speculated in the Council
on the odds of her survival had she not have the support group she has
now."

Buffy buried her face in her hands as Joyce froze then stared at the man
who was supposed to watch over her daughter."Excuse, me? Are you saying
that the Council had calculated the odds on Buffy's survival?"

A faint sense of unease rippled through Wesley as he looked at the
Mother of the Slayer."Uh, well...yes. Only for a study, you see. To see
if there should be a-a small support group for other future Slayers."

Alarmed, Buffy looked at Wesley, then shot a desperate look at her
mother."Uh, Mom? I think we really should get going. It's my turn to
patrol and I have to still learn how to, ah, cook?"

"Not just yet, Buffy. I want to hear more about this Watcher's views on
the expendability of Slayers,"Joyce said as she took another step
forward."So...your Council doesn't believe in sending Watchers to face
vampires and demons, but they're willing to send young girls to do
battle with them. Is that right?"

*****

As he crushed an urge to laugh, Giles groaned as he rubbed his
temples."Oh, dear. He *really* upset your mother."

Buffy nodded."And that wasn't the worst of it..."

"There's more?"Xander demanded."Oh, man...what happened?"

Buffy was about to speak when the library doors opened. Wesley
Wyndham-Pryce entered the library, his head down.

"Hey, Wes! How was your weekend? Heard that you met Buffy's
mother,"Xander called out."How was the meeting?"

Pryce lifted his head and glared at the young boy,then glared at Buffy.
He headed towards Giles's office."I don't want to talk about it. Mr.
Giles, if I may see you, please?"

Willow swung her head at Buffy."Was that a black eye?"

Buffy nodded slowly."Wes's face met with the left fist of fury of the
Slayer's Mother. The same one he was kissing. Had to soak it in water
after we got home."

"Is she all right? Her hand wasn't hurt too badly, was it?"Giles
demanded. He noted all the strange looks."Buffy's mother is extremely
gentle. She's not used to violence."

"Save that beating she gave you at the beginning of the summer and that
nasty kick in the groin, right, G-man?"Xander quipped. Giles glared at
the boy. He *really* shouldn't remember things that were not good or him
to remember.

"Mom's hand is fine. After soaking it in cold water, she immediately
went into the Foods made from Scratch mode,"Buffy grimaced."And now it's
the Summers restaurant and bakery in the kitchen. Featuring Buffy on
clean-up duty."

Oz whistled lowly."And so, the baked goodness of mother's fury still
continues."

Buffy looked at Giles."Tonight she's making from scratch tomato linguine
and clam sauce. Meat and cheese ravioli. Baked potatoes with four
toppings. And we're having crepes with ice cream and flan for dessert.
Giles, what am I going to do?"

"I don't know about Giles, but I'm heading over your place for dinner
tonight,"Xander commented."Anyone else with me?"

Oz and Willow waved their hands. Buffy rolled her eyes."Fine. You all
can help me eat and do the dishes, but in the meantime, what do I do
about this thing between Mom and Wussley?"

"Nothing but reap the rewards of her baking and cooking, Buffy. It is
obvious that her, ah, activities help calm her, so let her continue.
That's all that you can do, except divide all this baked goods between
all of you,"Giles advised as he headed towards his office with the
plates of cookies, lady fingers, scones, crumpets, and tea biscuits  in
his arms."And leave me some of the other things as well."

As Giles walked into his office, he relished the image of Joyce
flattening Wesley. He smiled as he muttered to himself."As I intend  to
reap these little rewards and rub it in the little prat's nose. Kissing
Joyce's hand! Really!"

He nodded at the other Watcher nonchalantly as he placed his treasures
in his small cabinet.

Wesley scowled at him, then studied the baked goods in Giles's arms."Oh,
I say! Currant Scones! Crumpets! Tea biscuits! I say, there a bake sale
around here? Or a bakery?"

Giles shook his head."No. Not at all."

"Then where did you get the baked goods?"Wesley demanded as he eyed  the
crumpets.

Giles smiled at the other man smugly as he wrapped them in plastic and
put the crumpets away."Joyce."

"Joyce?"Wesley blinked."Who is Joyce?"

Giles shot the man an innocent smile."Joyce is Buffy's mother. She just
baked these for me this weekend. I'm also going over to Buffy's house
for some home cooked dinner tonight, since I was invited. She is the
most wonderful chef. Just one of the few rewards I manage to reap,  just
by being on a talking basis with her. You should try it some time. By
the by, what happened to your eye?"

Wesley sniffed as he turned away."Answered a question wrongly in an
alley."

Giles nodded sagely."These things do happen in Sunnydale. The wrong
answer can actually cause pain and suffering, like black eyes. The right
one allows you to reap untold rewards...like crumpets. I wonder if  I can
convince her to make me some steak and kidney pie?"

~Fin.

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