Wishes : Seeing Snow
(part 2 of 3)
by: Jolene (JBG)
Timeline: Just after Hush
Premise: Step two in Buffy's cheering up of Giles. It involves snow.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination. Joss Whedon, WB, Mutant Enemy and/or a bunch of other people own everything else in the Buffyverse. I think CNN owns the Weather Channel.
Buffy/Giles - rated PG
I don't know why anybody would want to live anywhere but Southern California. I mean, everything you could ever want is right here, mostly within driving distance. If you want to see the biggest trees on earth, you go north and there they are. Whales? Just off the coast. The best zoos in the world? Just around the corner. Even the Grand Canyon isn't much over a day away.
I won't mention the shopping... it's a given.
Another neat thing is: you can drive a couple of hours from Sunnydale and see desert, tropical gardens, mountains, the beach... any kind of climate you want.
So, when I told Giles the other day I could find snow in Southern California, I wasn't bluffing. I remember when I was a kid Dad took us up into the mountains to see some snow. We saw it, then we came home. None of us actually got to touch any. So I was determined to savor the whole experience this time. I asked around and got directions to a road that goes up into the mountains... one that had a ski lodge at the end of it, just in case we wanted to get warm after a while. I figured a couple of hours there, a couple of hours playing around, and a couple of hours back... what could be simpler? I must've jinxed myself.
We got up that Saturday morning all excited and happy... well, Giles did. I was my usual non-morning-person self until we got well into the mountains, then I got interested in the scenery and forgot to be grumpy. Being with Giles helped a lot.
It is really weird to drive out of the sun and into a snowstorm. When we started out, it was a warm 78 degrees in the valley. We got about halfway up the mountain, and it got cloudy. A couple of miles more and it was starting to snow. Hard. I made Giles stop on the side of the road so I could feel the difference in temperature. I got out and walked around the car once, and I was ready to get back in. He had the nerve to laugh. It was freezing out there!
I probably should have checked the Weather Channel before we started out. I just didn't realize you could have a blizzard this close to home. It was snowing sideways. It was scary and exciting and Giles was having a hard time seeing the road, but I could tell he was loving every minute of it. We slowed to a crawl and eased along, following the line of weekend skiers for almost a half hour until we could see some buildings ahead.
We hadn't made overnight reservations, because we were just up here for the day, but I started wondering what we'd do if we got snowed in. I didn't say anything to Giles right then, because he would have gone into Worry Mode, and I didn't want that.
Snowed in? In Southern California? What a concept. All it takes is altitude.
Those white streaks are so pretty sitting on top of those far-away peaks when you're in the valley. The mountains are a kind of hazy purple, and the snow looks like that drizzle frosting Mom always puts on her spice cakes. Once I got into the frosting, though, I realized how cold it had to get before it snowed. It had to be ten degrees out there! I am not used to that kind of cold. I think I had about five layers of clothes on before I got out of the car. And yes, he laughed at me then, too, but I didn't care. At least I was warm!
We started wading through the almost knee-deep drifts, trying to get up to the lodge office. The cold made his face all red looking, and his glasses kept getting messed up, so he took them off. We slogged for what seemed like a mile before we got to the building. You couldn't even see the lodge from the road, the storm was so bad. We had to follow the little wooden signs and the people in front of us. If the guy up ahead got lost, we'd have been in trouble!
Finally, we got inside and shook off as much wet stuff as possible in the entryway. There were all kinds of jackets and boots hanging up out there, so we hung ours up, too. It felt good to take the wet jumpsuit and boots off and leave them dripping without getting yelled at.
When we went into the lobby, I could see people dressed pretty much like we were--in heavy sweaters and warm-up suits. There was a monster sized fireplace with furniture grouped all around it. It was in the center of the room, and it was open on all four sides. The room was huge, but cozy looking, like a cave, only warm.
Giles went over to talk to the desk clerk while I explored. I decided it wouldn't be so bad if we stayed here the whole time. There were game tables, some little shops, places to sit and eat, comfy looking couches, and a snack bar with cappuccino advertised in big black letters. Yep, I decided I could get used to the snow bunny routine as long as I stayed inside most of the time.
Giles came back with a happy look on his face. "Did you know there were several special events scheduled for this weekend?"
I got a little worried. I'm not sure what Giles calls 'special' would interest me. I guess I didn't have much faith in my guy. I should've known better. "How special is 'special?' No, wait, more important... what do you mean, 'were?' Did they cancel because of the storm? And does that mean we're stuck here?"
"We'll have to stay, at least tonight. The storm has already closed roads all over the mountain. They will hold the events for those of us who are here."
I shrugged nonchalantly, even though I was thrilled with the idea. "Okay, so we get to stay for the 'special' stuff... whatever doesn't get snowed out. Uh, did you get us rooms?"
"Yes, luckily the storm has, um, prevented several guests from attending, so we have two very nice rooms next door in one of the duplex cabins. I'm afraid I didn't bring an overnight bag, so I'll be quite... grizzled by tomorrow morning."
"Cool. You'll look like Don Johnson."
"Who?"
"Never mind, Mister I-Never-Watch-Anything-But-The-News. By the way, I know better. I bet you know the name of the current champion on The Price is Right." I looked around at the shops in the lobby. "I wonder if they have a store around here where you can buy deodorant and stuff? I have makeup with me."
"You brought your makeup for an afternoon in the snow?"
Guys will never understand about makeup. "You'll be glad I did in the morning. Anyway, I saw people getting on the ski lift a few minutes ago... are they actually gonna ski in this weather?"
He stared out the window for a minute. "It probably isn't snowing at the higher altitudes. If it gets too dangerous, they'll close the lift. We have four or five hours before dark. Would you like to try to ski?"
I must've looked scared, because he added quickly, "We don't have to, but it seems a shame to come all this way and not try it."
"Have you skied? Do people ski in England?"
He chuckled at my ignorance. "Yes, I have skied a time or two. Brits have been known to ski on rare occasions."
"I didn't mean... well, I just didn't know if there was places to ski around there."
He got another of those distant looks on his face, like he was remembering something really yummy from his past. "There are a few places... Switzerland, Austria, the French Alps..."
"Okay, so I flunked the geography test. Just forget I asked, and let's go get cold and clammy."
We went to the equipment rental place, conveniently located just off the main lobby, and got fitted for skis and poles. After a few basic instructions from the ski pro, we got back into our heavy snow gear and went out to the lift area. We had to wait in line about 30 minutes, and I was beginning to get really cold by the time our turn came. I was afraid I'd freeze to the seat, but Giles seemed pretty at ease with the whole process, so I put on a brave front and got on the chair without falling. You'd think being a Slayer would endow me with some natural grace. You'd be wrong.
The lift was fun, actually. It reminded me of the Sky Hook at Disneyland. We were pretty high up in a couple of places, but I wasn't afraid by then. Giles had such a huge happy-little-boy grin on his face I thought his lips would freeze to his gums. We got off at the second stop and in deference to my lack of experience, we headed for what the signs called the "bunny hills."
After a while, I was actually starting to get warm. Giles showed me how to bend my knees, use the poles, and walk sideways up the hill. Before long I could take the bumps like a... well, not a pro, but a good beginner. He acted like he was proud of me, giving me encouragement every time I tried and mastered something new. He's such a good teacher... like he was born to it, which, I guess, he was.
I finally got up the nerve to try the regular slope. It was a little scary, and a lot faster than before, but Giles stayed right behind me until we got to a little valley where the slope eased into level ground. I wasn't going fast enough, so I just slid to a stop. "Okay, Giles, what do I do now? I'm not moving. Are you gonna carry me the rest of the way?" I actually got a little tingle of excitement thinking about that...
"No, I won't have to carry you. Watch." He demonstrated how to get moving again, and I realized he was using the same motion as being on a Nordic Track machine. It didn't take me long to catch on, because I like working out on a ski machine... that is, if there's a TV in front of it. Out on the mountain I didn't need a TV... the scenery was breathtaking.
We crossed the little valley at a comfortable pace, and I began to appreciate the scenery even more. Since I wasn't worrying about rocketing down the mountain and breaking my neck, I began to see things I hadn't seen before. I saw some rabbits in the snow, playing around like it was high summer. There were lots of birds everywhere. I saw another animal slip by and slide into the creek we were skiing beside. It was bigger than the rabbits, and dark brown. I stopped and stared, hoping to get another look at it.
Giles slid to a stop behind me. "Why did you stop? Are you tired?"
I shook my head. "Not tired. I just saw something go into the creek, right over there. It was pretty big. I wanted to see what it was."
He watched with me for a few minutes, and I was just about to give up when I heard a loud popping sound that came from the middle of a dammed up pool on the creek. I saw a ripple, and started to yell out when Giles stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. "Shh. It's a beaver. If we're quite still, we might get another look at it."
"A beaver? I found a beaver? What was that sound?" I kept my voice at a whisper, but I had to know.
"He smacked his tail on the surface of the water, probably warning the other beavers about us."
"Cool..."
We watched until I started getting cold again, and sure enough, Mr. Beaver pulled himself out of the water about twenty feet from us and started off into the snow. I wanted to follow, but Giles made me stand still. It wasn't long until the beaver was back, dragging a little sapling behind him. He slid off into the water with the tree floating along behind. Halfway across he dived and disappeared, pulling the tree down with him until there was nothing, not even a leaf, left above the water. It was the neatest thing I'd ever seen.
Giles put his arms around me and whispered in my ear, "he must be building his den in the middle of this pool. I wish we could stay longer, but you seem to be getting cold. Let's head back to the lodge, and we'll see about warming us up."
I shivered in response, and not from the cold, either.
********
I had imagined a rustic, drafty, ugly cabin, like the one my parents rented when we went to the lake one summer. I was twelve then, and I hated every minute of it. When we got to our cabin that afternoon, I was pleasantly surprised. It was more like a little cottage, painted in pretty earth tones with a porch in front. Giles unlocked it and let me go in first, being gentlemanly as usual. I think I must've said "Wow" or something like that, because he said, "Indeed," as he came in behind me.
It wasn't really two separate cabins. It had a long central living area with a rock fireplace and a kitchen behind that, and the two bedrooms went off to the left and right of the living area. The fire was already lit, and it was cozy and warm. It was pretty big for a cabin, too, and it had thick russet carpet and southwest style furniture and a bearskin rug... I caught my breath when I saw that. I've wanted a bearskin rug ever since I was a little kid.
"Splendid! We did rather fall into good luck, didn't we?" He immediately went to the fireplace and began adding wood to the fire. I went into the right-hand bedroom and saw it had its own attached bath. This was looking better and better.
"Buffy? Did you want to go to the shops before they close?" His voice carried easily into my room.
"Uh, yeah, just give me a minute." I had to freshen my makeup, of course.
We went back to the lodge, using the covered walkway that attached our cabin to the main building. I didn't have a lot of money on me, since I hadn't planned on the extra expense of a new wardrobe. It was Giles to the rescue again as he handed the clerk his MasterCard and told me to get whatever I needed. What class my fella has...
I got a few things and we headed back to change for dinner. Giles wouldn't say exactly what we were going to do, but at that point I was so blissed out I didn't care. I managed to steal a smooch or two just before we left, since my lips had finally thawed out. His lips were warm and soft, and I almost forgot about dinner. Almost, but not quite.
We were dressed pretty casually--me in my fringed jeans and oversized sweater, and him in his favorite brown sweater/T-shirt combination. He was wearing jeans, too. It took some getting used to... seeing him in jeans after almost three years of tweed and three-piece suits... but he looked good. We sorta matched.
Special Event Number One was a barbecue. They had a huge fire in the fireplace, and they were roasting half a cow on a rotating spit over the flames. One of the host guys told Giles they'd been roasting outside most of the day, but the bad weather made them move indoors. I was glad of that. It smelled great, and I was pretty hungry after skiing, so I decided that eating was a good way to spend an evening. The company made it even better.
While the lodge people were getting everything ready, we found an unoccupied couch in a darkened corner and plopped down to wait. It had only been a few days since the mistletoe incident, and I still wasn't totally sure how much 'in public' Giles wanted our new relationship to be. I guess I expected him to be a little standoffish and polite around strangers. Boy, was I wrong!
The minute we sat down, he pulled me over against him and slid a warm arm around me. It was nice... more than nice... exciting in a comfortable, trusting way, if that makes any sense. By the time I realized just what was happening, I had my head against his chest and both legs draped over one of his. I was practically in the man's lap!
Nobody seemed to be paying any attention to us, so I tried a little experiment. I leaned back just far enough to see his face, letting him see my intentions in my eyes. He's good at reading my eyes. He didn't say a word, just nuzzled my cheek for a few seconds before getting down to business. We probably kissed for twenty minutes with the low hum of conversation and the crackle of the fire fading into the background around us. Actually, if a double-decker bus had driven through the lobby, we probably wouldn't've noticed. By the time they rang the dinner gong-triangle thingy, I wasn't sure I could stand up.
It made me feel pretty special, too, when Giles wobbled a little himself on the way to the table.
Barbecue was not meant to be eaten in public. At least, not the way I eat it. We started out at the buffet table, trying to balance our plates and drinks, but finally gave up and went back to our cozy spot next to the fireplace. There was a little lamp on the table beside the couch, so we turned that on. It helped with getting the barbecue sauce off our faces. Giles had a really good idea about how to do that, so we enjoyed our dinner a lot more than most people did, I'll bet.
I was getting really attached to that little couch when the host guy came over in front of the fireplace and announced a contest for the most perfectly roasted marshmallow. That must've been Special Event Number Two. It sounded pretty lame to me, but we went and got our little sticks and our package of fat marshmallows and started charring them beyond recognition. Giles likes his black and crusty; I like mine golden brown. We ate most of our attempts, but finally submitted our best efforts to the judge, who was probably a chef in the restaurant. He looked like a chef--chubby, with a pencil thin mustache and an arrogant expression on his face.
I was happily surprised when my pretty gold marshmallow won the "Perfectly Tanned" award. I didn't expect them to have more than one category, though, and Giles' charcoal creation won the "Well Done But Still Shapely" award hands down. I filed that title away in my memory for some serious future teasing. We both got a cute little plaque, and the host guy told us to take them to the gift shop and they'd put our names on them. They announced a snow castle building contest for in the morning, and we entered right then and there. The team of Summers and Giles would not be defeated!
After that, they had a fire- and lamp-light dance. That was Special Event Number Three, which made the snow castle competition Number Four. The waiter guys moved the tables all out of the way, and a bunch of people in tuxes and gowns set up instruments in the corner. I expected boring old-people music, but they had a lot of variety in their songs. They did upbeat, jazzy things, kicky swing numbers and slow, sexy saxophone songs. Giles showed me some basic steps, and we had a great time trying all the different rhythms. After slow dancing with Giles, I think all the slow songs became my favorites.
I don't know if I can describe dancing with him. Have you ever just turned over control to someone and trusted that you would be safe? That he wouldn't let you bump into anything, even if your eyes were closed? Well, that's what it was like, and more. I really can't describe it. I'm the Slayer... I'm supposed to be in control all the time. But when we were dancing, he was totally in charge. It was amazing.
They closed the dance down about one o'clock in the morning, so we walked hand in hand back to our cabin. The first thing I did when we got inside was go and sit down on that bearskin rug. It was real bearskin, too, and I know the animal cruelty people probably wouldn't like it if they knew, but I loved the feel of it against my skin. I just wanted to strip down and curl up in it, but I behaved myself and settled for pulling it around me like a blanket. Giles watched me with this little tolerant smile on his face, then he went to get us something to drink.
By the time he got back, I was getting cold again. I couldn't understand it. I thought fur was supposed to be warm. He sat as close to me as he could, considering all the fur that was in the way, and offered me a cup of hot chocolate. I took it, shivering slightly. "I thought bearskin would keep me warm, but I'm freezing," I told him, cupping my hands around the mug to hold the warmth in.
He took my cup and stood, putting the hot chocolate down on the side table. He held out his hand when I looked up in confusion. I stood up, too, not really getting what he wanted to do. He unwrapped the bearskin from around me and turned it around. "The problem is you've got it backwards, love. It's supposed to go skin-side in, as the bear himself wore it in life."
"Oh? Oh..." He wrapped me securely in the skin, then sat us down and handed me my cup again. I could feel the difference as the fur trapped the heat against my skin. "Hey, I feel warmer already." I looked at him, wondering if the bear was big enough to share.
Turns out, it was.
If you think sleeping wrapped in a bearskin rug--in front of the fireplace, on the floor--when there are two perfectly good beds just a few feet away is crazy, then all I have to say is, you've never been there, or you'd know it isn't crazy at all.
Oh, yeah, I almost forgot... the next day we won the snow castle contest. I've definitely taken a liking to snow.
END