Xander sat rubbing his hands together, staring at them intently until he was startled out of his thoughts by a familiar British voice.
"A quiet Xander? Good lord the world is ending." Giles said with a smile before the sadness slipped into it as he saw the level his surrogate son had fallen to.
Xander looked up at the father figure of the Scooby's with a shrug, "How's Tara."
Giles sighed as he sat next to Xander's bed and slowly massaged the bridge of his nose. "She hasn't made it past simple vowel sounds yet." He said before returning his glasses to his nose and sighing. "They have her sedated now, Willow's staying with her."
Nodding Xander went back to staring at his hands. "They won't tell me when the funeral is, every time I ask they say I need to rest."
"Xander I- ." Giles stopped to gather his thoughts before continuing. "Alexander, the poison you were infected with w-was unlike any poison the doctors had ever seen." The watcher said before rallying his strength for the next words. "You were unconscious for over two months, they buried Anya several weeks ago."
"That's how Willow knew it was Teraka." He whispered and accepted Giles' nod.
Thinking about it for several minutes Xander finally rallied the courage, "I'm leaving when they let me out of here Giles." He said quietly before looking up at his surrogate father. "I just need to get away for a while and…" he paused to regain his composure. "I want you to stay and watch out for Dawn, she won't understand and she really needs a friend right now."
After several moments, Giles finally nodded.
(Two Weeks Later.)
Xander threw the last piece of luggage into the back of the truck Giles had bought as a going away present, having argued with the older man for close to an hour before he had finally been convinced to take the gift.
Turning back to the assembled group he smiled slightly before shrugging at their faces, "Why are you all looking like you'll never see me again? I'm just going on a road trip… what's the worst that could happen?"
"Floods." "Fires." "Vampires." "Bug Ladies." "Possessions." "Zombies." "Dragons." "Frankenstein Monsters." "Insane Gods." "Love Spells." "Sacrifices." "Spiders crawling all over your face." "Clowns." "Mummies." "Miss Kiddie's Fabulous Ladies Night Club." "Cross Dressing Karaoke Demons"
Xander stared in shock at Giles after the last before clearing his throat carefully. "Umm… Something you umm… wanna tell us Giles?"
"Get your bloody mind out of the gutter." Giles growled before pulling Xander into a hug. "Stay safe son, or I swear I'll find a voodoo priest to bring you back so I can kick your arse."
"I will Giles." He promised before turning to Dawn "Hey Dawn." He smiled at the red eyed Summers girl before leaning down to hug her.
"I wish I was going with you." She mumbled against his shoulder as she hugged him like she was never going to see him again.
"Wish you were too, Dawn-Patrol, but you have to stay and finish up school." He said before stepping back so he could see her. "And just think, in three years you may have a non-explosive graduation." He said before hugging her again. "And then I'll show you everywhere I went on my road trip." He promised.
Smiling she looked up at him from the hug. "Even that Miss Kiddie's place?"
"Only if you can convince Giles to chaperone." Xander said as Dawn looked back at the watcher as he slowly shook his head.
"Not even to keep the seal of Solomon secure." Giles stated bluntly, shattering Dawn's dreams of Xander in a thong.
As Dawn moved off in an attempt to change the Watcher's mind Xander turned to the last of the Scooby's.
"Willow I…" His carefully prepared speech was interrupted as the redhead stepped into a hug.
"I know why you have to go Xander, but please come back." She whispered before stepping back with a smile. "I don't think I could get through Charlie Brown's Halloween special without your snoopy dance."
Xander smiled again when his attention was drawn down the road to the figure slowly approaching.
"Tara?" he whispered drawing attention to the blonde.
"Tara are you okay?" Willow asked as the small group focused on the new arrival.
After several minutes to work up the courage she finally responded. "I… I need to go with you, Xander."
