September, 2000
Buffy felt relieved having told Giles everything that had been on her mind since Dracula; the darkness that intrigued but scared her, the fact that she needed help, that she needed him to be her Watcher again. It felt like a big deal.
But he was the one who had invited her over to talk, it must have been for a reason.
"You had something you wanted to say?" she asked.
"No... it's nothing," he replied, a faint smile playing on his face.
"Okay..." Buffy said, bemused. She reached for a cookie and leaned back against the arm of the couch. "Just wanna hang?"
"Uh, if you don't have any other plans..."
"I'm meeting Willow later, but till then..." She shrugged. They sat in silence for a moment. "You know what, it's nice out, let's walk."
As they walked Buffy and Giles started making plans for a new training regimen, Giles pitched new disciplines for Buffy to learn and listed off books he'd need to consult for ideas. The lawns they passed were deep green and the gardens overflowed with autumn flowers. They walked under tall trees with wide, arcing branches thick with leaves. Buffy realized Giles hardly ever looked at home outside in California, but strolling through the dappled light of a tree-lined street in late September seemed to suit him, it brought out the green in his eyes. And it was nice to see him getting excited over being a Watcher again.
"You always get so into this stuff," she said, an amused look in her eyes.
"Shouldn't I?" Giles asked.
"Yeah, don't get me wrong, it's great," Buffy explained. "I just never really got it before. But I think I'm starting to. We have a destiny, there's no getting around it. We should make the most of it."
"It's not a bad destiny to have."
"And I get to share it with you."
Willow was waiting on a bench outside the mall when Buffy ran up to her.
"Hey! I'm not late am I?"
"Not really." Willow waved away Buffy's question. "The more important question is, are you in shop-mode?"
"Definitely. Phasers set to shop."
"Why are you late though?"
Buffy smiled apologetically to her friend as they started to walk into the mall, "Ah, no reason, I was just talking to Giles."
Willow's face fell. "About what?"
"Upping his Watcher game. I feel like I've plateaued in the slaying realm and I need the help to level up."
"Oh! That's great!" Willow said, relieved, and her face broke into a wide grin. "I'm so happy for you!"
"Yeah, you really are," Buffy said suspiciously. "What's up?"
"Nothing! It's nothing," Willow insisted. Then a moment later blurted out, "I promised not to say anything, but Giles was planning to go back to England."
Buffy stopped in her tracks. "What?"
"He thought he wasn't helpful to you anymore, that you didn't need him. But he is and you do! So it's all good!" Willow smiled brightly.
Buffy felt like she did when her parents split up, and when Angel left her. She thought they loved her too, that them loving her meant something. "How could he leave me?"
"But he's not! He's staying now, you said so."
"Yeah... Yeah, it' s all good." Buffy nodded. Giles was staying... for as long as he had a job to do. She forced a smile. "I'm good. Let's hit those sales"