This chapter contains brief warm fuzzies. Enjoy!

Chapter 5

Dawn told everyone they could split up for the rest of the day. They were all to meet back in front of the customs building at 7. Dawn had gone off with Jake and his family. Buffy was starting to feel a little upset at her sister's lack of attention towards her side of the guest list. But, it was Dawn's day. Heck, this was Dawn's week. No point in arguing with her. Besides, she was with Giles. And Willow, Mandy, Portia, and Alex. And that was most definitely of the good.

"Look, Mum!" Alex shouted while pointing at a poster on a wall. "Can we do that? Plleeeaaasssseee?"

Portia raised her brows. "A ghost tour? You want to go on a ghost tour?" He nodded enthusiastically. She giggled at his bouncing hair. "Well, if everyone else wants to go."

"I'm down," Amanda said.

"Yeah," said Willow. "That sounds pretty niffty. Buffy?"

"Nah. I get enough creepy crawly as it is. You guys go on ahead."

"Are you sure?" Buffy nodded. "What about you, Giles? Want to be a Ghostbuster?"

He chuckled. "I think I will sit this one out as well. But please let me know if you see anything of interest."

"Can you even slay a ghost?" Portia asked aloud.

"We did once before," Buffy stated. "But that was weird even for us."

"Oh, it's easy," Mandy said excitingly. "You just have to salt and burn the bones."

"Oooookaaaay," Portia drew out. "The next tour begins in 7 minutes. Should we go in?"

"Yes!" Alex shouted. She opened the door and he ran in.

"How did you know about the salt and burning?" Willow asked her wife as they walked into the building.

"Well, I met these brothers once..." the door closed behind her.

Buffy turned to Giles. Just the two of them now. She was good with that. Giles had been thinking a similar thought and held his hand out to her. She wrapped her fingers around his hand and they resumed their walking.

They visited the Powder Magazine Museum. It used to store gunpowder during the Revolutionary War. Giles was more interested in it than Buffy was. She then accused him of being a spy for "the mother country."

He said if he wished to take down "the Colonies", all he would have to do is turn off the internet. "There would be complete chaos. Rioting in the street. You lot would manage to take your own selves out."

They found their way to Waterfront park. Buffy tried to get Giles into the splash fountain, but he refused. He watched as she removed her sandals and danced around the sprinkling water. She came back to him all wet and hugged him, wetting his shirt as well. "Oh, lovely," he said dryly, but still wrapped his arms around her.

She took his hand and they walked to the end of the pier. They stood side by side, looking out over the water. He caught Buffy shivering lightly as the cool ocean breeze greeted them. "Cold?"

She pushed her way in front of him and pulled his arms around her. "I'm cozy now," she said over her should to him. Their eyes locked. They stared at each other for a few moments. Buffy's eyes moved to his lips and quickly back to his eyes. He looked away from her and back towards the ocean. She watched him a couple extra seconds before looking back as well.

Giles closed his eyes and just felt her in his arms. He gently tightened his hold on her. She squeezed his forearm back. He leaned his head against hers. She made tiny circles on his arm with her thumb. He turned his head and nuzzled her hair, breathing in the scent of her spray, reawakened by the water fountain. She turned her head slowly and he nuzzled her cheek. Then she nuzzled his nose. She closed her eyes and-.

"Hey guys!" Both Buffy and Giles jumped at the sudden bubble of energy that was Grace. "What ya guys doing?"

Buffy pulled away from Giles and turned towards the girl. She could see Ethan back a few feet, acting as though he wasn't trying to keep an eye on his little sister. "Just enjoying the view. What are you two up to?"

"Oh, we were just at the big pineapple fountain. It's pretty cool. Have you seen it?"

Giles placed his hands in his pockets. "No. Not yet." He glanced at Buffy who was still focused on Grace.

"Oh my god! Come on! You've got to see it. Its iconic!" She grabbed Buffy by the hand and started pulling her forward. Buffy reached out and grabbed Giles' arm, pulling him along as well. Ethan was behind him.

"Wow," said Buffy. "That's quite the grip you've got there."

"Gracie, careful." It was the first time Giles had heard the boy speak actual words.

Grace suddenly stopped and turned towards Buffy, who also stopped. Giles ran into her. "Sorry," he mumbled.

Grace's eyes were wide and looking at Buffy. "Sorry." She suddenly let go of her hand. "I tend to get a bit excited." Buffy opened and closed her hand and lightly shook it to get the blood flowing again. Giles brow furrowed as he saw and looked up at Grace. She smiled brightly again. "Come on!" She turned and headed back to the fountain.

Buffy and Giles shared a glance. "Problem?" Ethan asked.

"No. No, of course not. She just has a lot of energy and I'm kind of dragging about." Buffy started to follow after Grace again. Giles watched her go. He could sense Ethan next to him now. Turning his head, he saw the boy staring at him with his arms crossed. At least Giles assumed he was staring behind the sunglasses. Giles started to ask the boy what was wrong, then decided against it. He had enough trouble on his mind at the moment.

They caught up with the girls at the fountain. It did, in fact, resemble a pineapple. The girls were standing in it, giggling and kicking water at each other. Grace spotted Ethan. "Ethan! Get a picture of us!" Ethan pulled his camera from his back pocket and took a photo. "Mr. Giles! Come stand with Buffy for a pic!" She hopped out of the fountain and took his hand, bringing him forward.

"I'm not getting in there."

"Yeah, Grace. Don't even try. I'll just stand," Buffy stepped upon the edge, "here." She smiled up at Giles who was now standing next to her. "Come on, Giles." She turned his head to make him look at her. She smiled. He brushed a stray hair from her face, hand on her cheek. "Look happy," she said.

He gave a small smile. "I am."

They heard the camera click, bringing him back to the fact that they were no longer alone. "Another!" Grace exclaim. Buffy wrapped both arms around Giles' waist and put her head on his chest. He put his arm around her should and they both smiled for the camera. Grace squealed. "You guys are too stinking cute together!"

"I don't think they're together," Ethan leaned over and said.

"Well, they should be."

A ringing sound came from Giles' front pocket. He looked as surprised as Buffy. He pulled out his phone. "You have a cell? My how things have changed," Buffy teased.

"It's Andrew. Excuse me a moment." He walked a few feet away and answered.

"Want to see the pictures?" Buffy nodded and walked over to look at the screen.

The first one she saw was the last one they took. Her arms were around him and his around her. Both had genuine smiles and you could see the fountain perfectly. The next one made Buffy smile. She had one hand on his waist, the other on his shoulder. His hand was cupping her cheek. He actually did appear to be happy.

"We took this one of you guys, too."The third photo was a surprise. It was her and Giles standing on the pier when he had been nuzzling her hair. They beauty of it made Buffy gasp. If she hadn't known better, she would have thought that was a couple in love.

"Could I get copies of these sometime?" she asked quietly, still staring at the picture.

"Of course."

Giles rejoined the group. "Sorry about that."

"Everything okay in Merry Ol'?" Buffy inquired.

"Oh, yes. Just Andrew."

"Riiight," Buffy said skeptically.

Giles cleared his throat. "So, what are we doing now?"

"Well," Grace looked to Ethan, "we were thinking of visiting a cemetery."

"Why?"

"Whatever for?" Giles asked at the same time as Buffy's question.

Grace shrugged. "Ethan wants to. And he has put up with me all day, so I think he deserves it." She grinned at her brother. "You guys wanna come?"

Buffy and Giles looked at one another. She looked at him expectantly. He tipped his head and shrugged. She raised her brows. He nodded. She smiled and looked back at the kids. "Yeah. We're in."

They started walking and a few blocks down, Buffy and Giles fell back a little. "I thought you wanted a break from the 'creepy crawly'?" he asked.

"They were gonna go with or without us. I feel better if we are with them."

"It's the middle of a bright sunny day. In town. What do you think will happen?"

Buffy thought about it for a moment. She really just wanted to be in a graveyard with Giles again. The nostalgia was too much to resist. Why she couldn't just tell him that, she wasn't sure. She had nearly kissed him on that pier. She tried telling herself it was a heat of the moment thing, but the feeling didn't go away. Then at the pineapple fountain when they were getting ready for the picture. She had just hoped he would pull her to him. Then she thought of Tony and began to feel guilty. Realizing she had been silent a while and Giles was expecting an answer still, she said the first thing that came to mind. "Sex trafficking."

Giles chuckled. "Sex trafficking?"

"Sure! I mean, we are right next to the ocean. Easy boat access. And Ethan's a cute kid."

"Thank you!" he called over his shoulder, causing Buffy and Giles to laugh.

A few blocks later, they came to the graveyard of Circular Congregational Church. "Wow," Buffy sighed, and ran her fingers over a tombstone. "It's beautiful." She looked around. Beautifully carved stones with flowers at their bases. Some were marbled green with moss, some crawling with ivy.

"It's thought to be the oldest graveyard in Charleston. The earliest grave is from 1695." Ethan took out his camera once again and started taking pictures.

"Amazing," Buffy whispered as her fingers brushed over a carving of an angelic face with wings over the stone.

"It's called a soul effigy," Giles said from beside her.

She smirked. "You would know that."

"There's one on my mother's marker."

She looked up at him. "I'm sorry."

"Whatever for?"

"For... not knowing, I guess." They started walking down the path.

"Buffy, she's been gone for... good lord. 45 years."

She hugged his arm as they walked. "How did she die?"

"The most ruthless evil there is. Cancer."

"Tell me about her."

Giles sighed and ran his free hand through his hair. "I'm afraid there isn't much I can tell. She had a lovely smile, an even lovelier singing voice. She used to sing in the church choir. Until..." he trailed off. "She still went every week, if she wasn't in hospital. But she never sang. Not even at home. Unfortunately, that's all I remember."

"Does that make you sad?"

"A bit. It used to. Drove me to... things of which you are mostly familiar." They walked on in silence, taking in the beauty around them. Not far ahead of them, Ethan continued taking photos with Grace uncharacteristically silent, following him.

"I can't remember mom's voice," Buffy admitted.

"Oh, Buffy, I'm sorry." He placed his free hand on the arm she had wrapped around his. "I know how hard that must be on you."

"I keep thinking that I wish we had more home movies. But then I realize it wouldn't matter. They would have been swallowed up with the town anyway."

"We may lose some of our memories, but we will never forget the feeling of love we carried for them."

"That was deep, Giles."

"Well, I am a very deep man." They looked at one another then silently laughed. The sound of a camera click caused them to look up. Ethan and Grace grinned at them. "I forget how annoying teenagers can be." Giles winked at Grace and she giggled.

"St. Philips graveyard is right over there," Ethan pointed. "Wanna go?"

"Yeah, sounds fun. These headstones are gorgeous." Buffy brushed her fingers over a small medallion of the occupant's portrait. "The ones today are so plain. Impersonal."

"Our views of death and the dead have changed over the centuries. That is reflected in the headstones themselves." Giles moved away from Buffy and across the grass. "See this here? It's most likely from the late 1690's to the early 1700's. The skull and crossbones was the norm. Then here," he walked a few rows back, "the crossbones were replaced with wings. That was around the early 1700s. It indicated more of our journey from this plane to the next. By the mid-1700s, the look of the skull changed all together from representing death itself to – to showing what we hope for our loved ones and eventually ourselves." Giles stood with his hands in his pockets and three sets of eyes staring at him.

Buffy was smirking at him. "You enjoyed that, didn't you?"

"A tad, yes."

"Don't give many lectures from behind a desk, huh?"

"Not as such, no."

"It was impressive," Ethan offered.

"Does he do that a lot?" Grace asked Buffy.

"Oh yeah. He's pretty much knowledge guy."

"Cool," she said, almost distractedly. She looked at her brother. There was a question in her eyes that Buffy couldn't place. Giles had already turned and started looking closer at other markers and didn't see it. Ethan carefully shook his head. She gave a pleading look and he put his arm around her.

"Is everything okay?" Buffy asked. Giles turned around at the question.

"Yeah," Ethan said plainly.

"If something is happening, you can talk to us about it. Believe me, we are far from being judgy."

"We're fine." Ethan ushered Grace away and towards the exit. Buffy and Giles shared a look, unsure of what to do. Finally, he just held out his hand to her. She took it and they followed the kids out.

After a silent trip through St. Philips, They decided it was time for dinner. They found The Griffon, a traditional English pub. Giles had his doubts but agreed anyway.

Inside there were dollar bills stapled all over the walls. Most of them were decorated with the patrons hometowns. Buffy gave a dollar to each Ethan and Grace to decorate. As they waited for their food, the four of them decorated the cash. When they had finished, Buffy and Giles shared their artwork. Both had written Sunnydale.

The food was tasty. Even Giles had agreed. The waitress took it as a big compliment as she flirted with him. Buffy did her best to ignore it and the feelings it was bringing up within her.

When they left the pub, Buffy walked ahead of the others. She had her arms crossed, head looking down at the uneven brick road. The customs building was only a couple blocks away. There was ten minutes until they were due, but some were already there. Grace and Ethan went to join their dad and siblings. Buffy stood with her arms still crossed, staring at the customs building.

Giles walked up behind her and held her upper arms. "She was just trying to get a bigger tip, you know."

"Oh, she wanted your tip alright," Buffy mumbled.

Giles chuckled. "Buffy, you know it was nothing."

She turned on him quickly, causing him to release her. "I know that," she snapped. "And it doesn't matter if it did or not. It's not any of my business, Giles. I have a boyfriend, remember?"

Giles took a step back. "How could I forget?" He took a couple more steps. "I'm sorry." He turned and walked away.

Buffy almost called out to him. She knew she was being harsh. She was just as guilty, if not more so, in today's events. She was the one with a boyfriend, after all. She decided that they both just needed a few moments alone so she sat on a stone bench near the iron fence and waited for her sister.