He heaved and shoved and pushed but still could not get the chest to move any more than a few inches in any direction. He finally gave up and draped his body over the bow top while he sucked in oxygen.

"Xander, are you quite well?" Giles studied the young man from the balcony where he was packing the contents of his wardrobe into a box. He was moving today and Xander had offered his help. Giles had only managed to get about an hour of work done before Xander needed refreshment. Looks like break time again he thought with a sigh.

Giles walked slowly down the stairs. Smiling, he peeled Xander off the chest and allowed the teen to collapse on the sofa. Giles sat next to him while the young man collected his thoughts, breath and things of that nature.

"Chloe said you had stamina. Do you or is it all directed one way?" Giles asked thrusting his hips minutely to illustrate.

"I don’t have the breath to argue, just go get me food, OK?"

Giles said nothing. He got up and went to the kitchen to make some tea. He glanced back at Xander and rooted around in his cupboards for the boy’s favourite biscuits. He had bought them especially for this occasion. Chloe had mentioned that Xander had eaten an entire packet. He was hooked.

Xander’s ears pricked up when he heard the rustle of a plastic wrapping being unwrapped and the delicious multiple thud of cookies hitting a plate. Then the smell and a small lump formed in his throat. The smell reminded him of Chloe, sweet and buttery vanilla. When Giles set the tea tray in front of Xander, he noticed the brightness of the boy’s eyes.

"Xander, you can’t get emotional over biscuits! For heaven’s sake. Just make believe she’s fighting you for the last one on the plate." Giles smiled and plucked one up hurriedly. Xander laughed so hard that he shed tears.

After his second cup of tea and fourth biscuit Xander was refreshed enough to hold a conversation.

"What the heck is in that chest, Giles, I couldn’t shift it. Is that the word?" Xander asked referring to ’shift’. Giles nodded. The tea was working it’s magic.

"Treasure. My boyhood treasures are in there. Everything that I owned before the age of ten when my destiny was proclaimed." He paused. "Would you like to see inside?" Giles voice was softer than usual because he was sharing a secret. Xander glanced toward the heavy wooden chest. It wouldn’t be scary stuff because Giles had been only ten. He smiled back at the Watcher.

"Yeah, only when we’ve finished and set up at the house, all right?"

Giles smiled nodding his approval of Xander’s plan. Together they managed to lift the chest and heave it into the back of the moving van. The rest of the day revolved around lifting heavy bookcases and box’s of books. Finally the only thing left in Giles’ apartment was the bed. Xander groaned, looking at the stairs and construction of the bed.

"What’s with this bed? Was the whole damn building built around it?" Xander quipped in exasperation.

"I’m not taking it, Xander. Let the next tenant have it." He hesitated. "Willow and I…" Xander’s head snapped round to glare at the Watcher.

"Willow’s going to help me choose another bed." Giles waited for Xander’s reaction. He was surprised when it came.

"Yeah, that one’s got too many memories, huh?" Xander grinned at him. "You gonna give it one more? I mean after I’ve gone? A Midnight tryst?" Xander grinned at Giles’ blush. Giles cleared his throat.

"Xander." He gestured with sideways jerk of his head. "In the van." The look in his eyes did not invite an argument. Xander leapt up into the front passenger seat. Giles left him there for a moment while he went back to the apartment to lock up.

He went inside and drifted round the rooms. He heard the echoes of voices and laughter. There were good and bad memories locked inside these walls. He sniffed the air. Buttery vanilla. That was Chloe. She had always had that scent. Honeysuckle was Willow and Buffy was all fire and snap with a ’guilty’ hint of chocolate. The last scent was roses and blood.

His expression hardened as his fingers closed round the bunch of door keys for the last time. He breathed his last breath and the room echoed with his sigh. He turned his back and locked the door.

Xander squirmed in the van and drummed his fingers on the dash. Finally through the wing mirror he saw Giles approach. He noticed something about the Watcher’s eyes. They glowed in the darkness. It was unnerving.

Giles opened the driver’s door and got in. Xander shifted away from him. The movement didn’t go unnoticed.

"What’s the matter, Xander, you look like you’ve seen a ghost." Xander nodded. He had paled considerably.

"Yep, an’ it’s you. Your eyes are glowing. Giles, what’s happened to your eyes?"

Giles put the ignition key in the lock but before turning it he opened the glove box to fish out a packet of mints he’d seen in there earlier. He popped one into his mouth and offered the packet to Xander. He declined.

"Well…" Xander urged.

"What? Oh that, my eyes glow because Angel mixed some of his blood in my food while I was staying with him. He was doing me a favour. I don’t have a human scent anymore. Buffy noticed straight off but you weren’t far behind. Do you remember my first day back at the library? Anyway, if we chat like this we’re never going to get home." Giles started the engine and they were off.

Giles had offered Xander a roof over his head because he didn’t want to go back home. As far as his parents knew, Xander had dropped out of High School to find himself, in England of all places! They had no idea that their son had been trained as a Watcher in his six months absence. Now he was back at the Hellmouths’ threshold ready to take on his new responsibilities. They would have been proud. Giles was. He was proud of all of them.

When they finally arrived at their new house they found a strange gathering outside. There were two beings carrying mops and dusters, brooms and rubbish sacks. Buffy and Willow. How did they know? Giles hadn’t told them that they would be moving today. He put the van in park and ran to hug the two girls.

"Willow! Buffy! How did you get here? I didn’t tell anyone."

Buffy smiled and gestured to Willow. Willow took a bow and Giles realised at once. Computer transferred moneys and deeds. Xander looked at Giles as he chatted animatedly with the girls. If only he could be that confident with women. Chloe had made him feel like he was the only man in the world. He would always compare everyone to her and they would come up lacking. He went round to the back of the van and unlocked the doors.

He heard a sound, a wailing sound whirling through the trees above his head. Looking up he saw a strange flying creature. It had both fur and feather with sharp claws and teeth. It had the body of a lion and the head of an eagle. It plunged earthward with a roar and a screech. It’s claws extended ready to rip Xander apart.

"DUCK!" Giles yelled as he hurled the splintered broom handle at the creature like a makeshift spear. Xander dropped covering his head. The creature landed beside him with the spear through its heart. Xander was breathing heavily. Giles brought him to his feet and dusted him down.

"That doesn’t look like a ’duck’ to me." Giles exploded into giggles, and hugged him.

"Don’t ever lose that humour Xander. Willow? Let me have one of those sacks, please, love. Griffin blood is poisonous. I wonder why it was flying so late in the season?"

"Griffin’s have a season? I didn’t know that. That’s interesting." Willow remarked as she gave Giles the sack. Xander was annoyed.

"Listen you two, I know I’m only the trainee but what the heck happened here. This big bird."

"Griffin." Willow and Giles corrected.

"Griffin. Hurtled out of the sky attacking me and you’re wondering about its migratory habits?" Xander held his head. He didn’t know he knew that word!

"Xander, I think you’d better have some tea." Giles picked up the rubbish sack containing the Griffin’s body and took it into the house. Buffy picked up the broom head from the front yard.

"Great! Now what am I going to sweep with?" Before following the others into the house, Buffy locked the doors of the removal van. The sky was ominously black and boiling with angry looking clouds.

End of part 1

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