Giles was actually feeling better than he had in a long time as he drove back to his flat just outside of Sunnydale, Xander was back, home and safe, and happy with his friends, and had somehow brought home a super powered girlfriend with him, not to mentioned gained powers of his own in the process that dwarfed most other self-proclaimed heroes on the planet.

He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but Sunnydale actually felt safer tonight, like there was an air of hope in the night where there had been nothing for so long. It felt nice to know that Buffy actually had some real support now on her nightly duties, someone that could actually effectively help her with nightly patrols should anything arise beyond the powers of a single slayer.

As he parked his car next to the sidewalk he allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction, knowing that his 'children' were safe, protected and now protecting the town better than they ever had done before. It was as if the universe had given them a little reward for all the good they had done so far, as the cost of a curse to Xander of course, but from what he had seen of the young man so far, a bearable curse that he weathered with ease.

Walking down the steps towards his flat the smile vanished from his face as he noticed the lights were on inside his flat, as he was meticulous in turning off all electrical devices before leaving the premises, he could only come to the conclusion that he had uninvited guests. Top of the list was instantly Quentin and his council goons, come to cause Buffy more trouble now that Wesley had effectively left Sunnydale.

Pushing the door open with his foot he confirmed that the door had in fact been opened without a key, though a passing inspection of the lock showed no sign of breaking or entering as he walked through carefully.

"Hello?" Giles asked out loud into the lit area, silently picking up a sword from its holding place next to the door and gripping it tightly. There was a strange smell in the air that did in fact remind him of Council Headquarters as he walked into the living room, the sword in his hand ready for action at a moment's notice.

"Rupert Giles,"

Giles span around at the voice, pointing his sword directly at the man responsible for breaking into his house. The man seemed to be in his early forties, bald and coloured, wearing a simple black trench coat and an eye patch across his left eye.

"You might do me the pleasure of your name, as you obviously know mine, after breaking into my house of course it's only polite." Giles bit out in a clipped tone.

"Nick Fury," The man said simply as he took another pull on a very thick cigar, if the smell was anything to go by, it was the same brand that Quentin used to favour.

"And why you saw fit to break into my flat?" Giles asked, the sword in his hand not wavering from where it was pointed at the man's neck.

"To speak to you," The man said simply. "If I wanted you harmed, I could have simply have shot you when you entered or when you were exiting your vehicle." He smiled disarmingly as he blew a cloud of smoke out of his mouth into the air. "Despite which, you are a man Alexander holds in great esteem, and I would not wish to turn his ire towards myself, having invested a large sum of money into the young man of late."

"You're the one who bought him the house," Giles said in recognition as he slowly lowered the sword.

"Of course," Fury said with a smile. "Once I looked up his home life, and paid Mr and Mrs Harris a small visit, I felt it necessary to arrange for suitable accommodation for him."

"For which I am thankful of," Giles nodded. "His parents?"

"Beaten and incarcerated," Fury said simply. "The house will be sold, the proceeds paid directly into Alexander's bank account." He paused, taking another pull from the cigar. "Alexander is under my protection now; I will personally see to it that his parents are never freed from the maximum security penal colony they now inhabit."

"A fitting end from what Xander told me of them," Giles nodded in approval.

"After reading up on you, I do find it hard to believe you didn't take care of matters yourself," Fury paused as he blew the smoke out. "Ripper."

"You are well informed," Giles frowned at the use of his old nickname. "I can count on one hand the people that called me that and are still alive to talk about it, none of which would talk to you I am sure."

"I can be persuasive," Fury said with a small smile.

"As can I." Giles said simply as he stared across at the interloper to his home.

"You said you came here to talk?"

"Down to brass tacs then," Fury nodded. "I can appreciate that. I'm here to clean house, after I looked into Alexander's history, I looked into his acquaintances, namely you and Miss Summers. The current Slayer I believe."

"If you wouldn't mind," Giles nodded as he walked to the kitchen and returned with an ash tray for the man who took it with a simple nod.

"I know of your Watchers Council, I know of the deal passed with the British Royal family to secure your own criminal record. And I know you are currently out of work." Fury finished off as he tapped the cigar ash into the provided ash tray.

"You expect me to be surprised by your level of knowledge?" Giles frowned, inwardly he was surprised, not everyone could access that level of information on him, it would have taken someone very high in the echelons of international politics to get access to that sort of information, but he wasn't going to give the man the satisfaction of seeing that.

"Not particularly," Fury shrugged. "I know you are trained in various firearms use, martials arts, the black arts, ancient weapons and currently hold a doctorate in mythology and occult history." He paused, taking another pull from the cigar. "Would you like me to continue?"

"I'd rather you didn't actually," Giles frowned at him.

"Good, I was getting bored," Fury smiled over. "I am currently in charge of a relatively new initiative known as SHIELD, despite being only a year or so old, we do not lack in funding or resolve. I am currently backing Alexander to attend college here, while he works for me. I would like to offer you the same."

"I'm afraid I'm a little old for college," Giles said with a wry smile.

"I fought in the second world war, who's counting?" Fury said as he grinned around the cigar. "I originally offered Jennifer the prospect of opening a law firm in Sunnydale, however, that was before I looked into this town's history and death rate."

"I assume you know those figures are factually incorrect." Giles said simply, moving back towards the kitchen to fetch his emergency stash of cigarettes from the drawer there, the smell of smoke in the air rekindling his desire to smoke himself.

"Naturally," Fury nodded. "They fail to take into account the missing persons turned into vampires, the undead or demonic population of the town."

"Then you know all you need to," Giles said as he tapped out a cigarette with practiced ease and lit it with a match.

"I can do this two ways Mister Giles, one, you come and work for me. Bring in a hefty salary in return for teaching my agents how to combat the supernatural menace and keep the Hellmouth safe and secure. Two, I bring in my own team and sweep Sunnydale clear of any demonic influence, it won't be clean and it won't be pretty, but it'll do the job."

"And what of Buffy?" Giles asked, wondering if he should just let the man do as he claims he could, and erase the demonic population of Sunnydale for good.

"We'll take control, offer her the equipment and funding she needs to do the job effectively," Fury said simply. "She'll be retasked and sent wherever I decide, whenever and whenever I decide."

"And of Xander and Willow?" Giles asked as he blew out some cigarette smoke into the already cloudy air.

"Alexander is already in my employ," Fury shrugged. "He will help in erasing this town from the map, then will be posted elsewhere to deal with any other demonic threats. Miss Rosenberg, I have no interest in. She can finish out her college life and do whatever she chooses. SHIELD has no interest in her."

"They need each other," Giles frowned at the options Fury had laid out before him. "They are more a family than any of them have had before."

"With you as the father," Fury said simply as he ground out the cigar in the ash tray before placing it on the table in the middle of the room. "I already know your answer, why do you insist on debating the issue?"

"I may surprise you," Giles frowned over at him.

"You'd be the first," Nick smirked back. "I'm not asking for much, once a week I will send a team here, four men. You teach them and train them in the basics of demonic fighting and send them back to me. For this, you'll be paid well and become a valued agent yourself."

"You make it sound like you haven't already decided for me." Giles ground out as he stubbed the cigarette out in the ash tray.

"Now you're getting it," Fury grinned at him. "The agents will be here Tuesday until Saturday. Teach them what you can in that time. They are not to help the slayer and will have their own assignments."

"Will they offer assistance if needed?" Giles asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Naturally," Fury nodded. "Though with a Slayer and two Hulks patrolling the town, I doubt four soldiers will make that much of a difference, do you?"

"One man can make a difference," Giles said firmly.

"So we're on the same page then," Fury said in parting as he simply walked out of the door and closed it behind him, leaving Giles alone to his thoughts.

"Oh my god, I'm going to puke!" Buffy clasped her hand over her mouth as Xander placed her gently down on the hulk sized bed.

Patrol had gone without a hitch, Xander had sent two move vampires into orbit before realising that hitting them disabled them for long enough to either stake or decapitate them. Though he had been quite upset when he realised he'd actually stomped on one by accident and ended up with dust all over his feet.

So they'd come back early to unwind and talk about their plans for college and the coming week, which had quickly degenerated into Buffy and Jen having a pillow fight to which the bedroom was now effectively covered in a light smattering of feathers. One of which had caused Xander to sneeze, which was why the bed sheets were now in the trash can outside ready to be burnt.

After that Buffy had unwisely challenged Xander to an arm-wrestling competition, while Jennifer was sat on the bed telling Oz and Willow tales about Tony Stark that were making Willow blush as bright as her hair. The arm wrestling competition had gone according to plan, until Xander actually got bored of lying there while Buffy used every angle and conceivable technique of cheating she could to win the match. Instead he'd simply flipped his arm, causing Buffy to fall into his hand, which he then started moving about the room quickly, causing Buffy to hang onto his fingers for dear life while he spun her around like a puppet.

Which was why Buffy was now doing a passable Hulk impression herself, complete with green skin and heading towards the bathroom in a vaguely zig-zag fashion.

"That was mean," Willow laughed over at Xander. "Funny, but mean."

"She'll get you back for that you know," Jennifer laughed over from where she was laid on the bed.

"I was worth it," Xander laughed as he moved to sit on the bed.

"You can all sleep here tonight if you want," Jennifer offered. "There's spare rooms across the hall, I think they've all got bedding already sorted."

"Are you sure?" Willow asked, truth be told she was having more fun tonight than she'd had in the entire summer holidays. Xander was back and proving as fun as ever, his new girlfriend was so much fun to be around, she was big and green but strangely attractive, even to her. She'd put it down to how carefree and fun she seemed to be, such a strong person and as big hearted as Xander was.

"Of course," Jennifer smiled. "It's late, and I'm sure none of you are even tired yet, so we may as well make a night of it."

"Cool," Oz nodded in appreciation.

"I'm game," Xander grinned. "Though we may need more food, starting to get hungry again."

"It's the metabolism," Jennifer smiled. "You can eat pretty much whatever you want now, just as long as you keep your energy levels up."

"No fair," Willow pouted, adding this on to the growing list of why Jennifer was so lucky. "You're like the perfect woman or something."

"Willow, no trying to steal my girlfriend," Xander warned her mockingly, waving his finger at her with a grin.

"And what if I steal her?" Jennifer laughed, rolling over and capturing Willow around the waist before pulling her in for a kiss.

"Did… did she… are they..." Xander stammered out as he watched his girlfriend kiss his best friend.

"Yeah," Oz looked on with a nod. "Kinda hot."

"Extremely," Xander nodded in appreciation as Jennifer broke the kiss, leaving Willow flustered and blushing terribly. "Next time you do that, can we have some warning, or a camera to capture the moment please."

Jennifer just laughed as she stood up and made her way over to Xander, kissing him as passionately as she had just done to Willow. "Better?" She asked with a smile as she ran her hands over his body.

"Still want to see that again," Xander grinned, earning him a glare from both Willow and Jennifer. "What, it was hot." He grinned again as Jennifer smacked him on the chest.

"I want ice cream," Jennifer smiled. "Then a movie?" She volunteered the idea.

"Sounds like a plan," Xander nodded as Buffy came back into the room. "Feeling alright there?" He grinned as she walked over and slapped him on the stomach.

"Not funny," She glared up at him. "And I still couldn't beat you."

"It's the radiation," Jennifer supplied by way of explanation. "Your strength is supernaturally based, ours is science. The gamma radiation that mutates our bodies gives us more than enough strength to throw a car from here to the other side of town." She shrugged as Buffy pouted. "Just the way we are I guess."

"So not fair," Buffy pouted again, sticking out her bottom lip as far as she could.

"We're getting ice cream," Willow interrupted as a sort of ice breaker. "Then a movie, and Jennifer said we can stay the night if we want."

"Slumberparty?" Buffy perked up at the idea. "Rocky road?" She asked, turning to Jennifer this time.

"I'll see what's in the freezer," She laughed as she made her way out of the room and downstairs.

"She's cool," Buffy admitted with a smile to Xander as she moved back over to the bed.

"Yeah," Xander said dreamily. "I don't know how I got so lucky, god knows what she sees in me. I mean, have you heard her ex's? Tony Stark for one, god, how do I measure up to a multibillionaire?"

"Well, I'd say you're a bit taller for one," Buffy quipped with a smile.

"Hah hah," Xander laughed dryly at her. "I mean, I think she even dated one of the fantastic four, or she knows them pretty well at least. I'm no superhero Buff, how do I even compare with these guys. She even dated some hotshot lawyerin LA for christsake."

"But she came home with you," Oz added sagely, causing everyone in the room to turn to him.

"My boyfriend's so smart," Willow laughed as she kissed Oz softly on the lips.

"He's right," Buffy shrugged. "She's here with you, I mean; you've got a house together and everything. It's that a little fast?"

"I don't know," Xander sighed as he sat on the bed. "I mean, sure it's fast, but it just kinda feels right you know, and it's like we can both be here without wrecking the place, can you imagine me trying to walk around your house like this?" Xander gestured to himself for emphasis.

"Mom's insurance wouldn't cover Xander-damage," Buffy said with a nod.

"Or my parents, god, can you imagine how they'd react?" Xander sighed as he slumped back on the bed, causing it to shake and bounce the others for a bit before settling down. "With me and Jen, it's right, it's like we click somehow, like someone up there wants us to be together."

"You sound pretty sure," Willow said with a grin as she saw Jennifer in the doorway listening in, her finger on her lips indicating she wanted to listen.

"I am," Xander said with a smile. "Not because she saved my life, it's the way she sings along to cheesy country songs in the car, the way she sees people, like they're better than they are. She's a real hero; I just hope I can be good enough for her."

"I'm sure you are," Willow smiled as Jennifer sneaked into the room on tiptoes, a huge tub of mint choc chip ice cream in her hand and a collection of spoons in the other. "If you're not, I can always steal her off of you."

"Yeah... hey!" Xander exclaimed as he figured out what Willow had just said, shortly before there was a very cold feeling on his stomach that caused him to buck off the bed, nearly sending everyone flying as Jennifer dropped the tub of ice cream onto his stomach. "What was that for?" He pouted up as he pulled Jennifer down on top of him.

"Fun," Jennifer grinned down as she kissed him. "Now stop worrying about why me and you are together, and just enjoy it."

"You... you were listening?" Xander asked her before turning to Willow and Buffy. "And you guys didn't tell me?" He glared at them both before turning to Oz. "Traitor." He muttered.

"My allegiance is with the redhead," Oz commented with a smile and shrug.

"You're all traitors," Xander commented as Jennifer kissed him again.

"Ok, so we've got ice cream, there's cookie dough downstairs in the cupboard as well if we finish this," Jennifer smiled as she handed out spoons and tore the lid of the ice cream with ease.

"Finish it?" Buffy said in awe, looking at the ten litre tub of ice cream. "I'm in heaven right guys, I died over summer and no one told me right?"

"No," Jennifer laughed. "I could finish one of these on my own while watching a movie, there's another one in the freezer as well."

"How do you feel about lodgers?" Buffy asked in as innocent voice as she could manage, while eying the tub of ice cream hungrily.

"Movie?" Willow asked as Jennifer and Buffy quickly dig their spoons into the ice cream and started devouring it.

"Something cheesy," Xander commented as he sat up. "Do we have videos or…"

"The TV's are all linked to Tony's collection," Jennifer smiled over. "He likes to digitise things, makes them easier to access for him."

"You're so lucky," Willow grinned over at Xander and Jennifer as she leaned forward to help herself to a spoon full of the ice cream.

"I know," Jennifer laughed. "A cheesy musical, a classic." She paused before turning to the TV. "Access video database."

"Accessing," The British voice of the computer system came over the speakers. "Range?"

"Musicals," Jennifer said with a grin. "Little Shop of Horrors."

"Good choice," Oz nodded in approval. "Cheese rating, nine."

Jennifer flopped back on the bed as the TV screen was filled with the opening credits, sitting the ice cream in front of her so everyone could have easy access to it, though her and Buffy did most of the eating while Xander fell asleep half way through the movie.

All in all, it was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Fury smiled to himself as he walked out of Rupert Giles flat and up the steps onto the street outside, the wind pulling his jacket around in the warm Californian night air.

A black sedan pulled up by the sidewalk and a young man with red hair exited the car and walked over to stand next to him as he lit up a fresh cigar "He went for it?"

"Naturally," Fury nodded as he blew out a cloud of smoke. "He's as protective over Summers as the reports said."

"Good to hear our time on Travers wasn't wasted." The main said with a small smile.

"Not at all," Fury nodded. "Keep an eye on this Council of theirs; I don't like what I've seen of them so far, they might be a problem later on."

"Isolate and take over?" The man asked as he moved to get back in the car.

"Not yet," Fury shook his head. "Leave them, but get me the information on the other slayer they have, I don't trust Travers as far as I could spit him."

"I'll have it in the morning," The man said with a textbook salute before he got back in the car and drove off, leaving Fury standing under a streetlight with his cigar.

"Curiouser and curiouser," Fury commented to himself as he began to walk down into the centre of Sunnydale town, it was a quiet night and it wasn't as if he was any stranger to combat or was unarmed.

He was barely ten yards down the road and about to cross to the other side when a peculiar sound caused him to actually look up into the night sky. The bemused expression across his face looked even stranger around the thick cigar perched in his lips, which promptly dropped to the ground as his eye told him it was in fact a man falling from the sky towards him.

The cigar hit the ground and scattered fiery ash around, which coincidentally is what happened to the man as he impacted the asphalt road with enough force to leave a dent before exploding into ash which was blown away in the wind.

Fury stared at the sight for a moment before blinking and picking up the cigar and dusting off the end of it. "It really does rain damn vampires here then," He commented to himself as he continued the walk into town, puffing on the cigar as he walked.

Xander smiled to himself as he woke up, sunlight streaming through the open window across the room onto the bed where he was laying with Jennifer in his arms. The first thing he noticed was that she wasn't dwarfing him like she normally did, a quick glance down told him that he was still in his Hulk form and was comfortably cuddling Jennifer without any problem.

"Morning," Jennifer muttered out a bit sleepily as she kissed him softly on the forehead.

"Hey," Xander nodded and kissed her back. "You know, this is the first time I've gone to sleep and woke up like this." He smiled. "Yay me."

"I told you it would get easier with time," Jennifer smiled at him. "You're getting better with your control as well."

"Yeah," Xander nodded, remembering how easily he'd been punching the vampires out last night, he'd been careful to pull his punches after the first few vampires had ended up in orbit, so now he had a good feel for how hard he could hit them without liquefying them. "Control good," He nodded sagely.

"So, what do you want to do today?" She asked as she propped herself up in bed and idly stroked his chest with one finger.

"Is staying in bed all day an option?" Xander grinned at her.

"Afraid not," Jennifer laughed. "You need to go back to your parents at some point, pick up your stuff. And I need to talk to Nick about this law firm thing, find out exactly what he's planned for me."

"It's Sunday," Xander grumbled. "Doesn't the guy take a day off?"

"I think he took christmas off," Jennifer shrugged. "Once, I think."

"Ugh, fine," Xander grumbled to himself as he pushed the duvet off and climbed out of bed. "You think the others are up yet?"

"I heard someone moving about earlier, might have just been using the bathroom though," Jennifer said with a smile as she watched Xander stretch in the morning light, the soft sunlight playing over his form as he moved.

"Ok," Xander nodded as he pulled on the stretchy pants that Reed had given him. "You know, we're going to need more of these, one pair isn't going to work when we have to wash them and all that."

"I'll ask," Jennifer shrugged. She'd always had a few leotards hanging around that Janet designed for her, so having just one did present a problem. "Breakfast?"

"Hmm, and coffee," Xander sighed happily. "Shower first though,"

"Hmm, you read my mind," Jennifer purred out as she got out of bed slowly and smirked at him.

"Later," Xander laughed as Jennifer kissed his neck and started running her hands down his stomach. "Not when we've got people over."

"Spoilsport," Jennifer pouted, slapping him lightly on the ass. "Fine, you shower, I'll put breakfast on. Pancakes and syrup sound good?"

"Perfect," Xander nodded as he kissed her once more before opening the bedroom door and moving to the bathroom.

Jennifer just smiled to herself as she watched him leave the room, things were actually good here, surprisingly good. She was happy with Xander and could actually see a relationship progressing further than the fooling around they had been doing so far. It was nice, last night was nice, being around his friends who didn't treat him or her differently because of how they looked, or wanted anything from her.

She'd been part of teams before, and had lovers before, but they'd all fallen through or disappointed her somehow, for some reason, she couldn't see that happening with Xander. Sure, he had his share of faults, and a self-esteem problem a mile wide, but she was sure she could help him with that. It was like a real family here, one she'd automatically been accepted into, even his best friend, Willow, had accepted her and seemed to be really happy for him, which was definitely a strange sensation as in the past, her lovers family and friends, generally avoided her or downright hated her for what she was.

"You never know, this might be the one," She laughed to herself as she pulled on a dressing gown from the wardrobe and walked out of the room, heading down the hallway to the spare bedrooms to see if anyone else was up yet.

"Morning?" She asked quietly as she knocked on the first door politely.

"We're up," Willow's voice came from inside.

"I'm making breakfast, you two want any?" She asked as she pushed the door open to see Willow and Oz lazing on the bed talking. The sight was quite comedic actually as the bed was the same size as the other beds in the house, Hulk sized, meaning it stretched out around them like a small swimming pool.

"I could eat," Oz nodded in appreciation.

"Famished," Willow said with a smile. "Do you need any help?"

"I'm good thanks," Jennifer smiled in thanks for the offer though. "Just come down when you're ready." She nodded as she closed the door but stopped half way through. "Do you know if Buffy's up yet?" She asked with a smile.

"Yeah, she came in earlier, said she was going to play in the gym for a bit," Willow explained easily.

"Ah ok then," Jennifer nodded. "I'll see you downstairs." She smiled as she closed the door behind her and headed downstairs, hearing the shower running behind the closed door of the bathroom on her way down.

Sure enough as she reached the main floor and walked into the kitchen, the door leading to downstairs was open and the lights on. Deciding to talk to Buffy before she started making breakfast she walked down to see how she was getting on down there.

As she reached the bottom on the stairs she smiled, instead of using the weights or punchbags, Buffy was on one of the large blue mats running through some sort of martial arts kata, with a strip of cloth over her eyes to act as a blindfold.

The skill and precision of the kata left Jennifer struck with awe, she'd heard stories from Xander about how Buffy was this fantastic warrior for the side of good, this mystical chosen one with the strength and skill to match the vampires and demons. His words not hers. But so far she'd only seen the Californian girl exterior, a bubbly young girl who loved life and her friends. She'd seen a bit of her strength the previous night when she was testing the weight machines, but that didn't compare to the skill she was seeing here.

"Morning," Buffy said chirpily, turning to Jennifer without removing her blindfold.

"Morn… how did you know I was here?" Jennifer asked in shock as Buffy took off the blindfold and tucked it into the waistband of her pants.

"Heard you," Buffy shrugged. "You and Xan, you both got pretty strong heart beats, could hear them a mile off. And since he 'thuds' when he walks, and you came down the stairs pretty quietly, wasn't hard to guess."

"I see," Jennifer smiled over, mentally adding super hearing to the list of powers the young slayer had at her disposal. "Can I ask, what was that? It looked familiar but…" She trailed off, trying to figure out what martial art the slayer was actually using there.

"Tang Soo Do," Buffy smiled back. "Some fancy martial art Giles was teaching me, Korean, I think, or Tibetan, somewhere over there." She shrugged as she tried to remember what else Giles had told her about the art.

"It's beautiful," Jennifer nodded in approval. "I could see your muscles working as you pushed, it must take a lot of control to focus like that."

"The blindfold helps," Buffy smiled as she walked over. "Giles says it's good for meditation and 'spiritual growth'," She put airquotes around the last words with her fingers and a smile. "It's good though, helps me relax."

"I'd love for you to show me sometime," Jennifer smiled, thinking that any martial art that could help a slayer focus would definitely be beneficial towards herself, it would also be good to actually train with someone else, most of the time when she went to a gym or had people over to train with her at home, they were only interested in showing off for her, or gawking at her body while she trained. She got the picture that with Buffy, she wouldn't have to worry about either of those things.

"Sure," Buffy smiled widely at the thought of having someone to train with. "I could get Giles to teach us, he knows so much about this stuff."

"I'm seeing that," Jennifer laughed. "I'm making breakfast, do you want some?"

"Oh god yes," Buffy practically gushed out. "You wouldn't believe how hungry I get after a workout or patrol. Mom has to buy extra food in every week just so I don't starve to death."

Jennifer laughed at this and started her way back up the stairs. "I saw with the amount of ice cream you ate last night, nice to find another woman who doesn't have to watch what they eat."

"Yeah," Buffy nodded thoughtfully as she came up the stairs behind her. "It's like I just burn through food, I have to keep snacking on energy bars just to keep myself going sometimes."

"Just wait until I invite some friends over," Jennifer laughed as they reached the kitchen level. "I think you'll get on just fine with Ben." She smiled as she made her way into the kitchen.

"This is still weird," Buffy pouted as she walked into the kitchen with her. "It's like everything here is huge, I feel like a leprechaun or something."

"You didn't enjoy the bed?" Jennifer smirked over as she pulled out two huge mugs and three normal sized ones before filling up the percolator with water.

"Oh no, that was amazing," Buffy grinned. "It's huge, like an orgy sized bed or something," She clapped her hand over her mouth and blushed when she realised what she'd said. "Oh my god, I can't believe I just said that."

Jennifer just laughed at this and proceeded to carry on making coffee for everyone. "You've got time to grab a shower if you want, breakfast should be about fifteen minutes or so, we can have it outside since it's a nice day."

"It's Sunnydale," Buffy shrugged. "We only get nice days here." She paused, sniffing herself slowly. "Stinky?" She asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Two hour workout?" Jennifer asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nearly three," Buffy grimaced. "Shower." She nodded before heading back into the living room and up the stairs.

"Towels are in the linin closet I think," Jennifer laughed as she called out after her.

Buffy smiled to herself as she bounced up the stairs, she was actually feeling better about herself now than she had in a long time. Her friends were all back together, Willow and Oz were happy, even Xander seemed happy with his new girlfriend, who was extremely cool, college was starting tomorrow and the world just seemed right somehow.

It was like a cloud had been lifted off of her, the future was starting tomorrow and for the first time it actually seemed pretty bright. With Jennifer and Xander here, patrols were going to be easier and easier, which was good she thought, as with starting college she was going to have less and less time to actively patrol Sunnydale town and keep it safe.

She was so lost in thought that she just automatically opened the bathroom door and stepped in, pulling off her t-shirt as she closed the door before turning around to find she was not alone in the bathroom. Her eyes widened as she saw the giant green form under the shower, staring at her with wide eyes just like she was staring at him. They both stood there, frozen for a minute before Buffy darted back out of the room, her face flushed red as she slammed the door shut and pinned herself up against it.

"Buffy, what is it?" Willow shouted as she came out of her room to see Buffy topless holding the bathroom door shut with her back. "Why are you topless?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"X… Xan..." Buffy stammered out as she used one arm to cover up her chest.

"I've seen you naked before Buffy," Willow smiled at her. "Remember, we did gym together for three years.

"Sh… shower." Buffy stammered out as Jennifer came up the stairs to see what the commotion was all about.

"Are you ok?" Jennifer asked, looking at Buffy's flushed face and topless appearance.

The bathroom door opened a crack slowly behind Buffy, pulling inwards and nearly causing her to topple over before a green hand poked through the gap with Buffy's shirt hung on it. Buffy immediately grabbed the shirt with her free hand and pulled it on, while the green hand pulled back inside the door just as quickly and closed the door behind it.

"Oh!" Jennifer exclaimed with a laugh. "Did you just walk in on Xander? I thought he'd have finished by now in there."

"Oh my god!" Willow exclaimed, clamping both hands over her mouth. "Really?"

"And you started to undress before you noticed him?" Jennifer said, trying her very best to keep as straight a face as possible.

"Uhuh," Buffy nodded slowly, the blush coming back over her face with vengeance now.

"Did… did you see…" Jennifer trailed off with a grin.

"Uhuh," Buffy nodded slowly as the blush darkened.

At this Jennifer couldn't hold it in anymore, breaking out in so much laughter that she had to hold on to the bannister for support as she practically collapsed on the stairs from laughter. A quick glance at Willow told her that she was having the same problem but was trying to hold it in to be supportive for her friend.

"If… if you wanted," Jennifer laughed out. "To see my boyfriend naked, you could have just asked." Jennifer managed to get out in-between pails of laughter.

"I didn't, I don't… Wah!" Buffy stammered out before sinking to the floor.

"Oh Buffy, I'm sure he knows it was an accident," Willow said as she walked over and knelt down beside her. "I mean, you didn't do it on purpose right?" A glare from the slayer told her that that was obviously the case.

"He'll be fine," Jennifer laughed. "You saw him, he saw you, tit for tat I say," She laughed again before standing upright and walking back down the stairs, still laughing to herself as she went.

"I'm not coming out," Xander's voice came through the door, causing Buffy to blush again. "Can I have breakfast in here?

Buffy hauled the last of her boxes down the stairs and out of her house, easily lifting the heavy load before dropping them in the back of Xander's car. It had taken them several hours and a dozen or more giggle fits before either of them could look each other in the eye. While Oz and Willow were moving their things with Oz's van, Xander had volunteered to help Buffy move her things while Jennifer finished sorting out details for the house.

"Hey Mrs S," Xander smiled as he rearranged the boxes in the back of the car so they'd have more room than just throwing them in wildly.

"Xander," Joyce smiled at him as she got out of her car. "Honey, I thought we were going to do this tomorrow?"

"Well I know you're busy mom," Buffy smiled over bashfully as she paused for a bit of a break. "I didn't want to bother you, so Xander said he could help."

"Honey, it's no bother," Joyce smiled at her. "My big girls going to college, I want to help out in any way I can."

"I'm not moving away mom," Buffy laughed as her mom pulled her in for a tight hug. "It's just college, I'll still come back home to see you."

"And bring you laundry," Joyce laughed.

"Once a week?" Buffy blushed as she smiled up at her mom.

"Whenever you want," Joyce smiled as she kissed Buffy on the top of her forehead. "That goes for you as well Xander, Buffy tells me you're going to college now, I know it must be hard with your parents moving but you're welcome here any time."

"Hold the phone," Xander interrupted, holding up his hands. "Parents moving, I know I haven't seen them for a while, but I'm sure they didn't say anything about moving before I left."

"There's a For Sale sign outside the house, sorry I thought you knew," Joyce said sadly. She didn't know much about Xander's parents, having only met his father once at the parent teacher night when he practically drooled over her before leaving early for a poker game, inviting her along with him with a leer.

"No," Xander frowned. "They didn't tell me, just like them though, probably moving to Reno or somewhere closer to a bar and craps tables."

"I wonder what they did with your things," Buffy asked in a small voice, not wanting to worry or anger Xander further.

"Do you mind if we stop of there first," Xander asked as he climbed into the driver's seat of the car. "I need to know what's going on there."

"Sure," Buffy nodded with a smile. "We'll be back to pick up the rest of my stuff later." She gave her mom one last hug before climbing into the car as well.

"There's no rush honey," Joyce smiled. "Drive safely."

"Thanks Mrs S," Xander smiled back. "Ready?" He asked as he checked Buffy had buckled up. "Let's go then."

"Guess mom was right," Buffy said with a frown as Xander parked the car outside his parents' house and she pointed to the For Sale sign.

"Yeah," Xander nodded slowly. "Kinda figured she would be, it's not the sort of thing your mom would just make up."

"I'm sorry," Buffy said with a frown as she laid her hand on Xander's shoulder lightly. "You're not going to go 'Hulk smash' on the place are you?"

"No," Xander sighed as he got out of the car. "It's the sort of thing I expected one day, kept expecting it to happen in high school actually, come home one day and find them gone."

"Were they that bad?" Buffy asked softly as she got out of the car alongside him.

"They didn't hit me or anything," Xander shrugged. "But arguments, shouting, throwing things around, that was a day to day activity, when they weren't plastered that is."

"I'm sorry," Buffy said, not knowing what else to say when she tried to picture herself growing up like that, her mom and Hank had had their fair share of arguments before the divorce, but they'd never thrown anything or got drunk over it.

"Like I said, no big," Xander shrugged as he fumbled with his keys to find the front door key in the chain. "Do you want to stay here; I wouldn't want to subject anyone to my parents if I didn't have to."

"I'm coming with," Buffy said firmly. "Don't want you losing your temper in there or anything; they can't sell the place if you destroy it right?" She smiled at the last as Xander mock glared at her.

"Fine," Xander nodded slowly. "But don't hit him, Tony might be an ass and a womaniser, but he's still my dad ok?"

"No promises," Buffy said with a nod, thinking back to how she'd dealt with jocks in high school who had tried to grab a feel without her permission.

Xander just sighed, bracing himself as he walked up the pathway and slid his key into the lock, slowly opening the door and waiting for the inevitable shouting match to start. "Hello?" He asked in a quiet voice when silence greeted him from inside. "I'm home?" He called again, pushing the door open wider so he could step inside. "Mom, dad? It's Xander."

"Perhaps they're out, or at work?" Buffy said as she walked into the house, following Xander slowly into the living room.

"Mom hasn't worked in years," Xander said softly. "And dad got suspended before I left for punching a co-worker, didn't think he'd get back to work before Christmas." He frowned to himself as he looked around, something was off with the place, aside from the fact it was clean and tidy, there was no smell of stale liquor in the air or clouds of smoke, even the tables and carpets looked like they'd been cleaned down and hovered by a cleaning service.

"Not bad," Buffy shrugged as she walked around. "Guess you're mom's pretty house proud huh?"

"Hardly," Xander snorted. "The place used to be a mess, stained carpet, beer cans all over the place." He frowned as he looked around. "This is eerie, it's like someone else's house."

"Well they're selling it," Buffy smiled. "Maybe they cleaned up so they could sell it quicker."

"Maybe," Xander frowned. "That window, it was broken years ago, dad threw the TV remote at me when the Raiders lost to the Cowboys in the playoffs, he missed and it went clean through."

"So they replaced it," Buffy shrugged, looking at the pain of glass. "Good job well, guess they replaced the entire window."

"Dad wouldn't shell out for that," Xander frowned. "Not after three years, he's as tight as they came, wouldn't even give me an allowance unless I worked it off for him. Something's not right here." He muttered to himself as he left the living room and moved through into the kitchen. "See, clean, no coffee stains or empty beer cans in the trash, it's like a show house or something."

"I'll admit, it is kind of creepy," Buffy commented as she followed him through, the house showed absolutely no signs of anyone living there, it was like someone had moved their stuff in but never bothered moving in themselves.

"Something's up here Buff," Xander frowned as he left the kitchen and moved downthe hallway to his own room, half of him not wanting to look inside as he slowly pushed the door open.

"Wow," Buffy gasped out as she looked inside. "Whitesnake?" She asked with a grin, seeing the poster on the wall. "Van Halen?" She asked again, looking at another poster. "And wow, you really do like em with big lungs hey?" She grinned, nodding to the Jenny McCarthy poster above his bed.

The room was a mess, clothes on the floor, a few coke cans lying about the place and empty cassette tape cases thrown idly on the floor. Old school work papers were scattered on the desk with a few magazines that she wished she had never seen, along with a few photos of her along with Willow and Xander as a group.

"You should clean up once in a while," She said, frowning at an empty bowl on the floor that she guessed used to be cereal before it started its own growth cycle.

"Hey, my room, my rules," Xander frowned as he walked in.

"I'm not touching anything in there," Buffy frowned, holding up her hands in surrender. "Demons take better care of their lairs than you do."

"See, why bother cleaning the entire house, but leave my room alone," Xander asked himself rhetorically as he walked in and threw some of the clothes from the floor onto the bed. "If they were trying to sell it, why bother at all?"

"Because it's for you," A male voice caused them both to spin around and look out of the room.

"Nick Fury," Xander nodded as he saw the coloured man in the hallway. "You did this?" He asked, motioning to the house.

"Not directly," Fury shrugged. "I placed the order though."

"Where are my parents?" Xander asked, stepping past Buffy and ignoring her confused look for the minute. "Have they moved out already?"

"They're in custody," Nick said simply as Xander walked up to him. "Your father was found guilty of embezzling funds from his work place; your mother assisted him in laundering the money through various bars around town." Fury lied effortlessly, the cover story had been concocted and tested, the relevant files placed easily in the Sunnydale police department computers.

"Arrested?" Xander asked in disbelief. "Figures, I always wondered how my dad kept drinking and gambling when he wasn't working enough to pay the bills."

"The house has been transferred to your name now," Fury said with a puff on his cigar. "The deed has been transferred to your name under SHIELD holdings and will be sold and the money transferred to your account."

"Wait… you're telling me I own the place now?" Xander asked in shock. "I'm only eighteen, can I even own a house?"

"Legally yes, the deed was passed to you when your parents were convicted, you can either continue to pay to mortgage on it, or sell it and keep the proceeds." Fury shrugged. "It's upto you."

"Sell it," Xander sighed as he looked around, remembering every painful memory of his childhood as he did.

"I figured as much," Fury nodded satisfactorily. "I'll draw up the paperwork and have Jennifer deal with the rest." He nodded at Xander before he turned to walk out of the house.

"Wait." Xander called out, jogging over to catch up with the man. "My parents, can I see them?"

"They're being held for embezzling funds and abuse of a minor," Fury said the last matter of factly, ignoring the shocked look on Buffy's face as he said it. "We have your hospital records, don't try and cover up for them."

"They're my folks," Xander said simply, not denying the fact that Tony had hit him once or twice when drunk or angry.

"Not anymore," Fury said simply. "Welcome to adult life kid. Remember what I said about college, I'll be keeping an eye on you." Without saying another thing he simply walked out of the house and closed the door behind him, leaving Xander alone with Buffy staring at him with a sad look on her face.

"Xander…" Buffy trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"Leave it Buff," Xander sighed as he turned around. "I... I don't want to talk about it."

"Fine," Buffy nodded. "But can I have your stereo?" She smiled at him, pointing to the stereo system by his bed.

"Hello Miss Walters, may I come in?" Giles asked as Jennifer opened the door.

"Please," Jennifer smiled as she stepped away from the door to let Giles enter the house, the security system passing its green beam over him swiftly but remaining silent. "Xander's not here though, he went with Buffy to help her move her things onto campus."

"It's actually you I came to see," Giles said with a small smile. "You see, last night I had a visitor who claimed to know you. I would have called but I neglected to get Xander's new number last night."

"No problem," Jennifer smiled as she led Giles through into the living room. "I think we'll have to get some normal sized furniture in here as well if people will be coming over regularly," She laughed to herself as Giles tried to make himself comfortable on the giant couch.

"It's not an issue," Giles smiled across. "Just something to adapt to I think."

"Coffee?" Jennifer asked as she walked into the kitchen.

"Tea if you have it, or coffee will be fine," Giles smiled over at her from where he was sat.

"Tea, tea…" Jennifer muttered to herself as she started rooting through the cupboards, she still hadn't been through half of the things that had been set up for them in the house, she was rather surprised to find the cupboards fully stocked with food and essentials when they'd moved in, but then again Nick always was three steps ahead of everyone else when it came to anything involving his operatives. "I think." She muttered as she pulled a box out. "Earl Grey?" She asked, holding the box out for Giles to see.

"Thank you," Giles smiled at her.

"Milk, sugar?" She asked as she flicked on the kettle and brought down a mug for him.

"One sugar, no milk," Giles said thankfully, it was a relief to actually have tea in someone else's house and not have to find a specialist shop that stocked it. Normally he would suffice with coffee or a soft drink, finding out Xander's girlfriend actually stocked it in the house brought a small smile to his face.

"So, who was the visitor?" Jennifer asked as she came back into the living room while the kettle was boiling.

"He claimed to be called Nick Fury," Giles said as Jennifer sat on the couch across from him. "Balding fellow, about six foot and an eye patch."

"I know him," Jennifer said with a smile. "Smart ass attitude and always gets what he wants."

"Ah yes, the same man then," Giles sighed, not sure if it was a relief or not that the man had been on the level about knowing Jennifer.

"I met him a few years back when I was working with the Fantastic Four," Jennifer explained. "He was putting together a new agency, strategic homeland division or something; he wanted me to join as a consultant on superhuman problems."

"The government then?" Giles asked softly as Jennifer moved back into the kitchen when the kettle clicked off.

"I don't think so," Jennifer frowned. "At least, that's not the impression I got. They may have government ties, but Nick's not the type to bow to political posturing or agendas."

"I see," Giles nodded as Jennifer came back with a mug of tea for him and passed it over. "Thank you."

"What did he come to see you about?" Jennifer asked as she sat back down with a glass of water in her hand.

"He offered me a job actually," Giles said after taking a sip of the tea and smiling at the taste. "Or rather, pushed one upon me."

"Manoeuvred you into accepting," Jennifer nodded. "That's how he got me as well. He's doing the right thing, for the right reasons, he's just a bit ham fisted about how he gets it done."

"Indeed," Giles nodded over. "He wants me to train his men is supernatural threats. Demons, vampires and the like."

"I didn't picture Nick to have an interest in the supernatural," Jennifer said in surprise. "He's always hated it before, tried to stay as far away from it as possible."

"He seems to have turned his area of focus then," Giles frowned. "He asked me to provide training to four men per week, who would come to Sunnydale under his orders for training."

"Could you do it?" Jennifer asked, staring at Giles carefully to watch his response.

"I would have no problem training them in the basics, showing them weaknesses and behavioural patterns of demons and vampires." Giles nodded. "I worry about the effect of training military men in fighting the supernatural though, for many years it has been the Councils prerogative to keep the supernatural in check, along with various hunters that work outside the Councils purview."

"Does the Council have its own trained men to deal with the supernatural?" Jennifer asked, finding herself wanting to know more about this Council and their methods.

"Of course," Giles nodded. "The Slayer can't be everywhere, while the Slayer is tasked to supernatural hotspots like the Hellmouth here, various Council teams take care of minor occurrences should they arise."

"So the Council has its own army to deal with the supernatural already then?" Jennifer asked, leading Giles to the same conclusion she had come to.

"Well, yes," Giles nodded. "Teams are dispatched, to retrieve or destroy vampires or demons; I see where you are going with this."

"Exactly the same as what Nick wants you to trail men to do," Jennifer nodded. "The more people fighting the supernatural menaces, the better I would think."

"Indeed," Giles nodded, agreeing with her assessment. "I confess, I had not thought of the similarities before. The idea of a government agency tasked with fighting the supernatural is something I find quite abhorrent though."

"Fury isn't government," Jennifer said with a shrug. "He might have been military, but I can't see him bowing to politicians or governors easily. If he has a job to do, he'll do it, and he's one of the best I've seen at it."

"And his end goal?" Giles asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You'll have to ask him," Jennifer sighed. "Whatever it is, I doubt it's anything dangerous. More like he just wants to keep the vampires and demons under control, now they've been brought to his attention."

"And in the meanwhile, you believe I should offer the support he requested?" Giles asked as he continued to drink the tea that had been given to him.

"In my experience, people who work for SHIELD are paid extremely well for their expertise; he wouldn't have come to you with an empty offer Mr Giles."

"Giles please, or Rupert." Giles smiled at her, interrupting her thoughts.

"Rupert then," Jennifer smiled at him. "You'll be doing good work, and possibly help save these people's lives, if they go out there not knowing what to expect, do you think they would last longer with or without your support?"

"You pose an interesting question," Giles nodded thoughtfully. "I had intended in accepting the proposal anyway, you have just helped me cement the decision."

"Glad I could help," Jennifer smiled at him. "I was just about to cook some dinner, would you care to join me?"

"I wouldn't want to impose," Giles said softly as he finished the mug of tea before carefully sliding down from the giant couch to the floor.

"It's fine, really," Jennifer smiled over. "I used to eat alone a lot; it would be nice to have some company while Xander is out with his friends."

"Well then, I would be happy to," Giles smiled at her.

"Turn on the TV if you like; I'm thinking a nice roast would go down well. I can keep the rest in the oven for when Xander gets home, seeing as he'll probably bring the girls with him." Jennifer laughed as she moved into the kitchen.

"I confess I am not much of a fan of television," Giles smiled as he followed Jennifer through into the kitchen. "Is there anything I can do to help, I do rather enjoy cooking myself."

"Help yourself," Jennifer smiled at the kitchen. "I'll need to just run down to the shop, pick up a few things myself for the meal."

"Would you like me to accompany you?" Giles asked, unsure what sort of things she would be picking up at the store as the kitchen seemed to be extremely well stocked from what he could see.

"It's fine," Jennifer smiled as she grabbed a jacket from a coat hook on the wall. "Make yourself at home, I won't be long."

"If you're sure," Giles nodded. "I could begin some of the preparation."

"Sounds good," Jennifer smiled as she walked through to the front door. "Won't be long; help yourself to a drink or whatever you want."

"Thank you," Giles smiled at her as she left, closing the front door behind her and leaving him alone in the giant sized kitchen. "Now, where would the flour be?" He muttered to himself as he pulled over a stool to stand on so he could reach the cupboards.

"It's kinda cool ya know," Xander shrugged as he carried one of Buffy's boxes under one arm and had some papers in his other hand. "College, never thought I'd be here."

"Yeah," Buffy agreed with a nod as she looked around, glancing down at the paperwork admissions had given her. "OK, down here." She set as they reached the floor where she was staying. "Room two fourteen."

"Gotcha," Xander smiled over as he followed her down the corridor. "Is it going to be weird, rooming with someone?"

"I guess," Buffy shrugged. "But it's part of college life, we can't have one person dorms I guess."

"True," Xander nodded. "But how are you going to patrol, or keep weapons around, what if she's a snooper, it is a her right, not a he?"

"It's a her," Buffy reassured him. "The college doesn't allow mixed dorms."

"Good," Xander nodded sagely. "We have enough of you walking in on me in the shower; don't want it to happen so some freshman, you'd give the guy a heart attack."

"Xander!" Buffy mock glared at him. "We agreed never to mention that again."

"And I won't," Xander nodded back. "Cross my giant green heart." He grinned as Buffy stopped outside the room that had been marked as hers.

"Guess this is it," Buffy said as she looked around.

"So, go in already," Xander prompted her. "This box is kinda heavy, and we've got three more to bring up."

"Just taking a moment," Buffy said, pausing before opening the door and stepping inside. The room was pretty sparse, with two beds, two desks with matching chairs. Small wardrobes on each side of the room and some drawers. "Guess she's not here yet."

"Which is good," Xander reminded her as he moved into the room and placed the box on the floor before folding the papers up and tucking them into his pocket.

"Yeah, I guess," Buffy nodded. "I was kinda looking forward to meeting her though, seeing what she was like."

"Well we'll get the rest of your stuff up, then you can unpack," Xander smiled. "I'm sure she'll be around soon, everyone's moving in so she's bound to show up sooner or later."

"True," Buffy nodded as she glanced out the door to see other people moving boxes up and down the hallway into various rooms. "We'll do the chest last though; don't want to leave it here where." She gestured around to everyone.

"Yeah, don't see weapons going over well in a dorm room," Xander frowned. "Do they have inspections, or rules here, you know 'no pets, no smoking, no swords' kinda thing?"

"Don't know," Buffy shrugged. "Have to get a lock for it though, just in case."

"I'll pick one up," Xander smiled. "Shouldn't be hard to attach it on, bit of wood, some nails, be secure as houses."

"Thanks Xander," Buffy smiled at him. "More stuff then?"

"Lead on McBuff," Xander nodded as Buffy moved out of the room and back down the hallway, closing the door behind her as they left.

"Hey Willow," Xander smiled over as they came out of dropping the last box off in Buffy's new dorm room, having decided to leave the weapons chest in Xander's car for now and transport in to Xander's new house until it could be secured properly.

"Isn't it great," Willow beamed as she came over, walking arm in arm with Oz. "Everyone's moving in, getting their forms and everything."

"Yeah," Xander nodded, truth be told he was feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all, everyone seemed to be rushing around, moving in, running past with an obvious purpose, and he hadn't even given thought to what course he was taking or anything.

"How'd it go then?" Oz asked as he leaned against Xander's car, hopping up on the hood much like Xander had done while Buffy signed some last minute paperwork at admissions.

"Pretty much moved in," Xander nodded with a small smile. "I've got my appointment as admissions tomorrow morning, so I guess we'll see from there."

"Cool," Oz nodded thoughtfully. "Could try out for gym." He offered with a shrug.

"Don't think so," Xander shook his head in amusement. "I don't think they let Hulks wrestle here."

"Shame," Oz frowned. "Could do with the championship this year."

"Blame the school," Xander smiled over. "Plans for tonight?"

"Bronze?" Willow offered with a smile. "Then patrol? See how many vamps you can put into orbit again?"

"Heh," Xander grinned. "That was kinda fun, hungry though, could eat beforehand."

"Meet at the bronze?" Willow said with a smile. "We can party then patrol?"

"Buffy's coming back to mine, she said she wanted to talk with Jen about some slayer stuff, think they're going to start sparring together or something." Xander shrugged. "You want to come along, sure there's food at the house, we can head onto the bronze from there."

"Sounds like a plan," Oz nodded.

"Ohh, is Jennifer coming as well?" Willow bounced a bit at this idea. "She's fun, and strong, she could really help us."

"You have a weird fascination with my girlfriend," Xander said after a moment, staring at Willow blankly. "Should I be worried? He asked, turning to Oz.

"Possibly," Oz nodded in deadpan. "She does talk about her a lot."

"Do not," Willow slapped Oz playfully on the arm. "I just think she's fun, maybe bring her to the Bronze, on patrol, get to know her a bit more."

"I'm kidding Willow," Xander smiled at her. "I'll ask, see if she wants to come, she might already have plans."

"Oh what could be more exciting than patrol," Willow smiled with excitement.

"Again, worrying," Xander commented as Buffy came back over from the dorm offices. "Everything sorted?" He asked as she re-joined them.

"All signed and approved," Buffy nodded with a smile. "We have registration tomorrow, and class begins on Tuesday."

"So we're good," Willow smiled.

"Willow and Oz are coming with," Xander explained as he moved to get in the driver's seat of the car. "Thinking home, food, bronze then patrol?"

"Sounds good," Buffy nodded as she waited for Oz and Willow to get in the back seats before she climbed in the passenger seat and closed the door. "We should let Giles know, try and keep him in the loop. He seemed a bit meh yesterday."

"Meh?" Xander asked as he put the car in gear and drove out of the campus parking area.

"Yeah, like he was bored I guess," Buffy shrugged. "I think he misses us guys."

"We should invite him to come on patrol," Willow said with a smile. "Include him more in the slaying."

"Maybe," Buffy frowned at the idea. "Jennifer wants him to teach her martial arts as well, like he taught me, could keep him busy I guess."

The rest of the ride over was filled with chatter about Giles, college, how Oz's band was doing and what courses they were all thinking of taking, even Xander seemed to be enjoying the idea of college and his new home life. As they pulled up at the house Xander got out first, letting Oz and Willow out before he helped Buffy get her weapons chest out of the trunk.

"You know, we could always keep this here," Xander suggested as he passed Willow the house keys to open the door so they could move the weapons chest directly into the house. "We've got the room, and you can use the gym area to practice."

"I guess," Buffy nodded slowly. "I don't know though, I feel weird without a weapon nearby sometimes."

"Take a stake, a sword, the basics, just in case then," Xander shrugged as Willow opened the door. "You're welcome to come by and grab stuff anytime you need."

"It does make sense," Buffy nodded slowly. "I mean, it's safer here than on campus right?"

"Totally," Xander nodded with a smile. "Do I smell pie?" He asked out loud as they moved the chest through into the living room.

"Roast lamb," Oz nodded. "With potatoes."

"Jen, you here?" Xander called out as they placed the chest against the wall under the wallmouted TV. "Anyone?"

"Through here," Jennifer's voice called out from the next room over.

"Giles, hey," Xander waved as he walked through. "Should I be worried?" He asked, looking at the meal they were sharing with a glass of wine each.

"Hardly," Jennifer laughed as she stood up and moved over to kiss him. "Giles just came over to talk about some things; I invited him to stay for dinner."

"Hey," Buffy waved as she walked into the room with Oz and Willow. "Food? You ate without us?"

"Buffy," Giles nodded with a smile. "There is plenty left in the oven, enough to feed a small army I'd wager."

"Giles even made Yorkshire puddings, from scratch," Jennifer smiled. "I can't tell you the last time I had those, years ago."

"Yes, well, I do rather enjoy cooking, even if I don't have much time to focus on the things I'd prefer," Giles smiled as he drank a bit more of the red wine that Jennifer had brought in to enjoy with the meal. "And it was a delightful change to actually have some adult conversation over a meal for once, quite stimulating actually."

"Glad you like," Xander smiled at him. "You're not making a move on my girl are you, because I'd hate to have to go all 'grr' on you."

"Rest assured it was nothing of the sort," Giles rolled his eyes at him. "I assume you are all moved onto campus now then?" He asked, turning to Buffy.

"All done," Buffy smiled. "We've got registration in the morning, where we decide on our classes and stuff."

"Ah yes," Giles nodded with a smile. "Have you chosen your major yet?"

"I'm thinking Psych," Buffy said with a shrug after a moment. "Or history, maybe art?"

"And you Willow, Xander?" Giles asked, turning to each of them in turn. "I assume you have all read through the courses and chosen one suited best for your futures, whatever they may be."

"Don't think they do advanced destruction," Xander quipped with a smirk. "Was actually thinking Psych myself, see if I could get an inside look to this hulk thing, find out the anger stuff and try and understand it a bit more."

"A worthy idea," Giles nodded. "One that could prove useful in the future I'd wager."

"See that's what I thought," Xander nodded back. "Only in less words."

"Smart choice," Jennifer smiled at him. "Law is a good idea though, plenty of people around, they'll always need lawyers and judges."

"I was thinking computer science," Willow smiled. "Maybe Psych though, or history."

"That's a lot of psychology fans," Jennifer smiled. "At least you'll be able to share textbooks and notes."

"See, always the upside," Xander grinned as he leaned up to kiss her on the lips. "So, we're thinking Bronze then patrol, wanna come?" He asked, smiling at her.

"Love to," She smiled back. "Eat first though; help yourself to food in the oven guys." She nodded at Buffy who almost instantly took off towards the kitchen with a smile on her face. "Go ahead," She smiled at Oz and Willow who were still stood in the doorway.

"Xander, may I speak with you for a moment," Giles asked, causing Xander to pause from where he was moving off with the rest of the group. "I had a brief encounter with a man last night, who claims you are in his employ."

"Fury," Xander nodded. "Yeah, he's one of Jen's friends, kinda roped me into his thing when I got the Hulk stuff."

"I gathered as much from Jennifer here," Giles nodded slowly. "May I ask, what exactly you will be doing for him, in regards to his operation I mean."

"No clue," Xander shrugged. "I'm guessing it's something Hulk-y though, or he wouldn't have asked me right?"

"Well, obviously," Giles nodded, agreeing with the assessment.

"Other than that, he hasn't really asked for much. Wants me to go to college, he arrested my folks," Xander shook his head as Jennifer showed concern over this. "Apparently my dad was embezzling stuff from work, mom was laundering the cash for him. I guess Fury caught onto it when he started looking into Sunnydale."

"Yes, well that was probably the case," Giles sighed, sharing a meaningful glance with Jennifer out of Xander's view. "Regardless, are you ok?"

"I'm dealing," Xander shrugged. "I mean, they weren't the best parents, but they were my folks you know."

"Yes, of course," Giles smiled softly at him. "You know, if you do ever need someone to talk to." He trailed off as Xander nodded with a thankful smile on his face.

"Thanks Giles," Xander smiled. "But I'm coping, like I said. I guess they're going away for a while though, the house is up for sale and everything."

"Oh Xander," Jennifer pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry you had to find out like that."

"I'm good," Xander said, pulling back from Jennifer with a soft smile. "Really, I always figured my dad was into something dodgy, just never figured it would catch up like this. Guess you can't hide from the good guys forever right?"

"Indeed not," Giles nodded with a smile. "Go on then, get your food, we shall discuss patrol while you all eat."

"So I was thinking, you could teach us both, I mean, you know more than one right?" Buffy asked as she dug into the extra helping of potatoes and meat.

They'd all decided to eat together at the main table while Giles and Jennifer sat there just talking with the group and enjoying their wine, listening to discussions about everything from college through to Buffy's hopes for actually meeting a boy on campus.

"Indeed, I don't see the harm in allowing Jennifer to train with us, if she feels the need of course," Giles nodded with a smile. "I would be honoured to teach her the various styles I know, as long as you feel you will benefit from them as well."

"Yeah, I mean of course," Buffy nodded eagerly. "With the gym downstairs, I can get a much better work out than anywhere else, and I can spar with Jennifer and Xander regularly without having to hold back, it seems like a win win to me."

"Of course, you will still have to be careful though," Giles nodded thoughtfully. "While I don't know much about this Hulk phenomena, it seems obvious they are both far stronger and more durable that you. You have witnessed Xander's strength yourself don't forget."

"How could I, he nearly made me barf," Buffy frowned at the memory.

"Yes, I was thinking more of the incident downstairs with the weights," Giles sighed and took off his glasses. "I am curious though, is there an upper limit to a Hulk's strength, surely there must be some limit the mutation levels off at."

"I honestly couldn't tell you," Jennifer shrugged with a smile. "Bruce was always stronger than I am, by far sometimes, but he's not as strong when he starts off. I sort of stay around the same level, with Bruce it seems the angrier he gets, the stronger he gets."

"Interesting, do you believe the same would be possible for Xander?" Giles asked, fascinated by the turn in the conversation.

"He seems pretty stable to be honest," Jennifer smiled. "I guess it might be the mutation, his cells were introduced to a small amount of the gamma radiation through my blood, where as Bruce was exposed to a massive dose of it. To be honest, I just don't know, I'd suggest experimenting but wouldn't want to push the limit too far in case he does end up like Bruce."

"Let's not," Xander shook his head emphatically. "I don't need to be stronger, I mean, last night I punched a vamp and he turned to jelly, literally, it was gross."

"Oh, what about those vamps you sent into orbit?" Buffy grinned excitedly, causing Jennifer to stare at her before turning her glare to Xander.

"I thought you weren't going to start throwing vampires around," Jennifer said with a soft glare. "You never know where they might end up, a mall somewhere, downtown LA?"

"Well, I didn't exactly throw," Xander said with an apologetic grin. "More of an uppercut really, I just didn't really judge my strength properly."

"You mean to say you punched a vampire…" Giles trailed off.

"Straight up!" Willow finished off excitedly. "Weeee!" She motioned with her hand going straight up. "I wonder if it ever came down."

"My word," Giles sighed, cleaning his glasses thoroughly. "Most extraordinary, the force needed to send a vampire that far up, it must be incalculable."

"Was pretty cool to watch," Oz agreed with a nod. "And he did plant one as well."

"Plant one?" Giles asked with a sigh. "I regret I asked." He muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"So, patrol?" Xander asked as Buffy finished off her potatoes, she was the last to finish as everyone else had chosen smaller portions than her, while she seemed to be revelling in the fact that Jennifer seemed to eat as much as she did.

"Sounds like a plan," Buffy nodded with a smile. "I'm thinking we skip the Bronze though, it's getting kinda late and I've still got all that paperwork to fill in for tomorrow."

"Oh, I did all mine already," Willow smiled. "I've just got to fill in my classes when I get there."

"Great, you can help me," Buffy grinned. "Weapons?"

"Is there anything specific you feel you would need?" Giles asked with a raised eyebrow. "Unless I'm mistaken, there have been no demon sightings or portents that would indicate anything other than a standard patrol."

"Yeah, there was a couple of deaths last week," Buffy shrugged. "One of them yesterday, news report said animal attack so I'm thinking vamp."

"Think he'll rise again?" Willow asked excitedly.

"Maybe," Buffy nodded. "Ohh, your first fledgling," Buffy smiled at Jennifer. "Initiation, you can stake it."

"I've dealt with vampires before Buffy," Jennifer laughed.

"Yeah, but not with us," Buffy pouted. "I'll even let you use Mr Pointy."

"Her favourite stake," Xander whispered to Jennifer with a smile. "She's the Slayer, think of this as a gift, letting you stake one for her."

"Ok then," Jennifer nodded with a smile. "I've been meaning to try the hammer out Reed sent, did the axe work alright last night?"

"Wouldn't know," Xander said with a shrug. "Kinda stuck with the old fist approach, worked pretty well."

"You can try it tonight then," Jennifer smiled as she stood up from the table. "If you're not going to use it, you can give it up Buffy I guess."

"I'll use it," Xander grinned as Buffy pouted at him.

"You two should learn to share your toys," Jennifer grinned over at their antics. "You're both adults now remember, I'm sure Buffy is strong enough to use it effectively."

"She can use your hammer then," Xander suggested with a grin.

"Ohhh, can I?" Buffy asked, bouncing out of her seat with an excited smile on her face.

"Let me try it first," Jennifer nodded at her. "Afterwards, we'll see."

"See, Jennifer shares," Buffy said, sticking her tongue out towards Xander.

"Fine," Xander stuck his tongue out in return. "You can try the axe if you want, it's not as if I really need it to do damage."

"Indeed not," Giles sighed at their antics. "May I ask, what happens when you become the Hulk, I assume it's different for you both, what happens when, Bruce was it? Becomes the Hulk?"

"Insurance agencies go bankrupt," Jennifer said with a shrug before she walked out of the room with her plate to return it to the kitchen.

"Xander?" Giles asked, turning to him. "What is it like, transforming like that; I imagine it's something akin to what Oz goes through."

"Bigger," Oz nodded with a small smile.

"It's weird, like I have to focus on something that makes me angry, then it's like the feeling just fills me up and pushes out." Xander trailed off. "It's hard to explain Giles; I guess unless you experience it, you can't really understand it."

"Like trying to explain colour to the blind," Giles mused thoughtfully. "Yes, I can well imagine. Fair enough then, off you go for patrol, I shall tidy up here."

"I'll do it later," Jennifer said as she came back into the room to fetch more plates.

"Nonsense, you were kind enough to invite me to join you for the meal, the least I can do is clean up while you are on patrol." Giles smiled at her reassuringly. "Please, go ahead, I shall be fine here."

"If you're sure," Jennifer said slowly.

"Of course," Giles smiled at her. "I shall lock up when I leave."

"Ok, as long as you're fine with it," Jennifer smiled. "The back door locks automatically when you shut it, so."

"Then I shall be fine," Giles smiled. "I assume you will be patrolling Restfield, south of the campus?"

"That's the plan," Buffy nodded as she grabbed her coat off the back of her chair.

"Very well then, good hunting to you all." Giles nodded as Xander grabbed his axe from the side shelf in the living room where he was keeping it until he could find a proper home for it.

"Yup," Xander grinned. "Time to go smash something."

"You know, I'm pretty sure Bruce has the whole 'Hulk Smash' thing copyrighted." Jennifer smiled as she followed Xander and Buffy out of the door, with Willow and Oz following them.

"Really? Can you copyright a saying?" Xander asked in bemusement.

"Do you want to argue with him about it?" Jennifer asked with a smirk. "I could call him, see if he'd like to come and talk with you."

"That's fine," Xander said quickly, the thought of The Hulk in Sunnydale scaring him more than slightly. "Hulk pulverize?" Xander offered as they started walking over towards the cemetery Buffy had chosen to patrol. "Hulk punch? Oh come on." He sighed. "Hulk Cowabunga?" He asked, causing everyone to raise their eyebrows collectively at him. "What? They're green." He justified to the group as they continued walking.