Dear Giles,

You might think it strange that I’m writing you a letter like this. It’s not something I meant to do. The assignment was pretty simple you see. Freshman English, Creative Writing Poetry Assignment. Supposed to be a snap. Take the name of someone close to you. Who means a lot to you. Who you admire. Write an acrostic about how you feel about them.

Buffy almost had a heart attack. Once I explained that an acrostic was a kind of poem, where the first letter of each line spells out something, she got the colour back into her cheeks. I swear, the girl can face vampires, demons and apocalypse on a weekly basis, and one little English word wigs her out? I don’t know who she decided to choose as her subject. She debated on a lot of people. She didn’t want to do Angel, because it was too painful. She didn’t want to do Riley, because it’s too new. Xander was out because what word starts with X? She doesn’t like Anya, and Willow…. well let’s just say finding one word that starts with W was too hard. She didn’t even mention you.

But that’s ok.

Because I did.

You were the first person – the only person – I thought of.

Because of all the people in my life, all my friends, my family, there’s no-one who I trust more…no-one who means more to me.

Of course, the poem ended up being way long. Too long. So I had to edit it down. Way down.

But you get the long version.

Ready?

G is for Generosity. You’re probably reading this, and you can’t believe that I think you’re generous. You’re wrong. You’re probably the most generous and giving person I know. You give us your time, your patience, your knowledge, any time we need it. You’ve taught me so much about magic. You were always there for us in high school, and you’ve stayed here for us through college. You always had an open door and a well-stocked larder for us, although the latter took some time. It didn’t matter what hour of the day or night it was. If we needed you, you came. There’s nothing you wouldn’t do for us.

I is for Intelligence. You are so smart, it’s scary. I still remember the first time I met you in the library, seeing all the new books you were stacking, the way you explained what each title meant. Any time I had a question, you were right there with the answer. Not just to do with magic, and vampires and weird stuff, but with actual school stuff too. If you don’t know it, you know where to look. We take it for granted now – if we have a problem, if there’s something we need to know about, we go Gilesin’.

L is for Loyal. I said already that you’re generous with your time and your knowledge and your friendship. Loyalty is an extension of that. No matter what I do, no matter what people say, I know that you’ll never pass judgement on me, never ask for explanations that I can’t give. You help, and you give, and you’re there to back me up every step of the way, no matter what other people say or think. You’ve never turned your back on me.

E is for Equanimity. There have been times I’ve seen you lose your cool. But only at the most extreme times, in the most trying circumstances. Or when Spike is being Spike, but that’s ok. You keep calm. You stay composed. Nothing seems to ruffle you, even if the rest of us are running around panicking. An "Oh bugger," from you is like anyone else running screaming around the room. You stay calm and get the job done. I admire that.

S is for Safe. Which is not to imply that I think you’re boring. Oh, I know that you stay calm and in control, and you get things done. But I know there’s a side to you that’s the total opposite to that. I remember when you had some of the band candy, I listened to Ethan Rayne…I know all about Ripper, what he can do. What you won’t let him do. By safe, I mean that that’s how I feel when I’m with you. Like no matter what is happening, no matter what evil demon we’re fighting, as long as you’re with me, as long as I can see you, I feel like nothing can touch me. Nothing can hurt me. Remember when the Gentlemen stole our voices and no-one could speak? Buffy and I did the only thing we could think of…we came to your house. Remember? We’d bought those wipe-out boards on the street so we could communicate with people, and I wrote "Hi Giles," on mine. You smiled when you saw it, and pulled me into a one-armed hug. I remember leaning against your shoulder for just a split second and feeling like I’d come home. That everything was going to be all right . You were there. We were safe. I’ve always felt like that, even back in the library in high school. The doors would close behind us, and it would be just you and me and the books and I’d feel more at home than I’d ever felt before in my life.

I could say that that’s what you mean to me.

Except it’s not.

It’s all of that.

But it’s more. So much more.

You’re not just a collection of adjectives. You’re Giles.

My Giles. My everything.

Forever.

All my love,

Willow.