Giles and Anya

In Tabula Rasa, the esteemed Rebecca Rand Kirshner set shippers' hearts aflutter.

It wasn't Randy and Joan - Noble Vampire and Protector of the World.

It wasn't Willow and Tara - who reached out and found each other despite their amnesia.

No - this ship was unheralded and unexpected - but so, so right.

Rupert and Ann-ya - Ruggedly handsome british man with glasses and his shop-owning tarty trollop - father and soon-to-be step-mum of Randy - were just so *right*.

Where Xander belittles Anya's suggestions and aspirations, Rupert takes her ideas seriously. Rupert and Ann-ya squabble, but it is with an undercurrent of love and respect, and it is forthright and open rather than done subtly through put-downs and snide asides.

In Season 4's Something Blue, a spell of Willow's went awry, causing Spike and Buffy to become engaged. Much has been made of the fact that nowhere did the spell suggest that they should be madly in love -- that came from within them, and looks set to blossom in Season 7.

Similarly, in Tabula Rasa, Willow's spell caused the Scoobies to lose their memories. It did not convince Giles and Anya that they were engaged, or that they were lovers - and it certainly did not explain that deeply passionate kiss!

A survey of our members ("Which ships do you ship?" showed a 2:1 majority in favour of Giles/Anya over Xander/Anya) - and this was *before* Grave.

And now we have Grave. David Fury (husband of Elin Hampton) may not have known it, but he gave us an episode chock-full of shippy goodness.

From Giles' first scene, where Anya hovers nervously, pointing out that she too has changed her hair (he'd noticed!), to the ending where she helps him out the door, we see the strong ties between them.

Through Giles' look of (surprise? horror? hope?) when Buffy tells him that Anya is a vengeance demon again and, later, Anya's "There's so much I have to tell you", their concern for each other is evident.

Giles feels he has to tell Anya that Xander saved the world but Anya just leans closer to Giles, caring for him, not for the boy who said he loved her but "can't think of where [he] would rather be" (when the world ends) than with Willow. And check out the hand fondle! (we did!).

We weren't imagining it! From the shooting script for Grave:
[Anya] GASPS when Giles' hand comes up and touches hers. She looks at him and sees his eyes are slightly open and looking at her with affection.

It makes sense really. Who else could Giles find? Not a stuffy Watcher-type to hem him in and restrict his less-than-sanctioned activities. Not a witch, who brings other commitments and beliefs to the relationship. And certainly not an outsider - one who doesn't know the "real" world that is Scooby.

And for Anya, where are the ties to Xander? She's ready to settle down, he's wanting to play at being young again. She has wisdom beyond her years, but he's so afraid of it that he loses himself in mocking her. A mature, stable man like Giles - who knows what he wants, knows what she is and ::cough:: is dead sexy to boot ::cough:: may be just what she needs.