During her struggles with her unwanted mortality, Anya falls in love with Xander, who helps her to understand human conventions.

* Anya Jenkins, until her relationship with Xander ends in " Hell's Bells "

On the very day he leaves, Willow, Xander, Anya and Tara resurrect Buffy, and he comes back as soon as he hears of this.

They are relieved when Anya, Dawn, Xander and Andrew tackle him to the ground, proving he is corporeal and therefore not the First.

Anya develops feelings for Xander and asks him out again just before graduation.

Anya decides to flee Sunnydale and invites Xander to join her, saying when she thinks something could happen to him, she " feels bad inside, like might vomit ".

Anya returns to Sunnydale early in Season Four, still infatuated with Xander.

During an impending apocalypse, brought about by Glory at the end of Season Five, Xander proposes to Anya and they are engaged for most of Season Six.

Xander's doubts grow, however, and it is not difficult for Stewart Burns-escaped from Hell and impersonating Xander's future self-to persuade him to leave Anya at the wedding by showing him an illusionary life where Anya apparently cheats on Xander and is later killed in an argument between the two (" Hell's Bells ").

" Anya cannot find anyone who wishes vengeance on Xander and so she takes comfort in sex with Spike, an act which puts her relationship and friendship with Xander and Buffy in jeopardy.

Spike nearly wishes for some kind of vengeance upon Xander, but after seeing how much her actions hurt him, Anya stops him, unable to go through with it.

She eventually rejoins the Scooby Gang as Season Seven focuses on the long fight against the First Evil and eventually becomes friends with Xander ; although Xander and Anya still love each other, they never officially resume their relationship.

After Sunnydale collapses into the Hellmouth, Andrew Wells comforts Xander by telling him that Anya had died saving his life, to which Xander tearfully replies, " That's my girl, always doing the stupid thing.

Joss Whedon joked at the Nocturnal convention in 2001 Anya was originally supposed to die during the Season Five finale, " The Gift ", but he had to keep her alive because Emma Caulfield couldn't keep still while Xander was carrying Anya's supposedly lifeless body.

Xander takes Anya ( Caulfield ), formerly vengeance demon Anyanka, to his prom in " The Prom ", and his military training proves useful in defeating the evil Mayor ( Harry Groener ) in season finale " Graduation Day ".

Outside of the core group, Xander strengthens his relationship with Anya and the two eventually fall in love.

In season five ( 2000-1 ), Xander matures ; he becomes a carpenter and construction worker, and moves into his own apartment with Anya.

A demon exploits these fears in " Hell's Bells "; Xander leaves Anya heartbroken at the altar, and she returns to her old job as a vengeance demon.

When Xander got to become serious with Anya in season five, the actor commented that it was nice to see Xander mature after four years of playing the " nerd ".

Anya comments that Xander is " a Viking in the sack " in " The Yoko Factor ", indicating not just masculinity but also virility.

In the final season, Dawn becomes more grown-up and a full-fledged member of the " Scooby Gang " as witnessed in the first few episodes as she aids Buffy and Xander during Willow's absence and is trained by Buffy in combat.

After wrongly believing herself to be a Potential Slayer, Xander ( Nicholas Brendon ) explains to Dawn that being normal is perhaps the hardest burden of all, as nobody understands the pain of being overlooked – as he has been in Dawn's shoes.

When Buffy tricks her into leaving town before the impending apocalypse, Dawn adamantly returns to fight against the First, during which she battles alongside Xander and once again proves her worth by killing several Ubervamps and survives.

Later in the series however, Dawn confides in Xander she in fact slept with Kenny's roommate and her becoming a giant was due to a spell cast by Kenny.

Buffy discovers Dawn kissing Xander in " Predators and Prey "; the pair had grown closer over the course of Season Eight.

In the final issue, Xander and Dawn have settled into an apartment together in San Francisco, where they let Buffy live until she finds her own place.

In Season Eight, the character's older-brother relationship with Buffy's little sister Dawn ( Michelle Trachtenberg ) also develops along romantic lines, too late for Buffy to realise her compatibility with Xander.

In season seven ( 2002-3 ), when Buffy's little sister Dawn ( Michelle Trachtenberg ) mistakenly believes herself to be a Potential Slayer, Xander empathizes with her disappointment over not being the one in the spotlight, in " Potential ".

In Jane Espenson's " Retreat " story arc ( 2009 ), as Buffy begins to realize she has developed a romantic attraction to Xander, she discovers his newfound romantic relationship with Dawn ; Xander had previously been her confidante throughout Season Eight.

Buffy tries to explain her feelings to Xander in Joss Whedon's " Turbulence " ( 2010 ), though he dismisses this feelings as her need for stability ; Xander admits to Buffy, that he truly loves Dawn.

As his relationship with Dawn in " Potential " and his support of Buffy show, Xander finds that his real calling seems to be in his role as the " eternal supporter ".

Although Xander, Anya, Spike, and Dawn are happy to let him interview them, Buffy is angered by his attempt to turn everything into a story and forces him to finally face up to the seriousness of his actions.

In " Wolves at the Gate, Part I " Willow flies Andrew to the Scottish castle where Buffy, Xander, Dawn and the other slayers operate.

After recovering from a mental breakdown caused by Glory's kidnapping of Dawn, Buffy decides to attack Glory with everything she has: Willow's magic spell to restore Tara's sanity stolen by Glory, at the same time weakening Glory's mind ; the Dagon Sphere ( a weapon created by the monks that causes physical pain to Glory ); Buffy's robot double ( the " Buffybot ") originally Spike's sex toy ; Olaf, The Troll God's Hammer ( with which Buffy is able beat Glory in battle and severely weaken her albeit temporarily, due to the hammer being a weapon of the gods ); and eventually a wrecking ball, commandeered by Xander.

At the table are Buffy, Dawn, Giles, Willow, her girlfriend Tara ( Amber Benson ), Xander, and his ex-demon girlfriend Anya ( Emma Caulfield ).

Xander is working construction at the new high school which Dawn is to attend.

Dawn throws the weapon to Buffy who then fights the spirits off as Xander wrestles with one in the bathroom after finding the talisman.

* As Buffy, Dawn and her friends are exiting the basement, Buffy comments that the school seems ' a bit smaller ' which is the same comment Willow and Xander make as they walk through the charred remains in season 4.

Back at the house, Dawn angrily kicks Buffy in the shin for having Xander try to take her away from Sunnydale in the previous episode.

Dawn leaves to set up her post with Xander, determined to see her sister again.

Xander and Dawn take on some Turok-Han who are disintegrated by sunlight when Dawn throws open a skylight window, but more follow.