Walking the Path Chapter 3
Alexander Harris stared at Janna as his thoughts came to a dead stop at her answer. He knew without doubt that she was not lying to him by the look in her eyes she was dead serious.
"Is it mine?" he asked, knowing it was a stupid question.
"I'll forgive you for asking that and put it down to shock," Janna said with a small smile. "But to put your mind back in gear, yes it is, as I have not slept with anyone but you since I came to Sunnydale not even Giles," she added.
Alexander quickly took her answer on board and processed it. He nodded, letting her know he understood. Before he asked himself the most important question he could at this moment in time and that was 'Am I ready to be a father?'
"Alex?" asked Janna, somewhat unsure of his continued silence.
"I'm okay Janna and I am happy about this," Xander assured her: "I really am beginning to care for you and this while unexpected is good news," he added, giving her a warm smile to convince her of his sincerity.
He had been surprised to find that the answer to his inner question had been a very solid 'yes'. Somewhere in his heart was the desire to be a father, even at this young age, it confused him, but he accepted it none the less.
He would stand by Janna no matter what happened with the others and no matter what happened with Angelus and any other vampire or demon.
Janna launched herself at her friend after his admission and pulled him into a deep hug. She was very happy with his answer due to her own emerging feelings towards her friend.
As they pulled away from each other their eyes locked and it was if they were pulled together by an invisible force and soon they were lost to sensation and feeling as their kissing became more passionate and soon became much more.
The next day Xander awoke once again to the strange sensation of being cuddled up next to someone- For one brief moment he believed he was once again waking up the day after the botched love spell, before the memory of the night before came back to him causing a smile to light up his face, as he looked across at Janna who was using his chest as her pillow.
He studied her features as she slept, the way her long black hair framed her face, whilst her features showed she was fully relaxed. He felt calm and loved which was something he used to only feel when he was near either his mother or Willow, as seen as his step father was usually drunk and prone to taking his temper out on him, whilst Buffy, Giles, Cordelia and Oz never really showed any real happiness with his company for various reasons.
Janna slowly woke from a very pleasant dream to find Xander watching her sleeping form with a smile on his face. She gave him a smile back before reaching upwards and bringing him down for a quick kiss.
"Morning," she said, as she pulled away.
"Hey beautiful," he replied, as he pulled himself away from her with a bit of regret for moving, as he went to get ready for school.
Janna watched as Xander redressed after a shower and went downstairs to cook breakfast, whilst she finally went for a shower herself. She could never have imagined how her life would change after Rupert had betrayed her just to keep Buffy happy. She had thought that she would go back home after she had done the spell, but instead she found herself falling in love with a young man, she had only thought of as a friend, before the botched love spell and not only was she falling in love with him, but she found herself now having a baby with him. Something she still found hard to believe, but she felt no fear from the fact or hesitation. Xander's response to the fact was a surprise, but a pleasant one.
Xander walked through the school, heading for the library, somewhat nervous and yet determined to try one more time to make the others see just how dangerous it was to allow Angelus to continue to live. Janna would be meeting him there with the disk she had saved the soul spell on.
He knew how Buffy would react to the news they might be able to bring Angel back, but he would die before he put Janna or his baby's life on the line for the ungrateful blond slayer. He came to a halt before the doors leading to the library and looked inside and noted that all of the gang were inside. He took a deep breath and entered, followed a second later by Janna who had just arrived behind him.
Buffy Summers looked up along with the others as someone entered the library and she scowled as she noted it was Xander and Jenny Calendar. The two people she hated most at the moment.
"What are you doing here?" Giles asked in a tight voice, as he looked at his former lover.
"We need to talk about an incident that happened last night," Xander replied taking the lead.
"Nothing happened last night. I would have known," Buffy said hotly.
"You don't patrol through the school Buffy, so you have no idea what's going on here during the night," Xander shot back.
"And how do you know what was going on then?" Buffy asked skeptically.
"Janna and I were here," Xander replied, as he sat followed by Janna. He motioned for the others to do the same which they did hesitantly.
"Why?" asked Giles, as he polished his glasses.
"For the last couple of weeks I have been trying to translate the soul spell my people originally used to curse Angelus," Janna began: "I have been spending a few hours a night at school using the computer, forgetting as Xander pointed out yesterday that it is a public building and vampires can enter at will," she continued. "Last night I completed the translation, however I was almost killed when Angelus turned up," she finished with a shiver, at how close she and her then unknown baby were to death.
"How did you survive if Angelus attacked you?" Oz asked speaking a bit more than usual to ask his question.
"After finding out what Janna was up to I tried to convince her not to use the school at night, but she refused due to how close to she was to completing the spell," Xander answered. "So I made sure I was there watching her back in case any vampires turned up and I was glad I did, when I saw Angelus turn up," he added, "I waited until Janna ran out of the computer room and then ambushed dead boy, surprising him," he finished.
"You're trying to say you beat Angel in a fight?" Buffy asked skeptically, as the others looked at their former friend in disbelief.
"No Buffy," Xander sighed. "I surprised him and we are alive due to the fact he wasn't expecting me to be there, as well as the fact that I retained certain skills from my possessions," he informed the others. "We escaped by sheer luck," he finished as if to simplify things.
The others shared a few looks between themselves after Xander had finished speaking. Buffy still looked skeptically, but the others were a bit more level headed about things and so decided to accept their versions of events for now.
"What about the spell you were attempting to translate?" Giles asked, pushing away the idea of Janna's brush with death. "Do you have it?" he asked.
"I do," Janna answered, as she handed the disk to Xander as they had discussed before.
"This disk could held the curse to re-curse Angelus with his soul and bring Angel back," Xander told them.
"Then let's do it now. She owes us for what she did," Buffy said, excitedly at the news she could have Angel back so soon.
"No," Janna told her clearly.
"What do you mean no? You have to so this," Buffy spat, getting angry.
"I will not do it because this spell is one of the blackest forms of magic known to exist," Janna tried to explain. "Without enough skill I or anyone else trying this spell could be either killed or infused with enough dark magic to corrupt their souls," she added.
"You're probably just saying that to spite me," Buffy shot back. "Giles?" she asked turning to her watcher.
"Soul magic, I'm afraid, is not something to mess around with, Buffy," Giles said, as he placed his glasses back on and stood up. "However considering we do not know what level of skill Jenny actually processes, she could be lying about whether or not she could do this spell," he continued.
Everyone turned to stare at Janna and Xander who shared a brief annoyed glance.
"I can't do it Giles and even if I might have been prepared to try before last night, I am not prepared to try now or every again," Janna told them angrily, as she too stood up.
"What's so different about last night and now?" Willow asked, with a confused frown.
Janna looked to where Xander now stood near the stacks. He had a weary look on his face and she knew he was not looking forward to discussing this subject.
"I would not be risking just my life," Janna finally answered, after a small nod from Xander.
"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked, looking accusingly between Janna and Xander.
"I am pregnant and if I did the spell, I would risk my baby's life and that is something I will not do," Janna explained.
"What?" Giles raged. "How can you be pregnant?" he demanded to know.
"Love spell," Xander mumbled, backing away from the incensed watcher before stopping and getting angry himself, as he realized something. "Wait a minute. Why are you angry? You dumped Janna when the curse broke, so what right do you have to act like she betrayed you?" Xander asked.
"It's yours, you cheating rat?" Cordelia shouted, jumping up.
"Yes it is Cordy and you have no right to be angry either, seen as you dumped me remember? If you hadn't done that, then I never would have gotten Amy to do the spell in the first place," Xander shot back.
Cordelia just glared at him hatefully, but before she could storm off Willow jumped into the conversation barley stopping herself crying, at what they had just learned.
"I'll do the spell then," she said with enthusiasm.
"Did you not hear me when I explained how dangerous this spell is?" Janna said, shocked at Willow's stupidity.
"I can do it, I'm sure I can," Willow countered.
"How Willow?" Xander asked "You've never done any magic in your life," he added.
"I'm sure Willow knows what she doing," Buffy defended her friend, "give me the disk, Xander?" she asked with a glare.
"No I won't. I will not let anyone risk their own lives for dead boy," Xander told them, as he held the disk up and then promptly snapped it in half, as Buffy tried to grab it.
"No, you moron," Buffy cried as the chance to get her lover back was destroyed.
"I knew you'd lose all perception on this, once you knew about the disk and once more you're just proving how selfish you are. Let's go Janna," Xander hissed, as he moved to the doors along with Janna.
"Hold it you two. We haven't finished yet," Giles spat angrily.
"Yes we have Giles, but we'll talk again believe me," Xander told the watcher, before exiting with Janna. Leaving a library full of shocked former friends.