Disclaimer: I do not own BTVS, KTE, or any recognizable characters from either show. If I did, I wouldn't be working for the public schools system. Any characters you may not readily recognize are mine to use and abuse. I promise to return the character of Xander and other characters from the shows once I am done, though they might be a bit scuffed when I do.

Warning: potty language, violence, and mild gore


Chapter 4

"My word, Xander, what are you doing here?" Giles repeated himself, looking slightly shocked.

"My mom called me and told me that my dad had been killed. I came back to make sure he stayed dead," Alex said, his voice devoid of any real emotion. "What are you doing here?"

Alex continued on his way, forcing Giles to follow him. He walked over to Giles' car, careful to remain on the border between the light cast by the streetlights and the shadows they created. It felt more natural, well as natural as Kindred on a Hellmouth could feel. Being out in the open went against his instincts. He preferred to be on the fringes, to not attract the wrong attention.

"Well," Giles began, taking off his glasses and cleaned them absently. "I, we, heard about your father and I came by to make sure that it wasn't the worst case scenario for him."

"Oh, well then, thank you for that. However it's been taken care of," Alex disclosed, careful to keep his emotions at bay. Having his father rise from the dead and having to stake him brought forth strong emotions that threatened to overwhelm him, causing him to lose control.

"Then he was turned?" Giles pressed, looking at the young man carefully.

"Yeah, some fucker decided make Tony's body a timeshare but I killed the squatter instead," Alex ground out between clenched teeth.

Giles immediately softened. "Oh Xander, I am so sorry that you had to do that. No one should have to be the one to stake their own family. I wish I had gotten here sooner, but things are a bit hectic right now. I am sorry," the Watcher exclaimed, sincerity marking every word.

Alex shrugged. "It had to be done and I would rather have it done by me than anyone else," he said, and then paused. "Thank you though just the same." He didn't want to sound ungrateful. It was nice of Giles to want to make sure that his father remained dead, instead of becoming a member of the un-dead. Only in Sunnydale, he thought to him self, would you thank someone for being willing to come by and stake your father.

"Are you in town for long and do the others know about you?" Giles went on.

"Know what about me?" Alex asked defensive.

Giles looked puzzled for a second. "About you being in town," he elaborated.

"Oh, that. No, they don't and they don't need to know. I'm only in town long enough to get my mom moved out of this hell hole and get hers and Dad's affairs settled. I can't come back here again," at this point he was looking off in the distance, not really there in the conversation. "Being back on the Hellmouth is too dangerous. It makes my skin crawl. It feels wrong. You leave, get the influences of the Hellmouth get burned out of you, and you are better for it. Being back here almost hurts, you can feel the evil all around you. Emily was right about how dangerous a Hellmouth could be."

The Watcher was looking at him closely, noticing that this Xander was not the same Xander that had left Sunnydale less than a year before. He seemed darker and more in tune with what was around him. There was an awareness that hadn't been present before.

"Who is Emily?" Giles asked.

Alex snapped back to the present. "I'm sorry. God, I am starting to sound like Daedelus! Emily is my girlfriend. She was just worried about me coming back to the murder capital of California," he answered, careful to watch what he said.

"You mentioned someone named Daedelus. Who is that?" Giles pressed, wanting to find the missing puzzle piece to Xander.

"Daedelus?" Alex asked, looking a bit startled at the mention of the name, like he hadn't realized that he had said the name out loud. "He's someone I've met up in San Francisco."

"Are you in town for long?"

"No. I hope to be out of here by the day after tomorrow. I don't want to be here any longer than that,"' he said, determined to match his words with actions. "I have to find the Primordials that did that to my Dad. After that, Mom and I are gone. Take care of yourself Giles. You might want to think about leaving some day also. Hellmouths will drag you down for sure."

Giles was about to respond, but suddenly found himself standing by his car, alone. "Bloody hell!" he exclaimed and looked all around for the wayward youth.

"Something is not right with that boy. And what is a Primordial? I know I've heard of that term before in one of my books," Giles muttered to himself.

He was standing there talking to himself when Buffy finally showed up.

"Hey Giles! What's with the talking to your self crazy act? Did we forget to take our meds again?" she said smartly.

"Very funny," he was almost tempted to tell the Slayer that Xander was back in town, but something deep down told him to keep still. It had been an unreal conversation and he wanted to look up a few things before he mentioned the chance encounter.

"What now? Is Xander's dad a vamp or what? I've got places to be and Glory to kill. We can't waste time on small stuff like this," she pronounced.

Giles, caught off guard by such a flippant thing for Buffy to say, turned on her. "Look here young lady. That was one of the more insensitive things you've said in a long time. While Tony Harris may not be a hell goddess, his fate is just as important. If I were you I would get off your high horse."

Jeez, what crawled up his ass? Buffy thought to herself. Out loud she said, faking a contrite look, "Sorry. What about Mr. Harris? Is he or isn't he a vampire?"

"It's been taken care of Buffy. Now you need to go on patrol. I'll be at the Magic Box. I have a few things I need to cross reference."

From the shadows, Alex looked on, grinning slightly. "You go G-man," he said softly and then disappeared into the darkness, in search of his father's killers.


A/N: Well, what do you think? Crap or not? Hit the shiny review button and let me know.

Giles may or may not know something. I have this feeling that people were expecting a big confrontation between Giles and Xander, but that just didn't feel right to me, but that doesn't mean something can't happen at a later date. Anyways, thanks once again for reading and reviewing.

Cheers!