Date written: Sat 10 Oct 2009
Author: Starway Man
E-mail: theop at hotkey dot net dot au
Disclaimer: The Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel characters are the property of Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Sandollar, Kuzui, Fox, WB and UPN; I don't own 'em, and I never will. I also do not own any other characters from any television shows, movies, comics, videogames or literature that I might use. This work is meant merely for enjoyment, and no profit is being made off of it. Some of the text is from various TV episodes or movies or comics or videogames or literature, and so does not belong to me of course.
Rating: Overall R, with mostly PG-13 parts.
Symbols: " " denotes speech, ( italics ) specifies thoughts, and # # indicates phone voice.
Main characters: Xander, ensemble
Warnings: There is some violence, bad language, character death and mention of sexual situations in these stories.
Author Notes: A couple of years ago Night Hunter MGS (a.k.a. Matt) wrote an awesome series of stories called "31 Days of Xanderween" (http://www .fanfiction .net/s/3813208/1/31_Days_of_Xanderween), where he published one Halloween fic for each day of October. I was inspired enough to want to do my own version of the concept, and he has graciously allowed me to use his idea for this series of fanfic stories.
Author Notes 2: What can you say about reruns? Like Francis Eugene once wrote, they're the most valuable export of the U.S. – not! Still, one particular show has been on for a long time, and here in Australia, the affiliate network never seem to get tired of putting it on the air. In conjunction to this I wanted to do a 'ship that I've never done before, and so somehow, this story seemed to fit the bill. And before I forget, thanks to everyone who's sent reviews and feedback!
Acknowledgments: My thanks of course to Matt for allowing me to dabble with his original idea this way. Also, my deepest gratitude to all my beta readers – Francis Eugene, Greywizard, American Soldier and Nodakskip – for all their help in getting these stories finished on time!
Classification: Alternate Universe, Angst, Crossover, Romance, YAHF
Summary: Thirty-one versions of Halloween, Xander-style. Fic-a-day series.
Title:31 Days of Xanderween Part Deux
***
Story 10: Is There A Doctor In The House?
Ethan's Costume Shop, Sunnydale, California
October 30th, 1997
It all started innocently enough, while Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg were just indulging in a bit of girl talk before buying their costumes for tomorrow night's Halloween escort duty. But as they say, no good deed ever goes unpunished.
"What'd you get?" Buffy asked her red-haired best friend.
"A time-honoured classic!" Willow said enthusiastically, holding up a ghost costume.
Buffy sighed, "Okay, Will, can I give you a little friendly advice?"
Just then Xander Harris came over to join his girls, a lot earlier than he should have. "Hey, guys. So, what are you two vixens talking about?"
"Nothing," Buffy exhaled in defeat, glancing at Willow before shifting her attention back to her male friend. "Anyway, Xander, what kind of costume did YOU get?"
"I was gonna get a toy gun to go with my army fatigues at home – be the two-dollar costume king and all that," Xander grumbled. "But unfortunately, my well-laid plans have hit an unfortunate snag. Namely, a snotty little eight-year-old brat with a complete battleaxe of a hard-nosed mom!"
"Oh, Xander, I'm sorry," Buffy told him. "And I'm also sorry about this morning, y'know, that thing with Larry."
"Do ya mind, Buff? I'm still trying to repress about that," Xander told her frankly. "Still, I know one way you could make it up to me..."
"What's that?" asked Willow curiously.
"Buying a Halloween costume that's either a Baywatch bikini, or a comic superhero spandex outfit," the boy said with a straight face.
Both Buffy and Willow slapped him lightly for that. Not enough to hurt him in any way, but Xander briefly acted as if he'd struck by Slayer strength anyway.
"Come on, Xander! Be serious, what should I get?" Miss Summers asked, her back to an 18th century gown that she would have already been drooling over in another world.
Suddenly, Alexander Harris had an idea.
***
1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale, California
October 31st, 1997
( Oh, God, HOW did I ever let myself get talked into this? ) Buffy asked herself miserably, as she looked in the mirror. ( Well, I guess it could have been worse. Xander could have suggested that I dress up as a naughty nurse, instead of a regular army one! )
The blonde girl stared at herself in the mirror again. Buffy was wearing Xander's army fatigues that had been adjusted to her size by her mother Joyce, along with a grey T-shirt plus an olive-green cap that she had bought from Ethan's store.
( All right, I guess I don't look too bad in this outfit – but I sure don't think Angel is gonna be impressed by it! ) Buffy mused. ( It doesn't look very ladylike at all. )
Thoughts of her vampiric boyfriend were prominent in the Chosen One's mind tonight, because things had definitely started growing more serious between them lately. ( I just wish he'd open up a bit more, darn it, ) Buffy thought to herself. ( I saw Angel laughing it up with Cordelia in the Bronze the other night, so why can't he ever do that with me? )
"I'm done," Willow said as she put on her ghost outfit, with nothing but her regular clothes on underneath.
"That was quick," Buffy said. "But I'm telling you, Willow, if you keep hiding like this-"
Downstairs the doorbell rang, cutting the Slayer off.
"That'll be Xander," Miss Rosenberg said gratefully, not wanting to hear Buffy's speeches about dressing more daringly for Halloween again.
"Right. Come on, let's go," Miss Summers huffed. The two girls made their way down the stairs, and Buffy opened up the front door.
"Major Margaret Houlihan? Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce reporting for duty, sir," Xander saluted her as he came in wearing a set of white medical scrubs, which he had obtained at Ethan's store.
"Hey, Will! Mighty fine boo you got there," the young man added as he spied Willow's outfit. "Y'know, I still think it's too bad you decided not to make this a theme night-"
"Xander! I told you, there is no way that I was gonna dress up as Max Klinger!" Miss Rosenberg said crossly.
***
Somewhere on the streets of Sunnydale, California
A while later
Dr. Benjamin Franklin 'Hawkeye' Pierce, so nicknamed by his father Daniel Pierce because the only novel the old man had ever read was 'The Last of the Mohicans', blinked as he felt a cold breeze pass him by. Then he heard screaming, and the army doctor looked around to see children and adults being chased by some sort of monsters.
( Oh, God, ) the Korean War veteran thought to himself, desperately not wanting to believe his eyes. ( That's it, I've completely lost it again! I told Sidney that I should have been sent home after the breakdown, but noooo, he insisted on sending a terminal crazy back to his MASH outfit... )
"Xander! Xander!" a young redheaded teenager came running up to the man. She was dressed in rather strange clothes (at least to Hawkeye's way of thinking), but fortunately she wasn't dressed in the 1990's clubbing outfit Buffy would have chosen for her, because Pierce most likely would have never even have paid any attention to Willow if she'd been wearing that. "Are you okay?" Miss Rosenberg asked.
"Uh, I'm fine, miss," Hawkeye said slowly. "But, but where am I? And who are you?"
"PIERCE!!" a loud female bellow was heard as the doctor and the ghost turned around. The nurse known as Margaret 'Hot Lips' Houlihan came running towards them, an angry look on her face. "Thank God I found you. What is going on here?!"
"Beats me, Margaret," the man possessing Xander told the woman possessing Buffy. Both of them could recognize the other, despite being a lot younger than the characters they were supposed to be and having different faces as well. It was a special kind of magic, thanks to Janus working his will in mysterious ways.
Hawkeye turned to Willow, "Look, miss, have you got any answers for us?"
Just then one of the local monsters roared, having spotted a potential meal, and headed towards the three of them.
"FOLLOW ME!!" Willow shouted, turning around and running in the direction of the Summers house. The two medical professionals were not slow in pursuing her, either.
***
1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale, California
Later that night
The Willow ghost looked rather relieved as she and her two acquaintances came into the house via the back door. "Hello, Mrs. Summers?" No reply. "Good, she's not back yet."
"What is this place?" Margaret demanded, as Hawkeye closed and locked the door behind him.
"Uh, it's your house-" Willow started to say.
"Don't be ridiculous," Major Houlihan snapped. "I don't know what's going on here yet, but one thing I do know: and that is, we are not in South Korea!"
"Yeah, uh, that's because this town is called Sunnydale, it's in California. And, and you guys aren't really who you think you are," Willow said helplessly.
"What are you talking about?" Hawkeye asked, eyes narrowing.
"Well, this is the year 1997 – and you two have possessed my friends Buffy Summers and Xander Harris during Halloween tonight," Miss Rosenberg said apologetically.
"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!" Margaret exclaimed. "Now stop playing games, miss, who are you and how did we get here? Because I was born in California, and I've never heard of any place called Sunnydale in my entire life!"
"I'm Willow Rosenberg," the redhead introduced herself. "And just so I'm sure, you two are-?"
"Major Margaret Houlihan," the blonde nurse said frostily.
"Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce," the dark-haired doctor nodded.
"I thought so," Willow sighed. "Well, thank God I never dressed up as Klinger-"
"You know Klinger?!" both members of the U.S. Army Medical Corps said at the same time.
"He's just a character on TV like you guys; he doesn't really exist," Willow insisted. "And this isn't the 1950's, please believe me! Like, take a look around the house. There's got to be something here that'll convince you this isn't some sort of trick, right?"
"Margaret? I think she might be telling us the truth, or at least partly," Pierce said, as he wandered around the kitchen and then into the living room. "Look at the stove, the TV, the radio...I've never seen anything like them before. Have you?"
"No, no, I haven't," Houlihan admitted, her own eyes going wide. The house looked almost alien, compared to what the 1953 nurse was used to.
As Hawkeye passed by the front door, he heard a female scream coming from the outside. Cursing, the doctor quickly dashed out and then returned with Cordelia Chase, who was dressed as a leopard-like cat.
"Whew, that was close. What the hell was that thing chasing you?" the surgeon exclaimed as he slammed the door behind them.
"Jo-Jo the Dog Face Boy? I have no idea," Cordelia replied, shaking her head at her ripped and torn Halloween outfit.
"Okay, your name is Cordelia, you're not a cat, you're in high school, and we're your friends. Well, sort of," Willow said, immediately jumping to conclusions.
"You're in high school? Damn. There goes my idea of asking you out on a date next Friday night," Hawkeye wisecracked.
"Put a lid on it, Pierce!" Major Houlihan's annoyed voice barked out.
"Oh come on, Margaret, you know me – I gotta laugh before I cry. Or else go complete crazy all over again," Hawkeye shrugged his shoulders.
"Pierce? Margaret? Willow, what the hell is going on here?" Cordelia demanded, looking clueless for once.
"You know me? Us?" the redhead asked in astonishment. Then she pulled herself together. "Uh, basically, Buffy and Xander here have turned into Hawkeye Pierce and Major Houlihan..."
"Those two idiots from that old TV show, MASH?" Cordelia asked incredulously. "Oh my God, I really have hit rock bottom!"
"I have a plan," Willow offered tentatively, as the doctor and the nurse both looked insulted.
"Oh great, here's a lower place," Cordelia groaned.
"Cordy! Pay attention!" Willow said sharply, showing a bit of backbone for once. "I'm going to head for the school and find Giles, you stay here and keep an eye on these two. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Are you nuts? It's way too dangerous out there!" Miss Chase replied. "Believe me, I know – look at my Halloween costume! You think Partytown is gonna give me my deposit back? Impossible!"
"I'll be fine," Miss Rosenberg said, sticking her arm through the wall. "Ghost here, see? I got turned into my Halloween costume as well. Now you guys sit tight, I'll be back." The Willow ghost quickly vanished out through the wall.
"Oh my God," the straight-laced army nurse collapsed onto the couch. "I did NOT just see that!"
"The whole ghost thing? Yeah, kinda makes me think I've left on another trip to Crazy Town myself," Hawkeye sat down on the couch as well, as he patted her knee.
"But look on the bright side, Margaret," he subsequently smirked. "If we've both gone completely nuts, well, at least we've got each other for company."
"Pierce..." Major Houlihan grumbled, before a reluctant grin slid onto her face and she snorted in amusement. "Hawkeye, you're unbelievable. You'll never change, will you?"
The doctor simply shrugged. "I'm certainly not planning on it. Wine, women and song, that's my motto!"
"I can't believe I actually have to listen to this conversation," Cordelia muttered to herself, heading into the kitchen. "Stupid Hellmouth..."
***
17619 White Oak Drive, Sunnydale, California
November 1st, 1997
Buffy knocked on the door to Xander's house, feeling rather nervous and concerned. This was the first time she'd ever actually been here, and she wasn't exactly looking forward to the conversation she was going to have with her Xander-shaped friend.
Last night hadn't been too bad, all things considered. After Angel had arrived and Cordelia had told him what was going on, there had been a couple of vampire attacks, but the bad guys had been beaten off and eventually the spell had been broken without Buffy running off screaming into the night at the sight of Angel's vamp face.
Oddly, Margaret Houlihan had jumped him in the kitchen and delivered a powerful right hook to knock Angel out for ages. Being an army brat and the daughter of Colonel Alvin 'Howitzer Al' Houlihan did come with some perks, after all.
Buffy had felt just awful about it afterwards, though. And her feelings towards Xander were now very confused. She could not help associating him with his fellow clown, Hawkeye Pierce – who was also the man Margaret Houlihan had once slept with, and shared a very passionate, prolonged and open-mouthed kiss with upon the unit's complete withdrawal from the 4077th MASH camp.
"Yeah?" A middle-aged balding man opened the door, and almost slurred the question.
"Hi, I'm here to see Xander?" the female teen said, wondering if this was her friend's father. "I'm Buffy Summers, we go to school together."
The man almost started undressing her with his eyes, which really creeped Buffy out, before he turned and called out, "Hey, Xander! You got a visitor!"
The male teen quickly came down the stairs. Upon seeing Buffy he said "Thanks, Dad, I'll take it from here."
The balding man shrugged and decided to leave the two teens alone. Xander gestured to his friend, "Come on, let's go down to the basement. We'll have a lot more privacy down there; my uncle Rory's visiting us this weekend."
Buffy followed Xander silently, not sure what to say. The Harris boy switched on the light, and turned to face the Slayer. "So what's this about, Buff? I wasn't expecting you to come over today."
"Well, uh, I wanted to talk to you, make sure you're okay after what happened last night-"
"I could say the same thing about you," Xander interrupted. "How are you holding up?"
"I'm, I'm coping," Miss Summers said uneasily. "You?"
Xander couldn't and didn't want to lie. "Oh, I remember everything, Buffy. I can remember Hawkeye's life like I lived it all myself. You?"
"Yeah, me too," Buffy confessed. "It's...weird. 'Cause there's a lot of parallels, like my parents and hers getting a divorce. Her moving around all the time, and me moving from LA to Sunnydale. And this morning, I had to stop myself from raiding my mom's liquor cabinet on account of Margaret's drinking problem!"
"Same here," Xander shrugged. "The TV show didn't even come close to showing how much Hawkeye drank, to let him cope with three years of hell. I also have to cope with the memory of being responsible for the death of a baby on that bus, and ending up completely nuts afterwards. Lots of fun, I can promise you."
"I'm sorry, Xander," Buffy said sincerely, shaking her head. "Um, do you remember-?"
"The sex between us – I mean, them?" Xander hastily corrected himself, looking guilty as hell. "Yeah, yeah, I do."
"This is just way too weird," Buffy complained again, as she started to pace around the basement. "I'm not even 17 years old yet! How am I supposed to deal with remembering what it's like to be married and divorced, with a cheating husband?"
"You think you've got it bad? Pierce had his way with so many women it's a headache just trying to keep all the names and faces straight," Harris shook his head. "Both during World War Two, and the Korean War."
"I can remember World War Two as well," Buffy told him, a faraway look in her eyes. "But I don't WANT to, y'know? I just want to be ME again!" Buffy almost started shaking uncontrollably. "I don't want to be some hard-as-nails army leader, who's had a whole string of failed relationships with men!!"
Xander automatically took her in his arms and hugged her tight, wishing he could make all the bad stuff go away for the girl he truly loved beyond any other.
***
The Sunnydale Mall, Sunnydale, California
January 21st, 1998
Angel looked down at the dusty remains of Drusilla in dismay, as Buffy ran off to help her friends gather up the remains of the Judge – well, what was left after blowing him up with a rocket launcher, that is.
Angel couldn't help thinking to himself that it shouldn't be like this, somehow. Because it hadn't been at all pleasant for him to witness the end of his romantic relationship with Buffy, after the advent of All Hallows' Eve.
The young woman had been changed profoundly by her experiences, just as Xander had been. The ensouled vampire had noticed the new vibes between those two, and so had Willow; it was obvious how they were getting closer and closer, and so Angel had backed off, trying not to pressure Buffy into anything.
Unfortunately, Xander now had a range of medical skills that had come in very useful whenever Buffy had gotten hurt on patrol, and the stares between them whenever the two teens thought he wasn't looking had set Angel's teeth on edge. Over the past three months, things had gotten colder and colder between him and his girlfriend, to the point where Buffy had chosen Xander instead of himself to help her steal a rocket launcher tonight, the instrument with which the gang had destroyed the Judge.
Departing from the urban battlefield, Angel finally found himself at Spike's warehouse. He knew that it would be relatively safe to come here, since most of the minions would have been wiped out along with the Judge at the mall just now.
"Hello, Spike," he said simply to his grandchilde.
"Well, well, if it isn't the big poof," William the Bloody sneered from his wheelchair, even though his grandsire could hear the hidden concern in his voice. "You got some wrinklies showin' yer face 'ere, mate!"
"I came to tell you that Dru's dust," Angel said emptily, as Spike's eyes went wide with horror. "Buffy staked her at the mall, after she took care of the Judge. It's just you and me left now, Spike."
"BULL! You're a bloody liar!" William screamed in denial, even though he knew that the odds were that Angel wasn't playing mind games. That was more the province of Angelus, his soulless counterpart.
"No I'm not," Angel said regretfully, walking over to the wheelchair. "Look at you, Spike, you're a mess. Without Drusilla to take care of you, just how long do you think you'll last? You'd get staked or thrown out into the sunlight by one of your own minions soon enough. That's why I thought I'd do you one last favour, and at least make it quick."
"YOU-" Spike's eyes went wide, and he tried to twist aside in his wheelchair. But it was no use: Angel's aim with his weapon was deadly accurate, and the British one-time poet/vampire was subsequently no more.
Disheartened, Angel made his way back to his apartment. For the first time, the Irish-born vampire started wondering whether it would be wiser if he simply packed his things and moved out of town.
***
Sunnydale General Hospital, Sunnydale, California
March 9th, 1998
Xander Harris was a rather worried young man, as he sat outside Buffy's hospital room.
He and Willow had followed Buffy out on patrol tonight, as they were both very concerned about her. Over half the school had come down with a terrible case of the flu, including the Slayer, and yet Buffy had insisted on heading out onto the streets to do her duty.
Harris suspected the influence of Margaret Houlihan in that attitude, the focused and disciplined approach reminding him greatly of the Korean War nurse. But unfortunately Buffy didn't know (or at least, wouldn't acknowledge) her own limitations, and so she had collapsed in the middle of a cemetery before he and Willow had rushed her over here.
"Hello, Xander."
Looking up, the male teen saw Angel sit down beside him. After all these months, Harris didn't even flinch at the ensouled vampire's presence: because here and now, Angelus was just a dusty old entry in the Watcher diaries.
"Hey, man, where the heck have you been lately? We haven't seen you at the library or out on patrol for ages!" Xander demanded.
"I've been busy. How's Buffy?" Angel asked in concern.
"She'll be okay, I'm pretty sure. Willow and I brought her to the hospital just in case my using someone else's memories to diagnose her medical condition was a mistake," Harris exhaled. "It's dangerous doing that, y'know. I mean, I've tried my best to hang onto all those memories, remember as much as possible in order to be able to help out however I can – but the more I do it, the more I find myself acting like I'm HIM. My God, Angel, I actually propositioned Cordelia the other day; and I could have sworn she seriously considered the idea of going out on a date with me!!"
"So how does Buffy feel about that?" Angel asked, feeling his anger boil and churn within him.
"I haven't told her yet. But Willow gave me a tongue-lashing the likes of which I've never experienced in my entire life, after I confessed to her," Xander shuddered. "I never realized she actually knew that kind of language! It must be from hanging out with that Oz guy. 'Cause he's in a band, and we all know what those types are like!"
Angel shook his head. "Do you love Buffy?"
"Huh?" Xander looked surprised at the abrupt change in subject.
"You heard me. Do you love her, yes or no?"
"Of course I do, I have ever since the moment we first met. Remember that conversation we had about it in your apartment last year?" Xander demanded. "Okay, yeah, I'm doing the whole wandering eye deal right now, I can't help it – but none of those girls will ever measure up to Buffy, and we both know it. Hopefully, I'll be able to kick the bad habit soon..."
Angel took in a deep breath, or at least he would have if he was actually alive. "I want you to be the first to know – as soon as Buffy's feeling better, I'm leaving Sunnydale."
"Say WHAT?" Xander turned to face his undead companion, eyes wide. "Why?"
"Ever since Halloween, it just hasn't been the same between us," Angel confessed, wondering why the hell he was unburdening himself on the competition. Deep down, his inner demon was howling and demanding to sink its fangs into the boy's throat for daring to intrude on his territory, but the soul knew that wouldn't help him win Buffy's heart back. "And I've noticed how you two are a lot more comfortable around each other now. Once I'm gone, I suspect that if you were to make your move – Buffy wouldn't reject you this time."
Without another word, Angel lurched up and walked off, leaving a stunned and open-mouthed Xander behind him. He hated to do it, but Buffy deserved to be happy – and if Harris was the one to accomplish that now instead of him, then the ensouled vampire knew he just had to accept it and move on.
***
1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale, California
March 14th, 1998
Angel had disappeared out of Sunnydale, not long after the demon named der Kindestod had been killed at the hospital. It was certainly a battle to remember, too.
Buffy, sick and delirious with a fever, had nonetheless managed to accomplish her duty by snapping the child-killer demon's neck in the basement. Xander had been there at the time, herding away a group of sick little kids, and after it was all over, he had carried Buffy away from the field of battle as well.
"Here you go, honey. Peanut butter and jelly, without the crust, just the way you like it," Buffy's mom Joyce came in with a sandwich on a plate and a glass of juice.
Buffy, who was lying comfortably in her bed, just looked at her mother with a semi-forlorn expression on her face. "And the juice?"
"Two parts orange, one part grapefruit," the middle-aged woman said with a smile, as she put the food and drink on the nightstand.
"That's the Buffster's drink all right," Xander said from his position on the floor, munching on some cheesy chips.
"Mrs. Summers, could I get a refill?" Willow asked, holding out her glass from the other side of the bed. Then Xander caught her eye, and she quickly adlibbed, "Oh, on second thoughts, I better go get it myself. I need the exercise!" So saying, the redhead followed Joyce out the door.
"So, Buff. How are you dealing with Angel deciding to bail that way?" Xander asked as tactfully as he could, which wasn't much.
Miss Summers frowned at him for a moment, before sighing. "Honestly? I'm upset, but at the same time kinda relieved. It was getting really awkward between us towards the end, y'know? Maybe he was right, and this really was all for the best. I'm pretty sure Mom's glad that he's gone too – she was kinda suspicious of his motives when I brought him home to meet her, before he explained about the whole vampire thing." Buffy sighed again.
"Angel and me, we, uh, we talked. At the hospital, the night you were first admitted," Xander told her reluctantly. "He said...he said..."
"What?" Buffy asked curiously.
"That he was leaving town. And that once he was gone, you'd be free game, so to speak," Xander said in a rush before he lost his nerve.
"WHAT?" Buffy looked astonished as she whipped her head around. "Xander, what are you..." Finally, the tumblers clicked into place within her mind.
"Xander, are you saying that you still want me? That you're still in love with me, like you were at Spring Fling last year?" she demanded.
"Oh God," Xander groaned, causing Buffy to smile. Continuing after the briefest of hesitations, he said, "Yeah, I am. I never stopped, Buffy-"
That was all Buffy Summers needed to hear, as her innermost desires ceased to be repressed and she dragged his ass onto the bed. Buffy's mouth descended on his, in a crushing, soul-devouring kiss. In return, Xander's tongue moved in slowly, barely grazing the tip of hers in a sensual caress that sent heat coursing throughout the Slayer's body.
But then Xander pulled away from the Chosen One's mouth, his breath already coming in quick pants.
"You're sure?" he asked, holding himself tensely. "Are you absolu-"
Pulling his head back down, Buffy plunged her tongue into the warm depths of his mouth. Xander groaned, pulling her much closer. ( Oh dear God, is this finally really happening?! )
"Does that...answer your...question?" Miss Summers asked, in between planting kisses on his lips.
"Oh, yeah," Xander replied huskily, even as he let her go and slid off the bed after hearing Willow and Joyce returning towards Buffy's bedroom.
"Buffy Summers, you just made me the happiest man alive!"
***
Next: Story 11 - Voyager!