Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, wish I did, but be careful what
you wish for. Of course that's the whole point of this story.
Previous parts can be found at:
http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=134718
Rating: Pg-13 for now, but expect it to jump to a hard pg-13 later. What. People can have hard R's I can have hard pg-13's.
Learning to be careful (12/?)
The day my world fell apart was nothing special. It was a Wednesday. Actually it was a really ordinary Wednesday. It didn't even have an ominous feel to it or anything. And when I remember it, it's the little things I think about most.
This Wednesday started as most of my days did, in Buffy's arms. It was my favorite part of the day, just before we both got up to head our separate ways. One of us always woke up right before the other and watched them sleep. Then the other would wake, feel the other's eyes were on them, and pretend to still be asleep. It was a cute little ritual we had. When the one who was awake first had enough they'd kiss the other on the forehead and they would open their eyes up like it was magic or something.
"Morning," she said after I broke the unspoken spell.
"Morning my love," I said softly, running my hands through her hair. I loved to do that. I loved her hair. It was like golden spun silk.
We got up in unison and found ourselves in shower, kissing. We didn't do anything crazy, because no matter what anyone tells you having sex in the shower is not as easy as it looks. But, we made other fun. This wasn't a ritual so much as a luxury. We did it when we had time. After the shower we dried off together. Now that's as fun as it sounds.
I drove her to school. When we had time we grabbed breakfast at the student union. She always got a bagel with cream cheese and just a wisp of blueberry jam. I, on the other hand, liked to throw her off so I always got something different. Granted the student union's wide array of choices was about as long as the line for a John Tesh concert, but I did my best.
I walked her to class after breakfast and headed out for the site. The new guy I'd been training, Johnny Timmons, was waiting for me.
"Little late today, huh Harris?"
"Right on time actually," I spat back. This guy really gave me the creeps, which should have tipped me off.
"Early bird catches the worms," he chortled. He was a big oafish type, lots of muscles but not a lot of brains.
"What good does it do you to come early, you know you can't clock in until eight thirty," I replied casually and started to work. I thought I heard him mutter tonight, but I wasn't really sure and I let it alone.
Lunch break rolled around and she was there. She was always there. Buffy didn't have class from twelve to one so she always came to see me during lunch. She brought some fast food with her everyday and we sat, ate, and enjoyed being with each other. When my lunch break was over, Buffy kissed me and headed back to school.
She knew I'd call her as soon as I got home and we'd plan the evening. They usually consisted of a little dinner, some Scooby stuff, a little patrol, and then a lot of loving. Guess what my favorite part of the night was. And this Wednesday wouldn't be any different. At least that's what I thought.
Five o'clock rolled around and I punched out. Timmons approached me. Oh good, more off the clock banter/insults.
"Hey, Harris."
"Timmons."
"Look, I'm sorry I've been riding you so much."
Well, that was unexpected.
"Come again?"
"The thing is they all like you so much and treat you with so much respect, I thought if I could bully you around I could prove myself to the guys. That's how my other jobs have been. But it's different here. I just wanted to apologize. What do you say I buy you a beer, no hard feelings?"
I was seriously stunned for a minute. Big, dumb and ugly wanted to buy me beer. And I'm always a sucker for free beer. "Well," I shrugged. "I'm supposed to meet my girlfriend for dinner later, but I suppose one beer to bury the hatchet couldn't hurt."
"Great, let's go."
"Let me just grab my bag," I said. Sunnydale at night without magic is like having unprotected sex: it seems more fun and natural but it's really dangerous.
"Sure."
We decided to walk to the local watering hole a couple blocks away. As we walked past an alley we heard sounds of a scuffle.
"Should we check that out?" Johnny asked.
I gave a Johnny a once over. He looked like he could handle himself all right in a fight. But, had he ever seen what goes bump in the night before. Though he looked like something that went bump in the night and we're not talking about body bumping either. The scream of a girl made up my mind.
"Come on," I rushed into the alley with Timmons right behind me. When I was in deep enough to see what was going on I saw a black leather coat with a flash of blond hair. I recognized him instantly.
"Spike," I growled.
"Droopy." He turned to face me with a tape recorder in his hands.
"What the hell?" I started to ask. Then I felt it. It literally ripped the air from my lungs. My eyes closed and I struggled to stay on my feet.
"Sorry Harris," Timmons spoke from behind me and took the knife from my back, only to drive it in a different spot. If I recall correctly, and I may not seeing as how I was being stabbed, I tried to yell but couldn't gather enough air in my lungs to do it.
I had been beaten, battered, bruised, and nearly killed more times than I care to think about. Yet, none of it could compare to the pain that surged through me. It ran from the cuts in my back up my arms, down my legs, and danced along my spine.
"Bastard," I gasped before I collapsed to the ground.
"It can end Xander," Spike said. It's one of the only times I remember actually hearing him say my name. I wanted more than anything to shove it back down his throat, but the pain was crippling. "I know you worked some magic mojo on everyone. Brought Joyce back, made Buffy fall in love with you. All I want to do is put things back the way they were. Tell me how to undo this and you'll be fine. I won't even tell the damn Scoobies what you did."
There was a sick sense of calm about him. He actually thought that was all there was too it. I tell him how to go back to the old verse and it's like this never happened. As if the old was better for anyone besides him.
"How did you know about me and Buffy?" I gasped.
"I've been watching you," he shrugged. The bastard, I knew someone had been there that day in the bushes. If only I'd staked him then and there.
"H-how," I stuttered out, speaking becoming one of a growing list of challenges, "d-do yyyou know it can be reversed," I croaked out.
"Magic always has an out," he said simply. I had to do something, so I clutched at my bag. It took almost all the strength I had to open it up and start digging through it.
"That's a good boy Harris," Johnny said. I risked the strength to shoot him the dirtiest look I could muster. "Sorry about all this. He just pays too good." He shrugged back.
I couldn't waste the energy to speak it but I thought, you idiot once things go back to the old verse you won't remember any of this he won't have to pay you. I pulled the lamp out. The world was slipping away from me. I blinked a few times, but I could literally feel the life flowing out of me. Johnny obviously knew what he was doing. He made sure to miss the spine so I wouldn't be paralyzed but I could feel the stickiness of the liquid on my shirt, which was clinging to me.
Of course the blinding pain allowed me to ignore the fact my shirt was clinging to my back. I think I was crying, but I'm not totally sure. All I can remember for sure was Buffy. She was standing before me, urging me to fight, to stay alive. I had to gather the strength to make the wish. I blinked and took as deep a breath as I dared. Buffy was gone, but so were the stars that clouded my vision.
I rubbed the lamp and the genie appeared.
"Bloody hell," Spike cursed. "Well I'll be damned." He paused for a second and then said, "Oh crap."
He started to dive at me for the lamp. My thought process at this point was shoddy, at best. I knew I had to make a wish before Spike reached me. Problem was I knew a stray wish could have unforeseen consequences. I was able to think clearly enough to realize wishing I wasn't about to die might just mean I would then become dead. I could wish I hadn't been stabbed, but that could lead to even more painful shotgun wounds.
What I should have wished was something along the lines of I wish these knife wounds would heal or I wish I was safe. But the best I could come up with was, "I wish this wasn't happening."
I spoke just as Spike reached me. Suddenly, he was gone. So was the pain. The world blurred around me and I had to shut my eyes to stop from passing out. The only thing I consciously did after that was grip the lamp as tightly as possible. I wasn't about to lose that.
When I finally stopped feeling like I was on a sit n' spin I slowly opened my eyes. Mistake. I had to shut them right away. Apparently the world had stopped spinning but someone had forgotten to tell my eyes that. Everything was still moving so fast it appeared like a blur before my eyes. Kind of like that time Cordelia flashed me her breasts, but that wasn't what I was thinking of at the time. Not that I think about it often or anything. Quick, picture naked Buffy, ahhh.
That's actually when I noticed that my ass was soft. Well, not my ass per say, but what my ass was sitting on. I had been lying in the alley, now I was obviously sitting. I tried the eye opening thing again with more success this time.
I saw my bedroom. Which explains the ass softness. Hey, jokes are my defense mechanism and if I didn't keep things light in my head I was going to get violent and that never ends well for me. I slowly climbed off the bed. So far things seemed pretty normal. Maybe the day just started over. Of course had that happened Buffy would have been next to and that would have been a much more pleasant way to wake up.
As it was I wandered into the living room and stopped dead in my tracks. The lamp slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor. I didn't even hear it. My eyes were glued to my surrounds. The living room was not exactly how I left it last. Though, if you want to get technical about it, I guess it was. The room had undergone a re-Anyafication. All our pictures were back up. The furniture had reverted. Everything was back just as it was before I made the first wish.
And though I may play one on TV, I'm not an idiot. I wished this wasn't happening. Genie boy just decided the best way to go about granting that wish was to eliminate my first wish. I could feel my blood boiling. The deadman was a deadman. I didn't care that he'd probably be expecting me, I was coming for him. He would pay for this.
It's amazing the lengths blind rage can drive people to. That whole thing about violence never ending well for me just flew out the window. I packed enough weapons to take on the Master, Adam, Angelus and Glory together with one hand tied behind my back.
"I'm going to make you sorry you ever came to Sunnydale," I told the empty room. I grabbed the lamp on my way out.
Now for those of you wondering why I just didn't wish things back the way they were I had reasons. First of all did you miss the whole comment section about blind rage? Second I wasn't sure how to get back exactly to the other dimension without having a repeat of what happened the first time around. And third that would be the end of the wishes, which I wasn't prepared for. Plus, Spike needed to pay.
So mostly it was the whole blind rage thing.
TBC
Lori Bush gave me a great saying: Feedback is like money for a professional author. Please leave me feedback. (However, money would also be graciously accepted.)
Previous parts can be found at:
http://www.fanfiction.net/profile.php?userid=134718
Rating: Pg-13 for now, but expect it to jump to a hard pg-13 later. What. People can have hard R's I can have hard pg-13's.
Learning to be careful (12/?)
The day my world fell apart was nothing special. It was a Wednesday. Actually it was a really ordinary Wednesday. It didn't even have an ominous feel to it or anything. And when I remember it, it's the little things I think about most.
This Wednesday started as most of my days did, in Buffy's arms. It was my favorite part of the day, just before we both got up to head our separate ways. One of us always woke up right before the other and watched them sleep. Then the other would wake, feel the other's eyes were on them, and pretend to still be asleep. It was a cute little ritual we had. When the one who was awake first had enough they'd kiss the other on the forehead and they would open their eyes up like it was magic or something.
"Morning," she said after I broke the unspoken spell.
"Morning my love," I said softly, running my hands through her hair. I loved to do that. I loved her hair. It was like golden spun silk.
We got up in unison and found ourselves in shower, kissing. We didn't do anything crazy, because no matter what anyone tells you having sex in the shower is not as easy as it looks. But, we made other fun. This wasn't a ritual so much as a luxury. We did it when we had time. After the shower we dried off together. Now that's as fun as it sounds.
I drove her to school. When we had time we grabbed breakfast at the student union. She always got a bagel with cream cheese and just a wisp of blueberry jam. I, on the other hand, liked to throw her off so I always got something different. Granted the student union's wide array of choices was about as long as the line for a John Tesh concert, but I did my best.
I walked her to class after breakfast and headed out for the site. The new guy I'd been training, Johnny Timmons, was waiting for me.
"Little late today, huh Harris?"
"Right on time actually," I spat back. This guy really gave me the creeps, which should have tipped me off.
"Early bird catches the worms," he chortled. He was a big oafish type, lots of muscles but not a lot of brains.
"What good does it do you to come early, you know you can't clock in until eight thirty," I replied casually and started to work. I thought I heard him mutter tonight, but I wasn't really sure and I let it alone.
Lunch break rolled around and she was there. She was always there. Buffy didn't have class from twelve to one so she always came to see me during lunch. She brought some fast food with her everyday and we sat, ate, and enjoyed being with each other. When my lunch break was over, Buffy kissed me and headed back to school.
She knew I'd call her as soon as I got home and we'd plan the evening. They usually consisted of a little dinner, some Scooby stuff, a little patrol, and then a lot of loving. Guess what my favorite part of the night was. And this Wednesday wouldn't be any different. At least that's what I thought.
Five o'clock rolled around and I punched out. Timmons approached me. Oh good, more off the clock banter/insults.
"Hey, Harris."
"Timmons."
"Look, I'm sorry I've been riding you so much."
Well, that was unexpected.
"Come again?"
"The thing is they all like you so much and treat you with so much respect, I thought if I could bully you around I could prove myself to the guys. That's how my other jobs have been. But it's different here. I just wanted to apologize. What do you say I buy you a beer, no hard feelings?"
I was seriously stunned for a minute. Big, dumb and ugly wanted to buy me beer. And I'm always a sucker for free beer. "Well," I shrugged. "I'm supposed to meet my girlfriend for dinner later, but I suppose one beer to bury the hatchet couldn't hurt."
"Great, let's go."
"Let me just grab my bag," I said. Sunnydale at night without magic is like having unprotected sex: it seems more fun and natural but it's really dangerous.
"Sure."
We decided to walk to the local watering hole a couple blocks away. As we walked past an alley we heard sounds of a scuffle.
"Should we check that out?" Johnny asked.
I gave a Johnny a once over. He looked like he could handle himself all right in a fight. But, had he ever seen what goes bump in the night before. Though he looked like something that went bump in the night and we're not talking about body bumping either. The scream of a girl made up my mind.
"Come on," I rushed into the alley with Timmons right behind me. When I was in deep enough to see what was going on I saw a black leather coat with a flash of blond hair. I recognized him instantly.
"Spike," I growled.
"Droopy." He turned to face me with a tape recorder in his hands.
"What the hell?" I started to ask. Then I felt it. It literally ripped the air from my lungs. My eyes closed and I struggled to stay on my feet.
"Sorry Harris," Timmons spoke from behind me and took the knife from my back, only to drive it in a different spot. If I recall correctly, and I may not seeing as how I was being stabbed, I tried to yell but couldn't gather enough air in my lungs to do it.
I had been beaten, battered, bruised, and nearly killed more times than I care to think about. Yet, none of it could compare to the pain that surged through me. It ran from the cuts in my back up my arms, down my legs, and danced along my spine.
"Bastard," I gasped before I collapsed to the ground.
"It can end Xander," Spike said. It's one of the only times I remember actually hearing him say my name. I wanted more than anything to shove it back down his throat, but the pain was crippling. "I know you worked some magic mojo on everyone. Brought Joyce back, made Buffy fall in love with you. All I want to do is put things back the way they were. Tell me how to undo this and you'll be fine. I won't even tell the damn Scoobies what you did."
There was a sick sense of calm about him. He actually thought that was all there was too it. I tell him how to go back to the old verse and it's like this never happened. As if the old was better for anyone besides him.
"How did you know about me and Buffy?" I gasped.
"I've been watching you," he shrugged. The bastard, I knew someone had been there that day in the bushes. If only I'd staked him then and there.
"H-how," I stuttered out, speaking becoming one of a growing list of challenges, "d-do yyyou know it can be reversed," I croaked out.
"Magic always has an out," he said simply. I had to do something, so I clutched at my bag. It took almost all the strength I had to open it up and start digging through it.
"That's a good boy Harris," Johnny said. I risked the strength to shoot him the dirtiest look I could muster. "Sorry about all this. He just pays too good." He shrugged back.
I couldn't waste the energy to speak it but I thought, you idiot once things go back to the old verse you won't remember any of this he won't have to pay you. I pulled the lamp out. The world was slipping away from me. I blinked a few times, but I could literally feel the life flowing out of me. Johnny obviously knew what he was doing. He made sure to miss the spine so I wouldn't be paralyzed but I could feel the stickiness of the liquid on my shirt, which was clinging to me.
Of course the blinding pain allowed me to ignore the fact my shirt was clinging to my back. I think I was crying, but I'm not totally sure. All I can remember for sure was Buffy. She was standing before me, urging me to fight, to stay alive. I had to gather the strength to make the wish. I blinked and took as deep a breath as I dared. Buffy was gone, but so were the stars that clouded my vision.
I rubbed the lamp and the genie appeared.
"Bloody hell," Spike cursed. "Well I'll be damned." He paused for a second and then said, "Oh crap."
He started to dive at me for the lamp. My thought process at this point was shoddy, at best. I knew I had to make a wish before Spike reached me. Problem was I knew a stray wish could have unforeseen consequences. I was able to think clearly enough to realize wishing I wasn't about to die might just mean I would then become dead. I could wish I hadn't been stabbed, but that could lead to even more painful shotgun wounds.
What I should have wished was something along the lines of I wish these knife wounds would heal or I wish I was safe. But the best I could come up with was, "I wish this wasn't happening."
I spoke just as Spike reached me. Suddenly, he was gone. So was the pain. The world blurred around me and I had to shut my eyes to stop from passing out. The only thing I consciously did after that was grip the lamp as tightly as possible. I wasn't about to lose that.
When I finally stopped feeling like I was on a sit n' spin I slowly opened my eyes. Mistake. I had to shut them right away. Apparently the world had stopped spinning but someone had forgotten to tell my eyes that. Everything was still moving so fast it appeared like a blur before my eyes. Kind of like that time Cordelia flashed me her breasts, but that wasn't what I was thinking of at the time. Not that I think about it often or anything. Quick, picture naked Buffy, ahhh.
That's actually when I noticed that my ass was soft. Well, not my ass per say, but what my ass was sitting on. I had been lying in the alley, now I was obviously sitting. I tried the eye opening thing again with more success this time.
I saw my bedroom. Which explains the ass softness. Hey, jokes are my defense mechanism and if I didn't keep things light in my head I was going to get violent and that never ends well for me. I slowly climbed off the bed. So far things seemed pretty normal. Maybe the day just started over. Of course had that happened Buffy would have been next to and that would have been a much more pleasant way to wake up.
As it was I wandered into the living room and stopped dead in my tracks. The lamp slipped from my hands and crashed to the floor. I didn't even hear it. My eyes were glued to my surrounds. The living room was not exactly how I left it last. Though, if you want to get technical about it, I guess it was. The room had undergone a re-Anyafication. All our pictures were back up. The furniture had reverted. Everything was back just as it was before I made the first wish.
And though I may play one on TV, I'm not an idiot. I wished this wasn't happening. Genie boy just decided the best way to go about granting that wish was to eliminate my first wish. I could feel my blood boiling. The deadman was a deadman. I didn't care that he'd probably be expecting me, I was coming for him. He would pay for this.
It's amazing the lengths blind rage can drive people to. That whole thing about violence never ending well for me just flew out the window. I packed enough weapons to take on the Master, Adam, Angelus and Glory together with one hand tied behind my back.
"I'm going to make you sorry you ever came to Sunnydale," I told the empty room. I grabbed the lamp on my way out.
Now for those of you wondering why I just didn't wish things back the way they were I had reasons. First of all did you miss the whole comment section about blind rage? Second I wasn't sure how to get back exactly to the other dimension without having a repeat of what happened the first time around. And third that would be the end of the wishes, which I wasn't prepared for. Plus, Spike needed to pay.
So mostly it was the whole blind rage thing.
TBC
Lori Bush gave me a great saying: Feedback is like money for a professional author. Please leave me feedback. (However, money would also be graciously accepted.)
