Chapter 13
"No, Chief." Jim growled, as he opened the door to their apartment.
"But-" Blair tried to object.
"No. N – O. No. We are not – no way, no how – going to someplace called a Hellmouth! I don't care what mouldy old books Giles promised to show you, I don't care how many tests you want to run on my senses as they relate to demons, we are staying away from that place! You get in enough trouble as it is here in Cascade!" Jim's skin crawled and he shuddered at the thought of kidnap-prone Blair in a place where demons made their home. How the kid could even stand the thought of taking his Guide there, he'd never know.
"Hey! I am not a trouble magnet!" Blair huffed off to his room, to unpack in indignant silence.
"Yes you are," Jim said as he took his bag upstairs. When he came back down, Blair was sitting stiffly on the couch in the living room, reading a book and giving him the silent treatment.
i Oh shit./i There would be much groveling tonight.
The morning following their return to Sunnydale, the Scooby Gang plus one were gathered in Giles' living room.
"We need to discuss young Mr. O'Neill's living arrangements -" Giles began.
"Well, I figure I need to stick close to Xander, so I'll be moving in at his place, right?" Jon asked.
Xander panicked and bolted up from his place on the couch. "What? No! Uh-uh, not gonna happen," he said, shaking his head.
"Xan? What's the matter? You know we need to be together, that's how the Guide and Sentinel thing work, even I know that much. Besides, I thought we were friends?" he asked, feeling a little rejected. Taking a closer look at his Sentinel, he could see the panic in Xander's face. His empathic senses confirmed it, the fear, and –what the hell? – shame – was coming off his Sentinel in waves. "Whoa, calm down Xander-"
"No! You don't understand!" Xander yelled, suddenly running out the front door.
Caught by surprise, Jon, as well as Buffy, made to pursue him, until Willow called out "Wait!"
"Wait? Wait for what, Willow?" Buffy demanded.
"We need to go after him, he just started getting control of his senses, he needs me, what if he relapses?" Jon added.
Taking a deep breath, Willow insisted. "I know that, but I also know why he doesn't want you to live at his house, and it's something you need to know – that all of you need to know," she said sadly. "He'll be ok, I think I know where he's going, and it's a safe place, during daylight anyways. Right now, this is more important."
Encouraging them to sit back down, Willow took a deep breath and began to explain. "First of all, I'm breaking a promise I made a long time ago, to never speak of this to anyone, but I think it's more important that I tell you." Pausing, Willow sighed and tried to think about how to begin.
"What promise, and to whom, Willow?" Giles asked.
"I guess I'll just have to come out and say it, there's no way to just ease into it…Xander's parents are alcoholics -" Willow took a deep breath to continue-
"Well, that's regrettable but it's not Xander's fault…"
"-but that's not all -Xander's Dad hits him!" she finished, closing her eyes. Everything was deathly quiet for a moment, so quiet Willow opened her eyes to see if she'd been left alone. Then the others exploded.
"Bloody hell! That pillock! I'll bloody well kill him!" Giles ranted. Never had he felt the Ripper so close to the surface.
Devastated, Buffy wondered, "But, how – how could I not know? Willow? You knew? Why didn't you say anything?!"
"Don't you think I wanted to?" Willow sobbed. "I only f-found out because one day we – Jesse, Xander and I – were playing at Xander's house and Mr. Harris said something really mean about me being a Jew and he called Jesse a f-fa- a bad word, a-and when Xander talked back to him, he hit him! He threatened that he'd hit us too if we ever said anything, and Xandermademepromiseevertotellhesaidpeoplewouldtakehim awayandwedneverseeeachotheragain!" Willow babbled and hiccupped as she cried. "I was so s-scared. Xander told me long ago his Dad stopped, but I'm not sure I believe him. S-sometimes Xander has had more bruises than the slaying can account for," she finished quietly.
Hugging her, Buffy felt her own tears slowing. "Shhh, it's ok Willow. We know now, and this is going to stop."
"You bet your ass it is! No one abuses my Sentinel!" As soon as Willow had revealed what had been happening, Jon had felt a quiet rage descend upon him. The O'Neill temper, in league with a Guide's protective instincts, was barely being held in check. "Mr. Giles, you have a spare room, it already has twin beds, do you mind if Xan and I move in permanently? I'm emancipated, I have an allowance so I can pay you rent for the both of us-"
"That will not be necessary, Jon. You are both welcome to stay with me, however long you need to. In fact, I believe that I will endeavor to become Xander's legal guardian, to ensure that no one can prevent him from staying with me!"
"Good! Ok then, let's go find Xander. We can go to his house and grab his stuff and make sure that bastard never lays a finger on him again." Turning to Willow, Jon asked, "Willow, you said you knew where Xan was going?"
"Yes, come on. I'll show you."
iOh god, oh god, oh god, what do I do? They can't find out!/i Xander thought madly to himself. He ran blindly through the streets, heedless of the folks in his way, who stepped aside with alarm at first, as most Sunnydale citizens, even as oblivious to the goings-on as they usually were, all had a certain danger-sense that told them certain things: stay in at night, don't invite strangers into your home, and if someone is running, trouble usually follows. Seeing that nothing followed in his wake however, they soon shrugged off their unease and went about their business.
Soon, Xander found himself in familiar surroundings, and this calmed him a little. Sitting at with his back leaning against a tree, he closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing,
xxx
"Red leader to base," Graham whispered into his radio.
"Miller, you are such a geek," came the reply. "I knew I shouldn't have gotten you the Star Wars trilogy for your birthday."
"Shut up, Finn."
"What's up, Red Leader?" Riley Finn snickered.
"Base, I have a sighting on one of Colonel Maybourne's persons of interest…the one called Harris, the Sentinel? He's alone and …ok, here come the other persons of interest, Slayer, Guide and companions. So much for a snatch n' grab…"
"Negative, Red Leader. Observe only. Use Eyes and Ears to gather intel, then return to base," Riley instructed.
"Acknowledged, over and out." Riley took out a special camera with attached parabolic microphonee, and started recording.
Following Willow, Jon was frantic. "Willow, how far is this place?"
"Not far Jon, it's our special tree that me, Xander and Jesse used to come and eat lunch under near our old elementary school. Whenever he's upset, he would come here." She explained.
Soon, they came up to the tree, and could see that Xander had zoned again. Jon knelt by his side, and felt for his pulse…it was very slow. He started rubbing his arm, and spoke to him in a low, but urgent tone. "Come on, Xander, wake up! This is not nap time, buddy, and if you think I'm carrying you back to Giles' place, you got another think coming! Come on, you know I don't care about your parents, Giles is gonna let us stay with him." Buffy, Giles and Willow stood back, worrying.
Smell came back first... iI know that smell…/i…then touch and sight, as he focused on Jon's face. Finally, hearing kicked in, with the dial way, way up, and he heard something unexpected, as if heard through a radio, "…gather intel, then return to base…." And then another voice, closer "Acknowledged, over and out." Alarmed, he whipped his head around and sent his vision after his sense of hearing, 'following" the sound, and saw a young man hidden in a building, peeking out a window and pointing camera equipment at them. He focused intensely and started growling at a perceived threat to the tribe, stood up and began running straight at the spy.
Jon, not ready for the sudden change, fell over, and he and the others started shouting a running after him. "Xander, stop! Where are you going?"
Miller, on the other end of the camera/microphone, wasn't sure what he was hearing and seeing, but it wasn't his job to interpret the intel, just gather the data. All of a sudden Harris whipped his head around and looked straight at him, growled, and started running towards him. iShit, I've been made! How the hell did he do that?! /i He quickly got up and exited through the back, running past a noisy construction site and then shortcutting through a carwash.
Xander slowed down as he lost sight of the spy, and other noises masked the sounds that would have allowed him to continue pursuit. When he lost the trail completely, he stopped, and the others caught up to him. Buffy was the fastest and first to catch up, and she hit him on the arm "Xan! Why the hell did you run?"
Willow and Jon both soon caught up, and while Jon halted just beside his Sentinel, Willow crashed into him and hugged him, babbling at superspeed, "Xander, whatsthe matterareyouokyouknowweloveyourightdontrunawayanymoreImtiredandnotfastanoutofbreath…"
Jon covered her mouth with his hand and shushed her, and she gulped deep breaths, recovering from the run or the babbling, or both. Then Jon turned back to Xander "What's going on?"
As Giles finally caught up, panting, Xander turned to them all, "We need to get to Giles, now!" and started herding them there, while keeping up a vigilant scanning of the surroundings. Jon's 'trouble detector' went into the red zone as he felt Xander's fear and strong protective feelings. Xander was almost back into Blessed protector mode i This is not good. /i