New Characters.
Agent Steven Peterson (Steve Howe) (Looks like Mark Dacascos)
Part 14
Lowell house
19:00 Zulu
The lift to the top of the Initiative headquarters finished its journey, out
stepped Xander Harris accompanied by John and Stacy King- with Steven Peterson
behind them.
Steven Peterson was a member of the Initiative's psychological welfare
department, he was assigned to the Hunters on a temporary placement to assess
the mental competencies of the commanding officers and team members of the
unit. The young man was well known by many of the teams currently inhabiting
the secret base and had readily been accepted by members of the team.
He however knew this was going to be a difficult mission for him to perform, he
had never been close to any of the members of the team of the civilian whom had
been killed by the HST. The only one he had known well had been the professor,
she had been his direct superior before their transfer from The Pentagon to
this facility. She had been the psychiatrist on duty during the worst night of
his life.
The one where he had almost died...
That night he had been stalking a vampire pair to find their headquarters, he
was dressed in black and used his martial arts training to keep the sound of
his movements to a minimum. He was looking for the lair of a new master vampire
in the area, latest news was he was in an old abandoned neighbourhood in The
Bronx. It was his job to find them, he trailed the group to a small park- there
all hell broke loose, a pair of teens had erupted from the bushes and proceeded
to stake every leech in the area. The cat was out of the bag and he had decided
to help them.
Big Mistake...
In the confusion of a large scale brawl he had got four of the nine vamps to
come after him and within seconds had destroyed two of them with stakes to the
heart, he had spun over the back of one and kicked down the other following up
with a stake to the heart. At this point he felt a sharp pain and looked up, he
looked into eyes brimming with seething hatred and anger directed at him. He
put his hand to his chest and found it bleeding- with a long sharp stake poking
out of it, the look on the other person's face changed to one of shock and
pain. The eyes turned from hate to horror and they ran away, Steve managed to
pull out the stake and get to the pathway- where he collapsed.
He woke up in New York County General Hospital two days later, he had been
found by a passing Army Jeep crewed with a pair of Marine guards and a one star
General in the back. They had pulled him up and got him to a hospital, it had
taken a while but they had managed to stabilise him and saved his life, he
awoke to find himself in a room machines attached to him and a marine guard
outside the door. As he started to move an alarm went off and two nurses and a
Doctor came in and reset the machine.
"Mr Peterson, do you know where you are."
Steve nodded and tried to speak but found he couldn't, the nurses removed his
respirator and after his gagging reflex had settled he could answer the
questions that were asked of him by the doctors. He knew the date, the
President and lastly his personal details. By the end of the questions he was
awake and lucid, the general from the car walked into the room and the Guards
ushered the people out.
"Good afternoon Mr Peterson, I'm General Peter Walsh of the United States
Marine Corps- I'm the commander of a special operations division that shall we
say fights a fight that no civilian knows about and fights an enemy the same
way. It seems however you do know the enemy and how to fight them."
The younger man nodded, he was wary of this man and his objectives. He did not
trust many people and the military he distrusted most of all, he seemed
relatively harmless but looks could be deceiving especially in the dark- this
man was the darkest he had ever seen. Not his skin tone or his manner but his
eyes and the aura of suffering around him, the general had been touched by the
darkness and the power of Demonkind-he could feel it and it made his skin crawl.
The General looked at the young man and saw something in his eyes, almost a
recognition of sorts and it made him more than a little heedful of the youth.
He shook off the anxiety and looked up as the door opened and a middle aged,
mid height woman with long blonde hair walked in.
"General, I'm here to talk to Mr Peterson, I would appreciate it if you waited
a while before you started your little interrogations. He was hurt seriously
and I doubt very much if he likes your little games."
"Doctor, this is my jurisdiction..."
"General you will leave or I will have you removed by force."
"Very well Maggie we'll sort this out later." With that he left.
The woman moved over to the bed and sat in the recently vacated chair, she
opened up the file that she had carried in and then looked over his medical
chart. Finally she looked up at him.
"Mr Peterson, My name is Professor Margaret Walsh I'm a Psychiatrist with the
United States department of Defence...
"Walsh??"
"Yes the General is a relation of mine, we have a small difference of opinion
in some areas of our work. He may be a little forward but he gets the Job
done." She looked again at her notes. "Now Steven I see you came in with quite
a bit of damage to your thoracic cavity, you were lucky you were not seriously
injured by the weapon that was embedded in your chest. What puzzles me is why
the wound had pieces of wood embedded into it, and why you yourself seemed to
be equipped with such weapons. Was it a gang warfare thing where both of your
groups wear this type of equipment, or is there more to it."
"Professor, I can't really say much about it. You might not believe me anyway,
it's all complicated..."
"Vampires attacked you and you ended up getting one of your own stakes through
the chest."
His eyes widened in severe shock, he had no idea that they really did now all
about it. He started to shift in the bed his nervousness showing in his
movements, for a long time he has had to fight and now he has even more of a
problem with the military, this is not good not good at all...
Steven looked up as his name was called- he shook his head from his thoughts
and looked at his old friend John. The dark haired youth was looking at him
oddly as if he was trying to figure out what he was thinking. Shaking his head
Steven kept walking- John looked at him oddly but a elbow in the ribs from his
wife stopped that.
Steven's eyes wandered to his commander, Xander's shoulders were hunched and
his hands were visibly trembling. His whole stature was as if he was trying to
remove himself from the world, he didn't blame him for that. No man should ever
have had to go through everything he had for the last week, it seemed to him
that every good thing that ever happened to his friend was compounded by loss
or pain- First Robby, then Gabby and now Cordelia Chase, the man had an
incredible ability to take loss and pain in his stride. His memories show them
that much, but never should he have had to go through this so much so fast.
Steven felt for the younger man, he had taken on so much even before he had
joined them at the initiative and even if he hadn't remembered he had always
had the ability to hold others up no matter the pain they were in and as such
no-one had ever seen his own. The only person who had had been killed, a lot
must be going through his mind and it was Steven's Job to figure !
it out for him.
The four of them clambered into John's Car and drove into the main part of
Sunnydale- towards the hospital where most of the gang would be at the moment-
they deserved to know from friends instead of from a policeman or military
personnel. Xander himself was going to inform them with John at his side, he
had requested the other two stay outside the door- he wanted them out there so
that the others would not be overwhelmed
The car's journey ended at the main entrance to Sunnydale general hospital
about 40 minutes later. Inside the car Xander was pulling himself together
slowly, his breathing had slowed and his eyes were shut tight. His demeanour
was changing slowly from the troubled teen to the professional soldier he had
become, he couldn't let himself fall apart as he did this- as always he would
have to hold them all as they heard the news. His own grief would come later,
he would be there for them now and later- he'd sort out his problems on his own.
"Come on Xander, let's do this." John patted him on the arm and got out the car
as Xander got out the other side, they pulled back the seats to allow the
others to get out of the car. The group made their way slowly towards Buffy's
room- inside was her immediate family- Giles, Dawn and Joyce along with Willow.
The others must still be sleeping after the heavy night last night- that would
make it both easier and harder to deal with, Xander took in and let out a deep
breath composing himself. He walked into the room John King walking in behind
him a few steps, the look on Buffy's face was one of joy and happiness that
obviously hadn't been evident for a very long time, it changed once she saw
their faces to one of shock and horrified expectation- she knew what was wrong.
"Who...who Xander." She questioned.
"Cordelia..." that one word allowed the whole room to feel his anguish and the
pain of his loss, never had they heard so much from one word. The atmosphere in
the room dropped at least a hundred points to a still horror, they had never
lost one so close to them. Buffy climbed out of her bed and slowly walked up to
Xander who's eyes had closed as he tried to hold onto what remained of his
control. She held onto his arms and encircled him with her own letting him know
she was there for him...it was his turn to be looked after by his friends and
they would do so.
Xander pulled Buffy closer and held on his tears allowed to run free now, his
grief would be pulled out of him and freely handled by all those of his friends
that would help him. The Scoobies and the Hunters would be there for their
friend- he was not going to be alone for this one, he felt a smaller pair of
arms encircle him and a smaller head lean against his chest. He looked down to
see Dawn hugging him too so he pulled an arm around the little one and held her
close, both sisters felt for this man and they felt they had to help him.
Buffy pulled away a little to look at him, feeling her move away he opened his
tear puffed eyes to look at her. Dawn just hugged him tighter, in her typical
teen way she felt him to be the centred part of her universe- just like her big
sister.
"Xander..." Started Buffy, "I'm so sorry, I know you loved her for a long time.
Remember we're all here for you- you don't have to go through this on your own.
Never again Xand, Never again."
She held onto him again and they all stayed there holding onto each other or
crying onto shoulders. Giles and Joyce, Buffy, Xander and Dawn and finally John
and Stacy- all realising again that their times together may be short- shorter
than many lives would be.
No one noticed Steven leave the building...
Later That Night.
Xander and Buffy were sitting outside her house on her back porch, the hospital
had allowed Buffy to leave after they were happy she was okay. The two of them
were just sitting on the porch looking out at the world- or more accurately up
at the sky, the stars were out and shining- seemingly clear and free of the
troubles that plagued the peoples of the planet that they illuminated in that
night sky. The troubles that were wearing away at the young and tired teens of
the small town of Sunnydale.
"Are you Okay Xander."
"Not really Buffy, not really."
"Talk to me Xander, please tell me what's going through your mind."
"Buffy, I can't I'm sorry. You have your problems and now I have mine, because
of me another of my friends has been killed and I couldn't stop it."
"Stop it Xander." She pulled him around and looked directly into his eyes, the
look in his eyes scared her to the depths of her own weighted soul. "You had
nothing to do with her death Xander..."
"She saw us." Buffy was cut off by Xander, "She saw us last night in the
hospital room, I broke her heart then Buffy. If I hadn't been there- she would
have stayed and she wouldn't have died."
"If you hadn't been here you would have been there with her and died. I
probably would have been next. You being there brought me out of whatever had
taken me, I owe you my life and my sanity Xander. You always save me and never
ask for anything from anyone, when Oz told us about what happened in the
hospital. You are always there for us Xander, let me be here for you.
With that said only one more thing was necessary, slowly and hesitantly the gap
between closed between them, Buffy's eyes closed and slowly her lips pushed
against Xander's. Xander almost pulled away but couldn't. He loved this
woman-how much was only coming clear to him again after a year, he pushed his
lips tighter against hers. Her tongue pushed into his mouth and he pushed his
own into hers, in all the time they had known each other- this was the first
time they had kissed, through their friendship it had been his dream and
fantasy. Through their estrangement it had been all she had thought about, she
had been told by Cordelia and by Willow he was kind and gentle to those he
cared for and loved- she had been surprised to learn Xander had had a crush on
Willow once and that it had switched sides in junior high.
The kiss slowed down and gradually stopped, it had not been a fevered kiss
because of loss and pain, nor a long lost love reunited. It had been a kiss to
tell one person from another they were back and they're here to stay. The two
hugged tightly to each other, Buffy's legs curled around Xander's waist legs
curled behind him and ankles cross, his legs crossed beneath her and arms
encircling each other, hold the other tight against them. Never letting go
because if they did they may lose each other again and that would kill them
both.
For over and hour they sat there together holding each other "Xander stay here
tonight." She still held her love close to her-his silent sobs finally
subsiding. Her own had stopped a little while ago, she hurt for him as he had
always hurt for her over all that time. His pain was more than she had ever had
to deal with even after the fight- she had realised a while ago that the Xander
Harris she knew would be a long time in returning and she was going to be there
to bring him back.
"What??" He said
"Stay her tonight."
"Feeling kinky Slayer." He tried to joke.
"Xander, please I know it's your way to joke but please let us help you. Stay
here tonight, you should not be alone tonight. Not for a long time. I love you
Xander Harris and I will not let you be alone."
"None of us will."
The pair looked up to see Dawn standing there, the dark haired girl crouched
down and stroked Xander's sweat and tearstained face- moving the hair from his
eyes. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him, he pulled both sisters
into a hug and for the first time in a long time he realised that he was Home.
He slowly let them go and the two women helped him stand up, they steadied him
as he walked to the house. Xander's strength was gone- he had nothing left to
keep him going. Finally stumbling to the Sofa he finally got to sit down,
within seconds the day had caught up with him and he was asleep.
Buffy told her sister to get a blanket and pillow from the airing cupboard and
put them over Xander, Buffy would get him comfortable. She moved over to Xander
and removing his coat and boots and wiping his streaked face with a cloth she
made him comfortable. Dawn had reappeared with the blanket and had made Xander
comfortable, Buffy disappeared into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Dawn
moved up to Xander and kissed him on the cheek, he murmured in his sleep- she
smiled and laid down her head on his lap and fell asleep within seconds, Buffy
returned to find her in this state and decided against waking her up. Dawn and
Xander were very much alike and wondered if their daughter would be like Dawn,
she had the best characteristics of both herself and Xander-mainly Xander's
humour and soulful abilities of friendship and love for their friends.
Buffy shifted under the Blanket and put her head onto his shoulder, she got
comfortable and in his sleep he put his arms around both girls. Buffy fell
asleep feeling safer than she ever had-even before becoming the slayer.
The blonde girl and dark haired young man had the weight of the world on their
shoulders, more than any of they kind should ever have to. The fates had never
been kind to either of them, death, murder, torture and the hatred of so many
coursed through the veins of the town they called home. The pain of loss had
hit them both, loss of friendship, loss of caring, loss of love.
They had both lost so much in the four short years they had both been together
as friends and confidants, and now as close as two people could get they could
help one another through the dark times ahead of them. The souls of two would
forge ahead and new strengths would be forged through their darkness and the
voyage into the light.
Dreams flicked through the minds of them both, memories and thought of their
live intermingling. Becoming both disturbing and happy, painful yet caring, the
comfort they gave each other combined with the strength from their third- the
young woman who was more than she seemed.
The dreams were combining, somehow using both of their minds and the host to
the new memories, the combination of the strength of the two of them were
closer than either had realised. The sister of the slayer, the young woman
protected by the brave human man was the closest thing to the two of them and
for the rest of their lives they would find a strange compulsion to stay with
her until they would finally know her ad her future.
And would stay together...
Forever...
06:00 Hrs Zulu
The Next Morning.
Xander slowly raised his head-memories of the night before a little blurred. He
felt the presence of two bodies pressed against his own. He opened his eyes to
see a blonde head on his shoulder and a dark one on his lap, Xander smiles at
the thought of the two women who meant the world to him pushed up against
him-almost like a family. He only hoped that their family would be like
Willow's more than his own or Buffy's-happy and comfortable without the pain
that they had all had to go through in their lives. As he moved Dawn started to
stir and woke up- she sat up a blushed a little once she had realised what had
happened and smiled to him. Xander felt a bit better than the night before- he
realised that this had been what was missing in his life- a close family who
loved him unconditonally.
The hunters were close but they were close friends forced together by the army,
they were as close as anyone because of this but he had never been right with
them-not because he was the CO but because of who he is. Willow and Jesse had
been the best friends he could ever have asked for, Amy and Jonathan as well
but they all were together as friends but never as family.
The Summers family had changed that, Joyce was as loving to him as she was to
her own daughters. A mother that he should have had not one like his own, Buffy
was his love and he realised that the night before, he could spend his life
with her-more than any of the other women he knew. Dawn was something else-
some thing he could not put into words- he always thought of her as a little
sister but as he grew and changed he saw her as more close to a soulmate-almost
as close as Buffy was to him. Not in a romantic way but in a real heartfelt
way, a part of him and a part of the best of himself, she was almost
everything-Sister, friend, daughter. He couldn't place it but it was there and
that was all that mattered to him now.
"Hey Dawn Patrol."
"Hey Xand, You feel better now."
"Yes thanks Dawn, how about you, you should get some more sleep. You have
school later."
"No I don't mom let me stay home after what happened." Dawn went silent,
"Hey Dawn it's Ok, come here." He pulled her to him and held tight onto her,
she started to sob a little. The small movement of her sobs finally woke Buffy-
she woke to find Dawn and Xander hugging each other. Dawn had seen so little of
their world they had never had it come so close to her-she had lost a friend
now and the effects were devastating on her young mind. She had never fully
realised what her sister and her friends had to go through each day just to
survive, what they did to keep the world safe. Even with the loss of Xander a
year ago she had never fully grasped the pain and horror of the night.
She tried speaking but it came in stuttered gasps and sobs, "I...I...c...can't lose
you a...all...l too Xand I c...c...can't." She started to cry harder her cries gaining
volume, Buffy felt for her sister, she loved her sister more than anything as
much as she loved Xander. She knew if she lost either of them it would break
her down and she would lose her, mind, her body and her soul piece by piece
until she died.
She sat up fully and touched Xander's shoulder, his head turned to see her, his
eye's sullen and withdrawn but still with the light of caring that nothing ever
seemed to remove no matter what happened to him. The only time she had seen it
leave his eyes had been that night he left, she fell into his arms and let her
own tears fall, he had cried all through the night and now he was determined to
let them have their turn. It seemed to her that no matter what happened he
would always allow them to cry on his shoulder and for that they were all
thankful. Dawn in one arm Buffy in the other he held them tight like that- time
was unimportant to them, the two cried and sobbed and just couldn't stop.
Almost two hours later Joyce came down the stairs to see them still in that
position, Dawn had finally fitfully fallen asleep again, Buffy was holding onto
Xander like a lifejacket as if he alone was holding her head above water-which
was as close to the feeling as any words could be- hold!
ing her afloat like he always had.
"Hey." Said Joyce, Xander and Buffy looked up, Xander looked less than rested
but better than yesterday. Buffy's eyes were red and streaks were down her
cheeks, the skin was raw from the constant salt water of her tears over the
last three days. Xander and Buffy were still holding each other tightly with
dawn sleep soundly against Xander's Lap, a pillow under her head- streaks also
cascaded down her cheeks. The three had never looked worse and Joyce was
finding it difficult not to cry at the sight of them all.
"Hello Joyce, I'm sorry about crashing last night, but I seemed to have been
shanghaied by two very lovely ladies who wouldn't let me go." Xander said with
a slight smile. Joyce returned the smile.
"I know who do you think told them to keep you here", She smiled at his
expression. "Are either of you hungry- I can make something."
"Not really Mom, I couldn't eat anyway."
"Same here Joyce, just not hungry." He said while stroking Dawn's head, he
looked at the youngster on his lap. She settled a little at his touch, she
mumbled a little but not enough for anyone to understand. But in her dreams she
was seeing Xander and Buffy and was saying just two words.
Mom...
Dad...
End Part 14
Agent Steven Peterson (Steve Howe) (Looks like Mark Dacascos)
Part 14
Lowell house
19:00 Zulu
The lift to the top of the Initiative headquarters finished its journey, out
stepped Xander Harris accompanied by John and Stacy King- with Steven Peterson
behind them.
Steven Peterson was a member of the Initiative's psychological welfare
department, he was assigned to the Hunters on a temporary placement to assess
the mental competencies of the commanding officers and team members of the
unit. The young man was well known by many of the teams currently inhabiting
the secret base and had readily been accepted by members of the team.
He however knew this was going to be a difficult mission for him to perform, he
had never been close to any of the members of the team of the civilian whom had
been killed by the HST. The only one he had known well had been the professor,
she had been his direct superior before their transfer from The Pentagon to
this facility. She had been the psychiatrist on duty during the worst night of
his life.
The one where he had almost died...
That night he had been stalking a vampire pair to find their headquarters, he
was dressed in black and used his martial arts training to keep the sound of
his movements to a minimum. He was looking for the lair of a new master vampire
in the area, latest news was he was in an old abandoned neighbourhood in The
Bronx. It was his job to find them, he trailed the group to a small park- there
all hell broke loose, a pair of teens had erupted from the bushes and proceeded
to stake every leech in the area. The cat was out of the bag and he had decided
to help them.
Big Mistake...
In the confusion of a large scale brawl he had got four of the nine vamps to
come after him and within seconds had destroyed two of them with stakes to the
heart, he had spun over the back of one and kicked down the other following up
with a stake to the heart. At this point he felt a sharp pain and looked up, he
looked into eyes brimming with seething hatred and anger directed at him. He
put his hand to his chest and found it bleeding- with a long sharp stake poking
out of it, the look on the other person's face changed to one of shock and
pain. The eyes turned from hate to horror and they ran away, Steve managed to
pull out the stake and get to the pathway- where he collapsed.
He woke up in New York County General Hospital two days later, he had been
found by a passing Army Jeep crewed with a pair of Marine guards and a one star
General in the back. They had pulled him up and got him to a hospital, it had
taken a while but they had managed to stabilise him and saved his life, he
awoke to find himself in a room machines attached to him and a marine guard
outside the door. As he started to move an alarm went off and two nurses and a
Doctor came in and reset the machine.
"Mr Peterson, do you know where you are."
Steve nodded and tried to speak but found he couldn't, the nurses removed his
respirator and after his gagging reflex had settled he could answer the
questions that were asked of him by the doctors. He knew the date, the
President and lastly his personal details. By the end of the questions he was
awake and lucid, the general from the car walked into the room and the Guards
ushered the people out.
"Good afternoon Mr Peterson, I'm General Peter Walsh of the United States
Marine Corps- I'm the commander of a special operations division that shall we
say fights a fight that no civilian knows about and fights an enemy the same
way. It seems however you do know the enemy and how to fight them."
The younger man nodded, he was wary of this man and his objectives. He did not
trust many people and the military he distrusted most of all, he seemed
relatively harmless but looks could be deceiving especially in the dark- this
man was the darkest he had ever seen. Not his skin tone or his manner but his
eyes and the aura of suffering around him, the general had been touched by the
darkness and the power of Demonkind-he could feel it and it made his skin crawl.
The General looked at the young man and saw something in his eyes, almost a
recognition of sorts and it made him more than a little heedful of the youth.
He shook off the anxiety and looked up as the door opened and a middle aged,
mid height woman with long blonde hair walked in.
"General, I'm here to talk to Mr Peterson, I would appreciate it if you waited
a while before you started your little interrogations. He was hurt seriously
and I doubt very much if he likes your little games."
"Doctor, this is my jurisdiction..."
"General you will leave or I will have you removed by force."
"Very well Maggie we'll sort this out later." With that he left.
The woman moved over to the bed and sat in the recently vacated chair, she
opened up the file that she had carried in and then looked over his medical
chart. Finally she looked up at him.
"Mr Peterson, My name is Professor Margaret Walsh I'm a Psychiatrist with the
United States department of Defence...
"Walsh??"
"Yes the General is a relation of mine, we have a small difference of opinion
in some areas of our work. He may be a little forward but he gets the Job
done." She looked again at her notes. "Now Steven I see you came in with quite
a bit of damage to your thoracic cavity, you were lucky you were not seriously
injured by the weapon that was embedded in your chest. What puzzles me is why
the wound had pieces of wood embedded into it, and why you yourself seemed to
be equipped with such weapons. Was it a gang warfare thing where both of your
groups wear this type of equipment, or is there more to it."
"Professor, I can't really say much about it. You might not believe me anyway,
it's all complicated..."
"Vampires attacked you and you ended up getting one of your own stakes through
the chest."
His eyes widened in severe shock, he had no idea that they really did now all
about it. He started to shift in the bed his nervousness showing in his
movements, for a long time he has had to fight and now he has even more of a
problem with the military, this is not good not good at all...
Steven looked up as his name was called- he shook his head from his thoughts
and looked at his old friend John. The dark haired youth was looking at him
oddly as if he was trying to figure out what he was thinking. Shaking his head
Steven kept walking- John looked at him oddly but a elbow in the ribs from his
wife stopped that.
Steven's eyes wandered to his commander, Xander's shoulders were hunched and
his hands were visibly trembling. His whole stature was as if he was trying to
remove himself from the world, he didn't blame him for that. No man should ever
have had to go through everything he had for the last week, it seemed to him
that every good thing that ever happened to his friend was compounded by loss
or pain- First Robby, then Gabby and now Cordelia Chase, the man had an
incredible ability to take loss and pain in his stride. His memories show them
that much, but never should he have had to go through this so much so fast.
Steven felt for the younger man, he had taken on so much even before he had
joined them at the initiative and even if he hadn't remembered he had always
had the ability to hold others up no matter the pain they were in and as such
no-one had ever seen his own. The only person who had had been killed, a lot
must be going through his mind and it was Steven's Job to figure !
it out for him.
The four of them clambered into John's Car and drove into the main part of
Sunnydale- towards the hospital where most of the gang would be at the moment-
they deserved to know from friends instead of from a policeman or military
personnel. Xander himself was going to inform them with John at his side, he
had requested the other two stay outside the door- he wanted them out there so
that the others would not be overwhelmed
The car's journey ended at the main entrance to Sunnydale general hospital
about 40 minutes later. Inside the car Xander was pulling himself together
slowly, his breathing had slowed and his eyes were shut tight. His demeanour
was changing slowly from the troubled teen to the professional soldier he had
become, he couldn't let himself fall apart as he did this- as always he would
have to hold them all as they heard the news. His own grief would come later,
he would be there for them now and later- he'd sort out his problems on his own.
"Come on Xander, let's do this." John patted him on the arm and got out the car
as Xander got out the other side, they pulled back the seats to allow the
others to get out of the car. The group made their way slowly towards Buffy's
room- inside was her immediate family- Giles, Dawn and Joyce along with Willow.
The others must still be sleeping after the heavy night last night- that would
make it both easier and harder to deal with, Xander took in and let out a deep
breath composing himself. He walked into the room John King walking in behind
him a few steps, the look on Buffy's face was one of joy and happiness that
obviously hadn't been evident for a very long time, it changed once she saw
their faces to one of shock and horrified expectation- she knew what was wrong.
"Who...who Xander." She questioned.
"Cordelia..." that one word allowed the whole room to feel his anguish and the
pain of his loss, never had they heard so much from one word. The atmosphere in
the room dropped at least a hundred points to a still horror, they had never
lost one so close to them. Buffy climbed out of her bed and slowly walked up to
Xander who's eyes had closed as he tried to hold onto what remained of his
control. She held onto his arms and encircled him with her own letting him know
she was there for him...it was his turn to be looked after by his friends and
they would do so.
Xander pulled Buffy closer and held on his tears allowed to run free now, his
grief would be pulled out of him and freely handled by all those of his friends
that would help him. The Scoobies and the Hunters would be there for their
friend- he was not going to be alone for this one, he felt a smaller pair of
arms encircle him and a smaller head lean against his chest. He looked down to
see Dawn hugging him too so he pulled an arm around the little one and held her
close, both sisters felt for this man and they felt they had to help him.
Buffy pulled away a little to look at him, feeling her move away he opened his
tear puffed eyes to look at her. Dawn just hugged him tighter, in her typical
teen way she felt him to be the centred part of her universe- just like her big
sister.
"Xander..." Started Buffy, "I'm so sorry, I know you loved her for a long time.
Remember we're all here for you- you don't have to go through this on your own.
Never again Xand, Never again."
She held onto him again and they all stayed there holding onto each other or
crying onto shoulders. Giles and Joyce, Buffy, Xander and Dawn and finally John
and Stacy- all realising again that their times together may be short- shorter
than many lives would be.
No one noticed Steven leave the building...
Later That Night.
Xander and Buffy were sitting outside her house on her back porch, the hospital
had allowed Buffy to leave after they were happy she was okay. The two of them
were just sitting on the porch looking out at the world- or more accurately up
at the sky, the stars were out and shining- seemingly clear and free of the
troubles that plagued the peoples of the planet that they illuminated in that
night sky. The troubles that were wearing away at the young and tired teens of
the small town of Sunnydale.
"Are you Okay Xander."
"Not really Buffy, not really."
"Talk to me Xander, please tell me what's going through your mind."
"Buffy, I can't I'm sorry. You have your problems and now I have mine, because
of me another of my friends has been killed and I couldn't stop it."
"Stop it Xander." She pulled him around and looked directly into his eyes, the
look in his eyes scared her to the depths of her own weighted soul. "You had
nothing to do with her death Xander..."
"She saw us." Buffy was cut off by Xander, "She saw us last night in the
hospital room, I broke her heart then Buffy. If I hadn't been there- she would
have stayed and she wouldn't have died."
"If you hadn't been here you would have been there with her and died. I
probably would have been next. You being there brought me out of whatever had
taken me, I owe you my life and my sanity Xander. You always save me and never
ask for anything from anyone, when Oz told us about what happened in the
hospital. You are always there for us Xander, let me be here for you.
With that said only one more thing was necessary, slowly and hesitantly the gap
between closed between them, Buffy's eyes closed and slowly her lips pushed
against Xander's. Xander almost pulled away but couldn't. He loved this
woman-how much was only coming clear to him again after a year, he pushed his
lips tighter against hers. Her tongue pushed into his mouth and he pushed his
own into hers, in all the time they had known each other- this was the first
time they had kissed, through their friendship it had been his dream and
fantasy. Through their estrangement it had been all she had thought about, she
had been told by Cordelia and by Willow he was kind and gentle to those he
cared for and loved- she had been surprised to learn Xander had had a crush on
Willow once and that it had switched sides in junior high.
The kiss slowed down and gradually stopped, it had not been a fevered kiss
because of loss and pain, nor a long lost love reunited. It had been a kiss to
tell one person from another they were back and they're here to stay. The two
hugged tightly to each other, Buffy's legs curled around Xander's waist legs
curled behind him and ankles cross, his legs crossed beneath her and arms
encircling each other, hold the other tight against them. Never letting go
because if they did they may lose each other again and that would kill them
both.
For over and hour they sat there together holding each other "Xander stay here
tonight." She still held her love close to her-his silent sobs finally
subsiding. Her own had stopped a little while ago, she hurt for him as he had
always hurt for her over all that time. His pain was more than she had ever had
to deal with even after the fight- she had realised a while ago that the Xander
Harris she knew would be a long time in returning and she was going to be there
to bring him back.
"What??" He said
"Stay her tonight."
"Feeling kinky Slayer." He tried to joke.
"Xander, please I know it's your way to joke but please let us help you. Stay
here tonight, you should not be alone tonight. Not for a long time. I love you
Xander Harris and I will not let you be alone."
"None of us will."
The pair looked up to see Dawn standing there, the dark haired girl crouched
down and stroked Xander's sweat and tearstained face- moving the hair from his
eyes. She put her arms around his neck and hugged him, he pulled both sisters
into a hug and for the first time in a long time he realised that he was Home.
He slowly let them go and the two women helped him stand up, they steadied him
as he walked to the house. Xander's strength was gone- he had nothing left to
keep him going. Finally stumbling to the Sofa he finally got to sit down,
within seconds the day had caught up with him and he was asleep.
Buffy told her sister to get a blanket and pillow from the airing cupboard and
put them over Xander, Buffy would get him comfortable. She moved over to Xander
and removing his coat and boots and wiping his streaked face with a cloth she
made him comfortable. Dawn had reappeared with the blanket and had made Xander
comfortable, Buffy disappeared into the kitchen to get a glass of water. Dawn
moved up to Xander and kissed him on the cheek, he murmured in his sleep- she
smiled and laid down her head on his lap and fell asleep within seconds, Buffy
returned to find her in this state and decided against waking her up. Dawn and
Xander were very much alike and wondered if their daughter would be like Dawn,
she had the best characteristics of both herself and Xander-mainly Xander's
humour and soulful abilities of friendship and love for their friends.
Buffy shifted under the Blanket and put her head onto his shoulder, she got
comfortable and in his sleep he put his arms around both girls. Buffy fell
asleep feeling safer than she ever had-even before becoming the slayer.
The blonde girl and dark haired young man had the weight of the world on their
shoulders, more than any of they kind should ever have to. The fates had never
been kind to either of them, death, murder, torture and the hatred of so many
coursed through the veins of the town they called home. The pain of loss had
hit them both, loss of friendship, loss of caring, loss of love.
They had both lost so much in the four short years they had both been together
as friends and confidants, and now as close as two people could get they could
help one another through the dark times ahead of them. The souls of two would
forge ahead and new strengths would be forged through their darkness and the
voyage into the light.
Dreams flicked through the minds of them both, memories and thought of their
live intermingling. Becoming both disturbing and happy, painful yet caring, the
comfort they gave each other combined with the strength from their third- the
young woman who was more than she seemed.
The dreams were combining, somehow using both of their minds and the host to
the new memories, the combination of the strength of the two of them were
closer than either had realised. The sister of the slayer, the young woman
protected by the brave human man was the closest thing to the two of them and
for the rest of their lives they would find a strange compulsion to stay with
her until they would finally know her ad her future.
And would stay together...
Forever...
06:00 Hrs Zulu
The Next Morning.
Xander slowly raised his head-memories of the night before a little blurred. He
felt the presence of two bodies pressed against his own. He opened his eyes to
see a blonde head on his shoulder and a dark one on his lap, Xander smiles at
the thought of the two women who meant the world to him pushed up against
him-almost like a family. He only hoped that their family would be like
Willow's more than his own or Buffy's-happy and comfortable without the pain
that they had all had to go through in their lives. As he moved Dawn started to
stir and woke up- she sat up a blushed a little once she had realised what had
happened and smiled to him. Xander felt a bit better than the night before- he
realised that this had been what was missing in his life- a close family who
loved him unconditonally.
The hunters were close but they were close friends forced together by the army,
they were as close as anyone because of this but he had never been right with
them-not because he was the CO but because of who he is. Willow and Jesse had
been the best friends he could ever have asked for, Amy and Jonathan as well
but they all were together as friends but never as family.
The Summers family had changed that, Joyce was as loving to him as she was to
her own daughters. A mother that he should have had not one like his own, Buffy
was his love and he realised that the night before, he could spend his life
with her-more than any of the other women he knew. Dawn was something else-
some thing he could not put into words- he always thought of her as a little
sister but as he grew and changed he saw her as more close to a soulmate-almost
as close as Buffy was to him. Not in a romantic way but in a real heartfelt
way, a part of him and a part of the best of himself, she was almost
everything-Sister, friend, daughter. He couldn't place it but it was there and
that was all that mattered to him now.
"Hey Dawn Patrol."
"Hey Xand, You feel better now."
"Yes thanks Dawn, how about you, you should get some more sleep. You have
school later."
"No I don't mom let me stay home after what happened." Dawn went silent,
"Hey Dawn it's Ok, come here." He pulled her to him and held tight onto her,
she started to sob a little. The small movement of her sobs finally woke Buffy-
she woke to find Dawn and Xander hugging each other. Dawn had seen so little of
their world they had never had it come so close to her-she had lost a friend
now and the effects were devastating on her young mind. She had never fully
realised what her sister and her friends had to go through each day just to
survive, what they did to keep the world safe. Even with the loss of Xander a
year ago she had never fully grasped the pain and horror of the night.
She tried speaking but it came in stuttered gasps and sobs, "I...I...c...can't lose
you a...all...l too Xand I c...c...can't." She started to cry harder her cries gaining
volume, Buffy felt for her sister, she loved her sister more than anything as
much as she loved Xander. She knew if she lost either of them it would break
her down and she would lose her, mind, her body and her soul piece by piece
until she died.
She sat up fully and touched Xander's shoulder, his head turned to see her, his
eye's sullen and withdrawn but still with the light of caring that nothing ever
seemed to remove no matter what happened to him. The only time she had seen it
leave his eyes had been that night he left, she fell into his arms and let her
own tears fall, he had cried all through the night and now he was determined to
let them have their turn. It seemed to her that no matter what happened he
would always allow them to cry on his shoulder and for that they were all
thankful. Dawn in one arm Buffy in the other he held them tight like that- time
was unimportant to them, the two cried and sobbed and just couldn't stop.
Almost two hours later Joyce came down the stairs to see them still in that
position, Dawn had finally fitfully fallen asleep again, Buffy was holding onto
Xander like a lifejacket as if he alone was holding her head above water-which
was as close to the feeling as any words could be- hold!
ing her afloat like he always had.
"Hey." Said Joyce, Xander and Buffy looked up, Xander looked less than rested
but better than yesterday. Buffy's eyes were red and streaks were down her
cheeks, the skin was raw from the constant salt water of her tears over the
last three days. Xander and Buffy were still holding each other tightly with
dawn sleep soundly against Xander's Lap, a pillow under her head- streaks also
cascaded down her cheeks. The three had never looked worse and Joyce was
finding it difficult not to cry at the sight of them all.
"Hello Joyce, I'm sorry about crashing last night, but I seemed to have been
shanghaied by two very lovely ladies who wouldn't let me go." Xander said with
a slight smile. Joyce returned the smile.
"I know who do you think told them to keep you here", She smiled at his
expression. "Are either of you hungry- I can make something."
"Not really Mom, I couldn't eat anyway."
"Same here Joyce, just not hungry." He said while stroking Dawn's head, he
looked at the youngster on his lap. She settled a little at his touch, she
mumbled a little but not enough for anyone to understand. But in her dreams she
was seeing Xander and Buffy and was saying just two words.
Mom...
Dad...
End Part 14
