~**~
Part Eight
~**~
"Williamson! I knew that name was familiar," Buffy recalled out loud.
"This really isn't what it looks like," Willow offered at the same time.
"What the *hell* is the freak brigade doing in my house, let alone one of them kissing *my mother*?" Sharlayne demanded shrilly over top the others.
*Let me die now. Please let me die now,* Xander was chanting inside Sammy's brain.
"Sammy, that's our daughter," Gloria whispered proudly to her dead lover. "She has your spark – see?" Noticing the noise level in the room rising as everyone spoke and no one listened, the older woman then took control. "QUIET!"
All eyes were upon her. She'd pulled herself from Xander's arms and was standing in the center of the living room. "Thank you," she went on at a normal volume. "Sharlayne, you remember when I told you that Hank wasn't your father, and that your real father was dead?"
The girl nodded. She remembered how relieved she'd been when her mother explained that she had nothing to do with the big scary man that they went to visit in the prison every now and then. Over the years, Sharlayne had made up romantic stories about her real dad. But what did that have to do with – this?
"I'd like you to meet your real father." Gloria motioned to Sammy, who stood and took her hand. "Samuel Williamson."
Okay, her mom had officially lost it. "Mom, he can't be my dad. His name is Xander Harris, he goes to Sunnydale, and he's a year *younger* than I am, even. Oh, God, does this mean you *slept* with him?" Sharlayne held her head in her hands. What would the others think? She'd have to leave town… "Besides, you said my dad was dead," she finished, head still down.
Gloria was looking mournfully back and forth between her shell-shocked daughter and the body that housed the spirit of her dead love. Buffy saw Giles leaning eagerly forward, trying hard not to start throwing information at the girl before her parents had a chance to explain. The Slayer could tell, however, that the two were a bit overcome, and stared pointedly at her Watcher. "Go for it, Explanation Man."
Giles was thrilled to be given free reign. He stood, going into full lecture mode. "Ms. Williamson, your father is indeed dead, but the spirits of those who died with unfinished business are sometimes given the opportunity to return and set things right. Mr. Harris here has inadvertently opened some kind of gateway to the spirit world, and your father is the third such persona that has inhabited his body in recent days. Sammy's entire reason for returning was to see you and your mother, and assure himself you were doing well." He turned to Sammy and gestured. "Is there anything you'd like to say for yourself now?"
The spirit grinned, and turned to his long lost child. "Sharlayne?" She wouldn't look at him. "Such a pretty name." He paused, smiling proudly, then went on. "I couldn't rest, knowin' you and your mom were alone, or worse yet, that Hank had something to do with either of ya. I had to know. As for the kid, outside the kiss you saw, he's never had anything to do with Gloria, and that kiss was all me." He moved forward, touching her hair. "You look like her," he said softly, "but you're tough, like me, ain't ya? Don't get too tough, baby. It won't keep ya from getting' hurt, it'll just hurt in different ways." He lifted her chin, and she could see something she couldn't quite put her finger on – a medium-height dark skinned man with tight Jheri curls was standing there, instead of the tall pale dark-haired boy she knew should be. Then he was gone again. She jumped up from the chair.
"Daddy?" He opened his arms, and she melted against his chest, sobbing.
*This could be worth so much social currency, if it were just really me,* Xander was babbling in his head. *I have my arms around Sharlayne Williamson, the cheerleader. I need pictures, man.*
*You think the first teenaged male thought about my baby girl, I'll hurt you so bad in so many ways, you won't want your body back,* Sammy threatened him. Xander deigned not to respond. Finally they pulled apart, and the others gathered around.
"You know he'll be leaving any minute now," Willow said softly to Buffy. "I wonder what we'll get next?" As if in response, Xander's body shuddered deeply, and when he looked up, his eyes were different.
"Sammy's gone now," the boy said in his normal speaking voice. "We should be going before…" And he shuddered again, and his eyes rolled back in his head. His knees started to give way, and Buffy grabbed him by the collar. But her grip was off, and she caught her fingers in the chain around his neck, which stayed in her hand when Xander's body crumpled to the floor.
Still clutching the chain, she dropped to her knees beside the fallen boy, with Willow on the other side of him. "Xander," the redhead called. "Xander? You in there?" Sharlayne stood nervously at his feet, wringing her hands. Gloria was kneading Giles' arm. Finally his eyelids fluttered, then opened.
Buffy tensed. "Who are you?" Unconsciously, she wrapped the chain around her knuckles, preparing an unpleasant surprise should this personality prove to be hostile.
"Now would be a good time to reinvent myself as charming and debonair, right?" Xander asked, a tad weakly. Both Willow and Buffy called out his name, and threw themselves at him, hugging him fiercely. "On second thought, right now, it's good to be me."
~**~
For a woman who barely knew them, Gloria Williamson proved to be quite hospitable. She'd made a pot of coffee, and they were sipping it while discussing the whole situation. Xander sat on the couch, happily tucked between Buffy and Willow, who claimed they were monitoring to make sure he remained *him*. The talisman was on the coffee table. They'd decided it must have been the gateway that had opened Xander's body to its otherworldly visitors, and Giles had confirmed that it was most likely a magical artifact, purloined from the museum exhibit.
"I don't really believe in the supernatural," Gloria said, thoughtfully, "Or I didn't, before this. But I must say, there seems to be more to it than I imagined."
"You have *no* idea," Buffy said quietly, setting the trio on the couch off into gales of giggles. Giles glared at them, set his cup down firmly, and stood up.
"You ladies will have to excuse us. It's been an eventful past couple of days, and I believe my young friends are suffering from mild exhaustion." He reprimanded them with his eyes, which caused them all to try and force on serious expressions. Buffy's failed first, and she soon set the other two to laughing again.
Willow stood up, torn between her desire to be good and please Giles, and the giddiness that came with finally having solved Xander's revolving personality problem. "Tired," she spit out around her giggles. "Real tired."
Buffy stood and pulled Xander up after her. "Too pooped to pop," the Slayer said nonsensically, and the Slayerettes almost fell over.
"You realize," Xander said breathlessly, when he'd finally slowed down and recovered slightly, "this wouldn't be so funny if we weren't tired. Giles is probably right." He turned to Sharlayne's mother. "I'm glad Sammy got to see you again. He was cool."
Gloria took his outstretched hand and instead of shaking it, pulled him to her, kissing him on the cheek. "You were a dear to let him use your body," she said, politely ignoring his blush.
Recovering quickly, Xander turned to Sharlayne, holding his arms open. "For old time's sake?" he asked, hopefully.
Her expression spoke volumes, all of them insulting. "As if. Get a life, weirdo, and next time, not my father's."
The boy sighed. "Sammy'd probably find a way to come back again and kill me, anyhow." He turned to the girls. "Let's go." He looked back at the cheerleader. "You aren't going to tell anyone from school about this, right?"
She snorted. "It'd do more damage to my reputation than yours, loser."
He stared at her. "Is the cheerleader thing catching? 'Cause you just sounded exactly like Cordelia Chase." Not waiting for an answer, he trailed his friends to Giles' car and crawled in.
~**~
Frank Ricardo shook himself out, rising from the awkward position he'd landed in. He'd been SO close. He could feel his spirit enter the body at the other end of the portal. It had been a young, strong body, too. Then, just as quickly as he'd been there, he'd been gone again, and back in this place. "Damn," he snarled. Noticing another spirit looking at him curiously, he growled, "Whatcha staring at, freak?" The other scurried away.
The only thing he liked about this place, the fact that business undone was a ticket back to finish, just blew up in his face. Somehow, he'd been there and been pulled back. He knew it wasn't anything other than random chance. There was no judgment involved in the selection process. They didn't care what your business was, just that your spirit was unsettled by the lack of completion. "Closure," one of the pantywaists that seemed to abound in this place had called it. Well, he lacked closure. He'd wanted to close the mouths of every one of those people who'd testified against him. He'd made the vow as he'd fried in that damn chair – he was gonna get them all. And he'd been so close.
Frank dusted the non-existent dust off his non-existent body. He'd just have to keep watching for the next portal, the next body to open up. The chance for revenge would be his – soon.
~**~
END
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