*****



"Bye Xander." Buffy said as he dropped her off at her dorm.



"Cya Buff." Xander grinned and took off.



Buffy turned and sprinted up the stairs to her room, barged in and rushed over to Willow's bed. "Willow. Willow! Wake up!"



"Uhhh? Buffy?" Willow blinked her eyes a few times, "What time is it?"



"One AM. Now listen." Buffy checked her friend once more to make certain she was awake, "Wake up!"



"Ok... ok... I'm up, I'm up." Willow rubbed her eyes and sat up in bed. "Is it another Armageddon? Those things are so inconsiderate."



"No. It's Xander."



"Xander!" Willow was bolt upright and half out of the bed in an instant, "Is he all right? What happened?"



"Xander was attacked by vampires. Five of them."



"Five!? Is he hurt? What was he doing out after dark?"



"He's fine. He dusted them all."



A long moment of silence reined.



"Sorry... I'm still a bit asleep. Did you say that *Xander* beat five vampires?"



Buffy nodded her head vigorously. "Easily. Even faster then I would have."



Willow's eyes went wide, "You don't think he's been possessed or something do you? Cause I really don't want to deal with a demony Xander..."



"No... He wasn't super strong or anything... He just hit 'em where it hurts, y'know?"



Willow stared at Buffy in shock, "He kicked them in the... you know?"



"No!" Buffy reddened, "Not that place where it hurts... I mean he hit them where they were weak. Broke their noses, busted their knee caps, shattered one vamp's shin bone."



The two girls winced at the thought.



"Eww..."



Buffy nodded, "Exactly. Where I would keep them at a distance he let them get close.... then he ripped them apart."



"Did you ask him how?"



"Yeah... he said the Halloween thing did it."



"Oh." Willow perked up, "Then that's it... Xander wouldn't lie about that."



"Yeah." Buffy said softly, "But what about the guns?"



"Guns!?"



*****



Xander pulled the Mustang back into his parking space and turned the key, silencing the powerful engine. He climbed out of the car and closed the door, triggering the alarm as he did, then turned and walked to the front door.



About halfway there he stopped, and half turned back to the road.



"I don't know who you are, but I'm really not interested in a fight right now. I'll give you ten seconds to show yourself before I assume that you're a vamp."



A soft, rolling, laughter came from the darkness.



"Really, Alexander." A dark figure spoke as it melted out of the shadows, "You are far too quick to jump to violence."



Xander stared at the figure for a moment, recognition coming slowly, then his face broke into a wide grin. "Father Cranston!"



The two men embraced, both laughing as they did.



"I looked for you when I got back, Padre." Xander said as they broke apart, "But you were gone."



Cranston smiled, "When you vanished I started kicking up a fuss with the higher ups... kept making them put me off onto the next higher person in the ranks. Took me weeks but I finally found someone who admitted that vampires and demons were real. I managed to get myself involved in the fight through a special branch of the Vatican."



Xander's eyes boggled. "The... Vatican? You mean... the... well... Pope?"



Cranston grinned, his sharp features glinting with humor. "So it would appear, Alexander."



"Wow."



The older man chuckled, "Those are surprisingly close to my own reactions. At any rate, that is what I wanted to talk to you about."



"Really?" Xander raised an eyebrow.



"Yes." The Priest smiled, "I have the leaders of one of the Vatican's hunter teams in town with me. They want to meet with you, talk about a job opportunity."



Xander smiled, "I'm kinda happy staying independent right now, Father, but I would still like to meet with your friends."



The old priest's face twitched at the word 'friends', then he smiled. "They would very much like to meet you as well. When would you be available?"



"Now if you like."



The Priest grinned, and waved his hand to a black SUV parked down the street. Two men got out and walked up toward them. "I hoped you'd say that."



Xander watched the two men approach, and nodded to the building, "Let's take this inside, shall we?"



*****



"Xander's carrying guns?" Willow repeated for the eighth time.



"Big ones." Buffy confirmed yet again, "that kill vampires."



"How?"



"I don't know." She admitted, "Xander sort of avoided the issue of guns... but they burned the vamps from the inside out."



Willow thought about it for a second, "Flares."



"What?"



"The bullets must burn like flares. They go into a vampire and burn... probably really really hot too... be like frying..."



"Eww." Buffy moaned, "Icky mental image."



Willow shuddered, "I know."



Willow considered the information for a long time, "Well... it sounds like he told you the truth."



"Huh?"



"Well, guns are something his soldier memories would like, aren't they? He'd feel comfortable with them I think..."



"Oh... ummm... Yeah. That makes sense."



The two girls stared at each other for a few moments longer.



"It's not supposed to be like this is it?" Willow asked.



"No." Buffy said, a little sadly, "I thought that he'd be the one out of us all who managed to have a normal life."



*****



"Alexander, allow me to introduce my companions." Father Cranston nodded to the two men who stepped forward, only to be interrupted as one of them spoke up.



"The name's Jack Crow, and I don't have time for this pansy introduction shit."



The second man winced, "Jack."



"What?" Crow turned to his companion, a smaller man with dark hair and a beard. "C'mon Padre, Time is money in this business. We've got a nest in San Antone to clear out."



"Money?" Xander looked at the sharp faced man curiously.



"Yeah. What, you think I'd do this shit without getting paid? No fucking way."



Father Cranston spoke quietly, but his voice carried clearly to everyone in the room, "Mr. Crow and his team are... independent contractors."



"Mercs." Xander corrected flatly.



"You got a problem with that, kid?"



Xander shrugged, "Nope. So long as you don't start working for the other side, you and me won't have issues."



"You calling me a turncoat, punk?" The smaller man laid a hand on Crow's shoulder, holding him back.



"No. I'm calling you a merc. To be a turncoat you have to actually declare your loyalties."



"Why you little..."



"Please!" Father Cranston stepped between them. "We are all on the same side here."



Xander nodded, "I apologize, Father, and to you too, Mr. Crow. I've recently had my fill of uncertain allies, we've got some new players on the Hellmouth."



"Hellmouth?" Crow snapped up. "This is the location of the hellmouth!?"



Xander looked at him oddly, "Yeah. You guys didn't know?"



"No one knew. The Vatican has been trying to find it for over a hundred and fifty years." The younger man frowned as he spoke, "California was checked and ruled out over a century ago. Our contact in the area... a Mayor Wilkins confirmed it."



Xander burst out laughing. "Let me get this straight, the church's contact in California was Mayor Wilkins?"



"Yes."



"Man, you guys need a better employee screening policy. Wilkins was the big bad around here for the last hundred and fifty years or so. He'd been setting up a demonic ascension ritual that would elevate him to the status of a first circle demon."



The three men stared at Xander in shock. Finally Crow spoke, "Where is the fucker?"



"Roasting." Xander smirked. "We blew his sorry ass up last June just after he completed the ritual. Took most of the highschool with him too."



"You expect me to believe that you took out a fucking first circle demon?" Crow smirked in disbelief.



Xander shifted his stance, "You'd be surprised what a few thousand pounds of fertilizer bombs and some C-4 will do... even to a demonic snake the size of a semi-trailer."



The three men stared at him for a moment.



Cranston just laughed quietly.



The young bearded man, a priest Xander noticed when he undid his jacket, grinned. "Nice."



Crow actually smiled, "Wish I'd been here to watch that barbeque."



"You didn't miss much. The potato salad was undercooked."



*****



Jarod climbed the stairs from the basement, listening to the mumble of voices that were coming from the first floor as he did. He keyed the electronic lock open and stepped out into the large kitchen, sealing the door behind him.



He grabbed a pastry from the cupboard and stepped out into the living room. He leaned against the door frame and smirked slightly at the odd gathering. "Well, what have we here?"



Xander looked over and grinned, "Jarod. I'd like you to meet Father Cranston."



Jarod smiled and stepped into the room, extending his hand to the older priest. "Father. I've heard a lot about you."



The priest smiled back, his sharp features reflecting genuine pleasure. "I wish I could say the same, Jarod. But I'm please to meet any friend of Xander's here."



"He does make an impression, doesn't he?"



Cranston laughed, "He certainly does."



"Hey! I am in the room here."



"Your point being?" Jarod asked with a smirk.



Xander shook his head and nodded to the other two, "Jarod, this is Jack Crow and his friend Father Adam Guiteau."



"Mr. Crow, Father." Jarod nodded his head at each of them in turn. "What brings you here?"



Crow grimaced, "We were recruiting, but the kid turned us down, and now I have to cancel a really well paying assignment so I can check out the fucking mouth of hell."



"Ah." Jarod's eyes widened slightly at the language Crow used, "Apparently one of Sunnydale's few tourist attractions."



Crow laughed, an entirely unpleasant sound. "Beats the shit out of Disney land."



*****



Jarod and Xander watched as the three men left, heading back to their hotel.



"What an interesting man."



Xander looked at him as if he was nuts, "The guy's a prick, Jarod."



Jarod didn't respond immediately, "he does seem to know what he's talking about when it comes to vampires."



Xander had to admit that, "Yeah, I'll give him that. He's not up on the hellmouth though... Some of his tactics would get him killed around here."



Jarod shrugged, "Sometimes you have to adapt to new situations. Sometimes you can adapt the situations to you."



Xander shook his head as they headed back to their rooms, "You know, Jarod, sometimes you can be a very weird person."



"Really? I thought much the same thing about you."



Xander laughed, "Night, man. Catch you in the morning."



"Good night, Xander."



The two split up and headed to their apartment rooms.



*****



Next Day, UC Sunnydale



Xander sat in the back row of the auditorium, and listened as Professor Walsh droned on about the latest section of the text. He'd signed up to audit her class only a couple hours earlier, more to check out the leader of the initiative then out of any interest in the subject matter.



After forty minutes of fighting off the urge to sleep he had drawn a conclusion. She shouldn't be teaching a course on psychology. She should be seeing a psychologist.



He sighed, his eyes shifting to the professors TA who kept staring at a certain blond in the front row. Nice to know that he can focus on something... too bad it's not his job.



Not that he actually blamed Finn for *that* particular bad habit. Xander had to admit that he understood the draw of Buffy better them most.



Xander smiled slightly, then shook his head as Walsh announced the end of class. He gathered his books and shuffled out with the rest of the class. He'd drop this course as quickly as he picked it up, he decided, it wasn't worth his time. He certainly wasn't going to be needing it at any point in the foreseeable future.



"Xander!"



Xander half turned, but didn't actually slow his steps, "hey Buffy,"



Buffy caught up to him easily and slipped into stride with him as they both headed for the Quad. "How was your night?"



Whoops. Xander grinned, More interrogation coming up. "Pretty good, Buff. Met with an old friend, caught up on old times."



"Old friend?" Buffy frowned at him, "Xander, you left me at my dorm after midnight. What kind of old friends show up that late in Sunnydale?"



Xander grinned, "The type that demons are scared of Buff."



Buffy stopped in her tracks, staring at his back as he kept walking.



"The type demons are scared of."



Buffy had to jog to catch up to him, "What are you talking about?"



Xander grinned, "They'll be at the party in a couple days Buff, I'll introduce you to them."



"Ok." She said uncertainly.



"So," Xander glanced over at her, "How's college life treating you?"



*****



Two Days Later, Evening, Xander and Jarod's Building.



"Everything ready?"



"Everything is fine, Xander." Jarod grinned, "Relax."



Xander flushed, "Sorry, man. Just kinda hyped, you know?"



Miss Parker looked at him, "Rat boy is right. Relax. Your driving me up the wall."



Xander took a step back, "Sorry."



He checked his watch, "Half hour before most of them start arriving..."



His musings were interrupted by a knock at the door. Xander immediately headed over and checked outside, "hey, Gman."



Giles nodded as he slipped through the door, "hello Xander. Am I on time?"



"Punctual as always, G-Man." Xander grinned, grabbing Giles' coat. "Hey, I want to introduce you to someone. Giles, this is Sidney. Sidney, Giles."



Giles nodded politely to the man, "Good to meet you, Sidney."



"I'm very pleased to make your acquaintance, Mr. Giles. Jarod has told me quite a lot about you."



"Really?" Giles smiled slightly, "I'm surprised that Jarod knows quite a lot about me."



"Jarod can be... very observant."



"Yes... well, I'm sure tha..."



The conversation was cut off by a blinding scattering of lights that appeared in the middle of the room. The shimmering lightly quickly coalesced into four figures. Miss Parker's Smith and Wesson was pointed at the new arrivals even before they had completely reformed.



"Phoebe!" Xander grinned and greeted the new arrivals, "Glad you could make it. Prue, Piper, Leo." he greeted each in turn.



"We weren't going to miss a party you know." Phoebe grinned and hugged Xander.



"Yeah," Leo smiled, "I love free food."



Piper smacked his arm, "So that's why you always show up when I'm cooking."



"Well... it's not the *only* reason." Leo actually leered at her fondly for a moment.



"What the HELL is going on!?"



Xander grimaced as Miss Parker's exclamation echoed through the room. He looked at the four newcomers with an apologetic grin, "By the way, I have a room downstairs you guys can use when you want to drop in like this... I can guarantee that no one will be around there who doesn't already know about you."



"Good Lord." Giles finally managed to get out. "A...a.... Whitelighter?"



Sidney stared at the group in the middle of the room with a look of shock on his face, before finally turning to Giles. "Pardon me, a what?"



"A Whitelighter... One of the ranks of Guardian Angels." Giles was still staring at Leo in shock. "I thought that they were myth."



At this Xander slipped free of Phoebe and came back to Giles, "G-man, as far as the watchers council is concerned, they ARE. Agreed?"



Giles just nodded dumbly.



"Angel?" Miss Parker's pistol had drooped slightly to the floor, and Jarod quickly relieved her of it.



"I told you, Miss Parker. This town brings out the weird."



A loud thump attracted everyone's attention to where Broots had just hit the floor.



*****



An Hour Later



The party was in full swing when the last guests arrived. Xander left the main party to answer the door, attracting Buffy's attention as he did. She followed him as he opened the door and let in the three men waiting on the other side.



"Father Cranston," Xander smiled warmly, then nodded cooly to Crow and Guiteau.



The old Priest laughed and hugged Xander in greeting, as the other two walking into the room.



Jack Crow looked around, his eyes finally settling on Buffy, when Xander walked up to him he nudged the kid and spoke. "Now that's a nice piece, you've got some taste kid. How much does she charge?"



Buffy saw red.



Xander saw Buffy.



Xander hit the ground. Crow hit the wall.



As Crow slid down the wall, his eyes glazed, he glared at Xander angrily. "What did you hit me for?"



Xander rolled onto his side, propping his head up on his elbow. "You know, It never occured to me that anyone would be stupid enough to ask the Slayer how much she charged..."



"Slayer?" Crow's eyes widen as he shifted his glance back to the girl, who he now realized had actually hit him.



"Welcome to the Hellmouth Mr. Crow."



*****