Title: Of Magic and Machinations
Author: Jeffrey Patrick
Type: B/X, Sequel to "Rain Falls On The Just"
Description: Upon Xander's apparent return, the Scooby Gang settles into domestic bliss. But how long can it last?
Disclaimer: I own nothing but a half-finished crossword puzzle and a plate of green eggs and ham. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own all things Buffy. I just take their talent and bend it to my will.
It had been three months. Giles had gone back to England. Willow and Oz had told me about their marriage and miracle baby. Anya acted strangely around me, but Anya always acted strangely. Buffy had filled in the remaining gaps. I finally knew everything. People I cared about were dead... lost to Angelus. There was nothing I could do about that. All I could do was live my life... or Xander's. I was ready to tell Buffy the truth, when she came to me with a revelation of her own.
"I'm pregnant," she said over dinner, like she was announcing the next course.
"How?" was the only thing I could think to ask.
"How?" she repeated. "Do I really need to spell it out for you? You. Me. The bed. Beautiful music made. Ring any bells?"
"I remember having my bells rung," I said, purposely trying to sound like Xander. Buffy smiled.
"Me too. Anyway..."
"You're pregnant."
"Yep."
"We're gonna have a baby."
"Actually, I think the 'having' will rest mainly on my shoulders, so to speak."
I took her hand. "What do you think?"
"I think I love you," she said.
"So what are you so afraid of?"
"Cute."
"I'm serious. It rattled you."
"I just... What are we gonna do?"
"You mean besides getting married and being happy for the rest of our lives?"
She looked up at me in shock. "You want to marry me?"
"I love you," I said as honestly as I knew how. "Baby, or no baby, I want to be with you forever."
"That's the sweetest proposal I've ever gotten. Also, it's the only one I've ever gotten."
I smiled. "Is that a yes?"
"Are you kidding? Mrs. Xander Harris has a nice ring to it."
I cringed slightly, but recovered before she noticed. "It will have, once I raid my bank account."
"A baby?" Giles repeated over the phone.
"That's right," Buffy confirmed. "It's got to be a Slayer first."
"Well, I have to admit you are likely correct. Most Slayers don't... uh, well..."
"Live long enough," Buffy finished. "It's okay, Giles. I know the score."
"I'm very happy for you," her Watcher said genuinely. "And Xander, as well, of course. How is he doing?"
"Still not quite the old Xander," Buffy said. "But, we kind of knew that was a possibility before we started the spell. All that time in the ether was bound to effect him. I'm just happy to have 95% of him back. The 5% that's new... Well, I'll cope. I love him."
"I know you do," Giles said. "We all do in our own way. That's why we worked so hard to bring him back."
"So you gonna come back to the states to see the baby, Grandpa?"
"I think that title shall be reserved for your father. Perhaps Uncle Rupert would suffice. I'll, of course, be back for the wedding."
"You better be. You're giving me away."
"Why... I'd be honored."
"I think you should move back permanently. I mean, you got the Watcher's Council on its feet again. What's to keep you in England?"
"Yes, well, it's hardly that simple, Buffy. Still, I plan to purchase a home there so I can spend more time conducting my Watcher duties."
"You mean riding my tail like some slave driver?"
"Precisely."
"A baby?" Willow asked. "As in a baby?"
"The same," Buffy confirmed.
"How's Xander with this?" Oz asked, rocking little Jenny in the recliner.
"He's happy," Buffy said. "Happier than he's been since we brought him back."
"I'm still worried about him," Willow admitted. "I was just telling Oz that our friendship is... I don't know. It's like our connection was lost."
"Almost like his only connection is to you," Oz added.
"Maybe it will just take time," Buffy said. "It's only been a few months."
"You're right," Willow said. "Maybe I can try to spend some time with him... reconnect a little. I miss him."
"They miss you," I said, staring down at Xander's grave. "The you that I can't be. They don't come here anymore. They think there's no need. Only you and I know the truth. I don't know where you went when you died, but I like to think it was someplace nice. I... I can't tell her the truth. I want to, but I can't. Not now. Not with the baby coming. If anyone would understand, it would be you. I can't lose her. The lies are eating me up inside, but it's getting a little easier every day. I'll never be you. But I will love her. And my child. And I'll always be grateful for this chance, no matter what the cost."
I turned to go, but then turned back. "If you were alive, it might be different. I might be able to let go. But you're not. And I am. I've been given another chance. There are days when I wish it was you who came back. For her sake. But I can't change it. The truth would do nothing but shatter her. I can't do that."
"Let me out," the man pleaded.
Lilah peered through the slot in the steel door. "No can do. We have plans for you."
"What plans? I don't even have a body. I'm just a spirit trapped in this mystical prison you rigged up."
"You'll have a body," Lilah said, "very soon, in fact. In exchange for your help, of course. Be patient."
"Lady, my friends are in danger that you put them in. You are the last person I'm taking advice from. And I'd sooner go to hell than help the likes of you."
"Suit yourself," Lilah said. "But I know something that will change your mind."
"Doubtful."
"Even now, Buffy Summers is preparing for her wedding."
"What? How? Who?"
"Let's just say that she thinks she is marrying one Xander Harris. I trust you're familiar with the name. The spirit housed inside that body, as you know, is not that of her lover. Only I am privy to the truth. And you now, of course."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I want you to be angry. I want your rage to boil inside you. It'll make the transfer to your new body that much easier, or so the witches tell me."
"I won't help you."
"Maybe not now," Lilah said, turning to go. "But you will. Of that, I am certain."
Author: Jeffrey Patrick
Type: B/X, Sequel to "Rain Falls On The Just"
Description: Upon Xander's apparent return, the Scooby Gang settles into domestic bliss. But how long can it last?
Disclaimer: I own nothing but a half-finished crossword puzzle and a plate of green eggs and ham. Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own all things Buffy. I just take their talent and bend it to my will.
It had been three months. Giles had gone back to England. Willow and Oz had told me about their marriage and miracle baby. Anya acted strangely around me, but Anya always acted strangely. Buffy had filled in the remaining gaps. I finally knew everything. People I cared about were dead... lost to Angelus. There was nothing I could do about that. All I could do was live my life... or Xander's. I was ready to tell Buffy the truth, when she came to me with a revelation of her own.
"I'm pregnant," she said over dinner, like she was announcing the next course.
"How?" was the only thing I could think to ask.
"How?" she repeated. "Do I really need to spell it out for you? You. Me. The bed. Beautiful music made. Ring any bells?"
"I remember having my bells rung," I said, purposely trying to sound like Xander. Buffy smiled.
"Me too. Anyway..."
"You're pregnant."
"Yep."
"We're gonna have a baby."
"Actually, I think the 'having' will rest mainly on my shoulders, so to speak."
I took her hand. "What do you think?"
"I think I love you," she said.
"So what are you so afraid of?"
"Cute."
"I'm serious. It rattled you."
"I just... What are we gonna do?"
"You mean besides getting married and being happy for the rest of our lives?"
She looked up at me in shock. "You want to marry me?"
"I love you," I said as honestly as I knew how. "Baby, or no baby, I want to be with you forever."
"That's the sweetest proposal I've ever gotten. Also, it's the only one I've ever gotten."
I smiled. "Is that a yes?"
"Are you kidding? Mrs. Xander Harris has a nice ring to it."
I cringed slightly, but recovered before she noticed. "It will have, once I raid my bank account."
"A baby?" Giles repeated over the phone.
"That's right," Buffy confirmed. "It's got to be a Slayer first."
"Well, I have to admit you are likely correct. Most Slayers don't... uh, well..."
"Live long enough," Buffy finished. "It's okay, Giles. I know the score."
"I'm very happy for you," her Watcher said genuinely. "And Xander, as well, of course. How is he doing?"
"Still not quite the old Xander," Buffy said. "But, we kind of knew that was a possibility before we started the spell. All that time in the ether was bound to effect him. I'm just happy to have 95% of him back. The 5% that's new... Well, I'll cope. I love him."
"I know you do," Giles said. "We all do in our own way. That's why we worked so hard to bring him back."
"So you gonna come back to the states to see the baby, Grandpa?"
"I think that title shall be reserved for your father. Perhaps Uncle Rupert would suffice. I'll, of course, be back for the wedding."
"You better be. You're giving me away."
"Why... I'd be honored."
"I think you should move back permanently. I mean, you got the Watcher's Council on its feet again. What's to keep you in England?"
"Yes, well, it's hardly that simple, Buffy. Still, I plan to purchase a home there so I can spend more time conducting my Watcher duties."
"You mean riding my tail like some slave driver?"
"Precisely."
"A baby?" Willow asked. "As in a baby?"
"The same," Buffy confirmed.
"How's Xander with this?" Oz asked, rocking little Jenny in the recliner.
"He's happy," Buffy said. "Happier than he's been since we brought him back."
"I'm still worried about him," Willow admitted. "I was just telling Oz that our friendship is... I don't know. It's like our connection was lost."
"Almost like his only connection is to you," Oz added.
"Maybe it will just take time," Buffy said. "It's only been a few months."
"You're right," Willow said. "Maybe I can try to spend some time with him... reconnect a little. I miss him."
"They miss you," I said, staring down at Xander's grave. "The you that I can't be. They don't come here anymore. They think there's no need. Only you and I know the truth. I don't know where you went when you died, but I like to think it was someplace nice. I... I can't tell her the truth. I want to, but I can't. Not now. Not with the baby coming. If anyone would understand, it would be you. I can't lose her. The lies are eating me up inside, but it's getting a little easier every day. I'll never be you. But I will love her. And my child. And I'll always be grateful for this chance, no matter what the cost."
I turned to go, but then turned back. "If you were alive, it might be different. I might be able to let go. But you're not. And I am. I've been given another chance. There are days when I wish it was you who came back. For her sake. But I can't change it. The truth would do nothing but shatter her. I can't do that."
"Let me out," the man pleaded.
Lilah peered through the slot in the steel door. "No can do. We have plans for you."
"What plans? I don't even have a body. I'm just a spirit trapped in this mystical prison you rigged up."
"You'll have a body," Lilah said, "very soon, in fact. In exchange for your help, of course. Be patient."
"Lady, my friends are in danger that you put them in. You are the last person I'm taking advice from. And I'd sooner go to hell than help the likes of you."
"Suit yourself," Lilah said. "But I know something that will change your mind."
"Doubtful."
"Even now, Buffy Summers is preparing for her wedding."
"What? How? Who?"
"Let's just say that she thinks she is marrying one Xander Harris. I trust you're familiar with the name. The spirit housed inside that body, as you know, is not that of her lover. Only I am privy to the truth. And you now, of course."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because I want you to be angry. I want your rage to boil inside you. It'll make the transfer to your new body that much easier, or so the witches tell me."
"I won't help you."
"Maybe not now," Lilah said, turning to go. "But you will. Of that, I am certain."
