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My Beloved Friend ... by Zauriel Angelus.
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Disclaimer: Buffy and all related characters belong to Joss Whedon & Co. I just play with them in my story. Please let me tell it. I don't acquire any profits whatsoever. Honest !!
Rating: pg...I think
Summary: Alternate Universe. There is no Hellmouth in Sunnydale. Everyone is basically leading normal lives here. No vamps. Of course that doesn't mean things won't be interesting. B/X , F/X , romance , heartbreak and pain...that's about it.
Author's notes: This is a re-write or as I prefer to describe it, one of my re-animated stories. One of my old firsts polished. With this I was just experimenting if I could do romance . I got this little idea and thought it'd be cool to write a fic about it. Pretty much something I got after watching a weirdly affecting Hindi movie. Non-action oriented Just familiar characters we know given some more real-life twists. I decided to post this up first.
Author's notes 2 : Okay next off I need to explain that Xander and everyone else is a little older here. They're adults but its still basically the present k ? Although thinking about it this was written about two years ago but anyway …That done with I hope you enjoy this.
-Prologue-
" Sail aloft the dreamscape on a cloud of hopes,
In the depths of sleep, to yearn the unreached
The lost innocence of faith …
A soul of one's heart lies in the warmth of love,
An unbinding devotion of self to the touch for another …
Lifelong would sorrow drown when melancholy finds itself nourished,
Broken would we drift away , our heartbeats missing,
A twilight of shattered stars falling to the ground,
Our souls forever incomplete …"
Some things just happen…
" Hey …"
Alexander Lavelle Harris finally voiced out as he stood motionless, greeting his wife . He forced a smile on his face though he knew she would easily see through his empty charade and moved his lips to speak before he lost nerve.
His eyes looked away from the sight before him , still fearing the harsh reality of truth . Taking a deep breath , he spoke , his words somewhat strangled with emotion, struggling to express what he wanted to say.
" Roses …"
He presented the bouquet he brought along for her . After carefully giving them the once over he started ,
" I brought you your favorite . White roses ... it is still your favorite right ?... Well ... I hope you like 'em.....er... um ,"
He stopped and took a deep breath to clear his throat .
" I should probably say something significant before next Christmas , so here goes ... I miss you ...Baby.. I miss your hugs... your touch . I miss your sweet kisses , I miss your beautiful eyes , I miss holding you in my arms. I miss the home we shared ....God....I even miss fighting with you ... I want you back right now ... here with me... as impossible as that may seem ... but this aint no fairy tale is it ?"
Xander closed his eyes and sighed audibly. He silenced the dry tears and swallowed , the chill breeze nothing compared to the cold he felt inside.
"... She's a beautiful girl now. Takes after her mother. She has the same fire and the same heart . You'd be proud of her . I know you haven't forgotten her birthday have you ?"
Xander recalls the day he became a father like it was just yesterday . He had held his sweet little girl in his arms for the first time and felt her tiny little heart beating .
She was his daughter, his … and he couldn't believe how lucky he was.
* ~ FLASHBACK ~ *
" I'm a daddy !!! I'm a daddy!!! HA!! HA!!HA!! HA!! I'm actually a father !!!"
Shouts of excitement rang when as he started dancing all over the place.
It caused quite a commotion but the nurses knew exactly what was going on. They merely smiled and moved on with their tasks. This kind of thing happens all the time in their line of work and oddly enough none of them would never tire of it.
Willow Rosenberg couldn't stop herself from smiling as she watched her best friend who was clearly very happy .
" Xander I think she's too young to learn the snoopy dance … I'm still her God mother right ?"
" Pfft!!! Nobody's too young Will , ,and of course you're her Godmother . Who else is gonna be her God mother ? Hey Where's Giles ?...GILES !!! I'm a father !!!" he cried out excitedly as soon as he saw his father in law.
" Xander … I have something to tell you ." the older man said somberly as he took off his glasses.
" Giles, what's wrong ? "
" I-I thought it best if I were the one to tell you this lad."
The older man kept a soft but clear and unattached tone of voice as he continued.
" She wanted so much for you to have a child Xander … Despite knowing the complications that might arise in the pregnancy, she knew how much you wanted a child and decided to risk it anyway."
" What are you saying Giles ? You're scaring me ! S-She was okay … Faith is okay isn't she ? My wife is alright !?! What are you not telling me ?" Xander almost shouted in despair.
Giles sighed. It proved to be more difficult than he had previously thought to be. He himself was trying very hard not to break down.
" Xander.... they can't stop the internal bleeding. I'm sorry … My daughter is … She's …"
The older man was now crying.
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Faith was staring at the ceiling from her bed , waiting for Xander to come into the room. She was sorta hoping that he wouldn't arrive but she was desperately aching to see her beloved husband at the same time. She kept staring upwards and dared not to look at the door to her ward. She didn't hear the door open but now knew it was him sitting by her bedside.
" You're bad. You're so bad ..." A strangled voice said.
Faith turned her head and saw Xander slowly shaking his head as tears welled up in his eyes. Xander didn't know quite what to say and the roller coaster of emotions he had just went through simply left him in absolute shock .
" You're a very bad person ... very bad."
She took his hand in hers and squeezed gently. The Xander she knew could barely keep himself quiet.
Seeing him barely audible disheartened her greatly.
" Would you like to be friends, Xander ?"
A twitch of a small smile pulled at the young man's mouth but still he refused to look her way.
" I'm sorry Xand...I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry…"she whispered as tears streaked down her face. " I wanted us to have a family. I wanted you to…"
" Sssh …" a gentle voice spoke. " We are a family Faith. Me , you and Giles , even Willow and Oz. We do have a family. You didn't have to do this. I was happy… You make me so happy , so please forgive me for not saying this enough but I love you…"
" Xander, I …"
" Don't go...please don't go...I-I love you too much." He cried and finally gave in to his emotions , stroking her face with a gentle finger , wiping her tears away. Adoring her with his eyes. " Don't leave me…"
" Xan...promise me. Name our daughter Anne. Please promise me...."
" I promise..."
" I love you Xander..."
Xander joined her in her bed and held her as close as he possibly could, hoping that they stay together forever as they lay wrapped around each other's arms. Faith closed her eyes and silently prayed for his happiness. Xander meant everything to her. He was her husband , the love of her life and her best friend. She couldn't survive without him but she hoped he was strong enough to survive a life without her.
" I love you Faith ..."
* ~ END FLASHBACK ~ *
"....yeah she's happy and ... well I ... am too. Maybe you'll come by and see us this year . I've always been lonely without you ... My best friends weren't here with me and you had to leave too didn't you....."
Xander looked at the gravestone before him and smiled a little smile for her.
" Okay, okay I won't whine ... Its just ... I-I just miss you a lot baby. You know I do."
Xander placed a kiss on her gravestone along with the roses and stood up again , trying to hold back his tears. Even after all this time Faith still had a way with his heart.
" I'll be back soon. Love you always...."
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End prologue.....
End notes : Buffy won't be making an appearance yet however. Wanted to put that in the beginning notes to warn ya about that but in doing so I realized , would spoil some surprises for those who've never read this story before. Still I hope u all like this polished part. Tell me if ya like.
Till next time I remain …….