The Room filled with the banging of Xander's hammer. He was fixing the windows again.... well it wasn't really the windows that broke this time, its the boards that are in place of the windows. To keep his mind off the troubles surrounding him he started to sing.... with the beat of his hammer. He sang mostly because he knew no one was there and even if someone tried to come home the singing would pretty much make anyone want to stay away. One thing was sure though, he was a sucker for the classics.
"Come on baby and rescue me, cause I need you by my side....cant you see that I need you baby, cant you see that I'm lonely-----"
"Hey Xand, Singing to the window again... well it likes you too." Buffy startled him, so much in fact that he accidentally hammered his thumb.
"God Damnit!" He waved his thumb as though waving it would make the pain stop, it didn't, it just kept hurting.
"Oh geeze Xand honey, I didn't mean to scare you like that... I'll get your keys and we'll get you to the hospital."
He didn't know what hurt worse, his thumb or his heart.
"Its not your fault Buff, I thought my singing would scare off any living creature, I guess I never took slayer strength into account."
"Well I'll get a bell for the next time you decide to do the top 30."
She started the car and drove at least 10 miles over the speed limit to the emergency room.
*********
"Well Mr. Harris you broke your thumb. I am going to write a prescription for some pain relievers, you are going to need it after we drill that hole in your nail."
"You're gonna drill his what?"
"Nail. To relieve the pressure."
"I don't like the sound of that, you're gonna screw up his thumb more? I mean it sounds painful."
"It will make it feel a lot better, and if we don't we might have to get rid of the thumb all together."
"Are you one of those evil HMO doctors... I have heard a lot about you guys doing horrible things to people-"
"Buff, he is a good doctor. This thing has happened to guys I know and it actually is supposed to help a lot."
"Xander you are the same person who had to get gassed just to get some cavities drilled, you of all people are ok with this?"
"Hey, I have a thing with sharp things in my mouth. And as most of us humans know, a thumb is different than a mouth. And what ever happened to 'don't worry your secret is safe with me?'"
The doctor smiled as he wrote on the lengthy chart. "So how long have you two been together?"
"We are NOT together. We are far from together. He is just totally one of the girls, He-"
"Yeah, ok. I'm gonna stop you there. Buff, you really don't need to be here, you've really done enough for the day."
She looked at him as though he just told her Santa wasn't real... and by real, the fake real with the toys and the whole not killing the small children.
"Really Buffy, from what I understand the drilling... it has an ick factor. A blood gushing might even hit you in the face ick factor. Which is great if you're Spike-"
"I'll be in the waiting room then."
She gave the doctor a look and left them alone. The doctor got his equipment out and sat in his swivel chair in front of Xander. He took the instrument in his hands and before he started his work he looked up at Xander.
"So who's Spike?"
*********
"You two are cutting it quite close." Giles motioned towards the boarded up windows.
"Xander had an accident. He broke his thumb."
Giles looked down to Xander's side and sure enough his thumb was in a huge inconvenient cast.
"Are you all right?"
"I am fine... I'd be better if I didn't have an itch..."
"Where are the others?" Buffy re-entered the room.
Giles took off his glasses and motioned towards the rest of the house, "Asleep. Things are quieting down for a while... They decided to get some rest, you should also."
"I would love some R&R, seeing that this medication makes me sleepy... and your British accent seems funnier... I wonder if there is a warning for that... next to the heavy machinery warning. Which reminds me, I'll have to leave my car here, since the car is just one big-"
"Heavy machine?" Giles finished for him.
"Actually I was going to say British accent, but I guess its one of those too."
"You're not leaving, not medicated. You could get seriously hurt." Buffy was in non-negotiation mode. Her voice told both men not to question her decision.
"Alright.... Where do you want me?"
"There is still room in the basement..."
"With De-Fang? I have roomed with him enough to last exactly 39 lifetimes."
They all fell silent. Dawn and Willow walked in and started up a lively conversation about nothing important really, but it was important to divert Buffy's attention away from Xander. Soon he was left alone in the living room, the only other being in the room was his cast, which was really big enough to live its own life independent of him.
He felt the cold come back to him, it took its place... not on his heart exactly, but not contained to his lungs.
She loved him all right, just like one of the girls. He began to understand that the term of endearment was not something she would attach to a 'boyfriend'. It made sense, what did she call Angel? Angel. Riley? Riley. Xander? One of the girls. 'I wonder if Buffy might like some lesbian action?' He laughed out loud at the thought.
Was he really that pathetic? Oh hell yeah.
"What's so funny?" Dawn walked over and sat next to Xander. "What happened to your thumb?"
"I hammered my thumb instead of the nail because of the wacky fun of it all."
"Ouch.... Was it Buffy's fault?"
"Naw, why do you ask?"
She looked down at her hands as if she just noticed she had fingers.
"You were just looking at her as if she gave your puppy cancer... You don't have a puppy that has cancer, do you?"
"Nope. I do have medication though."
"Well then that explains it all." She looked over at him and smiled. She knew there was more to it, but she wasn't going to get in between a BuffyXander brawl. They were famous for them. Some no one ever heard about... but some of the big ones were witnessed by all... they were good too.
When Buffy came back home after she killed Angel... She could have sold tickets to that one. They thought she didn't see what was going on, but she was at the top of the stairs hanging on every word. She did get a little scared when it seemed as though the verbal would turn physical. But in the end they fought the living dead side by side... not missing a beat. She figured that's how they were meant to be. They wouldn't always get along, almost come to blows, then in the end make up and kill the big uber evil.
But the look on Xander's face said it all. He was tired of fighting. He seemed in a limbo state now, not dead, but not really living. He just seemed to be going through the motions.
"Come on baby and rescue me, cause I need you by my side....cant you see that I need you baby, cant you see that I'm lonely-----"
"Hey Xand, Singing to the window again... well it likes you too." Buffy startled him, so much in fact that he accidentally hammered his thumb.
"God Damnit!" He waved his thumb as though waving it would make the pain stop, it didn't, it just kept hurting.
"Oh geeze Xand honey, I didn't mean to scare you like that... I'll get your keys and we'll get you to the hospital."
He didn't know what hurt worse, his thumb or his heart.
"Its not your fault Buff, I thought my singing would scare off any living creature, I guess I never took slayer strength into account."
"Well I'll get a bell for the next time you decide to do the top 30."
She started the car and drove at least 10 miles over the speed limit to the emergency room.
*********
"Well Mr. Harris you broke your thumb. I am going to write a prescription for some pain relievers, you are going to need it after we drill that hole in your nail."
"You're gonna drill his what?"
"Nail. To relieve the pressure."
"I don't like the sound of that, you're gonna screw up his thumb more? I mean it sounds painful."
"It will make it feel a lot better, and if we don't we might have to get rid of the thumb all together."
"Are you one of those evil HMO doctors... I have heard a lot about you guys doing horrible things to people-"
"Buff, he is a good doctor. This thing has happened to guys I know and it actually is supposed to help a lot."
"Xander you are the same person who had to get gassed just to get some cavities drilled, you of all people are ok with this?"
"Hey, I have a thing with sharp things in my mouth. And as most of us humans know, a thumb is different than a mouth. And what ever happened to 'don't worry your secret is safe with me?'"
The doctor smiled as he wrote on the lengthy chart. "So how long have you two been together?"
"We are NOT together. We are far from together. He is just totally one of the girls, He-"
"Yeah, ok. I'm gonna stop you there. Buff, you really don't need to be here, you've really done enough for the day."
She looked at him as though he just told her Santa wasn't real... and by real, the fake real with the toys and the whole not killing the small children.
"Really Buffy, from what I understand the drilling... it has an ick factor. A blood gushing might even hit you in the face ick factor. Which is great if you're Spike-"
"I'll be in the waiting room then."
She gave the doctor a look and left them alone. The doctor got his equipment out and sat in his swivel chair in front of Xander. He took the instrument in his hands and before he started his work he looked up at Xander.
"So who's Spike?"
*********
"You two are cutting it quite close." Giles motioned towards the boarded up windows.
"Xander had an accident. He broke his thumb."
Giles looked down to Xander's side and sure enough his thumb was in a huge inconvenient cast.
"Are you all right?"
"I am fine... I'd be better if I didn't have an itch..."
"Where are the others?" Buffy re-entered the room.
Giles took off his glasses and motioned towards the rest of the house, "Asleep. Things are quieting down for a while... They decided to get some rest, you should also."
"I would love some R&R, seeing that this medication makes me sleepy... and your British accent seems funnier... I wonder if there is a warning for that... next to the heavy machinery warning. Which reminds me, I'll have to leave my car here, since the car is just one big-"
"Heavy machine?" Giles finished for him.
"Actually I was going to say British accent, but I guess its one of those too."
"You're not leaving, not medicated. You could get seriously hurt." Buffy was in non-negotiation mode. Her voice told both men not to question her decision.
"Alright.... Where do you want me?"
"There is still room in the basement..."
"With De-Fang? I have roomed with him enough to last exactly 39 lifetimes."
They all fell silent. Dawn and Willow walked in and started up a lively conversation about nothing important really, but it was important to divert Buffy's attention away from Xander. Soon he was left alone in the living room, the only other being in the room was his cast, which was really big enough to live its own life independent of him.
He felt the cold come back to him, it took its place... not on his heart exactly, but not contained to his lungs.
She loved him all right, just like one of the girls. He began to understand that the term of endearment was not something she would attach to a 'boyfriend'. It made sense, what did she call Angel? Angel. Riley? Riley. Xander? One of the girls. 'I wonder if Buffy might like some lesbian action?' He laughed out loud at the thought.
Was he really that pathetic? Oh hell yeah.
"What's so funny?" Dawn walked over and sat next to Xander. "What happened to your thumb?"
"I hammered my thumb instead of the nail because of the wacky fun of it all."
"Ouch.... Was it Buffy's fault?"
"Naw, why do you ask?"
She looked down at her hands as if she just noticed she had fingers.
"You were just looking at her as if she gave your puppy cancer... You don't have a puppy that has cancer, do you?"
"Nope. I do have medication though."
"Well then that explains it all." She looked over at him and smiled. She knew there was more to it, but she wasn't going to get in between a BuffyXander brawl. They were famous for them. Some no one ever heard about... but some of the big ones were witnessed by all... they were good too.
When Buffy came back home after she killed Angel... She could have sold tickets to that one. They thought she didn't see what was going on, but she was at the top of the stairs hanging on every word. She did get a little scared when it seemed as though the verbal would turn physical. But in the end they fought the living dead side by side... not missing a beat. She figured that's how they were meant to be. They wouldn't always get along, almost come to blows, then in the end make up and kill the big uber evil.
But the look on Xander's face said it all. He was tired of fighting. He seemed in a limbo state now, not dead, but not really living. He just seemed to be going through the motions.