Title: Loose Ends
Author: Jane McCartney
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover
Rating: PG13
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work – I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me – please. I'm just doing the best I can here.
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?
***
If Kelly Marshall had ever had any doubts about the existence of miracles before, she surely didn't have them anymore.
After she'd come back from the hospital with anything she had been able to get without raising any suspicions and possibly, by doing so, put either Michael's or Xander's life in danger, Dr. Penn seemed to have stabilized the young man's previously critical condition.
The strangest thing was, Kelly didn't know if her greatest relief was Xander getting to live and, as a consequence, she and Dr. Penn getting to do so as well. Or if it was that odd feeling she'd felt from the mysterious couple, at least already once.
That, by helping them, she was doing the right thing.
As Michael finished what his limited supplies had allowed him to do in the care of Xander Harris' life, and as Faith, with her seemingly-forgotten rifle by her side, waited impatiently for her partner to wake up, the blonde nurse's mind had only guarded space for one thought.
Maybe she definitely was both a stupid and suicidal girl.
But, what the heck. If Xander managed to get out of this alive, the Big Guy up there might well have some important plans for them.
What she was doing, the choices Kelly had made by not trying to win control over the situation when the supposed brunette enemy had just seemed to forget her gun minutes earlier, choosing later not to turn them in to the cops...
It was the right thing to do.
Nurse Marshall just knew it, deep inside her soul.
***
The Scooby Gang was speeding along, inside a vehicle Spike had kindly borrowed the previous night from a used car lot in Sunnydale.
It was a small, stuffy car; the girls' legs were piled up on top of one another's and their arms curled up uncomfortably as, by silent accord, the men had taken the front seats 'cause they were physically larger.
After their unique stop minutes earlier, Buffy, Spike, Tara, Willow, Giles, Anya and Dawn were once again on their way to the Fang Gang's Hyperion hotel. And, in the way things always seemed to mess up in their lives, they had found out something really bothersome.
That unpleasant finding wasn't one to brighten anyone's mood at that moment, which pretty much hadn't been a good one at practically any time during their trip.
And, after a long argument between Buffy and Spike that was won by the former about the right or wrong streets to take, that was that they were lost.
"Are we there yet?" Dawn asked from the back seat, arms crossed and fingers playing with a lock of light brown hair, the noisy sound of chewing gum seeming to monopolize the car's interior.
And that made it exactly eight times she had pronounced those precise same words, in the last twenty minutes.
"Soon, Nibblet," Spike forced out patiently, the same answer as well for the eighth time.
"We're so lost," the teenager sighed.
"Bloody hell, that's the Slayer's fault, not mine li'l bit," the blonde replied.
"Don't you 'bloody hell' my sister," Buffy glared, threatening him. "And it's not my fault we're lost! It's totally yours!"
Tara and Willow exchanged a look. Giles cleared his throat, suddenly feeling the need to readjust himself in the front seat. Anya just snorted.
Spike turned to the back seat, a cocked eyebrow indicating incredulity. "Mind tellin' me how come it's not your fault, pet? It certainly wasn't my bleedin' idea to turn down that side street back there," he finished sarcastically.
With the vampire's attention diverted to his sudden argument with the blonde Slayer, a car came straight at them; blasting its wild, loud and noisy horn, it barely missed the Slayermobile by scant inches, before Spike finally managed to righten the car's path.
"Watch the road, you freaking moron! Ya know, there are people in here who still can die for real!" Buffy shouted, her body still covering her sister's.
"And it's your fault, 'cause I say so," the Slayer finished lamely, finally recovering her previous awkward and uncomfortable position.
"Good Lord, will you two ever stop? I'm already got a bloody marvelous headache," Giles exclaimed, rubbing his glasses with a handkerchief.
"He started it," Buffy proclaimed self-righteously.
"Honey, I know I can't do magic anymore, but I really want to turn them into frogs right now. Can I?" Willow sent her best puppy dog-like look to her girlfriend.
Tara smiled sweetly. "Ah, well, I-I think we can make an exception, just for today," the blonde retorted in the same quiet murmur, the two lovers exchanging a knowing grin.
Some brief seconds later, Spike took a cigarette out of his jacket and was prepared to light up – but Buffy quickly grabbed it, and shoved the cancer- stick out the window.
"Don't smoke in the car," the blonde girl hissed at him.
Spike glanced at her, by way of the side-view mirror. Buffy accepted the challenge, locking a harsh and childlike glance with him.
Anya just murmured in annoyance, "Get a room already..."
Everyone gasped. Dawn grinned childishly. Anya looked innocent. "What? Isn't this one of the things that everybody knows, but nobody talks about?"
"Ah, I see, so there is some other way for me to feel even more sick," Giles clarified his previous doubt with his ironic words.
Buffy looked at Spike. Spike looked at Buffy.
"Never," the two blurted out somehow nervously, in unison, forcing an expression of disgust onto their faces.
"Not even if she was the last bint on the face of the whole bloody planet," Spike quickly amended.
Buffy nodded solicitously. "Or, or if he was the last man on Earth. Or vampire. Or both!" she declared triumphantly, sending a nervous glance around.
As if by unspoken agreement, the silence was chosen by everyone afterwards, till Willow's cell phone whistled its noisy sound. Dawn jumped at the unforeseen disturbance.
"The cell phone's recharged," the redhead declared with an encouraging smile, dialing the Hyperion's number.
A couple of minutes then passed, with Willow eventually nodding an 'okay', and 'turn to left' or 'to the right', seemingly explained by an equally confused Fred at the other end of the line. Both Wesley and Gunn had apparently gone upstairs, getting a whole cascade of books to research.
Everyone sent expectant glances to Willow, who shrugged her shoulders innocently. "What? Oh, right! The right way. No, I mean, not the right, we've gotta actually go to the left and I meant the correct way, when I said the right way just now..."
"Sweetie? You're babbling," Tara murmured into the redhead's ear.
Willow squeezed her girlfriend's hands gratefully. "It's only a few blocks ahead. Go left, grab a right at the next traffic light and then straight ahead."
Spike rolled his eyes. "'Bout time Peaches got an easier address to find, don't ya reckon?"
"Let's just go," Buffy sneered in annoyance.
"G-guys? I-I-I really think we should get to a hospital first," the suddenly trembling voice of Dawn made her the focus of everyone's attention.
Their gazes got wider as the Scooby Gang saw that, despite Dawn's efforts to get Anya's attention, the teenager seemed to be failing miserably – as the former demoness was out cold.
***
It seemed that, fortunately, Anya's faint was nothing more than a scare. Basically, because it was only for a minute or less. Still, the gang insisted on taking her to a hospital, despite their troubled situation.
Buffy, Spike and Giles had headed off to the Hyperion, letting Dawn, Tara and Willow wait for Anya to be discharged.
In St. Matthews' hallowed halls, a chubby nurse named Emily Ginsberg briefly explained Anya's state, and told the female trio Dr. Lewis should be catching up with them any time now with more detailed information. But that they shouldn't worry, because Anya wasn't expected to stay at the hospital any more than an hour.
But the truth was, Nurse Emily had sounded rather annoyed during the whole two minutes she'd stayed with them and her words hadn't seemed too clarifying to Tara, Willow or Dawn.
"Someone certainly woke up with something shoved up her ass," Dawn snorted.
"Dawn!" Tara quickly blurted out.
"Well, but she did!" the brown-haired teenager rebutted defensively.
"Oh my God," Willow's horrified voice, sounding more like an undecipherable sob, promptly got Dawn's and Tara's attention.
In the waiting room of St. Matthew's hospital, there was a chair where a newspaper lay abandoned, probably forgotten by its owner. And, printed on it, was something shocking; small letters side by side with a confusing image, said as being taken by a security camera of the very same hospital they were in right now.
Faith and Xander's names, as well as their blurry images; looking more like shadows, given the photo's resolution wasn't the greatest.
The thing with the homeless beggar, the running away, Cordelia's attack, everything was written down in black and white.
All the lies the spell had engineered the previous night, all the fakery – Cordelia believing Xander to be her attacker, the police taking Xander as the murderer of the street bum by witnesses corrupted with an illusion formed from the spell, all of it.
"Xander?" Tara gasped in surprise, as Dawn's eyes widened considerably.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," Willow repeated as if it was her new mantra, a terrified expression covering her pale face, a sob of confusion and dread escaping her ruby lips.
"What does this mean?" Dawn asked fearfully, suddenly feeling really sick. "This is bull, right? Xander wouldn't do what they're saying he did, right?"
At the lack of a denial, Dawn closed her eyes very tight, hoping this was just a bad dream. That she'd wake up any minute and make fun of Buffy in Anya's bridesmaid dress, or something.
But Willow's trembling voice didn't allow any room for that; and actually, Dawn had no idea how it'd really affect her life in the next few hours.
"Oh my God, oh my God..."
***
"Are you sure?" Anya asked.
"Pretty much," Dr. Lewis replied sympathetically.
A fleeting silence, till Anya blurted out, "I'm an American."
Amanda Lewis glanced about in confusion. "That's, uh, good. I guess," the doctor replied with uncertainty.
"What I meant was, I can sue this hospital if you're wrong. American people do this all the time," Anya clarified helpfully.
Dr. Lewis opened her mouth, a bewildered look in her green eyes. The words didn't come out for a second. But she forced a smile then exclaimed, "I'm pretty sure you won't have to do that, Miss Jenkins. I've confirmed the exam personally. Twice, as a matter of fact."
Anya sighed, suddenly feeling out of breath.
"You know, maybe you should get some air," Amanda suggested tentatively.
"Maybe I should get better timing," Anya snorted in irony.
The green-eyed doctor didn't quite understand her words, but chose to let it pass. Because Anya's words mostly hadn't made almost any sense at all, ever since the blonde woman was first signed in to be her patient.
The ex-demon decided to accept Lewis' suggestion, taking care not to bump into Tara, Willow and Dawn on her way – as she really needed some time alone.
Hell, what she really needed was Xander by her side.
Damn him.
As her feet took her aimlessly to wander outside St. Matthew's, there was only one face in Anya's thoughts. Xander's.
After all, their honeymoon was supposed to be taking place right now. They were supposed to be embraced in each other's arms, kissing, together, with only them and...
Faith?!
"Xander? And Faith?! And two complete strangers!" Anya's voice, conflicted between confusion, relief and frenzy barked out.
Faith, holding tight on a nearly-awake and still-dazed Xander Harris, stopped moving abruptly. And Michael and Kelly almost literally piled up onto the Slayer's back.
"Who the hell are you?" the brunette's retort was equally confused, as the slightly familiar face stood there, an utterly flustered look on her face which was almost hidden by the long locks of blonde hair.
"Ahn?" Xander asked weakly with a ghostly expression and a baffled glance, contradictory feelings immediately taking place inside his heart.
If it was relief for his fiancée's comforting presence, or fear for her safety, or even shame – the dark-haired time-traveler really couldn't tell.
"Hold it right there! You, drop your weapon onto the ground and hands up, now!" the sudden outburst came from the mouth of the alley, where a young and skinny police officer held his revolver with trembling hands.
"Someone! I got the killer and the girl! Someone!" the obvious newbie started then to scream like a madman, wildly trying to get the other officers' attention.
The group in the alley exchanged glances.
One sighed. Another snorted in incredulity. Another just went silent, as the last of the group gulped.
But for Xander Harris, there was nothing else to do besides laugh.
OK, perhaps his body wasn't strong enough for such activity at that moment, but the young man could literally feel the irony heating up his insides with a biting, sour laugh, poking him directly in his funny bone.
And the worst part was, Xander simply knew...
He hadn't even hit rock bottom yet.
***
Please, review! Well, there'll be 20 chapters actually. So, the real action will start really soon!
Author: Jane McCartney
Disclaimer: All the characters you recognize belong to Joss & co. (all hail the crackhead). I'm just fooling around with his universe, with no intention of making money or anything.
Classification: Buffy-Angel crossover
Rating: PG13
Feedback: Yes, please! Doesn't everyone want it?
Email: janemccartney@bol.com.br
Distribution: Anywhere, I don't mind, just credit me and inform me where it's at.
Acknowledgements: Thanks to Theo, who actually made this project a viable one with his amazing and wonderful work – I'm truly grateful for your help with the English grammar and all the necessary adaptations. You're my savior.
Note: This is my very first attempt at fan fiction, and English is definitely not my native language, so I'd be happy if you guys didn't go too hard on me – please. I'm just doing the best I can here.
Summary: [Buffy-Angel Crossover] Xander shows up in Los Angeles, and brings with him a secret that'll lead him into dangerous territory. Can he cope with that? And his friends, will they be there for him?
***
If Kelly Marshall had ever had any doubts about the existence of miracles before, she surely didn't have them anymore.
After she'd come back from the hospital with anything she had been able to get without raising any suspicions and possibly, by doing so, put either Michael's or Xander's life in danger, Dr. Penn seemed to have stabilized the young man's previously critical condition.
The strangest thing was, Kelly didn't know if her greatest relief was Xander getting to live and, as a consequence, she and Dr. Penn getting to do so as well. Or if it was that odd feeling she'd felt from the mysterious couple, at least already once.
That, by helping them, she was doing the right thing.
As Michael finished what his limited supplies had allowed him to do in the care of Xander Harris' life, and as Faith, with her seemingly-forgotten rifle by her side, waited impatiently for her partner to wake up, the blonde nurse's mind had only guarded space for one thought.
Maybe she definitely was both a stupid and suicidal girl.
But, what the heck. If Xander managed to get out of this alive, the Big Guy up there might well have some important plans for them.
What she was doing, the choices Kelly had made by not trying to win control over the situation when the supposed brunette enemy had just seemed to forget her gun minutes earlier, choosing later not to turn them in to the cops...
It was the right thing to do.
Nurse Marshall just knew it, deep inside her soul.
***
The Scooby Gang was speeding along, inside a vehicle Spike had kindly borrowed the previous night from a used car lot in Sunnydale.
It was a small, stuffy car; the girls' legs were piled up on top of one another's and their arms curled up uncomfortably as, by silent accord, the men had taken the front seats 'cause they were physically larger.
After their unique stop minutes earlier, Buffy, Spike, Tara, Willow, Giles, Anya and Dawn were once again on their way to the Fang Gang's Hyperion hotel. And, in the way things always seemed to mess up in their lives, they had found out something really bothersome.
That unpleasant finding wasn't one to brighten anyone's mood at that moment, which pretty much hadn't been a good one at practically any time during their trip.
And, after a long argument between Buffy and Spike that was won by the former about the right or wrong streets to take, that was that they were lost.
"Are we there yet?" Dawn asked from the back seat, arms crossed and fingers playing with a lock of light brown hair, the noisy sound of chewing gum seeming to monopolize the car's interior.
And that made it exactly eight times she had pronounced those precise same words, in the last twenty minutes.
"Soon, Nibblet," Spike forced out patiently, the same answer as well for the eighth time.
"We're so lost," the teenager sighed.
"Bloody hell, that's the Slayer's fault, not mine li'l bit," the blonde replied.
"Don't you 'bloody hell' my sister," Buffy glared, threatening him. "And it's not my fault we're lost! It's totally yours!"
Tara and Willow exchanged a look. Giles cleared his throat, suddenly feeling the need to readjust himself in the front seat. Anya just snorted.
Spike turned to the back seat, a cocked eyebrow indicating incredulity. "Mind tellin' me how come it's not your fault, pet? It certainly wasn't my bleedin' idea to turn down that side street back there," he finished sarcastically.
With the vampire's attention diverted to his sudden argument with the blonde Slayer, a car came straight at them; blasting its wild, loud and noisy horn, it barely missed the Slayermobile by scant inches, before Spike finally managed to righten the car's path.
"Watch the road, you freaking moron! Ya know, there are people in here who still can die for real!" Buffy shouted, her body still covering her sister's.
"And it's your fault, 'cause I say so," the Slayer finished lamely, finally recovering her previous awkward and uncomfortable position.
"Good Lord, will you two ever stop? I'm already got a bloody marvelous headache," Giles exclaimed, rubbing his glasses with a handkerchief.
"He started it," Buffy proclaimed self-righteously.
"Honey, I know I can't do magic anymore, but I really want to turn them into frogs right now. Can I?" Willow sent her best puppy dog-like look to her girlfriend.
Tara smiled sweetly. "Ah, well, I-I think we can make an exception, just for today," the blonde retorted in the same quiet murmur, the two lovers exchanging a knowing grin.
Some brief seconds later, Spike took a cigarette out of his jacket and was prepared to light up – but Buffy quickly grabbed it, and shoved the cancer- stick out the window.
"Don't smoke in the car," the blonde girl hissed at him.
Spike glanced at her, by way of the side-view mirror. Buffy accepted the challenge, locking a harsh and childlike glance with him.
Anya just murmured in annoyance, "Get a room already..."
Everyone gasped. Dawn grinned childishly. Anya looked innocent. "What? Isn't this one of the things that everybody knows, but nobody talks about?"
"Ah, I see, so there is some other way for me to feel even more sick," Giles clarified his previous doubt with his ironic words.
Buffy looked at Spike. Spike looked at Buffy.
"Never," the two blurted out somehow nervously, in unison, forcing an expression of disgust onto their faces.
"Not even if she was the last bint on the face of the whole bloody planet," Spike quickly amended.
Buffy nodded solicitously. "Or, or if he was the last man on Earth. Or vampire. Or both!" she declared triumphantly, sending a nervous glance around.
As if by unspoken agreement, the silence was chosen by everyone afterwards, till Willow's cell phone whistled its noisy sound. Dawn jumped at the unforeseen disturbance.
"The cell phone's recharged," the redhead declared with an encouraging smile, dialing the Hyperion's number.
A couple of minutes then passed, with Willow eventually nodding an 'okay', and 'turn to left' or 'to the right', seemingly explained by an equally confused Fred at the other end of the line. Both Wesley and Gunn had apparently gone upstairs, getting a whole cascade of books to research.
Everyone sent expectant glances to Willow, who shrugged her shoulders innocently. "What? Oh, right! The right way. No, I mean, not the right, we've gotta actually go to the left and I meant the correct way, when I said the right way just now..."
"Sweetie? You're babbling," Tara murmured into the redhead's ear.
Willow squeezed her girlfriend's hands gratefully. "It's only a few blocks ahead. Go left, grab a right at the next traffic light and then straight ahead."
Spike rolled his eyes. "'Bout time Peaches got an easier address to find, don't ya reckon?"
"Let's just go," Buffy sneered in annoyance.
"G-guys? I-I-I really think we should get to a hospital first," the suddenly trembling voice of Dawn made her the focus of everyone's attention.
Their gazes got wider as the Scooby Gang saw that, despite Dawn's efforts to get Anya's attention, the teenager seemed to be failing miserably – as the former demoness was out cold.
***
It seemed that, fortunately, Anya's faint was nothing more than a scare. Basically, because it was only for a minute or less. Still, the gang insisted on taking her to a hospital, despite their troubled situation.
Buffy, Spike and Giles had headed off to the Hyperion, letting Dawn, Tara and Willow wait for Anya to be discharged.
In St. Matthews' hallowed halls, a chubby nurse named Emily Ginsberg briefly explained Anya's state, and told the female trio Dr. Lewis should be catching up with them any time now with more detailed information. But that they shouldn't worry, because Anya wasn't expected to stay at the hospital any more than an hour.
But the truth was, Nurse Emily had sounded rather annoyed during the whole two minutes she'd stayed with them and her words hadn't seemed too clarifying to Tara, Willow or Dawn.
"Someone certainly woke up with something shoved up her ass," Dawn snorted.
"Dawn!" Tara quickly blurted out.
"Well, but she did!" the brown-haired teenager rebutted defensively.
"Oh my God," Willow's horrified voice, sounding more like an undecipherable sob, promptly got Dawn's and Tara's attention.
In the waiting room of St. Matthew's hospital, there was a chair where a newspaper lay abandoned, probably forgotten by its owner. And, printed on it, was something shocking; small letters side by side with a confusing image, said as being taken by a security camera of the very same hospital they were in right now.
Faith and Xander's names, as well as their blurry images; looking more like shadows, given the photo's resolution wasn't the greatest.
The thing with the homeless beggar, the running away, Cordelia's attack, everything was written down in black and white.
All the lies the spell had engineered the previous night, all the fakery – Cordelia believing Xander to be her attacker, the police taking Xander as the murderer of the street bum by witnesses corrupted with an illusion formed from the spell, all of it.
"Xander?" Tara gasped in surprise, as Dawn's eyes widened considerably.
"Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God," Willow repeated as if it was her new mantra, a terrified expression covering her pale face, a sob of confusion and dread escaping her ruby lips.
"What does this mean?" Dawn asked fearfully, suddenly feeling really sick. "This is bull, right? Xander wouldn't do what they're saying he did, right?"
At the lack of a denial, Dawn closed her eyes very tight, hoping this was just a bad dream. That she'd wake up any minute and make fun of Buffy in Anya's bridesmaid dress, or something.
But Willow's trembling voice didn't allow any room for that; and actually, Dawn had no idea how it'd really affect her life in the next few hours.
"Oh my God, oh my God..."
***
"Are you sure?" Anya asked.
"Pretty much," Dr. Lewis replied sympathetically.
A fleeting silence, till Anya blurted out, "I'm an American."
Amanda Lewis glanced about in confusion. "That's, uh, good. I guess," the doctor replied with uncertainty.
"What I meant was, I can sue this hospital if you're wrong. American people do this all the time," Anya clarified helpfully.
Dr. Lewis opened her mouth, a bewildered look in her green eyes. The words didn't come out for a second. But she forced a smile then exclaimed, "I'm pretty sure you won't have to do that, Miss Jenkins. I've confirmed the exam personally. Twice, as a matter of fact."
Anya sighed, suddenly feeling out of breath.
"You know, maybe you should get some air," Amanda suggested tentatively.
"Maybe I should get better timing," Anya snorted in irony.
The green-eyed doctor didn't quite understand her words, but chose to let it pass. Because Anya's words mostly hadn't made almost any sense at all, ever since the blonde woman was first signed in to be her patient.
The ex-demon decided to accept Lewis' suggestion, taking care not to bump into Tara, Willow and Dawn on her way – as she really needed some time alone.
Hell, what she really needed was Xander by her side.
Damn him.
As her feet took her aimlessly to wander outside St. Matthew's, there was only one face in Anya's thoughts. Xander's.
After all, their honeymoon was supposed to be taking place right now. They were supposed to be embraced in each other's arms, kissing, together, with only them and...
Faith?!
"Xander? And Faith?! And two complete strangers!" Anya's voice, conflicted between confusion, relief and frenzy barked out.
Faith, holding tight on a nearly-awake and still-dazed Xander Harris, stopped moving abruptly. And Michael and Kelly almost literally piled up onto the Slayer's back.
"Who the hell are you?" the brunette's retort was equally confused, as the slightly familiar face stood there, an utterly flustered look on her face which was almost hidden by the long locks of blonde hair.
"Ahn?" Xander asked weakly with a ghostly expression and a baffled glance, contradictory feelings immediately taking place inside his heart.
If it was relief for his fiancée's comforting presence, or fear for her safety, or even shame – the dark-haired time-traveler really couldn't tell.
"Hold it right there! You, drop your weapon onto the ground and hands up, now!" the sudden outburst came from the mouth of the alley, where a young and skinny police officer held his revolver with trembling hands.
"Someone! I got the killer and the girl! Someone!" the obvious newbie started then to scream like a madman, wildly trying to get the other officers' attention.
The group in the alley exchanged glances.
One sighed. Another snorted in incredulity. Another just went silent, as the last of the group gulped.
But for Xander Harris, there was nothing else to do besides laugh.
OK, perhaps his body wasn't strong enough for such activity at that moment, but the young man could literally feel the irony heating up his insides with a biting, sour laugh, poking him directly in his funny bone.
And the worst part was, Xander simply knew...
He hadn't even hit rock bottom yet.
***
Please, review! Well, there'll be 20 chapters actually. So, the real action will start really soon!