Title: Just thought Id say Hi. Pt2
This is now an AU. Some spoilers are right…some are way off. But hey what can you do?
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Sunnydale, California. Summer, 2003
The front door of 1630 Revello Drive opened, to admit the two women. "B, are you sure you want me in this?" Faith asked in some apprehension.
Buffy nodded. "As much as I hate to admit it, Faith, we're gonna need your help. I mean, I haven't forgotten everything's that happened between us, but I can set it aside for now."
"Well, there is that pesky 'escaped felon' thing I have going..."
Buffy shook her head. "That's where Giles comes in. Even if the Council is gone, a lot of their contacts here and overseas are still around. He said you're going to be staying awhile, if you want."
The reformed Slayer grinned. "Cool. After all that crap over the last two months, not to mention old Angelus back in LA..."
"Please, don't remind me about the stupidity of that move on their part," Buffy said, as she sat on the sofa. "At least the soulless bastard killed that Beast thing..."
"Seriously, B. Hunting him was wicked tough. I dunno how you did it back then!"
"Well, I had a lot of help. If I was on my own, I would have probably gone nuts..." the blonde woman stopped and saw Faith looking at her. "Uh, sorry..."
Faith waved it off. "Don't sweat it, B. That's one of the things Angelus mentioned, ya know, your help. I mean he totally hated Willow because of the curse thing, but you wanna know who he was really pissed off at? Xander."
"What? Why him?"
Faith shrugged. "He could never scare the X-man, girl friend. Get this – when you had some flu or another during junior year, and everyone else was in shock, Xander was the one to get Angelus off of you in that graveyard."
Buffy looked inward and muttered, "I kind of vaguely recall that. Well, that and puking a lot."
Faith smiled. "And I guess that was some kind of chat Angelus and Xander had at the hospital later, huh?"
Buffy thought for a moment. "I think Giles said something about that, when I got better..." She looked around to make sure no one was around to hear her, "Faith, what do you think of Xander's idea about the memorial?"
Faith smirked. "Oh, I'm thinkin' Boy Toy hit one brilliant idea right on the head. Some of those girls' entire families were knocked off. There was what, nearly a hundred Potentials that got iced before the hi-jinks even started here. We lost what? Sixteen? Plus, it'll make the remaining Potentials want him more if we do it."
Leaning back as she remembered, the former rogue chuckled, "Did you see how those girls looked at him, when he did that big 'some of us might not be coming back' speech? That one Navy brat chick fricking saluted him! And I think that Molly gal wanted to do him, right then and there..."
Buffy grinned back. "Well, she did 'volunteer' to stay at his apartment to help with the overcrowding here."
Faith leaned in close, "Speaking of Xander...does he seem kinda out of it lately to you?"
Buffy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, something's bothering him. The others can't see it, but Willow and I sure can. At least, he's still not saying he's forgetting something anymore..."
Faith rolled her eyes. "I know! We're fighting the big evil here, and he keeps saying he's forgetting something. After the first few days, I almost dope-smacked him to shut him up already..."
The two Slayers then stopped talking, when Molly and Rona came downstairs arguing.
"He is!"
"No he's not."
"Yes he is! He did save my life, you know."
Buffy stopped them. "What's up?"
Rona shook her head. "She's trying to get me to admit that old White Boy is hot."
Molly frowned. "He is!" she whined.
Faith joined in, she turned to Rona, "Hey, girl's got s point; don't count him out too quickly. Hell, he's not all bad in bed..."
Buffy glared at her. "Faith!"
Molly was almost speechless. "You mean – you and him?"
Faith grinned. "It was a few years ago, but hey – if not stamina, he did have talent."
"Who had talent?"
They turned to see Xander come in from the kitchen, with Kennedy and Willow.
"Is something going on here?" the young man asked, when he noticed Molly severely blushing.
Nobody answered, and Xander just sighed.
Absently, the former Zeppo started scratching around one of his eyes, but stopped when he saw Willow staring at him again.
He sighed. Ever since Willow had magically restored the eye that had been jabbed out by that damned former preacher-turned-minion Caleb, his eye socket had started up an occasional itching; as if his body was trying to reject something which was foreign, that did not belong.
Willow had sworn to him that it would pass, or that it was just psychosomatic, or blah blah blah. Personally, with his luck regarding magic, Xander wouldn't have been surprised if his redheaded best friend had given him a demon eye or something...
Suddenly, Faith went over and grabbed his ass, causing the man to jump a bit. "Nothing to worry about, Boy Toy. We were just dishing the dirt on your firm ass!"
She saw Buffy's glare at her and shrugged, "What? I've been in a women's prison for a few years now, what did you expect?"
Xander gulped. "Well, Faith, as much as it would be fun to..."
All the women noticed Xander then trail off, and look towards the sofa. "Who the hell are you?" he asked to apparently empty air.
Buffy looked with the rest. "Ah, Xand? Who are you talking to?"
"What, you don't see the pimp wanna-be sitting there?"
The six women looked again, but still saw no one. "Xand-man, who the heck..." Faith started to say.
But Xander was more interested in the new guy. "Wait up – I know you, don't I? I've seen you before..."
The man got up, and walked over to him. "That's right, boyo," he said in a slight Irish accent.
"We never met in real life. But I saw your picture a few times at Cordy's place, and the old shot of you giving Cordy a piggyback ride with the redhead here in the background," he nodded towards Willow. "She had it on her desk..."
"Doyle?" Xander guessed. "Oh, yeah now I remember; you were in a video she sent me."
Doyle smiled. "Ah, right, the big commercial about rats."
Buffy shook Xander. "Xander! Who are you talking to?"
"Why can't the girls see or hear ya?" Then he stared at Willow. "Wills, no more screwing around – did you give me a demon eye here? Is that why only I can see him?"
Shrugging, Doyle told him, "No, it's nothing like that. I'm guessing they're not meant to see me, so they can't."
Xander turned to Willow again, "Okay, ix-nay the demon eye thing. Now, Will? Any freaky First things you can feel right now?"
Faith got alarmed. "Xand, the First Evil is dormant again. We beat it, you know that..."
Doyle laughed at that comment. "You beat the First? You beat the embodiment of all evil? Man, someone's got a high opinion of herself..."
"No need to be all sarcastic here, Doyle. 'Cause that's kinda my job in this town," Xander told him in an annoyed voice.
"Who's Doyle?" Molly asked, confused.
The half-demon got serious, as he and Xander locked eyes. "Kid, you know that feeling that you've had for months now? The one where you've forgotten something?"
"Yeah."
"Well, let's say you just happen to remember it. Like say, now..."
The women watched as Xander's eyes snapped shut, and he didn't move for a full minute.
"Xander!" Faith yelled. Then she turned to Willow, "Red, can you mind-talk him or something?"
Willow shook her head. "No, I...I'm getting feedback of some kind, and I – we mustn't interfere..."
They all jumped back when Xander's eyes shot open, with a look of shock on his face. "Cordy!! Oh man, we have got to get her out of there!"
"Relax, pal. She is out of there. She said she'd find a way, and she did," Doyle quickly told him.
"Xander, what's going on? Where's Cordelia?" Willow asked, trying to calm him down.
"Kid, you might wanna sit down or grab ahold of something..."
Xander turned back to Doyle. "Why..." was all he got out, before the vision started. The former class clown then grabbed his head in pain, as he fell to the floor screaming.
Buffy, Faith, Willow, and Kennedy tried to hold him still, "Xander! What's happening?!" more than one female shouted.
He couldn't hear them. He was seeing events fly past his mind's eye, in rapid succession.
Cordelia having sex with an 18-year-old kid, who kind of resembled Angel.
A ninja guy, working some mojo over Angel in a cage.
Cordelia, trying to stab Willow with a knife.
Angelus killing a big rock demon.
Cordelia ordering Angelus around.
Cordelia telling the kid to attack some black guy, and Wesley.
Angel getting his soul back, with Cordy's along for the ride.
Cordelia giving birth, with some guys in robes around her.
Wesley reading from an old book, with Cordelia and the kid in cages, and Angel lying motionless on a table.
The vision then ended, as quickly as it started.
Xander got up and leaned against the wall, as Doyle whispered to him, "About two migraine strength Advil should help with that. Trust me, I got lots of practice to see what worked. But now – I think you have work to do, don't you?" And then he vanished.
Buffy spun him around. "Xander! What the HELL is going on?" But then the senior Slayer stepped back, as she saw the frantic look in his eyes.
"It won't work! Dear God, it won't work! If they do the transfer, her soul is gonna..." Xander trailed off, as he ran for the basement.
The others followed him and watched, as he threw the tarp off some old supplies from the Magic Box. He grabbed a medium-sized box of herbs and flipped it over, dumping the contents onto the floor.
Kennedy tried to stop him. "Hey! Some of that stuff we might need!"
Willow grabbed her arm. "Xander? Please, tell us what's going on."
He stopped from throwing seemingly random supplies into the box, to look at her. "Will, where's the Orb you used in LA?"
"In my room, but why would you..." she started confused.
Xander just ordered her, "Go get it!!"
When she didn't move, his voice changed to almost pleading. "Willow, please trust me on this. You owe me for last year, so I'm asking you – I'm begging you – trust me. Go get it!" They all watched, as the formerly evil girl ran up the stairs.
After throwing two more items into the box, he ran up the stairs with it. Willow met him by the front door, "Here ya go, Xander. Now, can ya please tell me what's up?"
The former Zeppo took it and grabbed parts of a nearby newspaper, and then wrapped it up securely before putting it in the box. He then turned to Faith, "You did fill up the gas tank of my car last night, right?"
Faith nodded. "Yeah – but listen stud, what's going..."
"No time. I have to do this...hell, I promised her..."
Buffy grabbed his arm. "Promised who? Cordelia? Xander, what did you promise her? And when?"
He shook her off. "Questions later. I gotta go, before the guys in LA make a huge-ass mistake!"
He ran out and jumped into his waiting car. Tossing the box onto the passenger seat, then gunning it out of the driveway. And leaving six very confused young women behind.
***
Two hours and fifteen minutes later, Xander Harris pulled up to a large apartment complex. He ran forward holding the box, but found the security door firmly locked. He pushed the only button without a name by it, hoping that a certain someone was still around.
"Hello?" he spoke into the tiny speaker. "Dennis? I know you're still in there! Look, I'm Xander Harris, I'm an old friend of Cordy's. I need to talk to you right now, it's important. She's in danger!"
After a few seconds the door opened, with a loud buzzing noise. He just ran for the elevator, as quick as he could.
***
"Connor! Please, you have to stop them! They're possessed or something, or else they've gone totally evil! They want to kill our baby!"
Cordelia's pleading made Connor struggle harder with the chains that were holding him in that small cell in the middle of the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel, but to no avail. "I'm warning you! Stop this now!" he yelled at the others, who were setting up for the ritual.
Gunn came close. "Dude, will ya wise up already? She's not Cordy, it's some demon in her body. She's been manipulating you, us, this whole thing, the entire time!"
Connor spat on him. "That's not true! She's pure! My father made it all up because she loves me, and he can't stand that!"
Wesley placed the book on the table where the unconscious Angel lay, the strain of two souls being too much even for his vampiric body to handle. "This will all be over soon, Connor..."
Then he looked to the Cordelia-shaped figure in the other small cell, "I must admit...I don't know what's the matter with me, that I didn't see any of the signs. Old war injuries, perhaps – but still, I should have known it wasn't really you all along."
She became frantic. "Wesley, it is me damn it! Angel is using you!"
"That's right!" Connor yelled. "He can't stand it that I got there first! That I was Cordelia's first lover, instead of him!"
The sound of laughter filled the lobby, as everyone turned to the entrance. And there stood a very amused Xander Harris.
"You were Cordy's first? Hate to break it to ya kid, but actually that was me."
Cordelia turned to Connor, "He's lying! I've never seen him before in my life..."
Wes shook his head at that untruth. But Xander ignored the looks of Wesley, Gunn, Fred, and Lorne as he moved in front of the cell holding her. "Yeah, you've never met me – true enough. Cordy only got the demon put in her, after she moved out here. But I knew her before then. I was her boyfriend before then..."
He turned to Connor. "And bottom line is, I was her first time, Sorry kid, but she was just using you to make this second demon miracle child. Which, by the way, you've hidden safely – haven't you? Or does your boss have it? Either way, sure was a quick pregnancy – wasn't it?"
Connor went into a blind rage. "You're lying! She, she would never touch an incompetent liar like you!"
Xander just laughed him off, "Oh, hey, just for the record, we did a lot more than just touch, pal. Look, the demon was playing you, that's all there is to it. So snap out of it already!" With that, Xander turned back to the others.
"Who the hell are you supposed to be?" Gunn asked defensively, putting himself between Xander and Fred.
"The name's Xander Harris, from Sunnydale." He turned back to Cordelia, "You know, the town where the body you stole grew up in?"
"Xander, for heaven's sake – what are you doing here? This is not a good time for idle chat! I mean, we have to perform this ritual now, before the strain on Angel's body causes us to lose both their souls!" Wesley said in a no-nonsense way, one that surprised Xander.
But the visitor kept his eyes locked onto the Cordelia thing's ones. "Well, Wes old pal, that's kinda why I'm here. I know this is just Cordy's body, because that guy Skip let me talk to her a little under two months ago while she was still up there with those Powers That sit on their Be-hinds..."
Gunn started in recollection, as the young man from the Hellmouth leaned in close to the bars of the cell. "As evil plans go, lady, my opinion? It really sucked. You stranded one of my closest friends in another dimension so you could bring an evil baby into the world, and mess with Dead-boy junior here?"
"Two months?" Fred suddenly cried. "And you're just telling us now?!"
"Hey, I didn't remember it till a few hours ago. A dead friend of Cordy's unlocked it for me."
Wesley looked suspicious. "Who was this friend, if I may ask?"
Xander looked straight at Wesley. "His name's Doyle. And the guy even gave me a nice painful vision thing, that told me something pretty interesting."
"And what was that?" Gunn asked him, still not believing.
Returning his gaze to Cordelia, Xander told them, "Seems that this ritual that you were about to do, has one huge flaw in it."
"And that is?" Wes asked, not noticing the Cordelia-shaped figure starting to tense up.
"For the magic trick that you have to work, the body has to be willingly given up by one soul for another. If you had tried to transfer Cordy's soul back to her soulless body like this…it wouldn't have worked, and the soul would be stuck in limbo with no way out."
He looked right into the demon's eyes, his voice dripping with hate. "And you knew that!"
Cordelia's face showed a tiny break of the helpless act for only a second, but it was enough for Wesley to see. "My God, you played us again! I must be going senile...what were you planning to do? Pretend to be her, and then kill us all in our sleep?"
The female demon shook her head, backing away as far as she could. "You're insane!"
Lorne groaned. "Oh, way to go team. We nearly sent the princess somewhere worse than Pylea?"
"Damn it!" Gunn growled. "Now what? Hey, I know – anyone got a spare soul handy?" he asked sarcastically.
"As a matter of fact..." Xander pulled out the Orb from his bag. It was no longer clear; it had a glowing swirling white stream of energy in it. A soul.
Cordelia's face went from terror to pure hate, in less than an instant. "No! You wouldn't! You – oh, damn you all! I will not lose, my spawn will destroy you – and the rivers of the earth will run red with blood! You will never-"
"What's going on?" was all Connor could get out, before Xander raised the Orb and muttered a few words. The energy flashed out with a mind of its own, and enveloped Cordelia's body.
"NO!!" she screamed, before she fell to the ground when the glow faded.
Wesley grabbed Xander's arm, spinning him around. "Where the hell did you get a soul from?!"
"Good question, passioncake. 'Cause I don't think they sell 'em at the local Sears," Lorne quipped.
Before Xander could answer, Cordelia's body spoke. "Whoa!"
She sat up. "I have boobs!" she then started to feel herself.
"Hey, cut that out!" Xander yelled.
The body stood up. "Take it easy, man. 'Cause hey, I have seen her naked before. I did live with her for a few years..."
"Who-?" Gunn asked.
But Wesley got it. "Dennis," he said, somewhat surprised. "The one person who would have known, that she wasn't really Cordelia."
"You see as well as observe, young grasshopper," Xander grinned in a perfect imitation of Kwai Chang Caine. "Now, will ya do that soul transfer thing already?"
"Right. Just let me light the candles..."
As Wes was finishing the preparations, Xander spoke to Dennis as he was turning around. "Now Dennis, remember at what point you have to vacate her body..." but he stopped when he saw Cordelia looking down her own shirt. "Hey, hey, Dennis!"
The ghost-controlled body jumped. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself..."
Five minutes later, everyone watched as the new glow around Cordelia faded. "Cordelia, is that you?" Wesley asked.
Without opening her eyes she spoke, "Wes? Is Angel okay?"
Her eyes then bolted open when she heard Xander say, "Dead-boy should be comin' around in a minute, Cor."
She stared at him in shock. "Xander! What are you doing here?"
He shrugged. "Well, you did tell me to stop by LA to visit you. True, this isn't as good as a grass-covered field; but it's still nice, don't you think?"
Her eyes went wide. "You remember?! Xander, I'd hug you but I'm kind of chained up at the moment..."
When no one moved, she repeated herself, "I said, I'm all chained up! Are you people like, deficient? Do I have to send out a memo or what?"
Her demanding voice caused Xander to laugh. "Yep, that's the old Cordy we all know and love."
She rolled her eyes at him. "Very funny, Harris. Now get me out of here!"
A few minutes later, an unchained Cordy was hugging Xander. The also-freed Connor just ran away, pushing past Fred out of the hotel. "So you remembered just now and came to help?" the former Queen C asked.
"Ah, not exactly. I kinda got my brain nearly fried by a vision..."
Her jaw dropped. "YOU had a vision?"
"Yep, which reminds me...do you have migraine-strength Advil around here? I could use a few..."
Cordelia frowned, "How did you know that's what I used to take for it?"
"Doyle," he said simply.
"DOYLE?!!"
Xander threw up his hands, as he saw the look on her face. "Hey, all I know is my eye started itching, Faith grabbed my ass, and then I see a guy dressed way worse than I ever did suddenly in the room. A guy who started to talk to me, when Buffy and the others couldn't see him. He gave me the vision, and I knew I had to haul ass here to stop Wes here from playing into the demon's hands."
"What do you mean?"
Wesley spoke up, "It, uh, seems that the ritual we had could only work, if another soul gave up the body to you."
"But there was no other soul," Cordy said, confused.
"Oh, I brought one with me," her ex shrugged.
"Who?"
Xander looked around the lobby. "Dennis?"
On cue, the lights in the lobby flashed on and off in a pattern Cordelia knew. "That's how he would say hi to me when I would get home," she said in awe. "Dennis, are you really here?"
The lights flashed again, making her break out in a smile. "Thanks for your help, Dennis."
The lights flickered again. "Okay, Dennis, we get it!" Gunn said, annoyed. The lights then snapped on and stayed on.
Cordy turned to Wesley. "So, if Doyle hadn't gotten through and Xander hadn't come here with Dennis...what would have happened?"
"You remember those Ghost Roads we once used, that time in high school?" Xander asked her, making her turn around.
She shrugged. "Yeah, kind of hard to forget when you almost died on me like that, but…"
Wesley looked down. "Your soul would have been lost in that limbo. Possibly forever."
Pure shock came over the woman, as the implications of what almost happened registered on her brain. Xander caught her as her legs gave out, "Cordy!"
She just looked at him with tears in her eyes, and grabbed him in a tight hug. "Thank you, Xander!"
He just held Cordelia tight. "I said I'd be there when you needed me, Cor."
Lorne, who was watching the former couple hug, spoke up, "Just to clear up any doubts, kitten, think you could sing a bit?"
Xander looked confused. "Sing? How's that gonna help?"
"It's okay, Xander. It's his thing, it's what he does. You sing for him, and he can tell some of your future." Cordy turned to Lorne. "You sure you want me to, though? Angel said the last time I did that, you got your brain sucked out..."
"That was your evil demon, sweetikins; you never scared the crap out of me like she or it ever did..."
Cordy frowned. "I don't know that many songs, I don't know what I should..." she stopped, as the young woman looked at her ex-boyfriend. Then she smiled, and started to sing; and Xander recognized the song immediately.
He's a tramp
But I love him
Breaks a new heart
Ev'ry day
He's a tramp
They adore him
And I only hope
He'll stay that way
He's a tramp
He's a scoundrel
He's a rounder
He's a cad
He's a tramp
But I love him
Yes, and even I
Have got it pretty bad
"That's enough, honey. It's definitely you," Lorne told her. "And by the way, that was a lot better than how you sounded with 'The Greatest Love Of All'..."
Cordy looked at Xander with a grin. "It should, I practiced it for over a month and a half! And it's the only song I ever sang in the shower. Isn't that right, Dennis?" The lights flickered again.
"I've heard that before, at least I think I have..." Gunn mused.
Fred nudged him. "It's from 'Lady and the Tramp'. Why did you practice it so much, Cordy?"
Xander answered for her. "Actually, she kinda sang it to me for Valentine's Day, during our senior year."
Cordy nodded. "I swear, I was almost shaking beforehand I was that nervous! I thought for sure, I would screw it up. But I had to do something to make up for the year before..."
"What happened the year before?" Fred asked.
"I dumped him because my popular friends didn't like him," the former princess hit Xander lightly on the arm. "Then the big lug tried to do a love spell on me to win me back! Which, true to form, totally backfired before we got back together..."
Xander frowned, and looked down. "Yeah, then I had to go and screw it up by..."
Cordy grabbed his chin, and lifted his head up. "Xander...no. Remember, we agreed to only remember the good times."
He sighed, "It's kinda hard Cor, when you're the king of romantic screw-ups like I am..."
She stopped him. "Am I going to have to smack you over the head again, or what?"
Xander quickly shook his head. "Good," she told him.
"Cordy…" Xander began. "Uh, Angel remembers everything Angelus did….and you're body wasn't really Ms. Nice Girl. So, do you…?"
She nodded, before she looked to Wesley with her head down. "I remember some of it. Wesley…I'm so sorry."
The ex-Watcher looked down for a minute, before he said, "It wasn't you. No more than Angel was Angelus..."
A groan called their attention over to the table, as Angel was getting up. "Cordy!" he looked around frantically.
She was at his side in less than a second. "I'm here, Angel. I'm okay, and I'm back..."
He gazed up to her with great relief. "Thank God it worked..." Then the vamp said, "Xander?"
"Hey, Angel," the young man said, a little uneasy.
Hearing about the closeness of Angel and Cordelia through emails was one thing, but to see it up close and personal unnerved the guy a bit. But Xander was determined to not let it show, "You okay there, Dead-boy?"
Angel looked to Cordelia, confused. "How long was I out?"
She put her hand on his, "Only a few minutes longer than me. But – Connor took off, and Angel... I have no idea where they took the baby..."
Xander looked at her, with a pained expression on his face. "I'm sorry, Cor. But you won't find him – not now. It'll be, uh, years before you see him again."
She turned to him. "How do you-?"
Xander just took the two Advil Lorne had gotten for him. "Vision thing, like I said. Which reminds me, I gotta apologize for ever saying your visions were an easy gig."
Angel just looked more confused. "He had a vision?"
Cordy pulled him to the office. "Come on. I'll explain it to you, plus we need to get some fresh blood into you already..."
The office door closed behind them for a second, only to pop open again as Cordy stuck her head out. "Xander! Don't you go anywhere! You hear me?" Then she disappeared again.
Fred got confused. "Why would she need to talk to him alone, in there, by themselves?"
Xander just stared at the closed door. "My money says they're not just talking. And she doesn't want me to see it. Doesn't want to subject me to it."
"So they wanna make out a little," Gunn shrugged. "Why would that be a problem?"
Xander shrugged back. "Because of what she and I once had, along with my...feelings concerning Angel."
"Wait a second," Fred called out, as she went to rummage in the bottom drawer of Cordelia's desk. After a few seconds, she pulled out a small frame. It had three pictures in it.
Angel, Cordelia, and Doyle in the old Angel Investigations office.
The Scooby Gang at Giles' condo, after Graduation.
And Xander carrying a laughing Cordelia on his back.
She gave the frame to Gunn, who compared the pictures of Xander with the man in front of him. "I knew I had seen you before!"
Fred then cast a look at the door. "Oh, but it's sweet that they're getting together, finally. It's about time..."
Xander sighed and just whispered to himself, "Yeah, shame it won't work out though."
"What?!" Gunn looked up at him.
Xander swore inside his head, he didn't think he'd spoken loud enough for anyone to hear him.
"Xander, I must say I think your childhood jealousy of Angel should stop! You should just be happy for them," Wesley told him, a little annoyed.
Xander laughed bitterly. "Oh man, Wes, but you obviously have no idea what's going on. Look, if the guy was human and he makes her happy…then hell, I'd help her pick out the damn wedding dress! But bottom line is that unless Angel's soul gets permanently anchored, or whatever…then it won't work out. And don't tell me that the same thought hasn't occurred to you."
More bitter laughter, as Wes glanced down for a moment. Xander said, "Falling in love with someone like Angel can only go so far – I know, from bad personal experience. Eventually it'll just end in tears and heartache and a messy breakup like it did with Buffy, or else Angelus'll come out to play again. Huh, now that the First stuff is over, maybe I can get Willow and that coven in England to work on the soul curse for them..."
He looked at the Fang Gang. "But I'm not holding my breath about good news, anytime soon."
Fred just stared at him. "So, what are you saying? That they should just give up on each other?! We should just go in there and break them up, after they've been apart for almost a year?"
Xander shook his head, and spoke with a certainty that surprised the others. "Hell, NO! Let 'em be together, they both need it. Later, the heartbreak thing will come and you guys are gonna have your work cut out for you. But for now, they have each other. And I need all of you to make sure that when the inevitable happens, they don't stop being together as friends – like what happened back in '99 with Buffy. 'Cause that would kill Cordy."
"Wait, so now y'all want them together?" Gunn couldn't figure this guy out
"To quote Lorien from Babylon 5…" Xander gazed back to the door. "It is a human concept that love lasts forever. It is the greatest gift that mankind has ever received, that the belief that love is eternal. One must embrace it while you can."
***
Half an hour later Angel and Cordelia, the latter somewhat flushed and breathless, came out to see Xander, Gunn, and Wesley taking the cells apart.
They overheard Xander asking, "Shouldn't you guys keep at least one of these things up? That Connor kid, I'm thinking he's a little screwed up in the head at the moment. And if he's anything like his old man, the guy's not going to just shrug all this off – we might be talking some tough love here..."
"We'll handle Connor," Angel said roughly, as he and Cordelia came over.
He then looked at Xander with a raised eyebrow. "Cordy says you might be sticking around, since that thing with the First is done now?"
Cordelia was behind Angel, so she couldn't see his face as he spoke; but Xander could. And the vampire's expression said clearly that he definitely didn't want Xander anywhere near his woman.
Half-amused and half-pissed, Xander shook his head. "No, Dead-boy. For now, I'm headed off to parts unknown, 'cause I'm just so sick of it all. I need to be somewhere I can rest, and slaying demons here would be no vacation. I dunno, maybe I'll finish my road trip; at least this time, I'll know not to get stuck at any male strip clubs..."
"But..." Fred began. "That Watcher's Council thing is all gone now. They need to rebuild, so won't you be needed there?"
Xander snorted, as his eye started itching again. "For what? Researching demons? Willow has all Giles' old books stored on 27 DVD-RW discs back home. Plus, Travers finally did something right by having copies of all the Watchers' libraries hidden away. I'd just be a paper-pusher…dead weight," he shrugged.
Cordy frowned again. "Xander, you're not dead weight."
Xander shook his head slowly. "Cordy, a lot of the surviving Potentials are sticking around in Sunnydale. Giles has all the codes to every bank account the Watchers ever had; hell, he could buy half of LA right now, so he can take care of that side of things. Plus, a lot of the old Watchers' kids are coming in, and with the Hellmouth completely dormant..."
He trailed off, as he looked at her. "I'm not needed, neither there or here. Look, I'm not saying goodbye forever, I just need to...find myself again. I mean that seemed to work out for a good friend of mine, when she left home a few years back."
The young woman smiled, before looking him in the eyes. "Well, you will keep in touch won't you?"
He returned her look. "As long as you don't do any more ascending anytime soon."
"Oh, I can guarantee ya that that won't happen."
"You know, Cor…I don't mean to get all mushy here, but I'm pretty proud of you."
Angel looked at Cordy confused, and got even more confused when he saw her eyes water a bit. Xander continued, "I told you I saw a strong woman under all your layers, and it's nice to know you finally see her too. No more just saying, 'I'm strong because I'm Cordelia Chase'."
Cordy moved towards her ex, and grabbed him into a hug. "Thanks, Xand. But you know I mean it, when I say you're welcome to stay here..."
The young man shook his head. "It's temping, Cor, but it would be no different than just staying in Sunnydale. Plus, if I stuck around here, our situations would be a little reversed than they were, way back when."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, for a while when we started going out, you just came to the meetings as my girlfriend. It took you a bit to grow on everyone, like I knew you would. But here? Your buds would only tolerate me being around, because I was a friend of yours..."
The man laughed, "I mean, Wes still thinks I'm that idiot kid from high school! And despite the new look and attitude, I think he's still that limey ass with the giant stick up his butt. And as for Angel…"
He looked to the vampire. "Well, one of these days him and me are going to have to just beat the crap out of each other, to get it all out of our systems."
Xander took Cordy's hands in his. "This is your home, not mine. And you need some time alone with your family now. You've been gone awhile."
Glancing over to Angel again, Xander asked, "Hey Angel, if it's not too much bother – you mind if I bunk in one of the empty rooms here tonight, and head out in the morning?"
Angel nodded. "Least I could do..."
Before Xander could say thank you, the front doors opened. In walked several people in US Navy uniforms, and one teenage girl. The lead man, who Xander could tell was an admiral, spoke up. "Is one of you Xander Harris?"
"That's me," Xander said at once, as he walked right up to the girl and gave her a hug – with her returning it wholeheartedly.
Gunn looked to Wesley. "This guy sure likes to hug, don't he?"
Xander nodded to the girl. "Amber. I thought you were headed home, for awhile?"
She nodded back. "I was, but after I told my parents and my grandparents what happened...they had to see it for themselves. And my grandfather wanted to meet you."
The Admiral stepped forward. "That would be me..." He offered his hand to Xander, who shook it. "Admiral Bill Noyce, US Navy."
Xander started to say, "I know that it must have seemed a shock to you that your granddaughter is a potential vampire Slayer, and that we had to kick a little demon ass together, but…"
Noyce interrupted him. "Son, I've been walking the earth long enough to know about demons and vampires that go bump in the night out there. We called Ms. Summers and she said you were here, and since you were the main person I wanted to talk to…"
Xander's eyebrow shot up. "Me? What for? I was just a foot solider. Buffy and Faith are the Slayers around here..."
"Well, after what my granddaughter said about you, and doing a background check on you...I just had to meet you."
Xander looked worried. "Background check?"
Noyce nodded. "Quite an interesting record you have, Mr. Harris. Suspected member of a vigilante group, leader of an army of students at your graduation against a giant snake, you broke into the Initiative twice with Ms. Summers – the second time, to stop the ADAM prototype from killing the entire staff..."
He went on, "And impersonating a military officer, to gain entrance to the Sunnydale army base along with a Ms. Cordelia Chase, pretending to want to make out in the armory – but stealing an anti-tank rocket launcher."
He looked over to Cordelia. "Am I correct in assuming you were the girl who got all 'hot and bothered' by looking at the big guns?"
Cordy looked nervous, but only nodded.
Amber looked at Cordy in awe. She pointed to her while looking to Xander, "That's the Cordelia Chase?"
"Yep."
Amber went over and shook Cordelia's hand. "It's an honor to finally meet you!"
Cordy, along with the rest of the LA people, looked confused. "Thanks, I think. But how do you know me?"
"Every Potential knows about you," Amber told her. "Xander used you as the basis of the speech he gave, after Buffy's pep talk didn't really calm down some of the girls one time."
Cordelia and Angel looked at Xander, who squirmed a bit under their gaze and his eye started itching like crazy. "And just what did he say about me?" the woman demanded.
"Well, you shoulda seen some of those girls. A bunch of 'em were just rich snobs, and others were totally freaking out. He said that a lot of us wouldn't be coming back from the fight, but that we had to do it. A few panicked and wanted to make a run for it. But then he told us about you. A rich snobby bitch, who cared only for herself. You joined in on the fight, only when your outfit didn't get messed up..."
Amber then smiled, "But little by little you stood up to the demons and vampires, and made a difference. And how now you were a major part of a group of demon fighters, here in LA. He used you as the example that their fighting could make a difference, in the fight against the First. And it did! Boy, did it ever..."
She looked over to Xander with a grin. "Did you see how Julie just laid into those things? Never held a sword before, my ass!"
Cordy grinned. "Xander Harris made a big speech about me, and I missed it?"
"Uh, I only spoke the truth, Cor..."
Amber smiled again. "Oh, I'm sure Andrew taped it, what with the big video thing he had going on. Last I heard, he wants to sell the footage to the Discovery channel."
Xander chuckled at that thought.
Noyce spoke again. "Mr. Harris…"
"Oh please, everyone just calls me Xander."
"Very well, Xander. I was wondering if you've ever thought of joining the service? Specifically, the Navy."
"You mean go through the Academy?" he asked in confusion.
Noyce shook his head. "Only in a way. Permit to explain – I'm the head of the SeaQuest project."
Xander's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "The SeaQuest!? The largest ship ever built?"
"Well, it's not even halfway finished right now. But we've become painfully aware that her systems are so new, that most of the line officers we have wouldn't be able to work 'em. That's why we're training her crew hands-on, as she gets built. And I need a good tactical weapons officer."
"For the E-plasma torpedoes?" Xander asked, still in awe.
"Yes, and the eventual upgrade with the lasers. If you accept – after the ship is completed, you'd be given the rank of lieutenant, junior grade. And the post as senior weapons chief; of course, there'll be a separate officer for the missiles with the nuclear warheads, but they would all be launched from your station. You think you might be interested in my offer?"
Xander thought for about three seconds. "Weapons officer on the biggest ship ever conceived? Hell, yes!"
Noyce grinned. "Well then, how about we go get a bite to eat with my granddaughter and we can iron out the details?"
But as they were headed out, Xander turned back. "Cor?"
"Yeah?"
"Breakfast tomorrow?"
She grinned back at him. "What, you thought I was just gonna let you skip town with a nothing but a little talk like this, mister?"
He grinned as well. "I wouldn't dream of leaving without the big breakfast, like we used to have."
After Xander and the others had left, Gunn came up to her. "So, Cordy?" he asked with a grin. "You and him used to have big breakfast together a lot, huh? What could you have been doing so much that you'd…"
She cut him off, "When we'd spend all night researching or demon fighting! Nothing bad as you're trying to make it sound." The former brunette then stopped and thought for a moment. "But ya know, he did give one heck of a full body massage."
Angel looked at her, with his mouth open in slight shock. "He used to give you a full body…"
"Oh, yeah," Cordelia answered with a big grin.
"You let him-? But wait, you said you two didn't…get together, till just before you left town?"
Cordy just smacked him on the arm. "I had to give his hands something to do! And besides, who do you think paid for all his lessons on it?" she asked with a smirk, as the woman walked away.
Gunn shook his head. "Yep, she's back to her old self. But I wouldn't worry about it, Angel – c'mon, man, it's in the past. The guy said so himself…" He stopped, when Cordelia came back into the lobby.
"Cordy, what is it?" Fred asked, after seeing her face.
Cordy had a ticked-off look on her face. "Was I hearing things, or did Xander say Faith actually grabbed his ass?! Man, I just knew that skank couldn't keep her mitts off of him!"