"Back so soon?" Joyce asked as she greeted her daughter.

"Yup," Buffy said cheerily, hugging her mom.

"Well, you're certainly in a good mood. I take it things are going well?"

"Better than well, they're going great!"

"Xander, huh?"

Buffy grinned and flopped down on the couch in the den. "Yeah."

"Well, good. I told you there was nothing to worry about. So, when do I get to do the inspection?"

"Oh, anytime now. He's a little worried, but I told him he'll do fine."

"I don't know, sweetie. I can be pretty tough."

"He mentioned how much loves your cooking."

"Well maybe not *that* tough."

"Well, anyway, there is actually a reason I'm here today," Buffy said.

"Oh? Not just here because you love your mother then?"

"No, that was yesterday."

"Okay. What's up?"

"Well, you see. . . we're kind of planning to try to wake up Faith and try to rehabilitate her. And, well, we think she'd need a place to stay. And so, there's like these rooms here, at the house and we were thinking -"

"No," Joyce said.

"You haven't even heard the whole plan!"

"Buffy, I am not having that. . . psycho. . . in my house!"

"Well, duh, Mom! Jeez, give us a little credit, we're not that stupid. There's no way we'd put her here, with you. You'd have no way to defend yourself against anything."

"So what then?"

"Xander."

"Xander?"

"Yeah. See, he's living with Giles right now, but we thought we could put Faith with Giles and have Xander move in here. That way, we can keep an eye on her, Xander doesn't have to be an 'out-on-his-own' nineteen-year-old, you've got some heavy muscle around the house again, and you get some more positive cash flow."

"I get what?"

"Positive cash flow. Xander has a job, and he refuses to live here unless he pays rent. He said, 'Your mom is putting you through college, she doesn't need to be suddenly feeding another mouth.'"

"Xander said that?"

"Yup."

"How very thoughtful of him."

"I know."

"I think the inspection is going to be very cursory."

"I thought it might be. So does that mean you're okay with it?"

"Yes, I'm okay with it."

"Great! So, we'll just figure out the logistics, then, and we can move him in," Buffy said, grinning.

"Which room were you planning on putting him in?" Joyce asked, suspiciously.

"Oh," Buffy said, nonchalantly, "I hadn't really given it much thought. But you know, the guest room does have all those boxes in it, and you wouldn't want to have to lose your storage room, would you?"

"Uh huh," Joyce said, smiling inwardly but presenting a stern front to her daughter.

Buffy looked up at her mother innocently. "I love you, Mommy," she said.

Joyce rolled her eyes at her daughter. "Fine," she said. "He can take your room. But nothing goes on in this house that I don't know about, understand?"

Buffy nodded solemnly.

"How is it that you're so comfortable with this already, that you're willing to share your room like that?"

"We're soul mates," Buffy said, simply.

"Buffy, I understand that you love him, but isn't that -"

"No. Not when it's prophesied and in lots of books, and the Watcher's Council has said so."

"Oh. Really?"

"Yup. Feels right, too."

"Oh my."

* * * * *

Buffy was sitting at her desk, reading for her psychology class. The group had met up again, and Xander and Oz would start moving Xander's stuff to Buffy's house the next day. The day after that, Xander would attempt to re- awaken Faith. They had decided to put off raiding the old factory until after she was awake. Buffy and Xander were an impressive team, but two against thirty were still tough odds. Three against thirty. . . those were much better.

Oz and Willow's search for likely holy spots near the Hellmouth had been a bust. Despite the fact that Sunnydale had 43 places of worship within the town limits, none of them were in easy walking distance of the old high school. They had no clue where the Fargath demon would set up for the ritual.

Somebody knocked on the door.

"Come in," Buffy yelled.

"You shouldn't ever say that in Sunnydale, Buffy," Oz said as he walked in the room.

Buffy was a little surprised to see him. "Oz, hi. I think I can protect myself from anything that needs an invitation."

Oz nodded.

"I thought you guys were staying at Giles's for research?"

"I have practice in a little while, so I left."

"Okay."

They both stayed silent for a moment. Oz seemed to be considering something.

"So," Buffy started, "what can I - "

"They love each other," Oz interrupted.

"Huh? Who?"

"Xander and Willow."

"Oh, yeah, I know that."

"Yeah, but. . . they love each other."

"I'm. . . not seeing the distinction here, Oz."

Oz sighed. "You've known them longer than I have, so you may not need to hear this. But I didn't have anybody to tell me, and I don't want you to have to go through what I did."

"And that was. . ."

"Jealousy."

"Oz, I'm not jealous of Willow. I know Xander loves her. But I know he loves me, too."

"Okay. But you need to understand. Do you mind if I sit?"

Buffy shook her head.

"Okay. If anything were to happen to Willow. . . I don't know how I'd go on. I mean, I know I would, eventually. In time. It would be really hard, but I would eventually be able to move on.

"Willow, if something happened to me, would move on a lot easier. I know she loves me, and I thank God for that every day. More. But if I died, she would, over all, be okay. Because she has Xander to help her through. . . everything. If something happened to either of them, though, the other would simply stop being themselves."

"What do you mean, stop being themselves?"

Oz sighed. "Xander and Willow are a part of each other. They've been together for so long. . . they don't know how to be anything else. They're so much a part of each other that if one went away. . . it's like the other would cease to exist."

"Xander and I talked about. . . something like this the other day. He said that I own a part of him. . . but Willow *is* a part of him."

"And that made you feel. . ."

"I'm not sure," said Buffy. "It wasn't jealousy, though."

Oz raised an eyebrow.

"Okay, not much."

Oz nodded. "They've got their own world, and none of us will ever be a part of it. They have inside jokes that nobody else will ever get. They can have whole conversations using just their eyes."

"I've noticed," Buffy said, a little sadly.

Oz shook his head. "And that's what I've learned. We can't be jealous of that. Not much, anyway. Because as much as I want to be that close to her. . . as much as I'm sure you want to be that close to him. . . that's a part of what makes them special. It took me a while to realize it, and it caused some problems with me and Willow. But then, a little before graduation, it kind of came to me. If it weren't for Xander. . . she wouldn't be the Willow I love. And if it weren't for Willow, he wouldn't be the same Xander that you love. So. . . yeah. Be a little jealous, it's only natural. But mostly, be grateful. Each of them is a part of what makes the other special. And I find it's a whole lot easier if you just think of it as cute."

Buffy smiled. "Thank you. I was a little. . ."

"Insecure," Oz finished. "It's to be expected, and it's why I came. But don't doubt Xander's devotion to you. He'd lay down his life for you. For any of us, actually, but you in particular. Xander's greatest asset isn't his fighting skills, or his shield, or his healing powers. It's his heart. And that belongs to you."

Buffy nodded. "He told me that last night."

Oz smiled. "You're the only one who's ever had it," he paused. "Well, I've got practice."

Buffy smiled at him, and nodded. "Thank you, Oz. I. . . I think I needed to hear that."

Oz nodded and walked out the door. Buffy paused for a moment, smiled, and went back to reading.

* * * * *

"This really isn't a lot of stuff," Oz said, unloading a suitcase from his van.

"Well," said Xander, grabbing a few boxes, "it's my clothes, which fit in a few suitcases, and a few things I picked up from the Mitchell's. Pictures, some music, and my comics. I really didn't own that much."

"Your comics alone take up like five and a half boxes, but yeah, this isn't much."

"What do you bet Faith has even less?"

"That's no bet, man. Hey, you mind if take a look through these comics some time? I used to read some, and it'd be kinda cool to look at again."

"Um. . . yeah, sure, I guess."

"Hi boys," Joyce said from the porch. "Do you need any help with that stuff?"

"Hey Mrs. S," Xander said, smiling. "No, we can get it all, thanks. Um, but which room do I put it in?"

"I'll take you up," Joyce said, leading them inside and up the stairs.

"Thanks again for letting me stay here," Xander said.

"Think nothing of it," Joyce said. "I'll be glad for the company."

Joyce stopped outside Buffy's room and opened the door. "Here you go."

Xander raised his eyebrows in surprise. "But this is. . ."

"Buffy's room, I know. She lobbied me hard to let you stay in here."

"I mean. . . you mean. . . she's okay with. . . cuz, a room is pretty personal. . ."

"She suggested it."

"Yeah, but. . ."

"Hey man, getting kinda heavy," Oz said.

"Oh, sorry," said Xander, moving into Buffy's room and putting his boxes down. "She really wanted me in here?"

Joyce nodded, smiling.

Xander looked around the room, taking it all in.

"It's trust and love," Oz said, dropping Xander's suitcases. "You've got both."

Xander grinned. "Well in that case. . . I guess I'll stop questioning, and accept with grace. . . and just a little fear."

"Fear?" Joyce asked. "Why are you afraid?"

"Mrs. Summers, I've been in love with your daughter since the first day I met her, and in the past two days, I've found out that not only has she fallen in love with me, but we're soul mates and destined to be together. That's not something to take lightly, and I'm a little afraid that I'm going to wake up tomorrow in some dingy motel, and find out this has all been a dream and I've still got to go back home tomorrow and live in my parents basement."

Joyce smiled, and patted Xander on the shoulder. "It's real, Xander. Just accept it."

Xander nodded, then waited as Joyce and Oz walked out. Then he frowned. 'Trust. Shit.'

----------

End Chapter 13