Disclaimers, etc, see part one.
Family Gatherings.
* * * * *
The storm didn't come until the weekend. There's a family tradition we've built up; presents with a nice breakfast on the birthday morning, dinner in the evening, party on the Saturday, family on the Sunday.
Lizzie was, I'm pleased to say, pleased with her presents. She got the bag she'd forgotten she'd wanted from Sarah, and the art set she'd been lusting after for several months from her parents. I have rarely seen the look that Lizzie had on her face when she unwrapped her present, even from my wife. Ha, I got to say 'my wife' again.
She hugged us all and grinned like a maniac for several minutes before she finished eating her breakfast.
"You can take the set to school, if you'd like, Bethy," Angie said.
Lizzie looked horrified.
"They wouldn't understand," she said. "I mean they would just use them for all the wrong things. Like when Dada tried to make potions for Willow."
Angie chuckled at the casual mention of magic. I had inklings of what was to come. I had begun to feel a doom gathering overhead. I hadn't felt it in almost twenty years, and I was surprised by how familiar it felt. And scared.
The storm didn't break until the family gathering on the Sunday. We were, of course, at Angie's sister's house. Angie's brother-in-law didn't like coming to our house and I didn't like letting Michelle inside either.
I didn't meet Trevor and Michelle until Sarah was about two. They came to our house warming. And that was a joyful meeting.
They were the first to arrive by about half an hour and Angie was upstairs putting Sarah to sleep. I opened the door and knew immediately who they were. Michelle looks like a younger version of Angie. She smiled warmly at me in a way that made me immediately suspicious. She reminded me of Lisa; that was not a good thing.
Trevor didn't like the way Michelle was looking at me anymore than I did. But he, of course, blamed me.
"Who're you?" he demanded.
All right, so we hadn't been formally introduced. But I was married to his sister-in-law, and she did talk to Michelle on the phone at least once a month.
"Xander Harris," I said offering my hand to him.
He shook, which was just as well for him because I probably would have found an excuse to hit him if he hadn't
"Trevor McKenzie," he said. "And this my wife, Michelle."
I shook hands with Michelle as well. Trevor glowered at me, but Michelle was not pleased with the fact I hadn't kissed her cheek. Things might not progress to the homicidal, I thought.
Trevor pushed past me into the house looked around. Michelle pushed past me too, but her manner was not nearly as hostile. I sighed and hoped Angie or someone else would arrive soon.
I took Trevor and Michelle on a quick tour of the downstairs of the house in an effort to keep them together and with me. Michelle smiled at me whenever I said anything and Trevor kept making comments like 'hmm, I didn't think you could that' or 'interesting, the way you thought to keep that.'
They reverted to calm, sensible, interesting people when Angie arrived. Michelle was thrilled to see her sister. Trevor kissed her cheek lightly.
When Beatrice and Arthur arrived, though, Arthur made straight for me.
"I see we got here after Shelly and Trev," he said. "But I wanted to tell you, if you hadn't already worked it out, to just ignore them."
I was ready to do my ignoring-the-in-laws by the time we arrived on the other side of town. Sunday afternoon with Trevor and Michelle was getting easier. They had three kids now, which seemed to have calmed them down quite a bit. Michelle's smiles still promised things, but Trevor didn't want to kill me for it. And he'd finally acknowledged the fact that I knew something about what I did.
I still wasn't sure how it was they got along, though.
And I had to ignore Philip.
He opened the door for us when we arrived.
"Hi, girls, how you going?" he asked. He was always happy, always cheerful. I could last half an hour before it managed to get on my nerves.
Lizzie and Sarah liked their uncle Phil. He was good to them. I could see that he liked them, and he respected Angie a way that he hadn't used to. But I didn't like him because he made me suspicious in a way the Hellmouth had. His presence, on top of the already darkening storm made me cautious. I've learnt how to be cautious cautiously. I don't say much.
"Hello, Philip," I said.
We shook hands as usual. He kissed Angie and led us into the house. Trevor and Michelle have a great house. The entryway is off to one side of the main living room, which is huge and includes the dinning table. There's the kitchen on one side, then the hallway to the bedrooms on the other. It doesn't really make sense, but it's comfortable, and fits them all.
Beatrice and Arthur were already there. They don't look any different now then they did on our wedding day, sixteen years ago. Trevor was at work fixing some sort of emergency. Those things tended to happen on the weekends when there was less of a chance of the press finding out. He was supposed to back in time for tea. It was all going the way a family gathering should go.
The last time I saw all of my 'family' gathered together had been in LA, the morning I left. They all gathered in the foyer of Angel's hotel to bid me farewell, and safe driving. Buffy told me that I'd do great as a stand in stripper if anyone needed me. Dawn hadn't said anything. And she didn't cry. She hugged me tight and said "be special."
Giles packed my backs into the trunk of my car. He hugged me and said "goodbye, Xander. We have had good times."
He was the only one who said goodbye; Willow and Buffy thought I would be back. We now had a chance to build something, and do something that would last. We'd been through so much together and they couldn't understand why I would want to leave when it might be getting good.
