Setting Things Right – Disclaimers in Chapter 1 (I'm lazy.)
AN: I received an e-mail that I would like to respond to first and foremost; I realize that Xander has blood on his hand and, at the end of the last chapter, it looked as if he blithely laid all of Angelus' victims at her feet while his hands were clean. That simply isn't true. In this chapter you will see just how much his Killing of Ethan Rayne, the Death of Kendra in his arms and even Brittany Collins' deaths have effected him – he won't turn to the bottle per se, he will deal with this somewhat constructively. Now it was also said that while Xander put all the blame on Buffy, she could have tagged him as having tried to rape her in S1 as the Hyena – I am not sure I agree with that because while, and I forget where I heard it, he admits that he wanted her, but that it took the Hyena Spirit to bring those desires and darkness out of his mind to make him do that. He'll cop to doing a lot of bad things in chapter, but it will go to the very old saying, 'That which does not kill us only makes us stronger'.
AN2: To Jwolf, Yes, it seems that Xander has burned/nuked his bridges in Sunnydale with some of the group, but he is merely clearing away any old conceptions of just who he is and what he is capable of in one broad stroke – just like in farming, sometimes you have to burn the fields before you can grow new things (I do it every year when we harvest our corn crop – it puts something back into the soil). Secondly, 'The Fool', yes, it is gone, but 'The Jester' will make a comeback once he has dealt with some of his emotional baggage ... or Dawn get to him, which ever comes first (haven't decided yet, as of this point). Third, I realize now that I killed off Ms. Collins WAY too early, but I can't bring her back – she COULD have been evolved into a better character, but she served her purpose to make Xander realize that even though you save someone in the 'now', you can't always save them down the road (she lived less than twenty meters away, the way the crow flies, and was snatched/turned by Drusilla before she got there – sort of an ironic way to show my point). He couldn't pull the trigger because, well, I'll explain it later in the chapter (it's cruel to do this, I know!).
AN3: As I sit here typing this, I find myself to be in a bit of a quandary – from the replies I have gotten, I can tell that I am going too fast on some parts of the story (like Brittany's introduction and demise); I apologize for that, namely because she was to be the OFC choice for Xander, but as I developed her character in my mind and on paper, she just didn't work out – I had her pegged as a Psych student who's mentor happened to be Maggie Walsh, but if Brittany got involved with Xander, then somehow I'd have to write Maggie into the story (even if it was to just putting a bullet, stray or intentional, into her skull). As much as I may despise what happened in S7, S4 had only two redeeming factors – Tara and Dawn's introductions. The whole Initiative plotline sucked – hard – so I'm not going to pay it any heed from this point out.
AN4: And the Winner of the 'Who Is Faith's Watcher' Poll is ... read the chapter and find out. I can say, though, she is not a former porn star and is not now, nor has she ever been, a member of SG-1.
Things Coming To An Emotional Head –or- Gotta Have Faith
It had been less than a day since Xander had basically nuked almost every bridge he had ever built in Sunnydale – he realized that now after stepping off of the plane in Boston; eventually he would have to apologize to Buffy, and he would, but before that he would have to do something that was infinitely harder. It had started small, just after the Halloween spell had ended and before he had gone to school; he had found himself looking around his condo and had found a well-stocked liquor cabinet – his first impulse was to clean it out by pouring every damned drop down the drain, but then something hit him, almost as if it was a way to not only prove to himself that he wasn't his father's child, but that he was in control. Taking one of the bottles of alcohol, an aged whiskey in this case, he grabbed a shot glass and went to the kitchen table, opening the bottle as he went; and poured a shot and then setting the bottle down, he sat down himself and reached out to the shot glass. In a symbolic gesture, he gave it the bird and then pushed it away, leaning back into his chair and stared at it as if in it's depths were held the answers to all of his problems. He had done that every night since then and, at the end of it, poured the drink back into the bottle, never spilling, drinking or otherwise touching a drop.
Ever since Lex had charged him with what basically amounted to saving an entire world from a timeline that really and truly blew the big one, Xander had felt as if someone had put a huge weight on his shoulders; he was the one who was ultimately responsible for what happened – if he hesitated to pull the trigger or went against his orders, the world could have been subject to untold suffering. It was a wakeup call to him – he usually played things off as a joke, wearing the mask of the Fool to hid what he was really feeling, but now that wasn't an option and he had to face up to the fact that he had to grow the hell up. He had to remember everything that had happened the first time around and to keep some of it from happening again, no matter how impossible the odds or difficult the challenge – it was at that point that he realized just how easy it was for Faith to slip into the darkness the last time around.
Given a job, a destiny, like that was something that nobody was truly ever prepared for – sure, Xander had seen a lot of bad things as a Scooby and even from within his own home life, but nothing, not even the massive amount of eye-opening that even the Soldier had given to him as to the realities of war, death and commitment, had or could ever prepare him for the feeling of guilt he had felt when he saw Brittany as a vampire or the pure anguish he had experienced as he held Kendra in his arms when she expired, helpless to do anything because of the fact that it had to happen. All of those things, combined with the, albeit reluctant, guilt that had come along with the death of Ethan Rayne, had made him look into the mirror the morning he had gone to visit the graves of Kendra and Brittany and question just who the sorry son of a bitch looking back at him was. The eyes that looked back at him were dark, haunted, and completely foreign to Xander; quite frankly, it scared the hell out of him and he chose in that moment to change just who it was that he happened to be ... after one last performance. Hurting Buffy like that, unfortunately, was necessary for her to realize that she wasn't the only kid on the block and that she needed to take responsibility for her actions – which happened to be a piece of advice Xander needed to take himself.
"Hello, Mister Harris." The voice, which held a slight English intonation, startled him out of his internal reverie, making him start slightly, before he looked around to see who had spoken. His eyes fell upon the only other person besides him standing at the terminal at the ungodly hour of 2:30 am, and quite frankly he was at a loss as to what he should do – she was gorgeous in an athletic way, and he could tell that she was athletic from the way her business pantsuit fit her. Her dark brown hair hung down past her shoulders, devoid of any curl, her skin was somewhat creamy in texture but held a slightly weathered look that came from being outside and playing hard; her eyes, though, caught his attention immediately – they were at once both cold as ice in their grey color, but they also held a warmth to them that was only apparent to those who knew what they were looking for. While he was sure that she had a good fifteen years on him, Xander couldn't deny that Lynda Price was a stone cold fox of a Watcher.
"Ms. Price, I presume?" He unconsciously straightened his jacket and tie while shifting his AWOL bag from his right hand to his left, extending the now-vacant appendage forwards at her affirming nod, "A pleasure to meet you."
Linda took his hand in a firm, but feminine grip, "Likewise, though I do have to admit that when Rupert said you were young, I envisioned someone in their early to mid-twenties, not their mid-teens." Her voice was slightly colored with concern, but that turned into a sardonic smile as she continued, "But then again he also said that you could help my young charge in her training; using a teenager to speak to a teenager, as it were."
He smiled slightly, "Sometimes I feel as if I'm much older than I look, Ms. Price."
"Lynda, please." She motioned for him to follow her and they made their way to the baggage claim trundle.
"Only if you call me ... Alex. 'Mr. Harris' makes me look for my drunk of a father and, quite frankly, I loathe the fact that he an I share any DNA in common." They reached the baggage claim and Xander immediately grabbed his OD green duffle, a garment bag that held a few suits (a suggestion of Giles'), and then one last shoulder bag before they were off – he was unable to bring his weapons along on the trip for obvious reasons, permits or not, so he had arranged for them to be shipped to him overland in Boston.
"I understand perfectly. I do have a question for you, if you do not mind answering it." They made their way out of the airport, which was quite a long walk considering his terminal was one of the furthest from the proverbial front door.
"That being?"
"Why is it that the Council has you being listed as being someone with no powers or apparent training? Mister Giles has already told me of some of your ... how should I say ... missions so far, and the level of skill you have shown is exemplary at worst."
"How so?"
"You have single-handedly eliminated both William the Bloody and his sire, Drusilla with a new type of bullet that my superiors would like to examine, you have been confirmed to have had contact with not only one, but all seven entities known as The Powers That Be and seem to be working for them."
"First of all I work for only one of them, and he came to me; secondly the bullet I used on Spike was part of a Chaos spell while the one I used on Dru I got from another source after hearing about it on the street – works okay, but generally is only useful on vamps due to the random nature of the magic used on it. Lastly, just because someone doesn't have any overt powers doesn't make them, or me, any less dangerous than a Slayer where demons are concerned – sure, we may lack the speed, strength and all of that, but people like us can be particularly inventive when we need to be."
"Well spoken, Alex. Now, tell me what it is you intend to do with Faith to help her be a better Slayer."
This was the question that Xander had been dreading, and even after the only three hour flight, he still wasn't prepared for it, "To tell you the truth, Lynda, I don't have the first clue what I'm going to do with Faith outside of just trying to be her friend. I have a pretty good idea what her home life has been like – I speak from experience," he stopped and looked her in the eyes to make sure she got the fact he was trying to get across to her, "when I say that child abuse isn't a pretty thing and sexual abuse is even worse."
Xander wasn't sure what was showing in his eyes at that point, but from the stricken look that Lynda Price wore, he had gotten the point across to her and she nodded, "Of course, Alex, I understand perfectly well what you are going to try and do, but I need you to be sure you understand what it is that I am trying to tell you – Faith has just started to open up to me and now you are going to be moving into our home with us. Don't expect her to welcome you with open arms."
"I don't expect that at all – if anything I expect suspicion, anger and even a touch of resentment from her." They started walking along again and it was then that he spoke, "But I also want to tell her how her predecessor met her end."
"Yes, she was killed by Drusilla via exsanguination induced from a cut throat."
"Yes, but that was not what I meant. I got there just after it happened and I held Kendra in my arms as she died." He heard her gasp and looked over at her only to see a pale face and huge eyes, "There wasn't a thing that I could do for Kendra, Lynda, but I will be damned straight to the deepest pits of Hell before I let Faith go without a fight – in fact, if I have my way, she will be the first active Slayer to reach retirement in just over six hundred years."
Lynda looked at him incredulously, "So you intend to be with her every step of the way until her twenty fifth birthday, when the Essence is passed on?"
He nodded, "If needs be. You are going to find out that I am one stubborn son of a bitch, Lynda, just as much as Faith and then some. She is not going to like some of the things I am going to do, and neither are you for that matter, but all of them will culminate into one goal – keeping her alive." That said, he adjusted his bags in hand and they left the airport for the parking garage and Lynda's car ... a cheery red '69 Mustang that had been fully restored.
+++
Faith was still awake when they got the two-and-a-half story house on the outskirts of a residential neighborhood, dressed in her habitual leather pants and halter top, and she seemed to be less than impressed by what she saw in Xander ... and made her opinions known, "How in the hell is he going to help us, Lynda? He barely looks old enough to drive."
"Looks can be deceiving, Faith," Lynda admonished. "He's killed two of the four most feared vampires that ever crossed Europe within the past two months, had a direct hand in killing the third, was ordered to spare the fourth by The Powers That Be and that has happened without any powers or magic of his own."
"Then how'd he do it? Get the vamps to dust themselves?" Her tone was snide but under it was more than a little curiosity.
"Superior firepower. I'm Alexander Harris. Call me Xander or Alex." He extended his hand and wasn't at all surprised that she flatly ignored it.
"Guns don't kill vampires, Lex, and even I know that."
"You know, you are absolutely right. I could hit a vampire with a gun all day and all night long and that would only piss them off royally; if shot them with the ammunition I use, however, they either fry, shatter, or burn from the magical rounds or are disabled from the blessed hollow points I use in my SOCOM and UMP." For a split second after he spoke, Xander could swear he saw a look of respect, but soon that was washed away with her sneer.
"And what are these things, 'SOCOM' and 'UMP'?"
"Heckler and Koch Mk 23 Mod 0 United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) .45 caliber pistol equipped with a Laser Aiming Module and a flash/sound suppressor; Ultimate Machine Pistol also fires .45 caliber in single, three-round or full auto off of a thirty round mag, it's suppressed and has a night vision scope that I've had overlaid with thermal imaging – anything that shows up as cold is a vamp." He grins somewhat cheekily at the both of them as their jaws drop, "And if the two of you are good girls, I'll even teach you how to use them properly." {AN: I don't know what the 'U' in UMP stands for, so I'm guessing. AR}
"And are you licensed to carry them, Alexander?" Lynda's words were somewhat icy at first, but that ice melted away when produced his carry licenses for both weapons, "Oh."
Faith, however, had a few choice words added to her question, "How in the hell did you get those bastards? And can I have one?"
"Well, you'll have first be trained in their use and then get a carry permit, then ask Linda to get them for you, but as to how I got them ... I broke into the Sunnydale Military Base and stole them." He shrugged as they gaped yet again, picking up his bags, "Good evening, and ladies, I'll see you tomorrow morning for our workout session at 0630." With a smile at his parting shot, Xander walked up the stairs to the room that Lynda had told him was his to use.
+++
Xander slept little that night – first off it was a new bed and a new place, so he wasn't comfortable, but his room was next to Faith's and she had been subject to what had sounded to be one hell of a nightmare; it got so bad at once that Xander walked in to see Lynda at her bedside, trying to hold the young Slayer in place and failing. Xander stepped in at that point, using his own enhanced strength to slightly suppress the struggles of the Slayer and draw her into a firm but chase hug that made Lynda arch an eyebrow at him; he said nothing back to her for a few minutes until Faith's struggles had subsided and she slept soundly in his embrace, her hair covering her face and muscles relaxing from their tensed stated gradually as she fell into deeper levels of sleep – so deep that Lynda had to help him put her back into her bed before he could go back to his own for a few winks. A look between him and the Watcher clearly stated that the event that had just happened most certainly would never be spoke about in front of Faith unless she brought it up; with that and a nod, they went to their separate room and to bed.
He finally gave up on the idea of sleep about four am, hauling himself out of the bed and into a pair of sweatpants, a tank top and his sneakers; it was too cold to be running, after all, Boston was a lot further north than Sunnydale and it was winter, so he'd have to settle for a harder version of his normal morning calisthenics, a habit he had gotten into because of the memories of both the Soldier and the urges of the Hyena to be in optimal shape for hunting.
On his way down to the empty den of the house, he looked in on Faith and saw that Lynda was in the bed with the Slayer, holding the young woman in a motherly way, and both were fast asleep; Xander smiled and remembered what Faith had said about Lynda in the original timeline, how she had been the closest thing to a real mother she could ever remember or wanting. For a split second, as he watched, he was subject to abject jealousy at what the Slayer had in Lynda, but then smothered that feeling with the cold fact that Joyce had filled the same void in his life in both timelines – he'd miss her most of all while in Boston, and Dawn was right behind her, though he'd also given dawn his e-mail address before leaving, so they could at least chat.
Making his way down to the den, which was where the training seemed to take place, Xander stretched out his limbs and body for several minutes before dropping to the ground and pressing out one hundred pushups, alternating between one-handed, two-handed and with which hand he used, then one hundred crunches, followed by various leg stretches and finally ending his 'normal' session with as many chin and pull ups as she could handle (about fifty a piece, but those numbers were starting to head north). Moving to the center of the room, he shut out all thought from his mind, taking up a stance with legs apart and arms at his side in a 'ready' motion, and then slowly began to move in the patters of Tai Chi; it gave his body a work out and let him work on his inner balance while leaving his mind open to ponder all of the things that were bothering him – on this particular morning it was the remnants of Ethan Rayne's dead he was coming to terms with.
The man had worshiped Chaos because he liked to cause just that, chaos, wherever he went and, by Giles' stories, was a general pain in the ass because he wanted to be; at the time Xander had felt as if he were in the right in shooting Rayne, but the more than he thought about it he should have let the Chaos Mage meet one of his own creations (Xander himself didn't count because the Soldier wasn't in charge at the time) – that would have been a more fitting end for the Briton, but hindsight was always 20/20.
"Nice form." Xander didn't jump at the voice of Lynda Price, but he also did not stop going through the motions of his exercise.
"Thank you. Care to join me?" He got no verbal response but could hear the woman walk over to his other side and could feel the woman mimicking the movements his made, "How's Faith?"
"Still asleep; her nightmares are coming less frequently now – last night was the first one she'd had in a few nights. This brings up the question of just how you subdued her – she's stronger than vampires by a margin of very little, so you should not have been able to hold her at all."
Xander felt a smart-ass smirk come to his face and forced himself to keep his response at, "I'm stronger than I look, Lynda."
"And how strong is that?"
"About five times the human norm when I go all out; I can keep my strength at normal levels with only a little thought, but when I get excited ... well, things happen." He could feel the beads of sweat dripping from his neck and down his torso, which were then absorbed by his tank top, "My senses are also a bit better than most people's; I can push them further if I wanted to, but truth be told they drive me up the wall enough as it is."
"And you came by these abilities how, exactly?"
"Animal Possession – Hyena if you wish to be precise about it." He didn't need to look at her to see, hear and feel the wince she involuntarily gave, which made him chuckle, "It was ... liberating, yet utterly terrifying at the same time. I guess that is how the Slayer feels at all times, sans the homicidal tendencies to humans and swine."
"Swine?"
"School mascot was named Herbert; needed a little salt, garlic and barbeque sauce, but he went down easily enough." Xander chuckled again as he could feel the grimace she gave, but then sobered, "Being Alpha had it's perks too."
"You were the leader?" Lynda didn't sound surprised for some odd reason, but he let that pass as she spoke again, "What do you intend to do about school this semester, Alex? I will not have a freeloader here under any circumstances."
"It's up to my boss, but I figure he'll make me attend if for no other reason than to make sure Faith is okay." He stopped his movements in the same place and position he had started from when he started nearly an hour before, after a quick check of the clock, which read 6:15 am. Neither spoke as they filed off to the kitchen for coffee and the news paper, which made it's arrival with a thump at the front door nearly twenty minutes before, and sat in silence while awaiting the arrival of the dark-haired Slayer, whom could be heard upstairs moving towards he bathroom.
Ten minutes later Faith showed up in her habitual leather pants and a t- shirt that had it's left sleeve missing, yawning and running her fingers through her still-damp hair before, like a great bird heading south for the winter, she turned towards the coffee pot and partook of the liquid fruit of the great bean {if you can't tell, I'm addicted to the drink myself. :P}. "Morning, Lynda. Hey, you."
Xander kept his chuckle quiet while Lynda didn't, her somewhat throaty laugh rebounding in the kitchen for several seconds before she spoke, "So, Alex, what is on your itinerary today?"
After a second or two of thought and a swallow of coffee, he spoke, "Unpack, scout the area and then find a post office or UPS place so I can get G-man to send me my equipment."
"You left your 'equipment' there?" Faith asked with an arched brow and a smirk, "I thought all guys were kinda attached to their ... tools?"
The last time around Xander probably would have choked on his coffee at that statement, just as Lynda was doing next to him, but as he was already somewhat used to Faith's double entendres he merely smirked, "Okay, I kept some of my stuff with me, but all of the projectile weaponry I left in Sunnydale with Giles."
"Giles?"
"Rupert Giles, Buffy's Watcher; he's cool, but, um, well, how do I put this nicely?"
"Stuffy? Boring? Square?"
"A touch on the overly British side."
"Ah, all of the above." Faith and Xander said at the same time, and then both had to chuckle at that, but then just as quickly stopped at Lynda's arched look, "Present company excluded, of course."
"Of course. Now, Alex, what other weaponry do you use when not using your firearms?"
"Whatever I can get my hands on – swords, axes, staves, even the odd crossbow, but I prefer swords; less collateral damage, easier to hide in the long run, easier to maintain and more terrifying." At their combined look, he went on, "In every movie in this day and age you see someone getting shot and going on, but they get stabbed or disemboweled with a sword and they stay down, saying nothing on the beheading bit." He took a sip of his coffee and couldn't resist anymore, "I take it you prefer either the sword, whip or the chakram, right?"
Faith snickered into her coffee at that while Lynda looked at him primly, "Are you implying something, Alexander?"
"Nothing, just that you do bear more than a passing resemblance to her, Lynda." He looked at Faith and they both held on for a few more seconds before they let out a full-blown war cry/yell/yipping (I'm not sure what it really is – I've seen it described as all three) that lasted for several seconds before they both collapsed in laughter at Lynda's slightly affronted look.
"Bloody American teenagers." This only made Xander and Faith laugh harder as the Briton finished off her coffee and then, out of spite, finished off what was left in the cups of both howling teens.
+++
As it happened, Xander held off on unpacking until that evening; he'd called Giles from a pay phone about noon and arranged the transport before gong off to find a good computer store – he'd prefer to have a laptop, but with the sheer amount of work that he had to do across the phone lines, he'd have to get an entire PC desktop unit, which wasn't going to be cheap, but his investments in the market had been paying off so he wasn't hurting for cash.
The first place he had walked into was selling crap, just like the second and third places that he walked into, but the fourth place, named 'Whiz Kids', would have had Willow on her hands and knees, bowing and genuflecting at the hardware, promising them her first born; if it was capable of being used on the computer, the word on the street said they had it and were capable of installing it in short order and, as a bonus, they even had decent prices.
"Can I help ya, kid?" The speaker was in her late twenties, maybe her early thirties, and instantly reminded Xander of Jenny Calendar with her Romany features ... only with a pierced eyebrow, three holes in each ear, shocking pink (!) hair cropped to two inches all around and matching eye shadow.
"Yeah, I need a system that can handle Internet, games, scanning and translation – lots of RAM, HD space and options, too."
"Ya want my first born too?" Her replay was sarcastic but friendly, which made him look her up and down after leaning over the counter.
"If the kid gets my sense of humor, sure." They shared a chuckle, as she obviously wasn't offended, and she led him over to some half-completed systems, explaining what each was capable of, what was in each, and how flexible each system was. "So, see anything you like?"
He flashed her a half grin, "That's a leading question, Miss," he glanced down at her nametag, "Diane, but I'll the one you called 'My Wet Dream'."
They both chuckled at the name for a second before she went over to the register, "This won't be cheap, kid; we expect half down up front and the rest on completion, which should take a few days."
"Not a problem, Diane." He flipped out a stack of bills and counted off half of the total she quoted him, ignoring the shocked glance she gave him as he passed them over and stuck his wallet away, "You have a good day, alright?"
"Sure, but I've never seen ya around here before, kid, and I don't know your name; I've lived here my whole life and I'm good with faces."
He stuck out his hand, "Alexander Harris, previously of Sunnydale, California and I just got into Boston last night; call me Alex or Xander."
"Nice to meet ya – Diane Styles, born and raised here in Boston. Nickel's worth of free advice to ya, kid, is to get in after dark in these parts – we've had a problem with wild animal attacks and gangs lately."
Xander felt his stomach drop into his boots as he instinctively sharpened his senses – he could smell the computer equipment and even the burnt smell of fried circuit boards, but he also picked up the distinct scent that was coming from Diane, which was a mixture of the computers she worked around, built and fixed, and a slight hint of honey intermingled with heather; it was so much like Jenny Calendar's that it was driving Xander into full Hyena-mating mode, "I'll keep that in mind. Now tell me, because this is getting to me – do you know anyone by the name of Jenny Calendar ... or Janna Kalderash?"
Diane's face paled significantly as she stepped back and stammered, "H-how do you know that name?"
He held up his hands in a gesture that he hoped was calming, "Chill out, Diane; she's the computer teacher at my old school in Sunny D, and as to how I know the other name, you'll have to ask her. I mean you nor your Clan any harm – I'm here to help out someone else in the same fight as you."
She looked around and finally, after seeing that nobody was around, she walked to the front door and locked it, flipping the sign to 'Closed – duh'; when she walked back to him, she passed by and muttered, "Follow me." He shrugged and followed her, his hand inside of his jacket pockets and his right resting on the SOCOM he had hidden in the special pocket he had painstakingly sewn into it so he could carry it in plain sight with the suppressor on.
She led him to a back room and, before he could enter, she reached over and pulled out a gun from under a stack of magazines, "Open the jacket, slowly, and then turn around once with it open."
"Sure, but does this mean we can't be friends?" He complied, his hands never leaving his pockets, and then removed his hands slowly to remove the coat – if she had wanted to shoot him she would have done so by now.
"Maybe we can, maybe we can't – if I don't like what my cousin has to say, you'll never find out because I'll put a bullet into you right here and now." She never put the gun away, merely lowering it to add several components together from several jars and then lighting them up with a match while muttering several words. The concoction detonated softly and sent up a small cloud of smoke in a column before a ball of light rose from the small bowl – the ball of light continued to rise until it was at eye- level and then expanded to a square about three feet square and fuzzed over with 'snow' before clearing to reveal the face of Jenny Calendar, "Hey, cuz, how's tricks?"
"Diane, how many times do I have to tell you to not call me ... Xander? Is that you?" The look of shock on her face was almost comical, but Xander could see the shock being replaced by a look of relief quickly.
"Last time I check, Jenny. You know, if it weren't for the hair color, piercings and slight accent difference, I'd swear that you and Diane were twins – Hell, you two could make a killing with the right modeling agency."
"Compliments like that won't get you anything from me, Xander, but with Diane I'm sure it will get you into positions you never dreamed existed." Jenny's somewhat saucy smile starkly contrasted the slightly overdone look of horror on Diane's face after she squawked.
"Jennifer, are you implying that I would ravish this tall, handsome and virile young man here behind me while you would not?"
The answering smirk on Jenny's face made Xander feel a slight blush creep up into his cheeks, "I can't Diane – I'm here in California while both you and he are in same room." She sighed in mock tragedy, "Oh, whatever shall I do?"
All three were silent for a moment before they broke into laughter, which lasted a minute before Jenny calmed down and looked over at Xander, "You do realize that when you are hooked up to the Internet and check your e-mail account, you are more than likely going to have more than a few rather pointed messages from Dawn, I hope."
"I'd expect nothing less from a woman with the last name of 'Summers', Jenny. How are they?"
"Difficult, but that is nothing new; Dawn is constantly shooting her sister death glares, Willow is doing her best to keep Buffy from flooding her house, Joyce is slowly getting the real idea of just really happens in Sunnydale after dark, Rupert hasn't slept in a week and Buffy herself hasn't stopped crying after your rather magnificent final performance." The tone in her voice told Xander that she knew exactly what he had been trying to do ... and that he knew what the cost would be.
"Just as I figured." He sighed, "Damnit, I hate this; I try to do a job simply and it gets exponentially harder with each day."
"One of the burdens of being Xander Harris." Jenny's slightly smug tone made him glare at her, but then her half-smirk dropped, "How are you doing, really?"
"I've been better, Jenny, but I'm working through it slowly. Hell, today was the first day I actually laughed for real since before Halloween; it felt good, Jenny, it really did."
"Good." She looked over at Diane, who looked somewhat bored, "Get him a loaner so he can contact me at my e-mail and I can give him a full heads up on just what is going on around here and he can answer some of Dawn's questions/rants/pleadings."
Diane bowed subserviently, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Yes, Mistress. Would Mistress like a foot rub as well? Perhaps my kidney?"
"You can keep your kidney, but my foot rub I am going to bank for a ... future date," she said with a slightly enigmatic smile, "with a certain person whom shall remain nameless." Jenny looked back over at Xander, "Be good, Xander."
"Do I have to, Jenny?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you trust my judgment." Those said, she winked at him and terminated the spell from her end, making the ball of light turn into a ball of smoke and evaporate into thin air.
Diane snorted, "Jenny always one for theatrics. I'd swear that she was part drama queen if I didn't know her so well."
Xander smiled, "Hey, I like her well enough; let her keep her inner drama queen a secret." He joined her at the table where she was packing laptop components into a box, "So, this is the loaner?"
"Yeah, top of the line everything that you will return when you come to collect your real computer." She passed the box over after filling it, smiling, "Adios, cutie ... unless you don't have anywhere to be for a little while."
Xander swallowed slightly, doing his best not to do anything too stupid, "Diane, as much as I would love to stay here, I am afraid that dinner waits for no person around the household. Plus, it's lasagna night from what I have been told, and it is rather good."
She sighed, "Damn. It's a shame you're hungry for lasagna because I'm sure that I could find you something to eat around here."
Xander did his absolute best to not react to that statement; being around Faith too much made him look for innuendos that just didn't exist, "I gotta go, Diane. Bye."
Had Xander stayed around for a few more seconds, he would have seen Diane pout, "I must be losing my touch."
AN: Okay, I'm cutting this chapter off here because I have to re-think several ideas of mine that just are not working out as far as where to go from here. R & R, please, no flames, thank you.
In case you didn't figure it out, Lucy Lawless won the poll and that's because I eventually had to flip a coin the tally between her and Julie Andrews was so close. I think she'll survive this next chapter and go to Sunnydale with Faith and Xander; she and Giles could hook up, leaving Jenny open for someone else.
I know things are a little OCC with the characters of Jenny and Faith, but remember that by this point Jenny was dead and Faith changed a lot when Lynda died, so I'm taking a writer's privilege with this subject.
NEW POLL: Whom should it be: a Gabby, Joxer, Ares, and/or Aphrodite look- alike to show up in the next chapter as a friend of, acquaintance of, pain- in-the-ass-of, or headache-inducer/meddler of Lynda's?
AN: I received an e-mail that I would like to respond to first and foremost; I realize that Xander has blood on his hand and, at the end of the last chapter, it looked as if he blithely laid all of Angelus' victims at her feet while his hands were clean. That simply isn't true. In this chapter you will see just how much his Killing of Ethan Rayne, the Death of Kendra in his arms and even Brittany Collins' deaths have effected him – he won't turn to the bottle per se, he will deal with this somewhat constructively. Now it was also said that while Xander put all the blame on Buffy, she could have tagged him as having tried to rape her in S1 as the Hyena – I am not sure I agree with that because while, and I forget where I heard it, he admits that he wanted her, but that it took the Hyena Spirit to bring those desires and darkness out of his mind to make him do that. He'll cop to doing a lot of bad things in chapter, but it will go to the very old saying, 'That which does not kill us only makes us stronger'.
AN2: To Jwolf, Yes, it seems that Xander has burned/nuked his bridges in Sunnydale with some of the group, but he is merely clearing away any old conceptions of just who he is and what he is capable of in one broad stroke – just like in farming, sometimes you have to burn the fields before you can grow new things (I do it every year when we harvest our corn crop – it puts something back into the soil). Secondly, 'The Fool', yes, it is gone, but 'The Jester' will make a comeback once he has dealt with some of his emotional baggage ... or Dawn get to him, which ever comes first (haven't decided yet, as of this point). Third, I realize now that I killed off Ms. Collins WAY too early, but I can't bring her back – she COULD have been evolved into a better character, but she served her purpose to make Xander realize that even though you save someone in the 'now', you can't always save them down the road (she lived less than twenty meters away, the way the crow flies, and was snatched/turned by Drusilla before she got there – sort of an ironic way to show my point). He couldn't pull the trigger because, well, I'll explain it later in the chapter (it's cruel to do this, I know!).
AN3: As I sit here typing this, I find myself to be in a bit of a quandary – from the replies I have gotten, I can tell that I am going too fast on some parts of the story (like Brittany's introduction and demise); I apologize for that, namely because she was to be the OFC choice for Xander, but as I developed her character in my mind and on paper, she just didn't work out – I had her pegged as a Psych student who's mentor happened to be Maggie Walsh, but if Brittany got involved with Xander, then somehow I'd have to write Maggie into the story (even if it was to just putting a bullet, stray or intentional, into her skull). As much as I may despise what happened in S7, S4 had only two redeeming factors – Tara and Dawn's introductions. The whole Initiative plotline sucked – hard – so I'm not going to pay it any heed from this point out.
AN4: And the Winner of the 'Who Is Faith's Watcher' Poll is ... read the chapter and find out. I can say, though, she is not a former porn star and is not now, nor has she ever been, a member of SG-1.
Things Coming To An Emotional Head –or- Gotta Have Faith
It had been less than a day since Xander had basically nuked almost every bridge he had ever built in Sunnydale – he realized that now after stepping off of the plane in Boston; eventually he would have to apologize to Buffy, and he would, but before that he would have to do something that was infinitely harder. It had started small, just after the Halloween spell had ended and before he had gone to school; he had found himself looking around his condo and had found a well-stocked liquor cabinet – his first impulse was to clean it out by pouring every damned drop down the drain, but then something hit him, almost as if it was a way to not only prove to himself that he wasn't his father's child, but that he was in control. Taking one of the bottles of alcohol, an aged whiskey in this case, he grabbed a shot glass and went to the kitchen table, opening the bottle as he went; and poured a shot and then setting the bottle down, he sat down himself and reached out to the shot glass. In a symbolic gesture, he gave it the bird and then pushed it away, leaning back into his chair and stared at it as if in it's depths were held the answers to all of his problems. He had done that every night since then and, at the end of it, poured the drink back into the bottle, never spilling, drinking or otherwise touching a drop.
Ever since Lex had charged him with what basically amounted to saving an entire world from a timeline that really and truly blew the big one, Xander had felt as if someone had put a huge weight on his shoulders; he was the one who was ultimately responsible for what happened – if he hesitated to pull the trigger or went against his orders, the world could have been subject to untold suffering. It was a wakeup call to him – he usually played things off as a joke, wearing the mask of the Fool to hid what he was really feeling, but now that wasn't an option and he had to face up to the fact that he had to grow the hell up. He had to remember everything that had happened the first time around and to keep some of it from happening again, no matter how impossible the odds or difficult the challenge – it was at that point that he realized just how easy it was for Faith to slip into the darkness the last time around.
Given a job, a destiny, like that was something that nobody was truly ever prepared for – sure, Xander had seen a lot of bad things as a Scooby and even from within his own home life, but nothing, not even the massive amount of eye-opening that even the Soldier had given to him as to the realities of war, death and commitment, had or could ever prepare him for the feeling of guilt he had felt when he saw Brittany as a vampire or the pure anguish he had experienced as he held Kendra in his arms when she expired, helpless to do anything because of the fact that it had to happen. All of those things, combined with the, albeit reluctant, guilt that had come along with the death of Ethan Rayne, had made him look into the mirror the morning he had gone to visit the graves of Kendra and Brittany and question just who the sorry son of a bitch looking back at him was. The eyes that looked back at him were dark, haunted, and completely foreign to Xander; quite frankly, it scared the hell out of him and he chose in that moment to change just who it was that he happened to be ... after one last performance. Hurting Buffy like that, unfortunately, was necessary for her to realize that she wasn't the only kid on the block and that she needed to take responsibility for her actions – which happened to be a piece of advice Xander needed to take himself.
"Hello, Mister Harris." The voice, which held a slight English intonation, startled him out of his internal reverie, making him start slightly, before he looked around to see who had spoken. His eyes fell upon the only other person besides him standing at the terminal at the ungodly hour of 2:30 am, and quite frankly he was at a loss as to what he should do – she was gorgeous in an athletic way, and he could tell that she was athletic from the way her business pantsuit fit her. Her dark brown hair hung down past her shoulders, devoid of any curl, her skin was somewhat creamy in texture but held a slightly weathered look that came from being outside and playing hard; her eyes, though, caught his attention immediately – they were at once both cold as ice in their grey color, but they also held a warmth to them that was only apparent to those who knew what they were looking for. While he was sure that she had a good fifteen years on him, Xander couldn't deny that Lynda Price was a stone cold fox of a Watcher.
"Ms. Price, I presume?" He unconsciously straightened his jacket and tie while shifting his AWOL bag from his right hand to his left, extending the now-vacant appendage forwards at her affirming nod, "A pleasure to meet you."
Linda took his hand in a firm, but feminine grip, "Likewise, though I do have to admit that when Rupert said you were young, I envisioned someone in their early to mid-twenties, not their mid-teens." Her voice was slightly colored with concern, but that turned into a sardonic smile as she continued, "But then again he also said that you could help my young charge in her training; using a teenager to speak to a teenager, as it were."
He smiled slightly, "Sometimes I feel as if I'm much older than I look, Ms. Price."
"Lynda, please." She motioned for him to follow her and they made their way to the baggage claim trundle.
"Only if you call me ... Alex. 'Mr. Harris' makes me look for my drunk of a father and, quite frankly, I loathe the fact that he an I share any DNA in common." They reached the baggage claim and Xander immediately grabbed his OD green duffle, a garment bag that held a few suits (a suggestion of Giles'), and then one last shoulder bag before they were off – he was unable to bring his weapons along on the trip for obvious reasons, permits or not, so he had arranged for them to be shipped to him overland in Boston.
"I understand perfectly. I do have a question for you, if you do not mind answering it." They made their way out of the airport, which was quite a long walk considering his terminal was one of the furthest from the proverbial front door.
"That being?"
"Why is it that the Council has you being listed as being someone with no powers or apparent training? Mister Giles has already told me of some of your ... how should I say ... missions so far, and the level of skill you have shown is exemplary at worst."
"How so?"
"You have single-handedly eliminated both William the Bloody and his sire, Drusilla with a new type of bullet that my superiors would like to examine, you have been confirmed to have had contact with not only one, but all seven entities known as The Powers That Be and seem to be working for them."
"First of all I work for only one of them, and he came to me; secondly the bullet I used on Spike was part of a Chaos spell while the one I used on Dru I got from another source after hearing about it on the street – works okay, but generally is only useful on vamps due to the random nature of the magic used on it. Lastly, just because someone doesn't have any overt powers doesn't make them, or me, any less dangerous than a Slayer where demons are concerned – sure, we may lack the speed, strength and all of that, but people like us can be particularly inventive when we need to be."
"Well spoken, Alex. Now, tell me what it is you intend to do with Faith to help her be a better Slayer."
This was the question that Xander had been dreading, and even after the only three hour flight, he still wasn't prepared for it, "To tell you the truth, Lynda, I don't have the first clue what I'm going to do with Faith outside of just trying to be her friend. I have a pretty good idea what her home life has been like – I speak from experience," he stopped and looked her in the eyes to make sure she got the fact he was trying to get across to her, "when I say that child abuse isn't a pretty thing and sexual abuse is even worse."
Xander wasn't sure what was showing in his eyes at that point, but from the stricken look that Lynda Price wore, he had gotten the point across to her and she nodded, "Of course, Alex, I understand perfectly well what you are going to try and do, but I need you to be sure you understand what it is that I am trying to tell you – Faith has just started to open up to me and now you are going to be moving into our home with us. Don't expect her to welcome you with open arms."
"I don't expect that at all – if anything I expect suspicion, anger and even a touch of resentment from her." They started walking along again and it was then that he spoke, "But I also want to tell her how her predecessor met her end."
"Yes, she was killed by Drusilla via exsanguination induced from a cut throat."
"Yes, but that was not what I meant. I got there just after it happened and I held Kendra in my arms as she died." He heard her gasp and looked over at her only to see a pale face and huge eyes, "There wasn't a thing that I could do for Kendra, Lynda, but I will be damned straight to the deepest pits of Hell before I let Faith go without a fight – in fact, if I have my way, she will be the first active Slayer to reach retirement in just over six hundred years."
Lynda looked at him incredulously, "So you intend to be with her every step of the way until her twenty fifth birthday, when the Essence is passed on?"
He nodded, "If needs be. You are going to find out that I am one stubborn son of a bitch, Lynda, just as much as Faith and then some. She is not going to like some of the things I am going to do, and neither are you for that matter, but all of them will culminate into one goal – keeping her alive." That said, he adjusted his bags in hand and they left the airport for the parking garage and Lynda's car ... a cheery red '69 Mustang that had been fully restored.
+++
Faith was still awake when they got the two-and-a-half story house on the outskirts of a residential neighborhood, dressed in her habitual leather pants and halter top, and she seemed to be less than impressed by what she saw in Xander ... and made her opinions known, "How in the hell is he going to help us, Lynda? He barely looks old enough to drive."
"Looks can be deceiving, Faith," Lynda admonished. "He's killed two of the four most feared vampires that ever crossed Europe within the past two months, had a direct hand in killing the third, was ordered to spare the fourth by The Powers That Be and that has happened without any powers or magic of his own."
"Then how'd he do it? Get the vamps to dust themselves?" Her tone was snide but under it was more than a little curiosity.
"Superior firepower. I'm Alexander Harris. Call me Xander or Alex." He extended his hand and wasn't at all surprised that she flatly ignored it.
"Guns don't kill vampires, Lex, and even I know that."
"You know, you are absolutely right. I could hit a vampire with a gun all day and all night long and that would only piss them off royally; if shot them with the ammunition I use, however, they either fry, shatter, or burn from the magical rounds or are disabled from the blessed hollow points I use in my SOCOM and UMP." For a split second after he spoke, Xander could swear he saw a look of respect, but soon that was washed away with her sneer.
"And what are these things, 'SOCOM' and 'UMP'?"
"Heckler and Koch Mk 23 Mod 0 United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) .45 caliber pistol equipped with a Laser Aiming Module and a flash/sound suppressor; Ultimate Machine Pistol also fires .45 caliber in single, three-round or full auto off of a thirty round mag, it's suppressed and has a night vision scope that I've had overlaid with thermal imaging – anything that shows up as cold is a vamp." He grins somewhat cheekily at the both of them as their jaws drop, "And if the two of you are good girls, I'll even teach you how to use them properly." {AN: I don't know what the 'U' in UMP stands for, so I'm guessing. AR}
"And are you licensed to carry them, Alexander?" Lynda's words were somewhat icy at first, but that ice melted away when produced his carry licenses for both weapons, "Oh."
Faith, however, had a few choice words added to her question, "How in the hell did you get those bastards? And can I have one?"
"Well, you'll have first be trained in their use and then get a carry permit, then ask Linda to get them for you, but as to how I got them ... I broke into the Sunnydale Military Base and stole them." He shrugged as they gaped yet again, picking up his bags, "Good evening, and ladies, I'll see you tomorrow morning for our workout session at 0630." With a smile at his parting shot, Xander walked up the stairs to the room that Lynda had told him was his to use.
+++
Xander slept little that night – first off it was a new bed and a new place, so he wasn't comfortable, but his room was next to Faith's and she had been subject to what had sounded to be one hell of a nightmare; it got so bad at once that Xander walked in to see Lynda at her bedside, trying to hold the young Slayer in place and failing. Xander stepped in at that point, using his own enhanced strength to slightly suppress the struggles of the Slayer and draw her into a firm but chase hug that made Lynda arch an eyebrow at him; he said nothing back to her for a few minutes until Faith's struggles had subsided and she slept soundly in his embrace, her hair covering her face and muscles relaxing from their tensed stated gradually as she fell into deeper levels of sleep – so deep that Lynda had to help him put her back into her bed before he could go back to his own for a few winks. A look between him and the Watcher clearly stated that the event that had just happened most certainly would never be spoke about in front of Faith unless she brought it up; with that and a nod, they went to their separate room and to bed.
He finally gave up on the idea of sleep about four am, hauling himself out of the bed and into a pair of sweatpants, a tank top and his sneakers; it was too cold to be running, after all, Boston was a lot further north than Sunnydale and it was winter, so he'd have to settle for a harder version of his normal morning calisthenics, a habit he had gotten into because of the memories of both the Soldier and the urges of the Hyena to be in optimal shape for hunting.
On his way down to the empty den of the house, he looked in on Faith and saw that Lynda was in the bed with the Slayer, holding the young woman in a motherly way, and both were fast asleep; Xander smiled and remembered what Faith had said about Lynda in the original timeline, how she had been the closest thing to a real mother she could ever remember or wanting. For a split second, as he watched, he was subject to abject jealousy at what the Slayer had in Lynda, but then smothered that feeling with the cold fact that Joyce had filled the same void in his life in both timelines – he'd miss her most of all while in Boston, and Dawn was right behind her, though he'd also given dawn his e-mail address before leaving, so they could at least chat.
Making his way down to the den, which was where the training seemed to take place, Xander stretched out his limbs and body for several minutes before dropping to the ground and pressing out one hundred pushups, alternating between one-handed, two-handed and with which hand he used, then one hundred crunches, followed by various leg stretches and finally ending his 'normal' session with as many chin and pull ups as she could handle (about fifty a piece, but those numbers were starting to head north). Moving to the center of the room, he shut out all thought from his mind, taking up a stance with legs apart and arms at his side in a 'ready' motion, and then slowly began to move in the patters of Tai Chi; it gave his body a work out and let him work on his inner balance while leaving his mind open to ponder all of the things that were bothering him – on this particular morning it was the remnants of Ethan Rayne's dead he was coming to terms with.
The man had worshiped Chaos because he liked to cause just that, chaos, wherever he went and, by Giles' stories, was a general pain in the ass because he wanted to be; at the time Xander had felt as if he were in the right in shooting Rayne, but the more than he thought about it he should have let the Chaos Mage meet one of his own creations (Xander himself didn't count because the Soldier wasn't in charge at the time) – that would have been a more fitting end for the Briton, but hindsight was always 20/20.
"Nice form." Xander didn't jump at the voice of Lynda Price, but he also did not stop going through the motions of his exercise.
"Thank you. Care to join me?" He got no verbal response but could hear the woman walk over to his other side and could feel the woman mimicking the movements his made, "How's Faith?"
"Still asleep; her nightmares are coming less frequently now – last night was the first one she'd had in a few nights. This brings up the question of just how you subdued her – she's stronger than vampires by a margin of very little, so you should not have been able to hold her at all."
Xander felt a smart-ass smirk come to his face and forced himself to keep his response at, "I'm stronger than I look, Lynda."
"And how strong is that?"
"About five times the human norm when I go all out; I can keep my strength at normal levels with only a little thought, but when I get excited ... well, things happen." He could feel the beads of sweat dripping from his neck and down his torso, which were then absorbed by his tank top, "My senses are also a bit better than most people's; I can push them further if I wanted to, but truth be told they drive me up the wall enough as it is."
"And you came by these abilities how, exactly?"
"Animal Possession – Hyena if you wish to be precise about it." He didn't need to look at her to see, hear and feel the wince she involuntarily gave, which made him chuckle, "It was ... liberating, yet utterly terrifying at the same time. I guess that is how the Slayer feels at all times, sans the homicidal tendencies to humans and swine."
"Swine?"
"School mascot was named Herbert; needed a little salt, garlic and barbeque sauce, but he went down easily enough." Xander chuckled again as he could feel the grimace she gave, but then sobered, "Being Alpha had it's perks too."
"You were the leader?" Lynda didn't sound surprised for some odd reason, but he let that pass as she spoke again, "What do you intend to do about school this semester, Alex? I will not have a freeloader here under any circumstances."
"It's up to my boss, but I figure he'll make me attend if for no other reason than to make sure Faith is okay." He stopped his movements in the same place and position he had started from when he started nearly an hour before, after a quick check of the clock, which read 6:15 am. Neither spoke as they filed off to the kitchen for coffee and the news paper, which made it's arrival with a thump at the front door nearly twenty minutes before, and sat in silence while awaiting the arrival of the dark-haired Slayer, whom could be heard upstairs moving towards he bathroom.
Ten minutes later Faith showed up in her habitual leather pants and a t- shirt that had it's left sleeve missing, yawning and running her fingers through her still-damp hair before, like a great bird heading south for the winter, she turned towards the coffee pot and partook of the liquid fruit of the great bean {if you can't tell, I'm addicted to the drink myself. :P}. "Morning, Lynda. Hey, you."
Xander kept his chuckle quiet while Lynda didn't, her somewhat throaty laugh rebounding in the kitchen for several seconds before she spoke, "So, Alex, what is on your itinerary today?"
After a second or two of thought and a swallow of coffee, he spoke, "Unpack, scout the area and then find a post office or UPS place so I can get G-man to send me my equipment."
"You left your 'equipment' there?" Faith asked with an arched brow and a smirk, "I thought all guys were kinda attached to their ... tools?"
The last time around Xander probably would have choked on his coffee at that statement, just as Lynda was doing next to him, but as he was already somewhat used to Faith's double entendres he merely smirked, "Okay, I kept some of my stuff with me, but all of the projectile weaponry I left in Sunnydale with Giles."
"Giles?"
"Rupert Giles, Buffy's Watcher; he's cool, but, um, well, how do I put this nicely?"
"Stuffy? Boring? Square?"
"A touch on the overly British side."
"Ah, all of the above." Faith and Xander said at the same time, and then both had to chuckle at that, but then just as quickly stopped at Lynda's arched look, "Present company excluded, of course."
"Of course. Now, Alex, what other weaponry do you use when not using your firearms?"
"Whatever I can get my hands on – swords, axes, staves, even the odd crossbow, but I prefer swords; less collateral damage, easier to hide in the long run, easier to maintain and more terrifying." At their combined look, he went on, "In every movie in this day and age you see someone getting shot and going on, but they get stabbed or disemboweled with a sword and they stay down, saying nothing on the beheading bit." He took a sip of his coffee and couldn't resist anymore, "I take it you prefer either the sword, whip or the chakram, right?"
Faith snickered into her coffee at that while Lynda looked at him primly, "Are you implying something, Alexander?"
"Nothing, just that you do bear more than a passing resemblance to her, Lynda." He looked at Faith and they both held on for a few more seconds before they let out a full-blown war cry/yell/yipping (I'm not sure what it really is – I've seen it described as all three) that lasted for several seconds before they both collapsed in laughter at Lynda's slightly affronted look.
"Bloody American teenagers." This only made Xander and Faith laugh harder as the Briton finished off her coffee and then, out of spite, finished off what was left in the cups of both howling teens.
+++
As it happened, Xander held off on unpacking until that evening; he'd called Giles from a pay phone about noon and arranged the transport before gong off to find a good computer store – he'd prefer to have a laptop, but with the sheer amount of work that he had to do across the phone lines, he'd have to get an entire PC desktop unit, which wasn't going to be cheap, but his investments in the market had been paying off so he wasn't hurting for cash.
The first place he had walked into was selling crap, just like the second and third places that he walked into, but the fourth place, named 'Whiz Kids', would have had Willow on her hands and knees, bowing and genuflecting at the hardware, promising them her first born; if it was capable of being used on the computer, the word on the street said they had it and were capable of installing it in short order and, as a bonus, they even had decent prices.
"Can I help ya, kid?" The speaker was in her late twenties, maybe her early thirties, and instantly reminded Xander of Jenny Calendar with her Romany features ... only with a pierced eyebrow, three holes in each ear, shocking pink (!) hair cropped to two inches all around and matching eye shadow.
"Yeah, I need a system that can handle Internet, games, scanning and translation – lots of RAM, HD space and options, too."
"Ya want my first born too?" Her replay was sarcastic but friendly, which made him look her up and down after leaning over the counter.
"If the kid gets my sense of humor, sure." They shared a chuckle, as she obviously wasn't offended, and she led him over to some half-completed systems, explaining what each was capable of, what was in each, and how flexible each system was. "So, see anything you like?"
He flashed her a half grin, "That's a leading question, Miss," he glanced down at her nametag, "Diane, but I'll the one you called 'My Wet Dream'."
They both chuckled at the name for a second before she went over to the register, "This won't be cheap, kid; we expect half down up front and the rest on completion, which should take a few days."
"Not a problem, Diane." He flipped out a stack of bills and counted off half of the total she quoted him, ignoring the shocked glance she gave him as he passed them over and stuck his wallet away, "You have a good day, alright?"
"Sure, but I've never seen ya around here before, kid, and I don't know your name; I've lived here my whole life and I'm good with faces."
He stuck out his hand, "Alexander Harris, previously of Sunnydale, California and I just got into Boston last night; call me Alex or Xander."
"Nice to meet ya – Diane Styles, born and raised here in Boston. Nickel's worth of free advice to ya, kid, is to get in after dark in these parts – we've had a problem with wild animal attacks and gangs lately."
Xander felt his stomach drop into his boots as he instinctively sharpened his senses – he could smell the computer equipment and even the burnt smell of fried circuit boards, but he also picked up the distinct scent that was coming from Diane, which was a mixture of the computers she worked around, built and fixed, and a slight hint of honey intermingled with heather; it was so much like Jenny Calendar's that it was driving Xander into full Hyena-mating mode, "I'll keep that in mind. Now tell me, because this is getting to me – do you know anyone by the name of Jenny Calendar ... or Janna Kalderash?"
Diane's face paled significantly as she stepped back and stammered, "H-how do you know that name?"
He held up his hands in a gesture that he hoped was calming, "Chill out, Diane; she's the computer teacher at my old school in Sunny D, and as to how I know the other name, you'll have to ask her. I mean you nor your Clan any harm – I'm here to help out someone else in the same fight as you."
She looked around and finally, after seeing that nobody was around, she walked to the front door and locked it, flipping the sign to 'Closed – duh'; when she walked back to him, she passed by and muttered, "Follow me." He shrugged and followed her, his hand inside of his jacket pockets and his right resting on the SOCOM he had hidden in the special pocket he had painstakingly sewn into it so he could carry it in plain sight with the suppressor on.
She led him to a back room and, before he could enter, she reached over and pulled out a gun from under a stack of magazines, "Open the jacket, slowly, and then turn around once with it open."
"Sure, but does this mean we can't be friends?" He complied, his hands never leaving his pockets, and then removed his hands slowly to remove the coat – if she had wanted to shoot him she would have done so by now.
"Maybe we can, maybe we can't – if I don't like what my cousin has to say, you'll never find out because I'll put a bullet into you right here and now." She never put the gun away, merely lowering it to add several components together from several jars and then lighting them up with a match while muttering several words. The concoction detonated softly and sent up a small cloud of smoke in a column before a ball of light rose from the small bowl – the ball of light continued to rise until it was at eye- level and then expanded to a square about three feet square and fuzzed over with 'snow' before clearing to reveal the face of Jenny Calendar, "Hey, cuz, how's tricks?"
"Diane, how many times do I have to tell you to not call me ... Xander? Is that you?" The look of shock on her face was almost comical, but Xander could see the shock being replaced by a look of relief quickly.
"Last time I check, Jenny. You know, if it weren't for the hair color, piercings and slight accent difference, I'd swear that you and Diane were twins – Hell, you two could make a killing with the right modeling agency."
"Compliments like that won't get you anything from me, Xander, but with Diane I'm sure it will get you into positions you never dreamed existed." Jenny's somewhat saucy smile starkly contrasted the slightly overdone look of horror on Diane's face after she squawked.
"Jennifer, are you implying that I would ravish this tall, handsome and virile young man here behind me while you would not?"
The answering smirk on Jenny's face made Xander feel a slight blush creep up into his cheeks, "I can't Diane – I'm here in California while both you and he are in same room." She sighed in mock tragedy, "Oh, whatever shall I do?"
All three were silent for a moment before they broke into laughter, which lasted a minute before Jenny calmed down and looked over at Xander, "You do realize that when you are hooked up to the Internet and check your e-mail account, you are more than likely going to have more than a few rather pointed messages from Dawn, I hope."
"I'd expect nothing less from a woman with the last name of 'Summers', Jenny. How are they?"
"Difficult, but that is nothing new; Dawn is constantly shooting her sister death glares, Willow is doing her best to keep Buffy from flooding her house, Joyce is slowly getting the real idea of just really happens in Sunnydale after dark, Rupert hasn't slept in a week and Buffy herself hasn't stopped crying after your rather magnificent final performance." The tone in her voice told Xander that she knew exactly what he had been trying to do ... and that he knew what the cost would be.
"Just as I figured." He sighed, "Damnit, I hate this; I try to do a job simply and it gets exponentially harder with each day."
"One of the burdens of being Xander Harris." Jenny's slightly smug tone made him glare at her, but then her half-smirk dropped, "How are you doing, really?"
"I've been better, Jenny, but I'm working through it slowly. Hell, today was the first day I actually laughed for real since before Halloween; it felt good, Jenny, it really did."
"Good." She looked over at Diane, who looked somewhat bored, "Get him a loaner so he can contact me at my e-mail and I can give him a full heads up on just what is going on around here and he can answer some of Dawn's questions/rants/pleadings."
Diane bowed subserviently, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "Yes, Mistress. Would Mistress like a foot rub as well? Perhaps my kidney?"
"You can keep your kidney, but my foot rub I am going to bank for a ... future date," she said with a slightly enigmatic smile, "with a certain person whom shall remain nameless." Jenny looked back over at Xander, "Be good, Xander."
"Do I have to, Jenny?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because you trust my judgment." Those said, she winked at him and terminated the spell from her end, making the ball of light turn into a ball of smoke and evaporate into thin air.
Diane snorted, "Jenny always one for theatrics. I'd swear that she was part drama queen if I didn't know her so well."
Xander smiled, "Hey, I like her well enough; let her keep her inner drama queen a secret." He joined her at the table where she was packing laptop components into a box, "So, this is the loaner?"
"Yeah, top of the line everything that you will return when you come to collect your real computer." She passed the box over after filling it, smiling, "Adios, cutie ... unless you don't have anywhere to be for a little while."
Xander swallowed slightly, doing his best not to do anything too stupid, "Diane, as much as I would love to stay here, I am afraid that dinner waits for no person around the household. Plus, it's lasagna night from what I have been told, and it is rather good."
She sighed, "Damn. It's a shame you're hungry for lasagna because I'm sure that I could find you something to eat around here."
Xander did his absolute best to not react to that statement; being around Faith too much made him look for innuendos that just didn't exist, "I gotta go, Diane. Bye."
Had Xander stayed around for a few more seconds, he would have seen Diane pout, "I must be losing my touch."
AN: Okay, I'm cutting this chapter off here because I have to re-think several ideas of mine that just are not working out as far as where to go from here. R & R, please, no flames, thank you.
In case you didn't figure it out, Lucy Lawless won the poll and that's because I eventually had to flip a coin the tally between her and Julie Andrews was so close. I think she'll survive this next chapter and go to Sunnydale with Faith and Xander; she and Giles could hook up, leaving Jenny open for someone else.
I know things are a little OCC with the characters of Jenny and Faith, but remember that by this point Jenny was dead and Faith changed a lot when Lynda died, so I'm taking a writer's privilege with this subject.
NEW POLL: Whom should it be: a Gabby, Joxer, Ares, and/or Aphrodite look- alike to show up in the next chapter as a friend of, acquaintance of, pain- in-the-ass-of, or headache-inducer/meddler of Lynda's?