Actions & Consequences (9/?)

"Who are you?" the boy, her boy, her son, asked for what seemed the tenth time.

Faith looked at the kid, for once lost for what to say. Suddenly Xander spoke up from putting a groaning Angel into the passenger seat. "You know about how the stork delivers babies right?"

"And mamma found us behind a bush?" Hope broke in.

"Yeah," Xander's smile made their daughter giggle. "Well your mummy wasn't the first person to find you, Faith was." Two pairs of enquiring eyes turned to her. Faith smiled weakly, oh god what was Xander going to say next? Xander hurried to the other side of the car and jumped in. "She really wanted to keep you, but she was only little herself and scared she couldn't do a good job looking after you, so even though it hurt her a lot because she loved you with all her heart she gave you away."

"So you're our real mummy?" Hope asked. Faith nodded, tears blinding her. "B..but who's our real daddy?"

There was a choked gasp from Xander and silence, then Angel spoke. "Xander is, beautiful. He was only little himself and he didn't have any money. Your mummy was scared to tell him about finding you so she didn't. But now, both your mummy and daddy want to love you."

"Are you going to give us away again?"

"No," Faith shook her head at her son's question and hugged him. "Me and Xander are going to look after you if that's five by five?"

Alex face creased in puzzlement. "What's five by five?"

"Yeah," commented Hope. "Isn't wicked naughty?"

Xander and Angel's laughter filled the car.

Giles stood up, his ears picking up voices approaching their cell. "Stay where you are Dawn," he instructed in a hiss as he moved behind the door. "I'll handle this." He'd allowed her sister to die twice, there was no bloody way he was going to allow harm to come to Dawn.

The instance the door swung open, Giles went for a judo strangle hold. And found himself crashing to the floor, a soft yet surprisingly strong form landing on top of him. "Why Mr. Giles," the figure said coyly. "I never guessed. But what will Willow say? I think we'll have to keep this development between the two of us."

"Ha, bloody ha," Giles hoped his glare conveyed his complete lack of amusement. He was getting too old to be thrown about by girls half his size. "Very amusing Kennedy, now are you going to let me up?"

Willow's girl-friend grinned. "But Mr. Giles," she replied with a pout. "I was just getting comfortable."

Right that moment Angel's African-American friend walked through the cell door. Giles groaned, bloody marvellous, another witness to his humiliation. The young man grinned at a giggling Dawn to the back of the cell. "Never knew you swung both ways Kennedy. You turned me down earlier."

Kennedy winked at the newcomer. Oh things just went from bad to bleeding awful. "I was waiting for the right man. You weren't it, Mr. Giles was."

"DO YOU ALL BLOODY MIND!"

"See," Kennedy continued as if he hadn't spoken at all. "It's how masterful he is. Sometimes a girl likes to be taken in hand, to know who's boss. Mr. Giles," Kennedy shivered, "he's so dominating."

Giles' head sunk into his hands. "I think I preferred it when I was a prisoner." Suddenly Xander didn't seem quite so annoying.

"Sire?"

Lord Pain nodded at his subordinate, his oldest childe, a four hundred year old Cossack. "Sergi?"

The thick-set Russian nodded respectfully. "The Two were in the hands of Wolfram & Hart," Pain grimaced, even The Brotherhood would be hard-pressed to take on the law firm. "But, they are now in the hands of the child's mother and the traitor Angelus."

Pain's mouth parted in a smile. He'd seen photographs of the children's mother. A striking beauty, a worthy addition to his collection of victims. And to rid his race of the taint that was Angelus. "Better and better."

"Damn fools!" Wolfe slammed his fist into the desk. They'd nearly killed him. That boy, the brats' father if he remembered right from the file had meant to be nothing more than a buffoon, instead he'd wiped out seven of his best men. How was that possible? Measures had to be taken. He pressed down on his intercom. "I want the file on Xander Harris now!"

Angel glanced over his shoulder and smiled. The pain coursing through his body was more than counter-balanced by Faith's look of glee as she talked quietly to her children, her arms wrapped protectively around them. He'd always sensed an aura of loneliness and pain around the Slayer. Maybe if he had taken more notice of her before things had gone down with Finch, maybe her time in prison could have been avoided. Maybe she'd never had to gone through her coma, losing her children.

He shook his head, maybes didn't matter. Right now his protégée looked happier than he'd ever seen her, that was the important thing. He turned his head to inspect the car's driver, he didn't think he'd been ever so surprised as when Xander had stepped out of the bushes and started firing his guns like something out of an Arnie movie. "How did you do it Xander? Soldier boy?" he guessed.

He was surprised when the youth shook his head. "No."

"How then?" this came from Faith.

After a second Xander laughed, it was a bitter sound belonging to a man in his dotage and not a young man with his life ahead of him. "Every family's got a black sheep right? 'Cept the Sunnydale Harrises had to do that different too. Our black sheep was the brother who actually amounted to something. Older brothers Tony and Rory were a pair of bums but Marcus, he was a different thing entirely. Born in the sweltering summer of '58, he had the right idea, get out of Sunnydale soon as possible. Didn't get the grades to go to college so he took the only route out – the army, the US. Rangers. Did twenty years from '76 to '96 before returning home to open a Martial Arts dojo."

"He trained in the arts in the service?" Faith's tone held a note of professional interest.

Xander chuckled. "He was US. Armed Forces Cruiserweight Champion in Judo, Tae Kwon Do, and Aikido in '84, '86, and '88, so yeah he's trained. Got black belts in all three and one in Shotokan . He's also cross-trained at Escrima, Hapkido and Krav Maga.".

"Krav Maga?" he heard of the Filipino and Korean arts but the other one was new to him.

Faith replied for Xander, a note of respect. "Israelis teach it to their special forces, your uncle sounds like a real bad ass."

"Oh!" Alex sounded outraged. "You used a naughty word."

"I'm sorry baby," despite the note of contrition he heard in his friend's voice, he also heard amusement. "You'll forgive me?"

"Don't do it again," Hope scolded.

"I'll try not to."

Angel's ribs ached with the effort of not laughing at Faith being told off by two toddlers, looking across his companion he saw Xander's jaw twitching uncontrollably. "That's going to be an effort," Xander finally gasped.

That was enough to set Angel over the edge and start laughing, soon Xander joined him. "Mummy," Hope piped up. "What they laughing at?"

"Just silly big boy things," Faith replied loftily. "He see action Xand?"

"Got a Silver Star in Grenada and a Bronze Star in the Gulf."

Faith whistled. "So he train you X?"

Xander nodded. "When Buffy ran away after-, in '98," after sending him to hell, Angel silently added. "I figured I needed to learn how to fight if I was to be going up against vampires so Uncle Marcus taught me. I have a black belt in Judo, and brown belts in Aikido and Tae Kwon Do. He also taught me small arms usage and other stuff too."

"Wow," Faith. "Now Alex, Hope, when we get out of the car you have to give your daddy a big hug and a thank you for helping us okay?"

"Okay," the children chorused.

Angel glanced out of the window as they pulled up outside his base of operations. "Faith, you take the kids in," Xander said. "I'll help Angel in."

"But mommy said we've got to give you a hug," Hope protested.

"I want a hug too," Xander looked into the back. Angel saw a tear welling in his companion's eye. "But wait until we're inside. Good girl?"

"Okay daddy."

It was a struggle to get the groaning vampire out of the car and into the hotel, the adrenalin and fear that had fuelled his beaten body earlier dissipating, but when he got into the lobby, he stopped dead in amazement. His kids were sat on Lorne's knee listening to the green-skinned demon sing nursery rhymes as Faith and Fred looked on. "He's safe right?" he muttered.

"Lorne wouldn't know how to hurt them," Angel reassured him.

After a second he nodded uncertainly. "Okay," he looked around. "Where's the blood?"

"Through there," the vampire nodded towards a door to the back of the lobby.

"Let's get you in there then." Once he'd sat the vampire down he rummaged through the fridge, his face wrinkling in distaste. "Deadboy, do you need a bib?"

"Funny guy Xander."

"I try Captain HairGel."

"Xander," he turned to see Faith stood in the doorway, a rare uncertain look in her eyes. "I'm gonna take the kids upstairs to my room, okay?"

He was momentarily surprised that Faith was asking his permission but nodded. "Sure."

Faith looked up from playing with her babies to see Xander enter the room she'd been occupying for the past thirty or so minutes. Her stomach hollowed with fear as she saw Red, B, G, and Pip. She was on the outside again, they were all X's friends and not hers, if it came to a court contest for her babies she wouldn't have a chance. She smiled nervously as her babies hurried to their father and he started introducing his friends, Giles pulling a slight face at his description of 'Grandpa Giles'. Finally Xander looked at her, his expression unreadable. "Faith can I have a word with you outside please?"

"Daddy-."

Xander crouched down beside Hope. "Listen sweetie pie, me and your Mummy have talk boring grown-up stuff, but your aunties and grandpa want to play with you, and we'll be right back. Okay?"

"Promise?"

Xander ruffled her little girl's hair, damn it seemed so natural to him, maybe they would be better with him. "I promise, sweetie pie." He looked up at her. "Faith?"

She nodded shakily. "Sure." What was he going to say?