A/N: Hey, I'm back! Senior year has started and I'm losing my mind. However, Golden Boy is finished, but I still have to type up about four more chapters to finish it off on the web. The sequel to it is called "Royal Heart" and will be up as soon as I finish posting the last few chapters of GB. Enjoy!
Chapter Twelve
"Alexander! Wake up, child!"
Xander opened his eyes and squinted in the bright sunlight. He groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes to block out the painful glare. His right arm.
Wait a minute...
Xander's eyes snapped open and he sat up. He flexed the arm experimentally, feeling no pain from the limb that had surely been broken during the Challenge. He stared at it in wonder, clenching his hand into a fist and opening it again.
Now that he thought about it, he felt no pain at all from his previously crippled body. All of his wounds had disappeared as if they'd never existed.
"The body you're in is a temporary one; that's why you're not injured," an unfamiliar voice commented from behind Xander.
The youth jumped and scrambled to his feet. He stared suspiciously at the oddly dressed man who now stood before him. A tall dark-haired man lounged in a chair to his left, looking entirely bored by the situation. Both men were dressed in expensive looking silk robes that appeared either Asian or Middle-Eastern to Xander's untrained eye.
"Who are you?" Xander asked cautiously, prepared to run if he picked up anything threatening from either stranger. Not that he had any idea where to run; he still hadn't figured out exactly where he was.
The blonde man spread his hands disarmingly and gave Xander a faint smile. "We're friends," he said elusively. "Distant family, to be more precise."
That caught Xander's attention. "Family?" he repeated. He knew next to nothing about his family, other than the fact that his mother was Greek. Spike had always skillfully steered the conversation away from the subject every time Xander brought it up. "You're a cousin?"
A half-amused snort came from the sable-haired man. "Not exactly," he said wryly. Rising from the lounge chair, the coltish man headed into the small cottage and motioned for his companion and Xander to follow. "We'll explain everything inside, child."
Xander hesitated and threw an unsure glance at the blonde, who seemed a bit friendlier than his companion. The man gave Xander a reassuring smile and followed the other man into the cottage.
"Have a seat, child," the blonde said, gesturing to a large chair as he reclined on the couch next to his partner. The other man continued to stare at Xander with an open curiosity.
Xander sat. He could pick up nothing from either male, which made him more than a little uneasy. It didn't feel like they were using any psi suppressants, but he did keep his eyes peeled for any sign of the tell-tale black box.
"I suppose we should start with who we are," the blonde said. "My name is Alexandros, and this is Hephaestion. We're your ancestors."
"Ancestors?" Xander repeated. "So, I'm dead?"
Hephaestion shook his head. "No. You're in the realm of the gods, the Powers That Be, as you call them. We were only able to bring you here because of your current comatose state."
"That still doesn't explain why I'm here. What's so important that you needed to bring me here?"
"The apocalypse, boy," Hephaestion replied, his black rimmed eyes narrowing as he leaned forward. "You're a key player due to your bloodlines. Had that vampire not interfered, you'd have learned of this sooner." His voice came out as a low growl and Alexandros squeezed his arm in warning.
"You mean if I had stayed with my mother," Xander stated, instantly disliking the tall man's attitude. "Spike said that she couldn't afford to take care of me, that I'd be put in a foster home."
Alexandros nodded, absently rubbing his companion's arm. "You would have, though not because your mother couldn't afford you. She wanted to hide your identity, that's why she told William you were half American. Your real father was killed because he was my descendant. There are those in Europe who want to exterminate my bloodline and by marrying one of Hephaestion's blood, your father became a threat to those groups."
"If they were to find out that you existed, you'd essentially be a walking corpse," Hephaestion added. "They would stop at nothing to hunt you down."
Xander let out a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his dark hair. "So I've gotta deal with these guys as well as the apocalypse?" He shook his head. "And I thought things were complicated back in Sunnydale."
He leaned back in his chair and studied the two men intently. Nothing about them seemed out of the ordinary; Xander couldn't see why anyone would want to so fanatically destroy their families. "Are you telepaths?" he asked. "I know my mother was, so does it run in our family?" Telepathy was the only reason he could think of for his family's extermination.
"Only in the most recent generations and only in my descendants," Hephaestion replied. "Yours is an unusual talent, though. No other telepath has ever been able to fight because they suffer their opponent's pain. This link you have with your vampire is also a first, though others have made use of the gestalt on their own."
Xander involuntarily shivered at the mention of the unstable energy that had bound Spike and him together. The less he used its power, the better it seemed.
He rubbed his suddenly painful left shoulder and winced. The room had taken on a blurry quality and Xander rubbed furiously at his eyes to clear them.
Alexandros moved to kneel in front of Xander. The youth struggled to focus on his ancestor as his vision darkened. Panic was beginning to build despite his best attempts to keep his emotions under control.
"They're bringing you round, Alexander; that's why you're fading out," Alexandros said, taking Xander's hands in both of his own. The blonde man sounded as if he were speaking from a great distance. Xander strained all of his senses to hear the last words as his vision faded to black.
"Look to your past to find your future, child. Find the royal sunburst and your journey will begin."
Spike's eyes snapped open as Xander's mind exploded into his. The youth was unconsciously broadcasting his extreme fear and confusion as he awoke in an unfamiliar room. Willow, who was seated in a chair near Spike, instantly rushed to Xander's side as even she picked up his distress.
"Get the nurse and tell her to bring a mild sedative," Spike barked as he took his mate's head in his hands. "He's too stressed to put up his shields an' I can't block 'im alone! The last thing we want is for him to trigger that bloody gestalt!" Already he could feel it whispering at the edges of his mind, despite his mental blocks.
Willow nodded and sprinted out of the room. She and Giles had researched the gestalt link and she had no desire to personally witness its power.
Spike gently stroked Xander's face, sending soothing thoughts to the younger male. "Xan, love, it's all right," he sent, inexpertly pushing past the wall of terror that Xander had erected in his mind. "You're safe now; you're here with me."
Xander's eyes darted frantically around the room, but his struggles slowly eased. The fear that battered Spike's mind faded as Xander calmed. Wary brown eyes met concerned azure as the cloudy, unfocused look dissipated from them. He licked dry lips and sent a hesitant "Spike?"
A huge smile broke out across the vampire's face and he kissed the younger man fiercely. "I thought I'd lost you," Spike responded, letting Xander feel the utter sense of loss and desperation he had experienced at the end of the Challenge.
Xander returned the kiss with equal fervour, a lone tear slipping down his cheek. "I told you no one could keep the Xan-man down for long, remember?" He drew back slowly, seeing the pent-up fear both in Spike's eyes and in his mind. "How long was I out?"
"Four days. Four very long days. You were completely comatose for nearly three days and you've been under anesthesia since you came out of it."
"Well, I'm not going anywhere. You can't get rid of me that easily, Bleach boy," Xander sent with a mental chuckle. His expression suddenly sobered, and he kissed Spike softly. "Gods, I've missed you."
Spike stroked his mate's cheek gently as he fought to control his emotions. "I missed you too," he replied. "But if you ever put yourself in danger like that again, I'll kill you."
"Mr. Stuart?" came the hesitant question from the doorway. A nurse stood with a syringe in her hand with Willow peering anxiously over her shoulder.
"We're all right now," Spike replied as he twisted around to face the two women. One hand remained on Xander's neck in a comforting gesture. Though the younger male had calmed enough to build up his shields again, Spike could still pick up his residual fear and uneasiness. "Xan was just disoriented when he woke up and was struggling. I didn't want him to accidentally hurt himself."
The nurse nodded and set the syringe on the counter next to Xander's file. "Doctor Monachelli will still want to take a look at you, but I'll leave this here in case you have trouble sleeping," she said. Fishing around in her lab coat pocket, she pulled out three pill bottles and set them on the counter after briefly checking the labels. "These are your medications; both the Prednisolone and the Clindamycin have refills approved, but only take the Demerol if you absolutely need it. The other two are a minor steroid and an antibiotic."
"Plus a little vamp blood to speed up the process," Spike sent. "I want you back on your feet an' able to travel as soon as possible."
"Because of the prophecy?"
Spike looked at him sharply. Xander couldn't possibly know about that yet! "I thought we agreed not to pry for information," he replied tightly. He hadn't felt Xander's probe, but the young telepath was far more experienced than the vampire.
"I didn't probe; I got a message from the Powers while I was out. I'll fill you in once we're alone," Xander sent defensively. Spike raised a curious eyebrow, but kept his silence. He was picking up a faint emotion that Xander couldn't quite suppress, though he wasn't experienced enough to identify it.
"We'll probably decrease your fluids tomorrow morning," the nurse continued, oblivious to the exchange between the two men. "Doctor Monachelli should be in shortly to check up on you. I believe he's looking at your post-op radiographs right now."
As the nurse finished speaking, the door opened to admit a tall, middle-aged man in a white lab coat. This wasn't the same doctor who had been treating Xander, Spike noticed. Instantly uneasy, the vampire shifted closer to his mate.
"Good to see that you're back among the living, Mr. Harris; I'm Doctor Monachelli," the man said with an easy smile. He reached out and gently brushed Xander's fingertips with his own, then shook Spike's and Willow's hands. "You must be William Stuart," he said, looking at Spike, "and you would be Miss..."
"Rosenburg," Willow supplied. "Willow Rosenburg. I'm one of Xander's friends." She had moved to sit next to Xander now that she was confident Spike had no objection to her presence.
Monachelli smiled. "It's great that you have so many supporters! I've notified your father and he said he should be here as soon as he can."
Spike felt Xander's disappointment at Dalton's absence and squeezed his hand gently. "Daylight, love. I've been here since last night, but Dalton was needed back at the den. He'll be here as soon as the sun sets."
Monachelli switched the viewing screen on and shuffled through several radiographs. "Right now I've some good news and some bad news," he said as he checked the label on a particular film. "Which would you rather have first?"
Xander glanced at Willow, then at Spike. "Might as well get the bad news over with," he replied, wincing as he shifted on the bed. "I mean, hey, at least I'm not dead! How bad could it be?"
"Well, have a look for yourself," said Monachelli. He slid a film onto the screen. "This is your spine before your surgery."
The sight sent chills down Spike's spine despite the fact that he'd seen the films before. Seeing them again was a terrifying reminder of Xander's mortality.
"Fortunately, it was only slightly cracked and the spinal cord was unharmed. A sealant was applied to the vertebrae, but it could still break if stressed," Monachelli explained, adding the post-op film to the screen. "You're a very lucky man, Mr. Harris. By all accounts, your spine should be broken," he said frankly. "You should thank whatever higher power you believe in that you're not dead."
Xander swallowed heavily. "I will."
The doctor replaced the films on the screen with two new ones. "This is your right arm; it was a clean break and I don't see any problems with it healing. Your father told me you had broken it before, so I want you to be careful with it from now on! Bones are more susceptible to fractures if they've been broken before," he said sternly.
"However, I'm more concerned about your left arm than your right one. The weapon tore the muscle in your shoulder. It's not fatal, we were able to stitch it up nicely, but I do want you in physical therapy when you've recovered enough," Monachelli continued. "I can tell you that arm will never be as strong or flexible as it was because of the extent of the muscle damage. I want you to be prepared for that, understand?"
"Yes, sir," Xander said, resting his head against Spike's arm for support. "I didn't realise it was that bad," he sent.
"The doctors were amazed you hadn't suffered more permanent damage."
"How long will he have to stay here?" Willow asked.
Monachelli leaned against the counter and regarded the trio thoughtfully. "It depends on how long his back takes to heal," he replied. "I'd say at least two months, then coming back twice a week for physical therapy and re-checks."
Spike cursed silently as he strengthened his mental shields to hide his frustration from Xander. He had wanted to get out of this godforsaken town as soon as possible and now his plans had been significantly delayed.
He checked his watch impatiently. Six-thirty. Dalton would probably arrive shortly, which would give Spike the chance to feed and check in on the translation progress. He was reluctant to leave Xander's side, but he needed to get his plans underway as quickly as possible. The uneasy feeling that they were running out of time only fueled his impatience and made him anxious to leave. Spike knew they were racing the clock, but he had yet to figure out what they were racing toward.
tbc...