Author's Notes: Wow, there's even more feedback. I really wasn't expecting this for this story. I sure didn't start out writing this as a multi-chapter story; it just seems to keep growing. Thank you all for the feedback, and please keep leaving it. This thing is definitely taking a life of its own, and the feedback IS helping me write this. Coin of the realm here folks.

Whooo... Okay, I stayed up when I should have been sleeping and I finished this chapter. Well, when I could manage to pull myself away fro playing ZAngband. If you have any remembrance of an old RPG game called 'Rogue' you might want to check out the game at www.ZAngband.org  The graphics are non-existent, but it's addictive and fun. Hey, it's free too!

*___________*__________*

"Giles?!"

Rupert Giles, ex-Librarian and ex-Watcher, winced at the shout. He'd really hoped that this conversation would never, ever, come up. He well knew his charge's… peculiarities, and he just knew that this was going to distract her from the problems at hand.

"Perhaps we could discuss this back at your house? The parking lot of a cemetery is not exactly conducive to reasoned discussion."

Xander refrained from commenting on the fact that the parking lot was just fine to discuss his problems a couple of minutes ago but now it wasn't for Giles' problems.

Buffy looked as if she wanted to argue it out, but then she nodded slowly and went over to gather up the slayers-in-training from where they were lounging.

Spike and Anya hesitated for a moment, looking at their respective ex's before silently following Buffy.

Giles sighed mightily and then wiped the sweat that had suddenly appeared on his forehead off with his hand. He looked over at Xander and Dru with a rueful expression.

"Don't look at me –G-man… I didn't know about this."

"Watcher-Owl keeps secrets from his Fluffy-Taffy girl and then wonders why she's mad when she finds out?" Dru looked him hard in the face. "It's not my fault you didn't tell her." She sniffed daintily. "Maybe telling her that she wasn't all that special would have made her a better girl? She wants her cake and tea but doesn't want to share." Dru's voice grew a little stern as she pointed her finger at the ex-Watcher. "You spoiled her, you did. You were her Daddy. It's your fault." Saying this she spun on her heel and marched over to the car, climbing in to the passenger side and slamming the door.

Xander could only shrug his shoulders at the perplexed look on Giles' face. "Women… Who can figure them out? Not me… not even the dead ones…" On that note Xander left Giles standing there and headed over to the car himself.

*________*__________*_______________*

Xander slumped behind the steering wheel and let out a long shuddering breath that he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.

"I… I'm sorry Kitten."

"It's okay Dru. Really."

I know I shouldn't be so mean to your family kitten, but they make me want to scream. They make Miss Edith upset, they do."

"I know Dru… I know. They make me so angry at times too. All of the me's. They only see what they want to see and ignore the rest. But they're all I've had for so long Dru."

Drusilla instantly closed the distance between them and held him in a strong hug. "Shhh kitten, I know. I know. It's so hard when you're lonely. As my poor kitten has been for so long."

"I haven't been alone, I've had my friends."

Drusilla pulled back and looked him in the eyes for a long moment.

"Alexander." Xander looked at her in shock. It was the first time he'd ever heard her use his full real name, and he was certain she did so for a reason.

"There's one thing I do know, that you also know: There's one thing worse than being all alone… and that's being all alone in a crowd." She stared into his eyes and cupped his face with her hands, trying to tell him that he'd never be alone again.

Xander didn't really have a reply to that, so he just started the car up and headed towards 1630 Revello Drive.

*_________*__________*_______________*

The lights were on full force at Buffy's house as Xander pulled into the driveway. Taking a deep breath he steeled himself for what he was about to face.

There were no comments made as Xander and Dru walked up to the door. It was opened just as they stepped up and Buffy was standing there quietly looking at them. Xander smiled sheepishly and entered. Just as Buffy was opening her mouth, Dru walked across the doorstep following right behind Xander.

With no invitation.

"What?!" Buffy boggled at the fact that Dru was able to enter freely, but before she could do more than sputter Xander was run into full tilt by a yelling Dawn.

"Xander!" She exclaimed happily as she nearly tackled him. "Where have you been? Did you bring me anything? Who... is... this?" Dawn's frantic rambling trailed off as she finally noticed Dru standing just behind and to the right of Xander.

"Dawnster... This is Drusilla." Xander turned slightly in order to make a triangle of the three of them. "Drusilla, this is Dawn."

Dawn had pulled back a little instinctively. She already knew without being told that the woman in front of her was a vampire.

"Ello Little Key. I'm happy to meet one that kitten loves so much."

Despite her apprehension that Drusilla knew exactly who (and more importantly, what) she was Dawn picked up on Dru's reference to her Xan-man. "Kitten?" she asked arching her eyebrows. She looked at Xander with a smirk on her face. "Drusilla the Vampiress calls you Kitten?"

Xander laughed freely for the first times in days as he staggered back a little clutching at his chest. "Ouch! Hull breach on deck 'C' Captain..."

Buffy and the rest could only watch the interplay between the three in astonishment. Dawn was taking to Drusilla as if she was just some normal person!

"Dawn..." Buffy almost hissed. "She's a Vampire!"

"Yea? So?" Dawn rolled her eyes and looked at her sister with unveiled contempt. "So's your boyfriend remember? You know, one of my bestest friends? The guy you had watch over me a lot." Spike managed to go from a look of resentment towards Dru and Xander to a look of astonished happiness in those few words. Dawns' anger at him for his previous deeds had hurt him greatly and her simple admission had shown she still cared.

"Dawn, it's not the same..."

Dawn merely looked over at Xander. "Is she with you?" She asked simply.

"Uhmmm... yea" Xander replied hesistantly. He really hated being between Dawn and Buffy during one of their arguments. Dru started smiling broadly. She already had guessed what the Little Key was up to. "Do you trust her?"

"Yes" He answered immediately. Anya, over on the sidelines scowled a little bit harder.

"Is she going to bite or attack anyone here?"

"No. Not unless they attack her first." He amended. "Course they're going to have to go thru me before they get to her."

Dawn spared a small smile for Cave-man-Xan and his protectiveness before she turned her gaze back on her sister.

"Like I said: So? What's the big, Buffy? Let's see... Your ex is a Vampire. Spike is a Vampire. Now you're upset 'cause Xander is here with a Vampire... Gee hypocrite much?"

"Dawn!" Buffy was outraged and Spike was somewhere between being pissed and laughing. It wasn't often that Dawn managed to get the better of her sister in such a manner and she'd also managed to mostly defuse the time bomb that having Dru in the house could be with a few simple questions and comments.

"What's with all the fussing?" Willow leaned halfway out of the doorway to the dining room and looked around. "Oh. Hi Xander. Hi Drusilla..." Her voice trailed off as she stared at Dru less than four feet away from her. "Oh... Oh my."

*Sigh* Xander could feel a headache coming on. *Here we go again.*

*_________*____________*________________*

Surprisingly, it had only taken about fifteen minutes of sitting and talking with Willow before she'd managed to quit completely freaking out.  After a further thirty minutes she was almost at ease. Buffy, Giles and the rest had amazingly enough left the three of them alone for almost a full hour in order to let Willow and her life-long friend attempt to reconcile what had occurred in their lives.

Xander gave Willow a no-holds-bared account of his actions of the last three days, starting with his overhearing their plans to get him and Dawn out of the way and ending with his and Dru's appearance here.

*_______*__________*______________*

"Well, I can't say I'm perfectly okay with it all but...." Willow's voice trailed off as she and Xander exchanged rueful looks. Drusilla sat quietly next to him, drinking in their feelings for each other. It was one thing to have Miss Edith and the Stars tell her all about the Little Tree and her kitten and another thing to actually see them draw strength from each other.

"Ahem." Giles's attempt subtly interrupting them had the three of them almost simultaneously rolling their eyes.

"Yes Giles..."

If you three are quite caught up, Buffy is very interested in hearing about certain... things." Giles' voice trailed off and he looked at Drusilla a trifle accusatory.

"Yes. Quite." Xander's attempt at a British accent on those two words had both of the women giggling.

*Good Lord, Willow and Xander sitting at a table with Drusilla and laughing. The World is going to end*

*_________*___________*___________*

 It was an abbreviated Council of War that sat around the Summers' dining room table. Buffy and Anya were on one side, with Spike sitting at Buffy's left hand while Xander, Drusilla, and Dawn sat on the other side. Willow and Giles each sat at an end and it almost seemed as if the battle lines had been drawn.

Xander was very worried as Spike had uncharacteristically been very quiet earlier and showed no signs as of yet of speaking up.

"Where's the dark-Dragon?" Dru finally asked quietly. Her absence was affecting her kitten, making him edgy.

Buffy had a blank look on her face, so Giles responded. "She and Principle Wood are out... Patrolling."

Xander frowned a little at hearing this but made no comment.

"Who cares? I want some answers about what she said earlier." It seemed that Buffy was bound and determined to set the tone and the pace of what was to come. "I've been patient and waited like a good girl and I want to know what Dru meant."

"Yes, well... To recap for the people who were not present earlier. Drusilla claimed..."

"Damn it Giles, enough already. Miss Fruit-loop here said I wasn't 'The' Slayer. She said I was just 'A' Slayer. What? Do I come in six-packs now?" Buffy's attempt at some humor at the end of her comment fell flat and all realized that she was extremely upset and worried over the topic.

"Yes. Well. You see, it's like this Buffy. When you died the first time. The time when Xander performed mouth to mouth resuscitation, and revived you. You were dead long enough for the Powers to call another Slayer."

"Yea, I got that. Kendra. You know, as in the girl that Xander's honey here killed?"

Xander and Dru both stiffened at Buffy's words, but neither one rose to the bait.

Dru knew that Xander had cared somewhat for the Slayer that she had killed. It had been one of the biggest topics that they had talked about before her Claiming of him. Xander for his part knew that Slayers and Vampires were natural enemies and were bound to battle. He knew what Dru had done and why. It also occurred to him that yet again, Buffy was being more than a little hypocritical what with her having the killer of two Slayers sitting at her side.

 Giles sighed yet again and he could feel his headache starting again. "Yes. Uhmmm... Ahem. Anyways, After Kendra's death Faith was chosen. However, when you Buffy, died the second time, there was no new Slayers called." His voice trailed off there and he looked around the table in order to see if what he had said had gotten thru to them all.

"That's it? That's the great secret?" Buffy huffed as she sat there with her arms crossed.

"Buffy, don't you get it?" Willow's voice held the usual enthusiasm it always seemed to hold when she was tackling a new problem. "What Giles is saying is that after you died the first time that any further 'deaths' by you wouldn't call any more Slayers. The inheritance had already passed on as it were." Willow was starting to reach babble-mode and her words started coming faster and faster. "That's why the Council was trying to kill Faith. They knew that her death would bring about another Slayer. One that they could hopefully control. They weren't worried about you because you were a... I don't know... a dead end?"

Several people winced at Willow's appraisal of the situation but no one could truly deny her comments. It made all too much sense in a cold evil way.

Buffy had fallen back a bit and was plainly shocked. She didn't even react as Spike reached out and put his hand on her in an attempt to comfort her.

"If I may? Drusilla, how did you know all of this about which Slayer was the 'active' one?" Giles asked as calmly as he could in a effort to change the subject.

"Miss Edith whispered to me the words from the stars."

"Oh great, more news from the stars." Buffy grumped. "She's a loon Xander!"

Dru's head slowly turned until she was looking the small blonde woman square in the eyes. "I listen to what the Stars have to say and you call me crazy. You ignore the stars even when they're screaming at you, and I call you deaf."

Pure silence reigned at the table as all present tried to digest that comment.

Anya started to open her mouth twice but actually seemed to reconsider, and she finally just sat back and glared at Xander and Dru.

Finally Buffy managed to catch her thoughts and she rounded on Xander. "I can't believe that you bound yourself to her in an effort to 'help'. God Xander, just what the hell were you thinking, or did you even bother to think? And you wonder why we wanted you out of the way?" Even as Buffy said the words she knew that she'd gone too far.

Xander's face drained of all its color and he grunted as if belly –punched.

"You Bitch!" Drusilla surged to her feet before Xander's hand on her arm could stop her. "Kitten has done so much for all of you and this is how you treat him?" It was like a car wreck in slow motion. Everyone at the table could only watch as the spectacle unfolding before them. "He has saved your lives he has, more times than you know."

As Buffy started to sputter, Drusilla smiled a particularly vicious smile and Xander could only groan. He didn't know what Dru was going to say and he wasn't sure he wanted to hear it, but Dru was going to have her say no matter what.

"Oh sure, you sort of know about the first time he saved Fluffy and then everyone when the Little Tree went all 'Grrrr'." Dru spared a little smile for Willow at that comment, as if to say that Willow had been yummy when she was evil and Willow of course blushed and stammered.

"Yea, well he…"

"He made Not-Daddy help you when he didn't want to… Down in the tunnels. "

*Oh shit* Xander looked at Dru in supplication, but she carried on nonetheless.

"He saved you from Daddy he did." Dru stated staring directly at Buffy.

"What?"

"He saved you from Daddy when you were in the white room and all hurted."

Buffy's face fell as she realized that Dru was referring to when she'd been in the hospital back when Angel had been Angelus.

"Then he saved you all from the zombies and their bomb."

"Huh?" This was said by several people at almost the same time.

By this point Xander was holding his face with his hands and studying the tabletop, his coloring had come back and it was obvious that he was embarrassed and wished that Dru would stop.

Dru's voice broke a little as she continued. "He saved the Dark-Dragon from the Demons that same night and has tried ever since then to save her from herself…  'E loves her, he does…" Her voice trailed off and she looked down at Xander and smiled wistfully. "Kitten loves his Dark-Dragon no matter the cost. Kitten doesn't have to love, but he does. 'E doesn't have to help but 'E won't let 'imself not help."

The look on her face grew sadder.

"Kitten doesn't love me. Even the stars don't know if he ever will. He told me that it was a spell that makes me think I love 'im." She placed both of her hands down on the table as if to help steady herself and stared out at the assembled people watching her. "The feelings may have been put there by something else but they're mine now. Mine! I love my kitten and I'll do anything I can to make him happy. 'E bound himself

to me of his own free will because he wants to help you, because he loves you. All of you."

Tears of blood started to slowly trickle down her face as she spoke. "Alexander will never love me the way he loves his Dark-Dragon. I know that. But that won't stop me from loving him and helping him. He knows how I feel… Now so do you. I won't stop my kitten from helping you. I wouldn't even ask him not to. I will be there with him. If we die, then we die, but if we do, then my kitten will die knowing that someone truly loved him and that he won't die alone."  Dru's voice finally fell off and she just stood there crying.

Xander stood and gathered Dru into his arms, holding her as she cried. The look on his face was undecipherable as he rubbed her back and slowly turned her away from the table in order to leave. His voice was thick with emotion as he said over his shoulder that they were leaving now, and they'd be back the next night in order for them to patrol or whatever.

As he turned around, he noticed Faith for the first time, standing in the doorway to the dining room. It was obvious from the look on her face that she had been there for quite some time.

Unfortunately, Robin Wood stood there next to her and he had a stake in his hand.

Even as Xander registered the look of hate on Wood's face as the man started towards them, he found himself reacting.

Xander seemed to move a bit faster than normal as Dru was shifted out of the way towards Xander's left side and then Mr. Robin Wood, high school Principal, and son of a Slayer, found himself looking down the barrel of a Colt 45 pistol.

A pistol that was barely 12 inches from his head.

"You take one more step towards her and you won't have to worry about Spike killing you... Cause I will."

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End of Chapter 5.

Stay tuned for another exciting chapter within a week. Same "Grrr" time. Same "Grrr" Channel.