Author's Notes:  If you've ever had an ugly confrontation with an ex, you know where this one is going to go...

Yet again, thank you one and all for taking the time to give me feedback on this. Thank you, and please keep leaving it. Feedback IS helping me write this. Coin of the realm here folks.

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There was Xander and Drusilla standing there talking with... Spike. *Oh Damn.* She raised the window just a little so she could hear better.

"Id like a moment of her time, if you don't mind Whelp." Spike almost sounded like the old him for a moment. "Just to talk. After all you do trust me don't you?" He added in his sarky voice.

"It's alright kitten." Dru commented from next to him. "Spikey and I need to have this talk... You know that."

"Yea, I know Dru..." Xander trailed off with a goofy smile aimed at the beautiful vampire.

As the two wandered over towards the darkness by the side of the house, Xander turned towards the other direction.

"And I assume that you would like to have a few words in private with me also?" he asked in a clear voice.

Willow flinched as she saw who came out of the shadows.

"Alexander LaVelle Harris: You. Bet. Your. ASS!"

"Hello Anya." He replied quietly.

"Oh Shit!" Willow exclaimed and then ran for the stairs.

"Don't you 'Hello Anya' me, Xander Harris!"

He just cocked his head to the side and smiled a sad smile. "Okay. Bye Anya." He turned his head a little further, he could almost feel Dru smiling at him in his head and he could definitely hear the sound of footsteps running down Buffy's stairs.

"Don't you say 'Bye' to me! I said we need to talk."

*Two... One...* BANG! He winced as the door to the house literally bounced off of the wall and Willow came flying out of the house towards them.

"Oh great." Anya flung her hands up in the air. "It's your Willow to the rescue."

As Willow skidded to a stop and tried to catch her breath Xander just stood there looking at Anya. "I didn't ask her to be here An... Now, what do you want?"

"What do I want? I want to know just what in the name of D'Hoffran do you think you're doing?" she asked pointedly ignoring Willow's presence. If Xander wanted this to be public, well, she'd never had a problem with that.

"What do you care Anya?" This was said with a slightly vicious undertone that set both Anya and Willow back a pace. "I tried to talk to you Anya. I tried more than once. You got your 'demon' back on and was all happy being pissed at me remember?"

"You're the one who left me at the Altar, remember?"

"How could I forget?" He replied quietly. "You know why I left also..."

"Damn it Xander, I told you then that what he showed you wasn't necessarily what would really happen."

"But it could happen!"  Xander started to pace back and forth a bit. "Do you really think I want to be my father?" he asked quietly. "Do you think I would even take the chance that I would end up like that? If you do, then you never knew me at all."

"Look Xander...."

"No. You look Anya. You want to know why? Because I had no choice. Look around you Anya. We are losing. The town is damn near deserted; the First and the Bringers are winning. I had to do something."

"Why you? Why is it always you that has to do something?" Why are you married and giving orgasms to that... that..."

"Don't finish that comment An... Don't." Xander's voice had gone cold as he stopped pacing and stared at her hard.

She actually managed to close her mouth and not finish the sentence for a change, and she and Willow could only stare at him.

"I didn't go down there with the intent of being Claimed, Anya. I went down there to get Turned." He started pacing again. "I didn't go down there expecting to find Drusilla at all. I sure as hell didn't go down there and do this just to piss off you and the Billy Idol wannabe."  Suddenly he started pacing again.

"Well what did you expect for everyone to think when you come back here with your new orgasm buddy?"

"Damn it Anya! Do you know how many women I have had sex with since you and I broke up? Do you?" Xander started walking closer and closer towards her. When he was about two feet away from her he leaned down and just glared into her eyes. "None."

Anya's jaw dropped a good inch or so and Willow started blushing furiously. Maybe coming down to this little meeting hadn't been one of her brighter ideas...

Suddenly Anya managed to find her voice "Oh. I'm just sure that you and your Vampire haven't been sharing some wonderful orgasms." She stated sarcastically.

Unfortunately for her, her words just managed to truly piss off the man standing in front of her. "No Anya. Unlike some other people, I have some self control." His voice came out in a low rasp. "Unlike some people I have decided to try and be somewhat decent." His voice dropped even a bit lower. "It sure didn't take you long to be fucking Spike on the table at the store did it Anya?"

As she started to open her mouth, he cut her off ruthlessly. "You and Spike ruined two people lives that night Anyanka."

At his use of her 'full' name she blanched and Willow squeaked.

"Yea, I screwed up. I left you at the Altar. After I get these wonderful visions of what could be from someone that you screwed over a couple of hundred years ago. Well, you know what? Sometimes there is no right answer to the problems I face. I did the best I could."

"That was the best you could do? Leaving me at the Altar?"

"Is it the fact that I left you or the fact that I left you at the Altar that pisses you off the most Anya?"

"What?"

"Because I'm William the bloody Bloody is why!"  Xander whirled around and almost started in the direction of the two Vampires across the way but then he stopped and turned back towards the two surprised women.

"Not going to go take care of your Drusilla?" Anya almost hissed.

"No. I don't need to. She's got her problems to try and straighten out. I have mine."

"Oh, so I'm a problem now am I?"

*Sigh* "God, I hate trying to talk to you. Have you ever noticed that we can't talk? Have you?" Xander started pacing again "We never really talked Anya. We had pillow talk after sex, but we never talked."

"I tried talking to you..."

"I meant about something other than sex and the perks of Capitalism Anya." He replied exasperated.

"Damn it Xander! If this is how you really feel then why did you propose in the first place?"

"You know what? I'm starting to wonder that same thing myself. It's not like we have that much in common after all."

Willow was starting to get really nervous by this point. She'd come down here with the intent of trying to stop any major blow-ups but didn't know how she was going to accomplish it. And the conversation was rapidly headed southwards, it had all the earmarks of a truly ugly lovers argument.

"Awww screw it. Never mind Anya. It's not worth it."

"Are you saying I'm worthless now?" If looks could kill Xander would have been DOA.

*Uh oh* Willow started to back up a little. *It's a real good thing that she's no longer a Vengeance Demon any longer*

Xander started to say something but was ruthlessly cut off by Anya's tirade

"You leave me at the Altar. You act all noble and martyred over me and Spike. You leave us all to go down to LA on some 'special mission'. You come back here with your precious cuddle Vampire who lets us all know that she's in love with you and you're in love with Faith." She finally would down and just stared at him for a moment. "Well, did I miss anything? Huh, did I?"

"Anya, look..."

"Oh shut up you lesbian Wicca."

"That will be quite enough."

"Xander..."

"I said enough!" Xander paused for a moment and seemed to gather his breath. "Damn it Anya, it's not always about orgasms!" He roared suddenly.

"Obviously you didn't bother listening earlier; I'll try and make you understand." Suddenly Xander's voice got a lot quieter. "Don't worry An, I'll use small words and talk slowly so you can understand. I love all of you. All of you. I've loved Willow since the first time I met her as kids. I've loved Buffy for years. I love Giles as the father I wished I'd had, and Joyce as the mother I've always wanted. I love Faith, whether she'll ever believe that or not. I even still love you despite what we've done to each other.  Drusilla believes she loves me. That is my fault and I am taking responsibility for it. Do I love her? No. Could I? I... I don't know. But, and I'm going to repeat this in an effort to get your attention. BUT, what gave you the idea I NEED your approval to do a god damned thing?"

Xander started pacing yet again as he continued to talk. "I don't need Buffy's permission or approval for what I did and I sure as hell don't need yours. I made a decision. Me. It was my decision on what I needed to do to try and insure that we all survive the next week or so, so you and Buffy and all the rest can bitch about how unthoughtful I was." Xander's voice started getting a bit louder as his pacing increased.

"Xan..."

"Just shut up and listen Anya and then you can go back in there and snuggle up with your buddy-murdering little bunjumper!"

blink-blink

*Oh shit. Oh shit. Oh Shit. He cannot be meaning what I think he is... Ewww...* Willow's face managed to go from beet-red to an almost pea-green and back to red again.

"Do you think I'm stupid Anya? Do you?" Xander stared at his former fiancee, locking his gaze to hers until she looked aside in... shame? "You've been acting all hurt and mistreated and this whole time you've been cuddling up with a piece of shit that murdered his own friend!"

"You have no right to..."

"You're right Anya! I have no right. Neither do you. That's what I've been trying to tell you! I'm my own person. You are your own person. If you want to get together with Andrew for some of your damn orgasms, then fine. Just don't be to surprised if you catch it in the back one day."

Anya could only stand there with her mouth hanging open.

Xander could feel Drusilla walking up behind him as he stood there waiting to see if Anya had any further comments to make.

"It's time for us to be going kitten."

"I know Dru." Xander replied, reaching backwards and grabbing her hand lightly without ever actually looking to see where she was.

"Good night Willow." Xander looked at her with his old quirky smile for a moment. "Thanks for trying to be there." Drusilla spared Willow a small secretive smile.

As Willow stuttered out a parting comment he turned slightly towards Anya. "Night Anya."  His companion on looked at her blandly and then sniffed.

There was no reply from her, she just stood there staring at them as they turned to leave.

As they headed towards the car, Xander didn't even bother turning his head towards the line of hedges as he called out a simple "And goodnight to you also Faith."

End of Chapter 8.

Stay tuned for another chapter within two weeks or so.

Oh. The action part of this little tale is next.

Same Grrr time. Same Grrr Channel.