Chapter 7

AN: School is over – consider things actually went well and they all graduated (except Faith, she's still subjected to another year of high school). Buffy and Willow are still going to Sunnydale University, Giles is now a gentleman of leisure, Wuss is the librarian, Finch is the Mayor and Methos has resigned his post as a teacher (you'll see why, later).

AN2: TONS of flashbacks, I hope they aren't too confusing. And now, on to the good stuff.

(Flashback - Sunnydale)

"You know, I think I almost miss the whole Apocalypse at the end of the school year thing," Buffy said as she took off her graduation gown to reveal her semi-formal clothing.

"Then you need help, Buffy," Willow said as she did the same, neatly folding her gown.

"Could be worse," Oz chipped in, doing the same as the girls.

Xander looked at him, "How's that?"

"We could have blown up the school."

Faith snarled, from her seat in Xander's lap, "Would have suited me just fine – YOU don't have another year left."

Oz nodded, "There is that." He looked over at Xander, then, frowning, "So, how are you going to do this?"

Xander arched an eyebrow, "Do what?"

"Date Faith, a minor, while you're in college." Their SAT scores had come in and, while Willow had done as well as expected, Buffy did better than them all and Xander had fallen just above average at 1100 – his ego could handle the fact he'd been beaten by two girls, easily, but the galling part of it all was that Buffy had done it with ease, so he chalked it up to a Slayer thing. Xander had been accepted into UC Sunnydale (aka Sunnydale U) without any real problems, but still, Oz was right – what about Faith?

Faith, apparently, had the answer already, "So what? Stud's mine – I can wait … well, for a while." She turned and looked at Xander, "January tenth, stud, I'm legal."

He nodded, knowing what that meant – he and Faith would be missing classes that day, "Duly noted."

Oz nodded at this, "Problem solved, then." They all walked out of the back room of the library and met up with the adults of the group, at which point Oz asked, "So … now what?"

"Whatever it is that you do over the summer," Adam said with a grin on his face, "but Alexander and I have a trip to take up to Washington."

Xander groaned – ever since the Mayor had been taken care of, Methos had been taking to teaching him all kinds of things as far as sword work and being an Immortal went, but had also been planning a get-together at a bar named 'Joe's' and something about a 'breaking in' party. Xander had called Amanda about this and, once she had gotten over her gales of laughter, had not been heartened to hear that he'd be fine, 'just trust him, Alexander.'

Methos shot him a look, "No comments from the cheap seats – Mac kept me from doing this with Richie, but there's not Scot around to save you from my plans."

Faith glared at Methos, "Boytoy's straight, so don't go makin' him bi, ya hear?"

Methos snorted, "I'd never DREAM of taking away your favorite plaything, Slayer, not in that respect – I like my head right where it is." Methos walked over and clapped Xander on the shoulder, "It's a time honored tradition, my boy."

Xander arched an eyebrow before he looked at Giles, "Why do I get the feeling I'm going to end up paying for this?"

Giles only chuckled, "Because you're probably right, Xander."

(End Flashback)

"Ow." Xander's memory started to clear from the quick one he'd had from just before he left school for the last time, and even as he opened his eyes, carefully, he wondered just why the hell he was wearing a lampshade on his head.

"Seconded." He looked over at the person who had spoken and saw, somewhat surprisingly, that the speaker was not only female, but also as naked as he was … and when had they gotten to bed?

"Um … I don't mean to sound rude … but who are you?" He took off the lampshade and looked around – brick walls, dark wood furniture, a slightly musty smell in the room, it was a bedroom, alright, but whose bedroom was it?

His bedmate looked up at him and frowned, "I could ask you the same question, kid."

Her eyes were like a stormy blue cloud, her skin slightly weathered, her hair like a raven's wing and … oh, fuck, NOW he understood why his head hurt so much – she was an Immortal, "Um … Alexander Harris."

She blinked and then nodded, "Cassandra." She looked around and frowned, "What are we doing in Duncan's bedroom?"

Xander shrugged a little, shaking his head and looking around for a second to find his pants, "Not sure." Finding them, he reached down and promptly fell out of bed, "Ow."

Cassandra leaned over, the sheet falling away just a touch, "Are you … okay?" He looked up and saw a slight smirk on her face, "Well, at least you can say that no woman would laugh."

He took a breath and repressed his want to blush, instead just pulling on his pants and buttoning them up, looking anywhere but her as he found another pair and tossed them to her, "Um … I hate to ask … but did we …?"

Cassandra, after pulling the sheet away, doing something with her hands under the sheet, and then shrugging started pulling on her pants, answering, "No, no sex, only sleep, Alexander." She crawled off of the bed, still topless, and kissed him on the cheek, "It's nice to see there are still some gentlemen out there." With that, she walked off to find her top, leaving Xander there to contemplate just what had happened the previous night.

(Flashback – Previous Day – Joe's Bar)

"Hey, Adam," came a smoky, aged voice from behind the bar as they walked into a small blues bar that Xander automatically felt nice in. The man behind the bar had salt and pepper hair, more salt than anything, a lined, weathered face and a friendly aura about him that Xander immediately trusted.

"Hey, Joe." Methos walked in and took up a stool at the bar, "Joe, meet Xander. Xander, meet Joe."

The man looked at him and nodded, "Pleasure, kid."

Xander nodded back, "Nice place."

Joe grinned, "It pays the bills." The guy reached down and pulled out two bottles, though not the same kind, and put them out in front of them, "So, Adam, what brings you here?"

Methos twisted the top off of his beer, "He knows who I am, Joe, he's Amanda's student."

Joe nodded, "I know, I've read his file."

Xander twisted off the top of his own beer (though of the root variety) looked at Methos for a second and then caught a flash of blue on Joe's left wrist, "You're a Watcher?"

Joe nodded, "Not many know who we are, kid, but then again, not many have Ripper Giles as their Watcher." The mortal man looked at Methos, "So, what brings you here, old man?"

Methos snorted, "Watch who you're calling 'old', brat, and I brought Xander here for the standard Watcher's Initiation."

Joe winced for some reason and Xander's ill feeling came back, "Come on, Methos, don't do this to the kid."

Methos gave Joe a grin, "It's alright, Joe, I think he can handle it."

(End Flashback)

Xander pulled on his shirt as that figment of his memory faded and, when he looked up, he saw the still-topless Cassandra (and was the room THAT cold?) in the doorway, grinning at him and motioning for him to follow her.

In the living room of the loft-style apartment, there were several pieces of nice art and more than a few priceless antiques, but by far the most eye-catching thing was on the couch – Methos, dressed in a toga and spooning Duncan MacLeod of the clan MacLeod. Now, that in and of itself wasn't what was eye-catching, but what was, was that not only was Duncan wearing a skirt … no, a kilt, knee socks and no shoes, but his hair, which he had re-grown down to his back, was in PIGTAILS!

Even as he heard Cassandra rooting around for what he assumed was a camera, Xander felt an evil grin cross his face as he turned and started to help Cassandra find that camera (and was it really that cold in the room? It wasn't that she wasn't hard to look at, but … she was distracting him.)

Revenge, as the Sicilian's were quoted to have said, was a dish best served cold, and Xander wanted to serve up heaping helpings of it after the previous night.

(Flashback)

He and Methos had been at Joe's Bar for about an hour at that point, and Xander was currently in a rather heated debate on which the better Blues musician was, BB King or Eric Clapton when he felt another presence in his mind, the presence of another Immortal.

The door opened and Duncan MacLeod walked into the bar, a grin on his face, "Joe!"

Joe looked up and waved, "Hey, Duncan." Joe turned back, "Kid, if you think Clapton is a better Blue man than King, you need your head checked."

Xander looked over and waved, "Hey Duncan, and Joe, I'm just saying there is more to Blues than BB King."

"Hello, Xander," Duncan returned, his tone just a little cooler than it had been when he greeted Joe.

Joe sighed, "Duncan, please."

Duncan glared at Joe and hissed, "He shot me, repeatedly!"

"And you were angry – do you blame him for not wanting to lose his head?" Joe's question hit the mark, apparently, as Duncan calmed and took a seat, accepting the beer that was put before him, "And, kid, I think that Ripper needs to get his head out of England and try some King."

Xander snorted, "Good luck – one time I suggested that he looked at me and called me something even I won't repeat."

Joe snorted, "Knowing Ripper, you're probably better off doing just that." Joe then looked over at Methos, who was idly chatting up a blushing and giggling waitress, and hit the bar a few times with his half-empty bottle of cola, "Hey, Old Man, the third member of your party is here."

Xander and Duncan both repressed a snicker even as Methos shot Joe a dark look, "Don't call me that, Joe." Joe, for his part, just gave Methos a completely innocent look that fell flat as Duncan snickered even louder and Xander shook his head.

"Joe, you need to put more into the eyes if you want to pull the 'I'm innocent' routine." The mortal man nodded even as Methos sniffed, "Now, will somebody tell me what's going on?"

Duncan shook his head, "It's a ritual amongst the Watcher's most recent graduates that Methos wants to put you through."

Xander shook his head, backing away and his hands in the air, "Oh, no, no way, nuh-uh. This kid's been through WAY too many rituals already in his short life and I'm NOT going through another one."

Methos grinned at Xander as Duncan stood and clapped his hands on Xander's shoulders, "It's a rite of passage, Xander, and as Duncan wouldn't let me do it with Richie, I get to do it with you."

Xander looked at Joe for help, but the old man shook his head and hobbled over towards the cash register, "Delivery was made a half-hour ago to Duncan's dojo, Adam, and I expect payment in the morning."

Methos nodded as Duncan turned Xander around and marched him to the door, "Oh, the bill will be settled, Joseph."

(End Flashback)

FLASH!

The Polaroid camera spat out the last picture with a whir even as looked up to see Cassandra walking back into the room, finally wearing a top (though why was it that he felt so suddenly gypped?), and Xander grinned, handing her the developing print, "You realize they're going to kill us, right?"

Cassandra gave him a vastly superior smirk as she took the picture, "No, Alexander, they will try." She handed him his wallet, "Now, let's wait for them to wake up – as I now recall, we weren't properly introduced last night."

He put the camera down and nodded, "Indeed we were not …"

(Flashback)

Xander lifted up his head slowly as he felt an oddly familiar buzzing in his head, blinking owlishly as both Methos and Duncan (who, for some reason, was now in his kilt and knee socks) jerked their heads towards the now-rumbling service elevator, "Huh?"

Methos swore softly as he stood up, though a touch unsteadily, and grabbed for his sword, missing it three times before finally nabbing the blade, "Get up, you bloody Highlander! We're being invaded."

Duncan, even as Xander staggered to his feet, only rolled over into a pile of spent beer cans, hitting the ground heavily before he started to hunt around for his katana.

Xander staggered to his feet, feeling pretty numb from the tips of his fingers to his shoulders, as the elevator opened to reveal a woman with dark hair, a sweater and nice pants, "Wow."

"Duncan? Why are you wearing a … kilt …?" The woman's question cut off to Xander's ears as he pitched forwards – the floor was looking comfy at this point.

Duncan looked at the woman with righteous indignation and shouted, "'Tis nae a kilt! 'Tis a skirt!" Sadly, he failed to notice the woman's now-intense glare at the other occupant, "What're ye doin' here, lass?"

"I could ask HIM the same question, Duncan." Cassandra glared at Methos, who was busily chuckling away, "What are you laughing at?"

"Lightweight," the older Immortal said, looking at the young man that had passed out not long after she had gotten into the room. She was surprised to feel that the child was an Immortal, fairly young, yet powerful, and more to the point, given the way he was laying, very blitzed. "What brings you here, Cassandra?"

"I came to speak to Duncan on a matter of Prophecy." There was a noise from the floor and she looked down to see the young man and that he had raised his right arm, a single digit in the air.

"Fuck prophecy and the horse the bitch rode in on!" The child looked up and glared at her in a drunken manner, "Turn around and leave – I want nothing to do with any prophecy." With that, the child passed out again, leaving Cassandra to shake her head.

Duncan nodded and stamped his foot down, shattering a glass bottle on the floor, "Amen! … Ow."

Cassandra blinked, again, and then looked at Methos, who was muttering again about 'lightweights', "What is going on, Methos?"

"They are being initiated, Cassandra," the Immortal told her in a rather clear voice before reaching down and grabbing a beer, tossing it to her. "Join in, if you like, and we'll talk of Prophecy in the morning."

Cassandra looked first at the beer, then back at Methos, then down at the boy and shrugged her shoulders, taking the boy's seat and using him as a footstool, "It can wait."

(End Flashback)

"So how, exactly, did you and I end up naked in bed, Cassandra?" She looked at the confused young man and felt a blush tinge her cheeks, "Not that I minded, but I'm kinda seeing someone else and she knows how to use a sword."

"I … am not entirely sure of that myself, Alexander." He quirked an eyebrow at her and she went on, "Methos and I have an … odd relationship, to say the least, and when he challenged me to a drinking contest, I could not and would not refuse it."

Alexander looked down at the photos then and an evil grin worthy of Death on a Horse spread across his face, "Well, somehow I get the idea that Methos is behind this … so I'm keeping one or two of these as blackmail material." She nodded at him and he added, "And it's Xander, short for Alexander, which I only get called when I'm in trouble … well, more trouble than I'm generally always in."

She arched an eyebrow at him, "And might I ask where you're from?"

"Sunnydale, California."

Cassandra hissed slightly under her breath and made a gesture to ward off evil, "The Hellmouth."

Xander arched an eyebrow at her, "You've heard of it?"

She nodded, "It's … rather infamous."

He chuckled, "That's putting it mildly. Yup, that's my little corner of hell on Earth, what's yours?"

"Romania, currently," she mumbled, her mind whirling. Alex … Xander was form the Hellmouth! This could not have worked out better if she had planned it herself, "Tell me, Xander, what was it you meant by what you said last night, about Prophecy?"

Xander snorted and reached over to grab an empty cup, the aroma of coffee filling the small kitchen, "Prophecy and I have a mutual respect and dislike for one another, Cassandra – it knows that it can screw with my life as much as it wants as long as it recognizes and accepts that I'm going to stop it from hurting my friends any way I can."

She blinked at this, "You … stop Prophecy?"

Xander nodded crisply, "When it's about the end of the world, the death of a friend or ally, or general badness … yeah, we do." He grinned slightly, "I get a kick out of bitch-slapping Prophecy."

"But … it's Prophecy…"

Xander shrugged at her and poured them both a cup of coffee, "Sugar?" She shook her head and he added sugar (a lot of it) to his coffee, "So? It's not like it's written in stone, and even if it is, then it's generally sandstone."

Cassandra opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by Duncan's groan of, "Ow," and his rolling off of the couch he and Methos were on. She looked and saw him land on his face, his kilt up in the back and exposing he had 'gone commando' under his kilt.

"My eyes!" She turned and saw Xander rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands, vigorously, "Gah, cover him up!"

She sighed and went over, using her foot to cover Duncan's backside, "Wimp." She then looked over at Methos, in his toga, and grinned as she reared back and slammed her foot into his gut, "Wake up, Oh Nosed One."

Methos' response was simple, in Xander's eyes, and rather dastardly as he vomited all over Cassandra's pants and Duncan's couch from the force of the kick – the woman howled in outrage for a moment before she sighed and removed her pants, revealing that she'd found her panties somewhere in the process, and stormed off to the gym locker room soak the garment while finding something else to wear.

"Ow." Xander looked over at Methos, who was rubbing the back of his hand over his mouth while holding his other one to his stomach, "She's in fine humor this morning – what did you do to her, Xander?"

"Nothing, I was a total gentleman, Methos."

Methos gave him an odd look, "Why? That's why I stripped you both and put you into the same bed, so you two could have fun."

Xander arched an eyebrow for a moment before grabbing the other cup of coffee and walking to Methos, "Here you go, old man." With that, he dumped the scalding cup of liquid into the old man's crotch and flung his own into Methos' face.

From the bathroom, Cassandra could hear Methos' howl of agony and then the sound of someone (Xander, most likely) slamming a coffee mug into someone's head, most probably Methos' – she repressed a smile as she scrubbed the vomit out of her pants leg and said nothing as Alexander stormed into the woman's locker room, a pair of pants in his hands a few moments later, "I think you want the other locker room, Xander."

Xander, it appeared, was not in good humor as he snarled and, after turning, slammed his fist into the locker door, denting it and breaking several bones in his hand, "That son of a bitch! He KNOWS I love Faith and he pulls some shit like that!"

Cassandra took the pants from his other hand and put them on, finding that Duncan's denim jeans were a touch on the large side for her, "Oh, he's good at that, Xander, but don't hold it against him – he's a child that never grew up and doesn't know how to act like an adult." She walked over and pulled him to the bench, sitting him down and then straddled his legs, facing him, "Now, listen to me carefully."

"Get off – I'm firmly committed to Faith."

Cassandra shook her head, "If I wanted to bed you I would have relieved THAT particular tension this morning, while we were both in bed and naked, now be quiet and listen." To emphasize her point, she reached up and grabbed Xander by his nose, her storm-blue eyes boring into his own eyes, "Methos is a great many things, and as I said, he and I have a history together, but I do not think he meant any harm by doing this."

Xander looked at her and, after a moment, she released his nose, "Thank you, and he should know better – he's five thousand years old."

She shrugged but did not move from her place, "He should, but he does now. Now, I find myself needing clothing, and I do believe Methos will be providing them – make sure you bring your wallet." She smiled at him, patted him on the cheek and then got off of him, walking out of the locker room and the dojo.

On a hunch, Xander stood up and grabbed his wallet – there, inside of it, was a debit card and a hand-written PIN number, along with a note that said, 'Note to self – change PIN number, I think Cassandra knows this one.'

Xander shook his head and put his wallet and the card back in his pocket – something screwy was going on here.

(Later – Joe's Bar)

Methos looked at Cassandra as she entered and sighed, "How much did this shopping excursion cost me?"

Cassandra, dressed in what appeared to be the finest blue silk business suit he had ever seen, obviously hand-tailored to mould to her body, merely smiled as she stepped to the side and revealed Xander, dressed in a black silk suit, also tailored to his body, "Oh, you'll find out, M … Adam." He winced at the tone, but he wasn't worried – five thousand years, after all, taught one to hoard away for a rainy day. If he wanted to, he could purchase the land and mineral rites to Texas, if he wanted to …

Duncan looked up at them, his face sour, "Where have you two been and what did you do to Adam this morning, Xander?"

"We were shopping, Duncan, and what Alexander did to Adam this morning is the result of the Old Man's meddling in things he shouldn't have been," Cassandra said somewhat coolly as she took a seat, motioning Xander to sit next to her as she tapped the bar. "Two of your finest, Mr. Dawson."

Joe nodded, "What the pretty lady wants, the pretty lady gets."

She smiled at him dazzlingly before turning back to Methos, "Now, about this Prophecy …"

"Hold on, before we go there," Joe cut in, his eyes bright, "the boys have a bit of a balance to pay me."

Duncan shook his head, "Not 'boys', Joe-"

Methos finished and pointed to Xander, "Boy, as in Alexander."

Joe nodded, as if being let in on the big joke, and then looked at Xander, "Dishes are in the back."

Xander just looked at Joe, "Do you really think I didn't see this coming, Joe? I have Ripper Giles as my Watcher, and he's cued me into more than a few of the … 'rites of passage' that go on, especially the ones that leave young graduates broke or in debt for a LONG time." Joe arched an eyebrow at him as he reached into his jacket and pulled out a fine leather wallet, "How much?" Joe quoted him the price and Xander paid it … in all one hundred dollar bills, "Keep the change."

Methos looked at Xander for a moment and then looked at Cassandra, "I'm really not going to like my next bank statement, am I?"

Cassandra only smiled sweetly at him, but that sweet smile had a sword's edge to it, "No, you won't."

(Later – DeSalvo's Gym)

"Alright, Cassandra, what's going on with this 'Prophecy'?" She looked over at Methos, who appeared to be rather irritated, and smiled enigmatically, which didn't do much for his temper, "Well?"

"It involves a pair of Immortals and a child they bear, Methos, so I'll hope you forgive me for not wanting to tell the Watcher." Cassandra enjoyed the stunned look on the faces of both Duncan and Methos, but looked over at Xander, who looked confused, "What is it?"

"Um, not to sound dim, but … I didn't think Immortals COULD have kids, Cassandra."

She nodded, "Indeed, we do not, which is what makes this Prophecy so different."

Methos held up a hand, "Are you sure it means our kind of Immortal, Cassandra? Vampires, for all intents and purposes, are also immortal."

Cassandra shook her head, "No, it's Immortal, as there is to be someone else in the production of the child, and she is very much human – who would sleep with a vampire to begin with? It's disgusting."

Methos looked over at Alexander, who was looking as if he was going to comment, "Xander, don't – it's a sore subject with Cassandra." Xander appeared to drop the subject and Methos went on, "Okay, so two Immortals and a third party – this still doesn't change the fact that Immortals can't have children."

Cassandra shrugged, "Generally, I would agree, but the Prophecy is surprisingly specific on the location that this will take place, Methos – it's on the Mouth of Hell."

"Aw, fuck me." She looked over at Xander, who had his face buried into his hand, "That's the last thing I need on my mind right now, Cassandra – any idea who is supposed to do this?"

She shook her head, "That is where it gets somewhat vague, even as far as prophecy goes – two females, one male, and they each have an element needed to create this child."

He arched an eyebrow at her and obviously repressed the phrase, 'well, at least someone is going to be having a good time' from being uttered.

"Apparently all three will provide a link to the separate parts of the world to allow the child to exist – supernatural, physical and spiritual." She rubbed her brow and felt a familiar migraine coming on, "It is the titles that each are given that concerns me."

Duncan looked up, a thoughtful frown on his face, "What are they?"

"One is called 'Mother of Soil', another is called 'Childe of Power' and the last is called 'Protector of Man'." She looked over at Xander even as his head slammed, repeatedly, into the desk, "Needless to say …"

"Fuck (slam) this (slam) can't (slam) be (slam) good (slamslamslam)." Xander looked up at her and she could see not only had he broken his nose, but also the anger in his eyes, "You're wrong."

She shook her head even as Methos spoke up, "There are only two Alexander's who are Immortal, Xander, and the other is a monk who has taken a vow of celibacy."

Xander shook his head, "No, you HAVE to be wrong. I am NOT a buttmonkey of prophecy!"

Cassandra smiled, "As you said last night in your … greeting to me." He looked up at her and she expounded, "You said, quote, 'fuck prophecy and the horse the bitch rode in on'."

Duncan and Methos both snorted even as she saw Xander turn a rather interesting shade of red, "Well, that's how I feel about prophecy, for the most part."

"Even one that may grant you a child, a true child begat from your loins?" Cassandra walked over and sat next to him, laying her hand on top of his, "Xander, do you know how many female Immortals would kill for the chance that you may be able to provide, if the Prophecy is true?"

Xander looked up at her, "Oh, so now I'm only seen as a possible stud horse?"

Cassandra shrugged, against squeezing his hand, "It's no always easy being the center of a prophecy, Xander."

Xander stood up and shook his head, "No, it isn't, but I'm only the center of it if I allow it and I won't."

Cassandra stood up, her hands finding their way to his shoulders, "You can't always fight prophecy, Xander."

Methos then chipped in, "Why are you so touchy-feely now, Cassandra? Do you think you can be part of that prophecy?"

Xander turned to her even as she felt a blush enter her cheeks, "I'll admit, it does intrigue me, Methos, but I'm too old to rear a child, and I'm afraid that if I did, I wouldn't be that good of a mother, given … my problems." She then patted Xander on the cheek and went back to sit down, "So, that is all there is as far as the Prophecy goes … at least all that I can discern from my visions."

"It doesn't have to be Xander, you know." She looked at Duncan, who had a slight frown on his face, "I was a Champion, a Protector of Man, so it could be me."

Cassandra shook her head, "No, I do not think it could be, Duncan, because another Prophecy says that, during this time, you will be killing your brother in swords to protect The Game."

Duncan shot to his feet, "What?"

She shrugged, "It is what has been revealed to me, Duncan, so I do not think you can father a child and kill your brother at the same time." He looked ready to explode again, so she centered herself and used The Voice, "Quiet, Duncan. All will be explained in time."

Xander, even as Cassandra bent over to massage her forehead, could be heard asking Methos, "Does she do that a lot?"

"Only when a certain Scot annoys her, Xander," was Methos' dry response.

Xander chuckled, "Oh, so she does it a lot?"

Cassandra whimpered even as Duncan shook himself out of The Voice's thrall – two of them, how could she deal with two of them?

(Sunnydale – a week later)

The rest of the week had passed pretty much without incident – several more 'rites' had been gone through, most of which had involved some form of public humiliation on Xander's part (one such had also gotten him banned from a karaoke bar in San Diego), a few threats were made to Duncan to show Joe some of the photos taken 'the morning after' and to have them archived, yet another session of waking up next to a naked Cassandra (though this time she knew how she got there and wasn't telling him), and Xander was now back home. Sure, things had been fun, and only occasionally serious as the group had been accosted by a young pup of an Immortal, claiming he would take all of their heads as a matter of honor to his clan (Duncan had taken offense to that and had given the boy an object lesson in the art of sword fighting), and both he and Duncan had come to an almost grudging kind of respect for one another when they'd been forced to watch the other's back during a bar fight that Methos and Cassandra had started by hitting on the same woman.

He shut off the car as he pulled into his driveway during the early morning hours and sat back in his seat – it felt good to stop driving, it really did, but he still had to get from his car to his bed, so that would take a few more minutes, then he could sleep.

A minute later (and a little swearing to get his bag out of the trunk of his restored '53 Bel Air), he was walking into his living room, where he was greeted by Faith … and a dead body, "Faith? What happened?"

Faith looked up at him, tears streaming down her cheeks, "She said she was here for your help, Xand, and I tried to save her, I really did!" Faith latched herself onto his chest and began to cry heaving sobs even as he wrapped his arms around her – this was not good.

After several minutes of calming Faith down enough to get the story out of her, his began to have his suspicions of the woman's identity – Faith had been out patrolling with Buffy the night before and they'd found a woman being attacked by vampires … and she was using a short sword to defend herself with. They'd managed to get the woman to relative safety, but she had died of her grievous wounds not long after sunrise and not long after saying she was here for his head – Buffy had gone to get Giles, leaving Faith alone with the body, and thus here he was with her now.

"Faith, it's okay now." He kissed her on the forehead and walked her away from the body, "Go clean up and get some sleep – I'll be up in a bit." She looked at him worriedly for a moment and the nodded, going up the stairs and leaving him alone with the body.

Tall, blonde, pretty and with fair skin, her clothes torn and bloody, revealing a good portion of her body, and her hand still clutched around the short sword she'd been fighting with, Tanya looked better than most vampire attack victims he had ever run into, but why wasn't she-

Tanya's back arched and she gasped back to life even as he sat down across from her reviving body – after a few seconds, her head snapped over towards him, her eyes wild but calming, "Hello, Tanya."

As if sensing that she was somewhat exposed, she blushed lightly and pulled the afghan down over her body, sword still clutched in her hands, "Alexander."

"Why are you here? I don't want to fight you."

She looked confused for a moment and then looked down at her hand, the sword clutched in it, and blushed, dropping it, "I am not here for your head, Alexander."

He arched an eyebrow, "Then why are you here?"

"I need your help." She sat up, holding the cover to her body even as he reached into his bag and pulled out a shirt for her to put on, "I could not stay there anymore, Alexander."

"Xander, call me Xander, and what happened?" He handed her the shirt and Tanya put on, stripping off her old shirt without a hint of embarrassment, "I thought you were married?"

She looked down at her hands, his shirt on her now but not buttoned, "I killed him."

Oh, yeah, nothing was ever easy.

AN: Reviews, please.