Title: Written In The Stars, Part 11 – If Momma Ain't Happy….

Author: Xanfan

Rating: R/NC-17 for future chapters

Pairing??????

Summary: SLASH. Xander and Spike become friends after Spike gets the chip, they are both hurt and Dru rescues them and brings them to Angel to heal.

Spoilers: BtVS up through season 4 and Ats 1st season. I may however take some liberties with the exact timeline, so, any season from either show is fair game.

Warnings: SLASH

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

Original Challenge: Spike has been chipped and taken in by the Scoobies. Just as he and
Xander are beginning to become friends something their both hurt and it's up
to Angel to save and care for them. The twist is its Dru that saves them
and brings them to Daddy.

A/N: I may make take some liberties with timelines from both shows. And Anya was just a onetime thing.

Giles took a drink of tea. He wished he were drinking something a bit stronger, but he would be driving later and he didn't want to risk overindulging. Because if it relieved him of making this phone call, he would willingly get arse-over-tit drunk.

He took another sip of tea and then picked up the phone and dialed.

"Hello?" A sleep roughened voice answered.

"Joyce." Giles said.

"Rupert? What is it? Did something happen to Buffy?" Joyce asked, worry filling her voice.

"No, as far as I am aware, Buffy is fine." Giles replied.

"Oh, good." Joyce answered, then, a moment later, "Is it Xander?"

Giles was stunned speechless, it had happened again.

"Giles?"

"Sorry, Joyce. It's just…do you have cause to believe this is about Xander?" Giles said.

"Well, Xander knows that I still worry about Buffy out patrolling, even though she is living away from home. He usually phones me, even if it's the middle of the night to let me know what is going on and that Buffy and the others are fine. He hasn't called me in days. I had hoped it was because things were so quiet, that patrols weren't necessary, but I was beginning to worry. He usually checks in with me every few days anyway, to make sure Dawn and I are doing okay. Also, Spike hasn't been by for hot chocolate in at least that long. In fact, I had planned on calling you tomorrow, if I still hadn't heard from either of them."

Giles was ashamed of himself; he had never even considered checking in with Joyce. He realized that being a mother, particularly the mother of a slayer, was a role that didn't end when the child left home. He also needed to have a talk with Buffy, Xander shouldn't have to be the one calling Joyce to let her know that Buffy survived another patrol.

"Joyce, Xander and Spike had a spot of trouble……" Giles proceeded to fill Joyce in on the details of their abduction and condition, as he knew them. He was not surprised when she advised him that she and Dawn would be joining them on their trip to L.A.

"Giles, I hate to rush you off the phone, but I need to wake Dawn and get us both ready to go. I want to get there as quickly as possible. Xander really hates hospitals and I know that he is probably going to push to be let out much sooner than is safe and I just can't trust those boys or Cordelia to stand up to the lip quiver or puppy-dog eyes for very long." Joyce said, her voice tinged with both worry and humor.

Giles chuckled a little at that.

"Oh, and Giles, don't think we won't be having a discussion about why you were unaware that Xander and Spike were missing." Joyce said in a steely tone before she hung up the phone.

Giles stared at the phone in his hand and felt chills run up his spine. He was a man who had seen and experienced some truly frightening things in his tenure as a Watcher and his brief stint as a dark mage. Somehow, he did not believe that any of those experiences could compare with what he was about to face, a mother protecting her own. And Giles had no doubt that Joyce considered Xander and Spike to be hers.

He was buggered, no doubt about it.

Giles pulled his car into the parking lot near the girls' dorms, where he had arranged to meet everyone. He saw that Riley was already there, along with a friend of his, Graham, if Giles' memory served.

"Giles." Riley greeted as Giles exited his vehicle.

"Hello Riley, thank you for being prompt." Giles replied.

"I have to admit I was here a good 10 minutes early. You remember Graham? He's going to be coming with us. Oh, and he offered to drive his SUV, I figure with that and Joyce's jeep, we should be able to fit everyone." Riley said.

"Hello Graham, I didn't realize you knew Xander. And Riley, how did you….." Giles began.

"It didn't ever occur to me that Joyce wouldn't be coming." Riley said, the hint of humor in his voice didn't quite cover the edge of steel behind it.

"Sir, Xander, Riley, and I have been hanging out for awhile now, heck, even Spike joins us sometimes. Xander was really there for me after the whole thing with the Initiative went down. Damn right I'm going to be there for him now." Graham said, his soft tone belying the anxiety his eyes held.

Giles was humbled once again by the depth of loyalty and friendship that Xander inspired. He wondered when he himself had stopped showing the same for the young man.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize. I'm beginning to see that I haven't been paying close attention to a lot of things lately. I will endeavor to change that." Giles said.

The two young men looked him over for a moment, seemingly searching for something, perhaps proof of the veracity of his word. Whatever they were looking for, apparently they found it and nodded at him then turned towards the sound of another car approaching.

As soon as the vehicle stopped, the passenger door opened and a livid teenager raced towards them, pausing only to glare at Giles before she threw herself into Riley's arms. Giles could only shake his head sadly as he realized that yet another person had recognized what he had not. He wouldn't put it past the young girl to have questioned her mother as to why they were only now aware of what was going on.

"Riley, is he going to be okay? He has to be okay, right? He's Xander, Xander is always alright. Right?" Dawn said, tearfully, into Riley's shoulder.

Riley had wrapped his arms around the girl and was awkwardly patting her on the back.

"Of course Xander is going to be fine." Riley said, looking over her shoulder at the others for confirmation.

"Dawn, honey, Xander is going to be okay. We'll make sure of it. Now, you need to calm down and let Riley go before you soak his shirt right through." Joyce said as she untangled her daughter from the former soldier.

Riley smiled gratefully at Joyce.

They all turned at the sound of the others approaching.

Tara was leading a tearful Willow, while a bleary-eyed Buffy trailed behind.

Buffy was surprised to see her mother and opened her mouth to comment, but was cut off by Giles' curt, "Alright, let's all get into a vehicle and get going, we don't have time to dawdle."

Willow, Tara, Buffy and Riley got into Graham's SUV, while Dawn and Giles piled into Joyce's Jeep.

Graham took the lead and Joyce followed as they headed towards the interstate. They were all more than a little shocked when Graham pulled over not five miles past the city limits. Joyce pulled over behind him and they watched, speechless, as Graham, Riley and Tara got out of his vehicle and walked back to the Jeep. Graham opened Giles' door and pulled him out, handed him the keys to the SUV and pushed him towards it. Riley circled around to the other side and opened the door to climb in. Graham held his door open for Tara to climb in, and then climbed in after her. He turned to Giles and said, "I couldn't listen to them whine about how 'concerned' they are about Xander. They didn't even know he was missing. You helped create the monster Giles, you drive it to L.A."

Tara nodded her head in agreement and Graham shut the car door. Joyce pulled back onto the interstate, leaving Giles standing on the side of the road.

He turned towards the SUV, where the two girls had begun to screech in protest. He shook his head, and went towards the vehicle. He climbed into the driver's seat, adjusted it to fit his frame, and started the engine. He gave the girls a hard look, which temporarily silenced them, and pulled back onto the road.

"We have all been self involved and hurtful. We will not be telling Xander that we didn't notice he was missing, when all of the others did. We will not whine and complain about the relationships he has developed with the others while we have neglected him. We will be doing our damnedest to show him that we do care what happens to him. Willow, you will cease your crying; it is too little, too late. Buffy, this isn't about you, so don't try and make it so. We will be the friends to Xander that he never stopped being for us. If you don't think you can do that, tell me now. I'll pull this car back over and you can walk home." Giles' speech was met with silence from the vehicle's other occupants. He nodded in satisfaction and turned his attention to the road.

Things were definitely going to be different from now on.