2008: 2 Weeks Later: Tuesday

Sunnydale, California

Sunnydale Elementary School

Loosening the tie knot around his neck, Xander stood outside the elementary school with other parents waiting for the bell to ring and a flood of children bustling out of the building.

As expected, a swarm of youngsters ran through the double doors like tiny bees. He scanned the swarm of children for his son.

Josh emerged from the horde of youngsters, striding calmly through the chaos with his backpack on his shoulders.

The eight-year-old paused, looking for his mother who usually picked him up from school and was surprised to discover Xander there in her place.

"Dad!" With a jolt of excitement, Josh ran over to Xander. "What are you doing here? It's Tuesday."

"Your mom had a Slayer thing to do, so it's me and you for the afternoon. Wanna go to the park?"

"Yeah!" Josh jumped, hopping around, shaking his butt in excitement, which made Xander chuckle.

Late Afternoon

1630 Revello Drive

Xander searched for the house key on his ring of keys and unlocked the front door. Josh pushed it open, running inside, heading straight into the living room to the toy chest.

"You coming in, Dad?" Josh asked, looking over at Xander standing on the porch, hesitant to enter.

"Yeah." He cleared his throat and took the first step into the house, shutting the door behind him.

Just like the last time he was here, Xander noticed the changes in the house, but couldn't quite figure out exactly what was different.

He entered the living room, carefully inspecting the room as Josh rummaged through the toy chest. Xander stood at the fireplace, eyeing the framed photographs on the mantel. There was a photo of Joyce, Buffy, and younger sister Dawn, a photo of Josh as an infant, another as a toddler, and a recently taken photo of him at school. The rest of the photographs were of himself and Buffy. One was on their wedding day; they stood outside the Bronze. He dipped her over and covered her mouth in a kiss. Another photo of them was Xander resting his head on Buffy's shoulder and his hand over her heavily pregnant belly.

Xander stared at the snapshots of their entire life together.

As Josh played with his toys, Xander made a quick escape from the living room and headed up the stairs.

He turned the corner standing in front of the partially closed door of the master bedroom.

Xander softly pushed the door open and entered inside. He was immediately hit with the scent of Buffy's perfume. He breathed in deeply, ingraining her scent into his memory.

The bedroom hadn't changed too much. A few items of clothes were thrown across the bed. He could easily imagine Buffy struggling to find something to wear in the morning. It was an often occurrence that she would whine about not having a single thing to wear when she knew it was ridiculous. A small smile twitched across his face at the memory.

He sat down on the bed, turning his head to her pillow. He laid his hand flat over the pillow—missing her.

Xander noticed a piece of a sleeve peeking from under the pillow and lifted it to find his missing grey-blue henley shirt. She must've taken it out of his suitcase when he wasn't looking.

"Dad!"

Xander shook himself from his thoughts and placed the shirt back underneath Buffy's pillow. He rose to his feet from the bed and quietly walked out of the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

2000

Sunnydale, California

UC Sunnydale: Main Campus: Stevenson Hall: Room # 214

"Pregnant." Xander swallowed, staring down at the plastic pregnancy test in hand. Time seemed to move at a crawling pace—unable to believe it. "Wow." He muttered, feeling nauseated as his stomach churned.

"Yeah." Buffy's hands pressed together and between her knees.

"You sure that's what the little plus sign means?" He asked, holding up the pregnancy test.

Tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear, Buffy lowered her gaze to her shoes. "There's not really much room for ambiguity, Xand."

"I don't…" Xander ran a hand through his dark hair. "I don't understand how this happened. We were careful."

Buffy shrugged, not sure how it happened either. "Sometimes you can do everything right, everyone can wear everything they're supposed to, and one of those little guys gets through."

"How?"

"I don't know, maybe they have tools."

Despite himself, Xander chuckled. "Very funny." His eyes lowered to the pregnancy test. "This is…" he inhaled a deep breath, "... unexpected."

"I know." She said softly.

"I thought…" Xander's brain spun, overwhelmed by the sudden amount of responsibility now on his lap, "... I thought a baby would happen, you know, years down the road. Not right away." He had a blueprint of a future he wanted with Buffy in his head. He was going to have a great job, and he'd have money to provide so they wouldn't have to live in his parents' basement. They were going to live together in their own place for a while before he finally proposed, and then two or three years later they'd have a baby.

The thought of living with Buffy and a baby in his parents' basement with barely any money to his name made him want to vomit. She deserved more.

The idea of abortion was not an option, even though for Xander, abortion was the ideal option, Buffy couldn't go through with it. It was not a matter of Pro Life or Pro Choice, for Buffy, she couldn't imagine terminating a pregnancy—no matter how inconvenient or detrimental it was to their future plans.

"What do we do?" Her whispering voice broke him from his entangled thoughts.

Xander rubbed a hand over his face and turned his gaze to Buffy.

She looked petrified.

A sudden wave of calm washed over him. He knew right then exactly what they should do.

Taking her hand in her lap, Xander drew her eyes to him. "It's obvious." He told her, matter-of-factly. "We'll be a family. You, me, and the baby. I'll take that construction job. Hopefully, in a few years, it'll turn into a Junior Engineer position or something. You'll continue going to school and you'll graduate, and get a great job. In time, we'll have enough money to buy a house and a four-door sedan—The works."

She raised her hand, caressing his cheek. "Xander, you're panicking." A small half-smile tugged at her lips.

"I'm not." He turned his face into her hand, kissing her palm. "I mean, I am, but I'm not."

Buffy frowned in a state of confusion.

"Buffy, I love you. I've been in love with you pretty much always. Do, um, do you love me?" He nervously asked. Xander had told her nearly from the start that he was head over heels for her, but Buffy had yet to express her feelings for him. He didn't want to come across as someone that desperately needed affirmation, but he didn't have a clue where he stood in her heart. "I-I know we haven't been together for very long and—"

"I love you." She said after taking a moment to consider her reply.

A part of him didn't believe her as he said, "You don't need to say it just to say it. I can wait."

"Xander, I mean it." Gently squeezing his hand, Buffy stroked his cheek with the backs of her fingers. "I'm in love with you."

Xander stared at her in disbelief, wishing he could reverse time and her words over and over. She loved him. Buffy Summers was in love with him.

Taking her hand into his own, Xander brought it to his lips, kissing her fingers. "You wanna marry me, Buffy?"

"W-what?" She asked, her mouth bobbing up and down totally stunned. "Isn't it a little soon for marriage? Just because we're having a baby doesn't mean we need to get married."

"I know, but I wanna marry you. I want to be with you forever. I love you, you love me, so, why not? Marry me. Let's have a long and silly life together. Whaddya say?"

Shaking her head, Buffy was stunned. "You're insane."

"Is that a yes?"

Leaning in close, Buffy's mouth hovered only inches from his. "Yes." She softly replied.

"Yeah?"

Buffy nodded. "I'll marry you."

"I guess that makes you insane too."

Their lips found each other and began to kiss passionately. Buffy's hands came up to his head and she ran her fingers through his dark shaggy hair. Xander tenderly stroked her back as he leaned into her, overcome with desire.

Xander was stunned; he was engaged. He was going to marry the beautiful Buffy Summers. She'll be his wife. If only that dorky goofball kid in high school that followed Buffy around with his tongue hanging out could see him now. He wouldn't believe it.

Breaking the kiss, Xander stared at his… fiancée with wide eyes.

"What?" Buffy began to frown. "What's wrong?" A knot twisted in her chest, wondering if he'd changed his mind.

"I don't have a ring."

Buffy relaxed and softly smiled at him, her fingertips touching his lips. "I don't need a ring."

"Yes. Yes, you do. I'll get you the biggest diamond you've ever seen!" He smiled widely, envisioning an engagement ring fit for a princess.

"I don't need a big fancy ring, Xander."

"I just want to get you something that you can be proud of—Something that a wonderful, strong, beautiful woman deserves."

Buffy pressed her mouth against his in a gentle kiss. "Get me something... meaningful. Whatever it is… I want it because you saw something in it that's meaningful to you."

Xander smiled lopsidedly. "Deal. One meaningful ring coming up." He kissed the inside of her hand.

"Shall we continue where we left off?" Buffy asked, brushing the tip of her nose against his.

"Absolutely." The smile on his face widened.

"I think we left off right… about… here…" she closed the space between their mouths, kissing him deeply.

They took their time, kissing and pulling each other's clothes off until they were both nude, their arms wrapped around each other.

He laid her down on the bed and entangled their limbs as their mouths mated desperately. The desire to take their time was quickly becoming second thought as their need to be intimately joined overtook. And then he was inside her, but instead of them both working towards finding release, they just moved, their bodies sliding against each other in an almost primal way. As he slowly thrust in and out of her welcoming body, Xander rested his forehead against hers, occasionally placing a hot kiss on her mouth. Neither said a word, just expressed all their feelings with looks and actions.

Eventually, nature took its course and Xander's thrusts sped up. A hand reached between their bodies and lightly stroked her distended nubbin. He began to spill his seed deep inside her womb as Buffy clenched around him, arching her back and moaning loudly as an orgasm slammed through her.

He collapsed on top of her. His face buried into the crook of her neck. Buffy gently stroked her fingernails in invisible patterns over his back while catching their breaths.

Xander pulled back his head to look at her. He tenderly stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. Suddenly, everything seemed like it was going to be alright. They were together. They can get through anything.

2008: 2 Weeks Later: Tuesday

Sunnydale, California

1630 Revello Drive: Dining Room

Xander separated two paper plates stuck together and tossed them onto the dining room table as Josh opened the large pizza box with an avalanche of toppings.

Folding the pizza in half, Xander eyed his son with a bit of amusement as the boy dipped his head down, biting the pointed tip end of the pizza. "Learn anything new at school today?" Xander asked, breaking the silence.

Josh shrugged. "No, not really."

"Really? All day in school and you didn't learn a thing?" Sceptical, Xander eyed his son.

"Nick's parents are divorced."

Xander's brows rose high up his forehead, startled by Josh's announcement. "Oh? Who's Nick?"

"My friend from class," Josh explained, picking pieces of the toppings off the pizza and dangling it over his wide-open mouth. "He said his mom and dad used to always fight. It was a lot better that they divorced. He lives with his dad most of the time. His mom travels a lot for work." He said, looking across the table at Xander. "Grandma got divorced too. Did you know that?"

Xander nodded, taking another bite of the pizza. "I did know that."

"Mom doesn't really like to talk about grandpa Hank, 'cause he ran away to Spain and started a new family."

"Why all this talk about divorce, bud?"

Josh frowned. "I heard mom talking about it. She was in the kitchen making grilled cheese, and she was talking to someone on the phone."

"Aunt Willow?" Xander asked with a bit of worry in his voice.

"No," Josh shook his head, thoughtfully. "Somebody named Angel."

Xander's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. Was Buffy falling right back into the arms of her forbidden love, Angel? Somewhere in the back of his mind, that same insecure teenager nagged at him that Buffy would one day leave him for the cursed vampire.

The thought of his nightmares becoming a reality terrified him.

"Dad, are you and mom getting divorced? You said that this was only temporary."

"Josh..." Xander exhaled his son's name, his mind still reeling in raging jealousy.

"Are you gonna marry Anya?"

Xander snapped from his spiralling thoughts of Buffy and Angel and looked at his son. "Whoa. Whoa. Josh, slow down. Nothing has been decided. Your mother and I haven't been able to sit down and figure things out."

"So, you're not getting divorced?"

Xander swallowed, uncertain what to say. Now that Buffy was talking to Angel again, perhaps there was divorce in their future. "Don't worry about that." He said, effectively shutting down the conversation.

The father and son sat in silence for what felt like centuries when Xander suddenly broke the silence.

"How long has she been talking to Angel?" Xander abruptly asked, needing to know specifics. How long have she and Angel been in contact? Since the separation? Before that? A flood of unanswered questions made his head throb.

"I dunno." Josh shrugged. "They talk on the phone a lot."

Before Xander could inquire about any more information about his wife's conversations with her ex, the door opened, and the woman in question entered.

"I'm home." She said, closing the door behind her. Buffy unbuttoned the front of her jacket and lightly shook the vampire dust off before hanging it on the hook near the door.

"Hey, Mom," greeted Josh, biting into the pizza. "Want some pizza?" He held out his pizza towards her as she entered the dining room.

Buffy affectionately smiled, combing her fingers through Josh's dark hair. She lowered her head, brushing her lips against his forehead. "Maybe later, sweetheart."

"But you always say slaying makes you hungry."

"Do I always say that?" Buffy smirked.

Josh shrugged. "Most of the time."

Pulling out the chair at the head of the dining room table, Buffy sat down, exhaling a tired breath. Buffy took out the cell phone in her back pocket and placed it on the table.

Xander eyed the iPhone, growing curiouser and curiouser. Don't even think about it. The voice in his head warned.

"Did you have a good day today?" Buffy asked, looking at Josh.

Josh tossed his gaze across the table at Xander.

"Tell her." Xander gently urged him.

"Dad took me to the park after school, then we came home, and then I watched TV."

"And what about homework?" Buffy held her head in her hand, trying hard to keep her eyes open.

"It needs to be done by Friday."

Buffy sat back in the chair, checking the dainty watch around her wrist. "It's kinda late now. We'll look at it tomorrow. Go upstairs, wash your hands and put on your pj's, please."

Josh dropped the crust on the paper plate and pushed the chair back, jumping out of it and sprinted up the stairs, leaving Buffy and Xander alone in the dining room.

Xander tapped his fingers on the tabletop, his eyes glued to his estranged wife as thoughts of her and Angel swirled in his mind. "How'd the slaying go? What was it? Do we need the Scooby's to assemble?"

"Nah, I don't think so. Cranky zombies with a serious vendetta haunting the school basement."

"Really?"

"I destroyed the talisman."

"How'd you know there was a talisman?" He asked.

Buffy shrugged. "There's always a talisman."

For a minute, Xander watched her rub her sore neck. "Starting to feel that fight?"

"Nothing like gettin' your ass kicked to... make your ass hurt." Buffy scooted the chair back and carefully rose to her feet. "I'm gonna make coffee. Do you want some? Are you staying for a bit?"

Xander nodded. "Uh, sure. Yeah, I can stay for a bit."

Buffy headed into the kitchen to make the coffee and left Xander at the table.

Rubbing his head, Xander knew that he shouldn't. It was an invasion of privacy, and if Buffy caught him, the argument would be fatal to their relationship.

Effectively ignoring the nagging voice inside his head that demanded to know what the hell he was doing, Xander took the iPhone and pressed a series of numbers, unlocking the phone. What the hell are you doing?

"How was the rest of your day?" Xander asked, keeping Buffy distracted with a conversation as he invaded her privacy.

"Mm, kind of boring—Oooh, I did break up a fight today." She said, talking loudly above the water filling the coffee percolator.

"Oh yeah?" Xander replied, looking at Buffy's phone call history. Many were to himself, Willow, and Giles. But she had made a series of phone calls to a stranger named Lindsey McDonald. Xander rubbed a hand over his face, clenching his teeth, noticing how many phone calls she's exchanged with Angel in the last few months. Some calls lasted fifteen minutes to as long as two hours.

"Demonic? Or…" He continued the conversation as he searched Buffy's cell phone.

"Nah. Just good old-fashioned schoolyard fighting."

"Oh, that's… good." He commented, obviously distracted.

From the kitchen, Buffy remained acutely unaware of what her husband was doing. She continued the story about the school fight in the hallway, but her words fell on deaf ears.

He pressed the text message application icon and noticed that Angel's name was at the top of her conversation list. He pressed on Angel's name and quickly scrolled through their last exchange a few weeks ago.

Buffy: My marriage is over.

Angel: You think or you know?

Buffy: … I think I know.

Angel: I'm sorry.

Buffy: We're not happy. I need your help.

Angel: What do you need?

Buffy: A lawyer.

Angel: Are you sure this is what you want, Buffy?

Buffy: Yes.

Xander swallowed, scrolling a bit further down the series of text messages to its latest conversation only days prior.

Buffy: I miss you.

Angel: I miss you, too.

Buffy: Thank you, Angel.

Angel: Anything for you.

The sounds of Buffy coming closer caused Xander to scramble. He quickly closed out the text messages and relocked the iPhone placing it back on the table where she had left it.

Now more than ever, Xander was convinced she was having an affair with the souled vampire. There was nothing to misconstrue, Buffy's feelings for Angel were clear in these messages.

Buffy reentered the dining room carrying two hot cups of coffee in her hands as Xander jumped onto his feet.

She immediately sensed that something was wrong by the expression on his face. "Are you okay?" She asked, concerned by his pale complexion.

"It's getting late." He said, running a hand through his hair. "I'm gonna go."

Buffy's disappointment was evident on her face. She lowered her eyes to the two coffees in hand. "Oh. Okay. I thought that we could—"

"I'm sorry. I have to get up early tomorrow for a client meeting, and then I'm touring an apartment."

"Really? An apartment?" It's been months since the separation took effect and only now Xander is finding an apartment somewhere in town.

"Yeah. It's time. I was wondering if I can pick Josh up from school tomorrow. I want him with me. This will affect him too."

"Oh, okay, sure. I guess."

Xander nodded. "Great." He said, watching backwards to the door. Without saying goodbye to Josh standing at the top of the stairs now dressed in his pyjamas, Xander ran out the front door.

Confused, feeling a sense of whiplash, Buffy pulled out Josh's vacant chair and sat down, wondering what she had missed. Buffy thought they would talk and try to work things out, but he was distant. Was it Anya? Was he sleeping with Anya and he didn't her to know? Xander had always been a terrible liar.

Buffy lifted her hand, staring at the wedding band wrapped around her finger. Is it really over?