They arrived at Giles' apartment in record time because who knew that even with short legs Buffy would have such long strides. Xander and Logan had to rush to just keep up. Xander was sure she was using her slayer speed though, but he just couldn't tell.
Giles was momentarily stunned by the group quickly marching into his home and when he noticed that one of the group was Xander his mouth began to open and close like a fish, some faint sounds leaving his mouth, but nothing coherent.
Xander gave a nervous laugh before speaking.
"Hey G-man. Xander reporting for duty, sorry for the lateness."
Buffy had already placed Willow's still unconscious body on the sofa and was back to glaring at Xander, well who she thought was an impostor Xander.
"You see that Giles. You see the way he tries to act like Xander. All the way here he was like that. Asking questions about how everyone was, like he really cared. And then insulting me by calling me a midget. Xander would never call me that!"
"Actually I did call you that more then once."
She glared full force at Fake Xander and instinctively readying her hand against the stake tucked into her jeans.
"How can I prove to you both that I'm who I say I am?" There was a pleading edge in his tone and Logan moved away from near the corner of the room by the door and over to him. Calming Xander down by his close proximity. The others forgetting he had been there got even more defensive at his reappearance.
"Look what you did to Willow, you… our Xander would never do that."
"Buffy, she was ready to kill me. Forgive me if I'm not gonna stand back and let her."
"Oh my." Giles stated. "Um, I think maybe we should make sure this is actually Xander. I mean, we can't know for sure it isn't.
"Yes! Thank you!"
"But until it's proven I'm not going to be trusting you."
"Yeah ok fine whatever, how about this then?" he smirked with a twinkle in his eye. "One Monday morning as I entered Sunnydale high library what did my ears pick up, but one Rupert Giles singing a well known pop song, sung by one Britney Spears."
"Um, well…"
"Oh my god! Giles you weren't?" Buffy then turned towards Xander. "Her first one?"
"Hit me baby one more time." he sang in a poor imitation of Giles' accent. Buffy burst into a fit of giggles calming down some until she would look at Giles and then start again.
"I do recall I paid you not to tell about that."
"Oh… yeah you did. Um, you're not gonna want that back are you?"
"It's my own fault asking for proof really, but this still isn't conclusive, many demons can read minds. I'd say a potion would work, just something simple to prove that you are who you say you are. I'm sure I have the things I need around." he searched his bookcase until he picked up one particular book. "I'll go do that now."
"Fine ok, but at least try to make it taste nice." he paused a minute watching Giles walk into his kitchen. He noticed Buffy's continued glares and smiled. "If you still don't believe me," he called to Giles, loud enough to be heard of the clinking of cutlery "Then there's also the fact I know Buffy dated a 200 year old vampire named Angel."
"I dare say that's quite common knowledge by now." Was the answer back.
"What?" Buffy exclaimed the comment having stopped her glaring abruptly.
"Well demons talk Buffy, especially about the slayer. I'm guessing a lot of people know about the relationship between you and Angel." He walked out the kitchen, a mug in his hand and Xander could already smell how bad it was. The mug was handed off to Xander who started to sip at it, grimacing with every taste. Logan was looking over his shoulder at the green sludge in the mug. Disgust showing on his face too.
"I don't want people knowing about my personal life." Buffy moaned. "I mean that's private and I'm sure there's some law about privacy or something." she continued muttering to herself for a while, wondering about if there were any demon paparazzi. Before she got too into it Xander interrupted.
"Ok if that's not enough to convince you. A Saturday night, Buffy is suppose to patrol, but on this particular night she tells her watcher she's grounded. He lets her off, one of the few times he does. But you see she's also told her mother she has some heavy training and patrolling with her watcher that same night. And you see what she really does, is go bronzing it with her two best buds."
"I see." Giles glares straight at Buffy. "Well it seems you are indeed Xander if you were anything other then human that concoction should have had you trying to claw your own skin off." Both Xander and Buffy made a face, while Xander was happy about his mutation not setting the potion off. Then again he was still human he just had some newer DNA. He saw the continued glares from Giles and smiled.
"There was also the other time when…"
"Damn it Xander, we believe you already." she huffed, pointedly not looking in her watcher's direction.
"Fine, but it's not fair being the only one embarrassed, I got to let Giles off somehow and besides," he mock whispered. "I can't afford to pay him back right now." He snuck a peek over at Giles and was just in time to see his eye roll causing a smile to appear on his face. He also noticed the smile on Buffy's face and let the last of the tension seep out of his body. Then the next moment he was engulfed in a bone crushing hug by a teary slayer.
"Xander, I've missed you so much. It's been too long without you. And we all thought you were dead and we all took it so bad. I got all weird, crazy girl and Giles was hurt… and started to drink." she whispered, "And, gosh Willow, she took it the worst, she was all take that and pain and really mean to everything. It was not good and so not Willow."
Xander looked over at his still unconscious friend realising that yes she would have taken his 'death' the worst out of all of them. He wasn't even about to ask how his parents had taken the news. Like they really cared anyway. But knowing his friend had gone through all that pain was heart wrenching.
He slowly walked over to her still body, kneeling down by her head and stroking the vibrant red hair. It was as he remembered but she had grown it out since he had been gone, whether by choice or just lack of attention he wasn't sure. As he continued to pet her hair she slowly began to rouse. All he could think about was his friend, who was hurting and not the woman who had nearly killed him upon meeting.
Buffy was already up and launching herself at Xander trying to make sure Willow didn't do anything drastic before she had gotten all the information and realised this was, truly, Xander.
Logan had also noticed the red head coming round and his claws itched to unsheathe themselves and protect Xander. However, there was also the worry that he may harm the red head and he knew Xander would never be able to live with that, so he stood back and waited.
By the time Willow had begun to open her eyes Xander was face down on the floor where Buffy had knocked him and Buffy was smiling down at Willow's confused face.
"Hi Willow. You ok?"
"Um, yeah… I think." she tried to sit up, but she was already back on her back before she had even started. "Um, no. Still woozy. I hate being woozy… Can I have some water please?"
"Sure." Buffy patted Willow on the shoulder and was about to stand to get the water when she heard indrawn breath from Willow.
"Oh my god! Xander!" but the shock soon turned into anger as she started to remember everything else. "That demon, pretending to be my friend. I hope you killed it Buffy, slowly. I can't believe that thing did that to me. It didn't hurt you did it Buffy?"
"No I'm fine Willow." Buffy said turning pleading eyes to Giles, begging him silently to help her explain.
"Good, it deserved whatever it got."
"Eer, well, Willow… You see," Giles removed his glasses swiftly and rested his hand against his temple rubbing it anxiously. "Buffy didn't actually kill the…'demon'."
"What? Why?" she shrieked back at him and glancing angrily over at Buffy.
"Hi again Wills." Xander greeted as he gingerly got up from his place on the floor.
"Now Willow, stay calm. I did a potion and it proved that he's human and some of the things he said is very much Xander as well." Giles said to the angry red head, but she wasn't listening.
"Really Willow. He's Xander."
"You." she glared at Xander. "So now you've brainwashed the others or something? Fine, well you're not going to hurt my friends." she told him angrily.
"It really is me Willow. Remember kindergarten, yellow crayon. Jesse. The fluke. Come on Willow." he pleaded.
"Tell her something embarrassing Xander, you did it to me and Giles." Buffy spoke up seeing Willow's waning anger and confusion.
"Um, I there's just too many." he said trying to get a laugh, no one seemed impressed. "Ok, ok I got it. When we were much younger, one of Cordelia's cordettes was picking on you. Calling you names and pushing you around and I got so mad I pushed her over and her elbow ended up scrapped on the floor. You took the blame with me and we had detention together instead of me being alone. Ok so that wasn't much with the embarrassing." he thought for a minute. "How about when you shot milk out your nose that one time?"
"XANDER! That wasn't my fault. He was making me laugh too much." she shrieked turning to Giles and Buffy while she pointed at Xander
"She nearly peed herself too." he smiled.
"XANDER!" she paused a minute and then Xander had an arm full of Willow. "Oh, Xander. I missed you so much. I never did think you were dead, really. Where have you been? What actually did happen? What did you do to me?"
"I missed you too Willow." he paused a minute just pressing her close to his body as he tightened the hug. "I can explain it all with the help of Logan of course."
"Who's that?"
Logan made himself known by walking further to the group of friends in front of him, he nodded his head in greeting and then crossed his arms.
"He's my… guy-boy friend…lover-mate. Sort of person." he said nervously. "He's my guy." He said finally. Logan snorted from where he was standing, "Ok, I'm his guy."
Everyone was quiet for a minute staring at Xander, then at Logan and then at Xander again. Suddenly they all seemed to come to an understanding because they greeted Logan warmly, and more then warmly by Willow who immediately pulled him into a hug and then gave him the 'Shovel Talk'. Finally Xander's story telling got underway. Logan adding in the minimal of words when required.