A/N: I have decided that Xander is not an Immortal at the moment. I have, however, not decided whether or not he is a Potential Immortal yet. And we're only one violent death away from finding out. Stay tuned.

Chapter 2.

Xander didn't sleep great that night. Part of it might have had something to do with the giant slash across his left palm. Why couldn't he have made a smaller cut to prove his point? But at least he knew, and a part of him was relieved that he wouldn't have to hold Willow's hand at a nursing home in 80 years as she slipped away, telling people he was her grandson. The other part of why he hadn't slept well were his dreams. Except that they were really just memories. Methos' memories... that Xander had to relive in his dreams. And one really freaky dream where he was rememberdreaming that he was Methos rememberdreaming some of the worst actions of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Xander had had to check his bathroom mirror after that one to make sure he still had his own face again.

But as tired as he was, he just couldn't help but rise far earlier than he wanted to and begin a morning sword kata with the very real sword he still kept. He had tried to return it to the book cage the night before but somehow was unable to. He had felt naked without it. Instead he had kept it in his coat and walked home.

But today he would almost certainly have to give it back. He went down to the basement and found an old hunting knife. He didn't know whose it was. As far as he knew, Tony had never hunted in his life. But it clearly hadn't been used or even looked at in a long time. The knife was pitted with a couple spots of rust and the sheath holding it had many greenish patches of mold. He cleaned the sheath with a wire brush and some mink oil he'd found in the same box as the knife. He ran upstairs for supplies, then he used a piece of steel wool dipped in mineral oil to remove any rust. After that he used a paper towel dipped in rubbing alcohol to wipe the blade clean again. Finally he used mineral oil on the blade once more, but without the steel wool. Finished, he tucked the knife and sheath into the small of his back, next to his stake, making sure his over-shirt covered the weapons.

Somewhat armed now, Xander put on his modified trench coat and headed off to school. Walking through a Southern California town in a trench coat might have seemed incongruous, but in Sunnydale in October- no, November; mornings could be quite chilly and afternoons never got too hot thanks to the cooling effect of the Pacific Ocean. So no one gave Xander so much as a second glance with his long, dark outerwear.

"Forgot to change, Xander?" Buffy quirked an eyebrow at him as he walked in.

"No." Xander smirked back and drew his sword. "It was just a convenient way to bring back my sword."

"I think you mean my sword." Buffy came over to take her sword.

"I think you mean my sword." Giles said to Buffy from his office.

"Right!" Buffy agreed with a little too much cheerfulness. "That's what I meant. I'll just help put away your sword now."

"Xander carried it off, I'm sure he can find where it goes on his own." Giles tone was perfectly even. A warning that the children had long since picked up on. Whether he was angry at Xander for borrowing the sword or at Buffy for claiming it as her own or angry at something/someone else entirely remained to be seen. "For now, I want you to tell me again what you remember of the person who possessed you."

Buffy gave Giles chapter and verse on Lady Elizabeth Buffy. Daughter of Sir James Buffy, the 6th Baronet of Otterden. Otterden was apparently a real place in England that Giles knew, or at least knew of. There was no longer a Baronet there, but there probably had been one at one time. Giles would be researching whether the Baronet Buffy was real or not. Giles was also interested in whether the possession had completely left or not. Buffy had sheepishly pulled out a beat up set of knitting needles and something she had apparently started knitting that day.

"I'm not as good as I remember her being, and I bent the needles a couple times thanks to Slayer strength. But I just had this compulsion to knit a scarf today."

Giles then turned his attention to the others. "And have the two of you had any similar compulsions?"

Willow looked a little sheepish. "I keep checking walls and tables to make sure I can't walk through them any more. I'm hoping it passes quickly."

Xander decided not to mention the knife he felt compelled to bring to school, even on a Saturday. "I did a sword kata from memory this morning. That's not something that's part of my usual routine."

"I see. Still a compulsion to train could be very beneficial to you. Anything else?" Giles jotted notes.

"Memories." Xander whispered.

"Excuse me, what was that?"

"He said 'memories'!" Willow burst out.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't-" Giles was a bit taken aback by Willow's rare outburst.

"It's okay, Will." Xander cut Giles off.

"No it's not." Willow knitted her brow in consternation. One of the downsides to being in love with Xander is she tended to take up his interests. So, when he got interested in Highlander, so did she. It was why she'd instantly recognized the person that Xander had turned into last night. Which had helped convince him to help her. But knowing who he'd gone as and his history meant that she knew that Xander was suffering right now. He had horrible memories of things he had never done. "Let me explain." She waited for Xander's nod before going on. "Xander went as Methos last night."

"What's a Methos?" Giles stopped writing.

"It's not a what. It's a who. It's a character from a show called Highlander." Willow said.

"Ooo! Is that the one with the hunky guy with the ponytail?" Buffy asked. "I tried to get into it, but the sword fighting was too unrealistic for me."

"Yeah, the short explanation is that there are people who are Immortal, and they carry swords and battle to the death. They can't die unless you take their head." Willow explained.

"And with it their power." Buffy interrupted. At a glare from Willow, "Sorry. Continue."

Giles whipped off his glasses and leaned forward. "Good lord. Xander, are you really-"

Xander held up his bandaged palm and cut him off. "Nope. Which is good."

"Good?" Buffy asked incredulously. "How can being immortal be a bad thing?"

"Buffy!" Willow chided.

"No, Willow. She needs to understand." Xander turned to Buffy. "It can be bad because I have over 5,000 years worth of memories in my head now. 5,000 years of killing, and running, and losing people that I- that he loved. Of watching love ones die of the disease called Old Age. The disease I have the cure for, but can't share." Xander didn't correct himself the second time he referred to Methos' memories as 'I'. Then his eyes got cold. "What do you think? Angel has a cure for aging he can share with you. How old do you think he'll let you get before he turns you?"

"Xander!" Buffy yelled and stood up. Her hands clenched in fists that would have pulverized ordinary bones.

But Willow was by his side in a second. She enveloped him in a hug. "Shh, Xander. It's okay. I'm not going to grow old without you. I promise."

Giles capped his pen. "Yes, Buffy. I think I have everything I need from you for now. Why don't you stop by around 3:00 for a training session?" Xander had clearly suffered far more trauma than his Slayer realized, it would be best to separate them for now.

Buffy started to protest but a look from Giles held her at bay. "Fine." she grabbed her bag and left.

Once she was gone, Xander spoke up. "Sorry, Giles. These memories just pop up and it's hard to control them.

"That's quite alright, my boy. But you really have memories of the last 5,000 years of civilization? When you're feeling up to it, I would love to hear some of those memories." Giles invited.

"Not sure that it's really our world. We both have a Paris, France; but I'm pretty sure we don't have a Seacouver, Washington here. Actually, maybe you can tell me if you know of another group of guys calling themselves Watchers and watching Immortals?"

Giles shook his head. "Sorry, Xander. Not that I know of."

"No, that's probably just one other change from our world. And Methos had been around for 5,000 years and never met a demon, ever. Though he did witness a little minor magic. It wasn't nearly as powerful as Amy's mom was. I'm pretty sure he was from a very different world than ours."

Giles sighed and finally replaced his glasses. "I see. Well still, if you'd like to share, I'm sure it would be fascinating to hear in any case. And perhaps parallels could be drawn. The offer is open any time you'd like."

"Thanks."

"And in the meantime, I'm not technically allowed to train anyone other than the Slayer, but I would like to spar with some fencing foils to get an idea of your skill with a sword. Also I can give you a wooden replica to train with on your own if you'd like. And of course, you're always welcome to use the sword you borrowed for training or patrolling as long as you return it here afterward."

Xander really perked up at the mention of a wooden sword to train with. And even more when Giles offered to let him keep using 'his' sword. He tried not to let his disappointment at having to bring it back after patrols show. "Thank you, Giles." he said sincerely.

"Think nothing of it."