New Horizons Approaching

A/N: Disclaimer's in the first chapter. Someone from SG-1 finally makes an appearance!

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June 7, L.A.

For Xander, the next three days were pure hell. His physical therapy began. It was rather embarrassing, humiliating, downright frustrating and not to mention painful as hell to try to work arm and torso muscles that had been put through the grinder and were now staging a revolt. At first, sitting up under his own power for five or ten seconds at a stretch had him sweating buckets and all but biting through his lip to keep from saying something extremely rude to the therapist. Moving his arms was just plain agony. But, with the promise of 'be able to sit up on your own for half an hour and we'll let you out of here', Xander had a mission, and kept working at it relentlessly.

The three days passed in a haze of pain and exhaustion ... if he wasn't exercising or eating, he was sleeping. And the few moments in between each, he wasn't much by way of company to anybody, too sore and out of sorts to be his usual goofy self. Not that that stopped Willow, or Buffy, or even Giles. Or Blair or Jim, come to that. Both Jim and Buffy (Buffy only when Jim and Blair weren't present) played spotter for him during his exercises. Jim endured Xander's grumping without returning it in kind. Buffy just distracted him from the grumpies as much as she could with a nearly non-stop stream of chatter. It did help, a little. Some of the time. There were times he wanted to snap at her to shut up, but he managed to keep his mouth shut.

Eventually, on the third day, he managed to sit under his own power for the required half hour. It helped that the bruising, which had been a large part of the problem, had gotten past the really painful stage, fading from nearly black to something close to green. The therapist (whom Xander had taken to calling Mister Sadist in his head) congratulated him and later that day the doctor showed up. One final check up of everything and the doctor agreed he would be free to go the next day. Xander was deeply relieved to be getting the heck out of the hospital.

Blair had spent the last three days watching everyone, and poking around a bit, to no avail. He eventually decided to figure out how to get them all to Cascade once Xander was free to go, and by the time Xander was told it would be possible, he'd found a schedule for trains with sleeper cars that were headed for Cascade. It was a better option than driving, at least. More comfortable for Xander, certainly.

The next morning, Xander got a bit of a surprise. Giles, Willow and Buffy piled in the door the minute visiting hours started, bringing with them cake and other illicit foods hidden in their pockets, purses, and in the 'gift bags'. Xander wished he could hug them.

"Oh man. I officially love you guys. It's been way, way too long without my sugary goodness." He mumbled around a Twinkie, the first thing he'd gone for when the booty had been revealed in all its glory.

Buffy grinned. "Hey, we figured that might have been part of the problem the last couple days. No snacks makes for a grumpy Xander?"

"Yeah, it does." He agreed. Oh, they all knew there'd been other things to make him grumpy, but hey, sugar! Who cared! "I'm really going to miss you guys." He said, then eyed Willow. "You're going to be careful, right?" He demanded.

"Yeah, definitely. No going out after dark for me. Maybe once Buffy gets back but until then, nuh uh!" Willow shook her head firmly.

Xander sighed in relief. "Good. I'd never forgive myself if you get hurt with me gone." He admitted.

Giles shook his head a bit. "I have done what research I can while away from my library." He said. "Unfortunately, given your rather sparse description, I haven't been able to ascertain what it was that attacked you."

Xander blinked at Giles a little bit for that somewhat odd comment, then figured out what he meant, considering Giles had already mentioned trying to research the demons that got him. The hyena thing. He'd evidently not been able to find anything conclusive in the few books he'd brought with him. Not really surprising, that, though Xander appreciated the attempt.

"No big, Giles. I'll know 'em if I ever see them again ... and promptly run the other way!"

"You better, mister!" Willow scolded.

Down the hall, Jim cursed. He'd heard Xander's last comment. "Damn, looks like they were talking about the attack again, and I missed it." He told Blair. "Should have started listening the moment we got here."

Blair's eyebrows went up. "Man, something is so going on with those three. I would really like to know what."

"That makes two of us, Chief." Jim told him. They closed the rest of the distance to Xander's room in relative silence, then Jim poked his head around the door. "Hey, Xander. Looks like quite the party in here."

"Come join the fun, Jim." Xander invited.

He'd sort of shoved the whole 'he is my dad' thing into a corner of his mind, and was basically treating Jim like he would any friendly not-evil adult. It was just easier that way, at least until he'd gotten his head around the whole thing. Jim seemed to be pretty ok with it, which helped. The two of them came in, and Blair put a bag of his own on Xander's lap.

"Since your stuff got torn up, I figured you'd probably need a new shirt and pants to get out of here in." Blair said.

Xander blinked. That hadn't even occurred to him. "Oh. Duh. Yeah, yeah, I will. Thanks!" Moving carefully, he managed to tip the bag over so that he could see the contents. A pair of new black sweat pants and an old-looking, enormous button-up in faded blue. The arms had been cut off to allow for the bulk of the splints, and with it being so oversized, it'd fit over the wrappings around his chest and stomach. "Oh man, thanks. I really appreciate it. I'd completely forgotten about my shirt at least being a total write-off." And loose, easily pulled up sweat pants would make his life that much easier, too.

"No problem, Xander. No problem at all." Blair told him. "So any word on when they're going to bring the papers around?"

"Not for a few hours. I don't think doctors get up before noon unless it's an emergency."

Blair chuckled and shot a sideways look at Jim, remembering 'Dr. McKay'. "I don't think that's quite true, man."

"Maybe not, but it sure seems like it sometimes." Xander shot back with a grin.

June 7, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Jon O'Neill was slumped in the living room of his tiny little apartment, staring vacantly at the television. He was, frankly, bored out of his damn mind, and restless as hell. Whose bright idea had it been, again, for him to go through frickin' high school? Oh yeah, that would be him. Stupid idiot. God. What had he been drinking when he came up with this shit?

He missed the SGC. He missed Daniel and Sam and Teal'c and, god help him, he actually was getting to the point where he was beginning to think of Freya/Anise with something approaching fond nostalgia. This was really frakkin' bad news. Anytime he started thinking of anyone short of Jacob Carter who had a snake with fondness, he had officially gone off the deep end.

And he'd go right on missing them, too, dammit. Because HE still had that life, which wasn't for Jon, and probably wouldn't ever be. He had years to go yet before he'd even be eligible to sign up for the Air Force again, and by then, well, who knew what the SGC would be like, if it even existed anymore? God knew Kinsey tried hard enough to get the SGC shut down often enough!

And here he was, in a sixteen year old body, stuck in hell. By his own doing, no less. He couldn't even begin to relate to anyone who was his physical age. It'd been too damn long since he'd been a teenager. He'd seen way the hell too much to fake it. Which meant he pretty much had no friends, though the girls seemed to like the whole 'mysterious loner' schtick. Which brought up the other problem. He felt like the world's biggest letch even thinking about romance of any sort with anyone his physical age ... not that he was exactly looking to get hitched anytime soon, or even wanted to, but it was another symptom of his very large problem. He might look sixteen, but as far as he was concerned, he was pushing fifty, and anything even remotely resembling 'romance' with anyone under the age of thirty just wasn't going to happen. And no one that age who was any kind of decent would want to hook up with an apparent sixteen year old.

He thumped his head against the back of the couch in frustration. The worst part of it was that he had an entire summer of pretty much nothing but isolation and boredom to look forward to. Maybe if he called his older half he'd get rescued and be able to hang around people he knew? Dammit, no, that was just pathetic. Not to mention awkward as hell. He'd spend the entire time glaring at the older half and muttering under his breath about getting his life stolen while his older half quietly freaked out about the mini-me. It would not end well.

He sighed and turned on the TV. Might as well get in the bored groove now, right?

June 7, LA

Finally, the doctor showed up, smiling a bit as the evidence of illicit food and drink was hurriedly swept away, but not quite fast enough for him to not see it. Given that Xander was being cut loose, he just pretended not to notice.

"All right, Xander." He said, setting down a folder with a bunch of papers in it. "Your at-home physical therapy sheet for the next few days, as well as a prescription for professional assistance is in here. Care instructions for the wounds are also included. There is also the name and number of a physician I know in Cascade who can oversee your return to fitness. I included a list of what you've been prescribed, and a copy of your medical chart, so you don't have to waste time with the back-and-forth of permissions and such that are involved in changing doctors." He handed over a small bag with several pill bottles in it. "Your medications. Please do not forget to take the antibiotics until they're all gone. The last thing you need is a nasty infection on top of all the other damage."

Xander patted the file and the bag. "Papers and pills, got it."

After that was the signing of papers and getting into a wheelchair, which proved to be all sorts of fun, but eventually the deed was done and the whole group rolled on out of there.

Jim had traded in the rental car for a van with a good-sized seat for the ride to the train station, since seat belts were a huge no. The seat would allow Xander to lie down and not worry overmuch. With a bit of help from Jim, he got into the van and then Willow and Buffy crowded in, saying their (highly temporary) goodbyes.

Willow rested her cheek on his shoulder in lieu of a hug. "You call, mister!" She demanded. "And I'll come up as soon as you're settled, and we can spend some time together, right?"

Xander grinned at Willow. "Of course. I plan to let you drive Jim and Blair 'round the bend, since I'm a little off my form."

That got a grin from Willow before she let Buffy in. Buffy gave him a long, intense, speaking look. A look that said ... well, a hell of a lot of things she couldn't say in present company without inviting another stay in a psych ward. "I'll come visit too, before I head back for Sunnydale and the school year." She said after a moment. "And I'll call. Lots. You take care." And then, to Xander's everlasting amusement (and embarrassment) she swung on Jim. "And you ... you better be good to him, or I'll ... " Fortunately, she caught herself before uttering a typical Slayer-style threat. "I'll figure out something to do, and it totally will make your life hell, you got me?"

To his credit, Jim didn't laugh in Buffy's face, but then again, Xander mused, he might be able to pick up on the fact that while short, Buffy was definitely no pushover. "Trust me, Buffy. Hurting him is the last thing on my mind." Jim told her.

"See you, Giles. And I expect a call or two from you too." Xander proclaimed.

Giles looked startled for a moment, then vaguely pleased. "I shall make a note of it on my calendar, Xander." He reassured.

And then it was time to go. The seat had been pushed as far back as it would go and Blair, grinning good-naturedly, piled into the space between the front seats and Xander to help Xander scoot all the way back, and to provide assistance to keep Xander from rolling off the seat if brakes had to be slammed or corners turned hard. Jim put the wheelchair in the back, then walked around to the driver's seat and with a last set of waves that he could just see through the side window from his sprawled position, they were off.

The ride to the train station was quiet, but then they parked and Jim unloaded the wheelchair. Getting out of the van was nearly as much of an adventure as getting in, but eventually he managed it and they were on their way. Jim helped Xander get settled in an actual seat, which was surprisingly comfortable, for a bit as they waited for the train to get moving. Xander stared out the window and fought down a sudden fit of depression. He'd known Willow practically all his life, and a few week-or-two long vacations aside, they'd not been apart for more than a day in all that time ... and now here he was, looking at a summer that was going to be largely Willow-less, which sucked beyond the telling of it. Although at least he wasn't this badly injured and still trying to live at home. That would have ended so very, very badly.

"You ok?" Blair asked from the seat across from him. Damn, he must've been doing a sadface.

"Yeah. Just kind of sinking in that I'm going to be spending most of the summer away from Willow. We've not been apart all that much since we met."

Blair nodded quietly. "Yeah, that would definitely be a bummer. Still, she said she'd come up, and she'll be more than welcome, so at least it won't be the entire summer, right?"

"Yeah, you got a point there." Xander admitted.