Xander and Cordelia materialized in the area adjacent to the land of the gods after leaving Colonel O'Neill and company. The first thing both of them did was look for David, who stampeded his way to them and jumped into his mother's arms. Cordelia grabbed him and first hugged him tight, them inspected him to make sure he was alright. No one fusses and worries as much as a mother who loves her child. It had never mattered to Cordelia that she'd never given birth to David. He was hers. Xander patiently waited his turn then got to hold David too, before David decided he'd had enough cuddles for now and wanted down. Xander reluctantly set David down on his feet. It hadn't even been twenty four hours but they'd both definitely missed the little guy.
Artemis took Cordelia aside to debrief on the mission while Thor took Xander aside for his debriefing.
"First off, I agree with everything Colonel O'Neill said." Thor told him.
"You saw?"
"Yes, we did. Normally we won't be watching, we have our own work to do. But this was your first mission and we wanted to keep an eye on things. A safety net. I don't think you're going to need it in the future. You learned quite abit on this mission. And while in one sense how you handled the Ashrak was fought with errors, I have to also say I'm proud of you. You took the time to try to gain much needed information. You tried to spare what you thought was an innocent undo pain and free them. When you knew for sure the host wasn't an innocent you chose to protect Earth as much as yourself. And you did it in a merciful way. Granted doing so caused issues, but that doesn't change the fact that you acted protectively and compassionately. Both are traits I'd much rather you cultivate then cruelty or selfishness. And Cordelia was also right, just because one out of half a dozen motives was selfish, doesn't change the necessity of the act. You've done good, my son."
Xander once again felt that knot loosen in him. Colonel O'Neill's assessment had helped alot, but Thor's meant everything to him. Before Thor and Duncan he'd never had a father's approval, for anything. He soaked it up like a dry creek bed soaks up rainwater.
"That having been said, before you begin your next mission we've identified a problem you accidentally caused that needs to be addressed. Two actually."
"What kind of problem?" Xander asked, concerned.
"First, it really was an accident. No one is to blame for it. In the reality where the genie granted Cordelia the dragon breath, the use of so much Magic in a combined space, caused ongoing issues for the Charmed Ones. One in particular has become a life and death issue. The backlash of Magic caused Phoebe to build up scar tissue in her brain, which causes pain with every premonition. But it's Piper that was most affected. Her pelvis was broken. Leo healed the damage, but again scaring has led to another problem. She'll soon be delivering her first child. The damage will make it that much harder then it normally would be. Usually this would be handled in a hospital, but they have an additional problem to deal with. The baby is the subject of a prophecy and demons have targeted the baby. They want the baby for themselves. We're sending you in to help. They'd normally be able to handle it all themselves, but this added complication, which they don't even know about, means the baby and its future are in peril. You will help them fight off the demons that want the baby and if necessary, help with delivering it."
"Oh gods." Xander felt horrible. A baby was at risk because of his actions.
"Alexander." Thor said gently, correctly reading his son's anxiety. "It really was an accident. The only way you could have prevented this was by doing nothing. You'd just witnessed their individual powers were helpless against the dragon warlock. You didn't know they could combine their powers. They'd be feeling just as bad if the circumstances were reversed. And like you, they would have acted to try to help. It's the nature of protective people. You have that in common."
Artemis brought Cordelia over to the two of them. "Before you go, you need to be made aware of something. The child in question is known as the Twice Blessed Child. Magic temporarily will go dormant in that reality until after the child's birth. Both witches and demons will have no power until after the baby's birth. The only being unaffected will be a unicorn from another realm. Realm being different from reality. This means your Magic will also be dormant, aside from your immortality. Which means you'll need to use other skills to aid them."