A/N Before we get any deeper into this story I just want to warn readers that this is going to be a psychologically heavy story. What's happened to Xander is life changing and hitting a lot of triggers for him. He needs to deal with those triggers and the changes the wish has caused and the others need to deal with them as well. The class clown isn't going to show up very much especially right now because Xander hasn't even had a week to deal with what Buffy's accidental wish has done to him. Unlike in my story Shadows of Another Life where Willow made an accidental wish that proved beneficial to Xander, this one has him dropped into a vat of emotional acid.

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"You let him go off to deal with a vampire by himself?" Buffy demanded, incredulous. "And didn't bother to make sure he was okay?"

"First off, B, he smelled death and I sensed a vampire. It's entirely possible the death was a dead Willow. Which would you rather he dealt with, seeing the body of yet another dead friend, especially after having been reminded of his friend Jesse after he and I made it through the tunnels following Red's scent? Or him dealing with the vampire that probably was the one that took her in the first place? He had some quality rage going on and he did need to vent it, preferably productively and dusting vamps is productive."

"You could've gone after him after getting Willow out! Damn it, Faith, he could have been hurt, it's not like he knows a lot about fighting! Especially things that are stronger than him. Sure he's stronger now than he was before, but not as strong as the kind of vampires we deal with!"

"He's got a few other advantages, B, like all the stuff he remembers from being a soldier. He said it came in handy this past summer when you ran away, he organized the others and they hunted."

"You guys hunted!" Buffy screeched.

"Someone had to." Cordelia glared at her. "Since you weren't here to do it. And we did just fine without you. 7 out of 10 vampires dusted and Xander did most of the dusting. Not that the rest of us didn't dust vampires too."

"That's just...stupid!" Buffy insisted. "It's not your job! It's mine!"

"You weren't here, remember!"

"How much could he possibly remember anyway?" Buffy switched subjects, not wanting to be reminded of why she hadn't been here. "I'm the Slayer and I don't remember anything I knew that night, not even the French I was fluent in during that spell."

"Quite a bit actually." Willow admitted. "Which makes me wonder why, as far as I know, no one else remembers anything they learned that night."

"It's possible Xander has a naturally occuring ability that helped him retain it." Giles suggested, he was concerned by Faith's comment about Xander's rage and Willow's observation about himself hiding Ripper. Rage had led him to the Eyghon mess, Xander needed a better way to deal with his own rage. A thought occured to him and he voiced it aloud. "If he does has a natural ability of some sort, than Magic might be a good exercise for him. And training to fight would also be good for him."

"How could that possibilty be good for him?" Buffy demanded.

"A lot of kids back home get recommended to boxing clubs to channel their aggression." Faith put in. "I spent time in one of those clubs myself. Besides, knowing how to protect yourself is always a good idea. You get hurt far less, if you can keep someone or something from hurting you."

"That might all be well and good." Buffy returned to her original reason for being mad. "But you left him to deal with a vampire by himself and we don't currently know where he is. For all we know, the vampire killed him."

"He didn't." Xander told her, as he entered the Library. He looked exhausted and something Buffy couldn't identify. "It was Spike, you remember, he made a deal with you to get Drusilla out of town and help stop Angelus from ending the world? Well, Dru dumped him and took up with a Chaos Demon, all slime and antlers and he wanted Willow to do some kind of spell for him and then be bait while he called you out, Buffy. He won't be a problem for you guys anymore."

Cordelia moved to wrap an arm around his waist and leaned against him. Unlike Buffy, she could recognize the mix of emotions on Xander's face, something had happened and she needed to get him alone and pry it out of him.

Faith recognized some of what she could make out on his face too and she realized something else had happened. She hoped Cordelia could help him deal with it.

"And I can read minds." Xander added. "It happened without me even trying, I asked Spike where Drusilla was and just saw the information in his head. She's in South America with the demon she left him for. All I got was that glimpse, but considering it was a vampire's mind, I'm grateful that's all I saw."

"Can you read us?" Buffy asked, not wanting anyone in her mind.

"I haven't tried and I don't want to. Willow, you've been reading the books, can I keep from reading minds?"

"Yes, it's not telepathy, at least the theoretical concept of telepathy. It's more like broadcasted information, which supports my theory that the nanites have a way of gathering information. You can learn to block it and I recommend that you do. It's why life mates are such a big deal for immortals, they can relax and not constantly block a flow of information into their minds. Also, because it's really easy for them to control humans a lot of them isolate themselves to avoid doing that. The only time it was ever really necessary to control a human was when they needed to feed. A life mate means companionship and not being on guard constantly."

"Sounds nice." Xander hugged Cordelia to him, desperately hoping he couldn't read at least her. He really didn't want to lose her and would she want to stay if she knew he could at least theoretically read and control her? "The life mate part anyway."