Xander pushed his way through LAX terminal, overwhelmed by the noise
and crush of people. His flight had been long and crowded, he hadn’t slept in days, and now he was pretty sure he was
lost. “How big can an airport be anyway?” he grumbled to himself. He looked around, trying to see over the sea of people for any sign of an exit. Finally
he glimpsed what looked like a green arrow and started pushing his way towards it. “Goddamn Watchers and their goddamn
council! There have been some new developments, Xander. We need you to go to L.A. and keep an eye on things, Xander. I’m
not a Watcher! I’m not trained for this!” Finally Xander broke through
to freedom, or at least to the outside of the terminal. Trying not to choke on
smog-laden air, he flagged down a taxi and gave the driver the name of the hotel he was staying at. “I don’t care
what kind of developments have come up, I’m not going to see Deadboy until I’ve showered, eaten, and slept for
at least 12 hours.”
~!~
The next day, Xander stood outside of the law offices of Wolfram
and Hart, staring up at the building. “Damn, whoever said evil doesn’t pay didn’t work for these guys.” Making his way inside, Xander checked in with the front desk, got directions and a
visitor’s pass, and made his way to the elevators. Stepping into an elevator
empty except for a tall, snappily dressed, green skinned demon with red horns, he took a deep breath before pressing the button
for Angel’s floor. “Well, here goes nothing.”
“What’s the matter cupcake? Not happy to be here?”
Xander eyed the demon warily. “Um, no actually. I’ve
gotta go see an old acquaintance, we don’t get along very well.”
“I’m sure it won’t be that bad, a sweet thing like
you? Who wouldn’t get along with you?”
Xander blushed, “Um, thanks.
But really, I don’t see how it couldn’t be a bad scene.”
The demon ‘tsked’ softly, “No self confidence but
such a yummy package.” He held out his hand, “I’m Lorne by the way.”
“Xander. Nice to meet you.”
“Tell you what, baby doll. Why don’t you hum a few bars
for me and I’ll tell you if you should be worried or not.”
Xander considered for a second, but then shrugged, what did he have
to lose? He sang a few lines of the song he had heard on the cab ride over.
Lorne’s eyes widened. “Well, sweetie, first off, no worries.
No one gets along very well with our Angel Wings. He just tends to rub people the wrong way.
Secondly, can I give you a hug? Poor baby, such a hard last couple of
years.” Lorne threw an arm around Xander and pulled him close, and Xander
tried not to cringe at being hugged by the strange, and obviously gay, demon he had just met. Lorne let him go and smiled
down at him. “Don’t worry so, sweetcheeks, Angel’s not the real reason you’re here anyway.”
Xander relaxed, “He’s not?”
Lorne shook his head. “Nope, and I’m not gonna say who
is. But can I just say, you two will make an adorable couple! I can’t wait
to see everyone’s face!”
Xander grabbed hold of the sleeve of Lorne’s lavender sequined
suit. “What do you mean? Who are you talking about?”
Lorne patted his hand just as the elevator finally slid to a stop. “Don’t fret so sweetness, you’ll be fine.”
Reluctantly, Xander pulled away from Lorne and got off the elevator,
only to be confronted by a more familiar demon: a blonde, bouncing, squealing demon.
“Xander! Oh my god! What
are you doing here? And what’s with the eye patch?”
Xander groaned, “Hey Harmony. Why does it not surprise me that
you work for this place too?”
Harmony pulled him into a hug, which he gamely returned. She pulled
back and looked at him, “So, really, what’s with the eye patch? See ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ one
too many times?”
Xander scowled at the ex-cordette. “Actually, the patch is
for real, I lost my eye in the final Sunnydale fight.”
Harmony shrugged and tossed her hair over her shoulder. “Tough
break. So, are you the guy the Watcher’s council sent to watch Angel?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Harmony flounced back over to her desk. “Let me just tell Angel
you’re here.” She picked up a phone and hit a button, “Angel, the spy from the Watcher’s council is
here.”
“Hey! I’m not a spy!”
Harmony just rolled her eyes. Before Xander could further protest
his innocence, the double doors at the end of the room opened, and Xander’s least favorite Vampire stepped out.
Xander stood, uncomfortable under Angel’s scrutiny, as the
dark haired Vampire walked around him. “Xander Harris.”
“Brood boy.”
Angel smirked, “What on earth was Giles thinking when he sent
you to watch me?”
Xander scowled at the Vampire, “Probably knew I wouldn’t
complacently believe whatever you tell me.”
Angel laughed darkly, “Always suspicious of me Harris. Good. There’s nothing I like more than being second-guessed at every decision. Though you’ll have to fight with the others for the pleasure of contradicting
my every statement.” Angel waved for Xander to follow him as he walked back into his office. “Come and meet my
coworkers.”
Bemusedly, Xander followed the Vampire into his office. Two men and
a woman lounged around the various couches and chairs. Wesley, the ex-watcher,
Xander already knew, and Xander immediately walked over and shook hands. “Wesley,
good to see you again. You look good.”
Wesley smiled and shook his hand, “Mr. Harris, it’s been
awhile.”
“Xander, please.”
The other man, tall, dark, and dressed in a well-tailored suit stood
next. “Hey man, I’m Gunn.”
“Gunn, nice to meet you.”
Xander turned to the petite woman last, “Hello.”
“Hi. I’m Fred.”
“Fred, very nice to meet you.”
She smiled shyly and blushed, and Xander was reminded of the Willow
of old. He decided he liked her immediately.
They all took seats on the couches while Angel sat behind a large
desk. Xander glanced around, “Um, Dead boy?”
Angel glared while Gunn snickered, and Xander decided he and Gunn
would get along fine. “Where’s Cordy?
She was working with you, wasn’t she? She may be my ex, but it would
still be good to see here again.”
The room fell silent and Xander got a very bad feeling in the pit
of his stomach. Fred’s tiny voice was the first to respond, “You…you and Cordy knew each other?”
Xander nodded, “We grew up in the same town, dated in high
school.”
Angel came and stood in front of Xander, handing him a framed picture
of Cordelia, looking very glamorous with short hair and a huge smile. “Cordy died recently. I’m sorry, Xander.”
Xander just held the picture and stared at it for several minutes,
letting the memories of Cordy war with the idea of her being gone. “How
come no one called us? How…how did she go? Was it…”
Angel seemed to know what he needed to hear. “She died to save us, if that’s what you were asking.
We didn’t call because everything has been so busy here we haven’t had a chance to deal with it ourselves.”
Xander nodded, sighed and set the picture aside. “Dying fighting the good fight seems to be the death of choice for Sunnydale class of ‘99.”
Everyone shifted uncomfortably and Angel went back to his desk, trying
to resume the meeting. “So, Xander here has been sent by the Watcher’s council to ‘help’ us in our
fight to reform Wolfram and Hart.”
Wesley smiled bitterly, “You mean he was sent here to make
sure that we don’t go over to the dark side, so to speak.”
“Hey!” Xander scowled. “I didn’t ask for
this assignment, alright? I was fine in Africa. Giles just told me there had
been some new developments and he wanted me here to keep an eye on things. I have no idea what I’m actually supposed
to do.”
Angel grinned, and suddenly Xander was frightened. “He was
right, there have been some new developments, and you are just the person to take charge.” Angel stood and walked out
of his office, “Follow me.”
Nervously, and not liking the looks on the faces of the rest of the
gang, Xander followed Angel down the hallway and into the elevator. They rode the elevator up several floors and got off on
a floor of what looked more like apartments than offices. Angel knocked briefly
on a door, then pulled out some keys and opened it. Angel gestured for Xander
to step inside, so he did, only to freeze in shock and confusion. “Holy Shit! Spike?”