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?”