Chapter Text
Love Can't Fix Us
calikocat
word count: 1945
Disclaimer: I don't own Buffy, Teen Wolf, or Herbie the Love Bug.
A/N: We're gonna do a speed run of Buffy seasons 1-3. : ) Hang on to your hats I guess. Or cat-ears or whatever you wear on your head. XD
XXX
March 2010 – A few days after Welcome to the Hellmouth/The Harvest
Xander stared out the bus window as the station got closer. He needed to get his thoughts in order before he saw his dad and Herbie. It had been a hell of a week and everything seemed...not real. But it was, and it sucked and he hurt in ways he never knew he could hurt. Xander let his head thunk against the window and blinked away tears. They wouldn't help, and he didn't want to be sitting alone on a bus and crying amongst strangers.
His dad had wanted to come to Sunnydale to pick him up like he usually did, but Xander had asked him not too. Instead, he'd walked to the bus station right after school, having packed a separate bag for the weekend that morning. He'd barely gotten it back out of his locker, stuffed full, but it was worth it. He needed to think and calm down before he talked to his dad, because Xander was going to tell him everything. They didn't keep secrets from each other...and he needed to talk to someone. He needed to talk about Jesse, because no one seemed to care that his best friend was dead.
Not Buffy, not Giles...not Willow. That one stung because they'd all been friends for so long and she just... She just pretended he never existed. Buffy, he could understand, she'd just met Jesse. He was just another person she couldn't save, a civilian. Giles made even more sense, he'd never even laid eyes on Jesse while he still lived and breathed.
But Willow. That hurt. That hurt so bad he wanted to hit her. He'd never, ever thought about wanting to hit Willow before. And that scared him. So... he needed to talk to his dad.
He blinked as the greyhound changed direction and pulled into the station in L.A. He got up, gathered his backpack and duffle, and headed off the bus with everyone else. His dad was waiting on the platform, hands in his jacket pockets with a smile on his face. Jim Douglas was a good man and a good dad; he was always happy to see Xander. He had an inner warmth that Tony Harris had never possessed, even when he thought Xander was his.
Xander stepped off the bus, and before he even realized what he was doing, he was in his dad's arms. The poor guy barely got his hands out of his pockets before he had an armful of angsty teenager. Slowly he wrapped his arms around Xander and hugged him tight. “What's wrong kiddo?”
All Xander could say was one word. “Everything.” And he hung on to his dad for a long time.
xxx
Herbie knew something was wrong when his dad and little brother came out of the bus station. Xander was subdued, eyes sad, and... not acting like Xander. Dad looked concerned, maybe a little panicked. In the eight years that Xander had been in their lives, he'd never looked or acted the way he was now.
Except after the Hale fire.
He opened his trunk as they approached and Jim stored Xander's bags. “I called in an order at the pizza parlor in Malibu we like. That okay? Or do you want to head over to Barbeque Bobs?”
“I'm not up to the Sloans' company tonight. Maybe tomorrow or Sunday for lunch?”
“Sure, whatever you need Xander.”
Herbie closed his trunk and opened his doors. Dad got in without another word and so did Xander...Xander did give his side a pat and Herbie leaned into the touch. What the hell had happened to his little brother? And who did he need to run over?
xxx
The only stop they made between the station and the beach house was the pizza place. Xander held the boxed cheesy goodness on his lap and his dad took them home. He hadn't said a word since he'd gotten in Herbie. He didn't want to start the long horrible, sad story until they were at the beach house.
His dad drove them right inside as always, and Xander smiled just a little, because he loved the design of this house so much. He always had, being able to drive and park inside the house was still so cool. Like Starsky, or Dan Tanna on Vegas.
His dad put the pizza on the counter in the kitchen while Xander stashed his bags in his room upstairs. When he came back down, he went to the sofa and sat down...he didn't turn on the TV or anything. Herbie whined but Xander didn't look up.
“Xander?” He looked up at his dad as he sat down on the sofa beside him. “What happened?”
“Jesse is dead.”
“What?”
“Vampires are real, and Jesse is dead.”
His dad was quiet for a long moment. “I can't say I don't believe you...if cars like Herbie can exist, anything is possible. What happened?”
Xander finally let the tears fall. “He got turned into a vampire...and I killed him. The wooden stake went into his heart...and he turned to dust.”
Strong arms pulled him in close and Xander finally cried. He cried on his dad's shoulder until he had a headache and couldn't cry anymore. Finally. Finally, someone gave a damn about what had happened to him, to Jesse. Thank God for his dad.
When he could breathe normally again, he told Dad and Herbie everything. The new girl coming to Sunnydale, her super powers, Willow almost getting eaten...everything. He talked so much his voice was horse and all he wanted to do was sleep. Still, his dad made him eat a slice of pizza and drink a glass of milk before letting him go to bed. Then he hugged Xander tight and kissed the top of his head.
“I'm sorry son. I'm so sorry this happened. Tomorrow night we can have a bonfire and talk about Jesse, a memorial of sorts.”
“Thanks Dad.”
“Get some sleep kiddo, I'll clean up.”
xxx
Jim peeked in on Xander an hour later just to be sure that he was sleeping, not tossing or turning from a nightmare. He seemed fine, sound asleep, so he crept back downstairs and sat in the chair closest to Herbie.
“Well, I wasn't expecting all that.” Herbie shook a bit in agreement. “He's sleeping...emotional exhaustion I suspect.” He leaned back in the chair. “Herbie what are we going to do? I doubt he'll want to live here full time. Even with Jesse gone, Willow is still there, and he seems to have...what's the word? Imprinted on Buffy. I guess it’s because she's a literal superhero.” He sighed and Herbie whined. “I know buddy. We'll talk about it with him tomorrow. Want the TV left on?” Herbie moved his wipers in a definite no. “Okay then, I'm going to turn in too. Goodnight Herb.”
xxx
Xander woke up first the next morning and fixed breakfast. He said good morning to Herbie, but otherwise worked in silence. By the time he had the table on the patio set his dad was awake and shuffling toward the coffee pot.
They sat at the patio table, leaving the doors open so Herbie could hear them and make comments if he wanted. Though no one said anything until only a few bites of food remained on their plates. Finally, his dad spoke.
“Do you want to move to L.A.? Or Malibu?”
Xander paused, fork in the air. “No.”
“Xander.”
“Dad...for the first time I feel like I have a purpose. A goal for the future.”
“Besides racing?” His dad asked with a small smile.
“Oh, I still want to race...but this is bigger than racing.”
“Son, tell me it’s not about vengeance, about making any and all vampires pay for what happened to Jesse?”
“No.” Xander shook his head. “No. It’s about helping a real honest-to-god hero.”
“Xander-”
“Dad the kids in Sunnydale have no idea what's really out there. I want to help.”
They stared at one another for a long moment and Herbie grumbled from inside the house. Finally, his dad sighed. “Then you need to start taking self-defense.”
“Okay. Thanks, that'll help.”
His dad took another swig of coffee, probably to fortify himself for his next question. “So. Just so I know, how does one go about killing a vampire. Besides the staking option.”
xxx
Jim gripped Herbie's steering wheel, they'd just dropped Xander off at home, after looking at a few different places in Sunnydale that offered self-defense. Xander would be going twice a week from now on. Mondays and Thursdays. He wanted to do more for his son, but wasn't sure what.
Xander already had extensive knowledge of first aid, what with Jessica being a nurse. Kid could stitch himself up if he needed too, hell once Xander had stitched him up after he'd cut himself while cooking. That had been a couple of years ago.
Huh. Maybe he could keep a couple of super first aid kits fully stocked. One at the apartment in L.A., and one at the house in Malibu. Even better, he could make sure Xander had one in Sunnydale. Jim would give Xander every advantage he could.
“Maybe I should buy the kid a machete.” Herbie beeped in agreement.
xxx
Witch
“Cut her head off!” Xander yelled as he tackled Amy and held on tight.
“Xander! What are you doing?” Buffy asked.
He frowned. “Saving you?”
“Get your hands off her.”
He glanced up at an unsure looking Amy, before focusing on Buffy. “But she's evil?”
Buffy shook her head. “It wasn't exactly her.”
He looked back up at Amy, still suspicious. She tried to shrug. “I was my mom.”
Xander pulled back, but still kept an arm around her shoulders, just in case. “Like...a Freaky Friday kinda switch?”
“Yeah. She wanted to relive her glory days.”
“Ick. Who would want to be in high school on purpose?” He finally let go of her. “You okay now?”
“Yeah, thanks to Buffy.”
Willow rushed in the classroom then, baseball bat in hand. Where the hell did she get a bat? “Where is she?”
“Easy Wil, Buffy saved the day...apparently it was a Freaky Friday thing...only on purpose.”
“Oh.”
He looked at Buffy and Giles. “You two, okay? Last time we saw you Buff you were dying.”
“All better. Giles pulled off the magic...he did hit his head though.”
Xander pulled out his penlight and approached Giles. “Look at me Giles.” He grabbed hold of Giles' chin and used the penlight to test his eyes.
Giles didn't move, but he was frowning. “What on Earth are you doing?”
“Checking for a concussion. Your pupils look good.”
“How do you know how to do that?” Buffy asked.
“Xander's Mom is a nurse.” Willow told them. “He can even sew us up if we get hurt.”
Xander stepped back from Giles and put the penlight away. “Though the last time I stitched up Willow was when we were twelve when she crashed her bike. She didn't want her parents to know.”
“That's really cool Xan. I'll keep it in mind.”
“Yes, that will be extremely helpful in the future...and I have a clean bill of health?”
“You should be okay. If you get headache later go to the hospital, just in case.”
“Thank you.”
XXX