Xander stiffened when he sensed Leo orb in behind him. He whirled and looked at Leo, "What are you doing here?"
Leo flinched, "The Elders wanted me to talk to you, to explain things before they gave you back your wings."
"They did this?!" Xander demanded. "They clipped my wings and let Buffy die? And they didn't have the guts to tell me themselves?"
"They had good reasons, Xander," Leo said calmly. "And you may be a Whitelighter now, but you're still my charge, given your unique position."
"What reasons? Damn it, Leo, I just lost Buffy!"
"I know! I've been a Whitelighter for over fifty years, Xander. I know what it's like to lose a charge. I just lost Prue myself."
"She was more than just my charge, Leo! She was my friend!"
"And Prue was my sister-in-law!" Leo shot back. Collecting himself, he said, "All Whitelighters love their charges, Xander, us more than most, and all Whitelighters lose them. You have to accept that. At least you're not married to one of yours."
"I could have saved her!"
"No, you couldn't have," Leo said flatly. "They showed me all the possibilities. If you'd orbed up there after hitting Glory with the wrecking ball, you would've stopped them both from jumping, and the world would have paid the price."
"Fine, I could've orbed up there before Doc started cutting into Dawn."
"You needed to hit Glory with that wrecking ball, or she wouldn't have been stopped, and then... all your charges would be dead."
Xander blanched at the thought.
"Understand this, Xander," Leo said. "You did not fail her. No one did. It was her time to go, and you can't stop the angel of death."
Xander nodded, looking away, "All right, I get it already. Not my fault. Not the Elders' fault."
After a long pause, Xander looked up, "So, you and Piper finally got hitched? Bet the Elders pitched a fit over that."
"Well, they weren't too happy about it, that's for sure," Leo said wryly. "Are you okay?"
"Well, I'm not happy, but I'm not about to orb up there and rip the Elders a new one. I'll deal."
"Good. I-I guess I'd better get going."
"Yeah," Xander nodded, "with Prue dead, her sisters are gonna need you now more than ever."
Leo smiled at Xander's understanding and orbed home.
There's another one for ya. At least two more are on the way.
--End Transmission--