Jack's Back

Author: Stephen Howe <sh01[at]bigpond.com>

FEEDBACK: Sure.

DISTRIBUTION: Ask and ye shall receive!

DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss! He created everything!

TIMEFRAME: Set in season 8. Set in San Francisco 2005 but starts off at the end of season 6 then jumps to 2005. Tara had left Willow and Sunnydale before the end of season 6.

SUMMARY: Xander has trouble with a decision made by Buffy and it's the last straw.


Prologue

AFTER THE BATTLE.

Xander held Warren by his throat. "And now you pay!" He exclaimed to the leader of the trio as he tightened his grip around the wiz kids neck.

Buffy screams out to him. "Xander NO!" She breaks his hold with ease and Warren drops to the ground gasping for air. "He's human and we don't kill mortals!"

Xander turns on her and she back peddles as the look of anger frightens her. "Yeah right! So what do we do? let him walk away from this with a' Naughty boy, don't do it again' or we'll let you go again ?" He glares at Warren and he scuttles away from the vengeful Scooby. "This piece of flotsam as good as killed Anya and you want me to just turn the other cheek and let him walk!"

Willow tells him. "We have no other choice Xander." She places her hand on her friends back and she feels him jerk away from her touch. "Look we can inform the police anonymously that he's the one responsible for the death of Anya and the robberies that three Troika committed."

Xander never took his eyes off of Warren. "And they'll really do something about it wont they? Those clowns would rather turn a blind eye to all this mystical mumbo jumbo rather than take him in and you know it Wills." He glances to Buffy. "And I suppose you're okay with the fact he de-chipped your organic dildo?"

Buffy could feel the heat of the blush as it lit up her face. "No I am not okay with the fact we once again have Spike to contend with Xander, but we have to move on and deal with it!" She turns to Warren and gives him her death glare. "Go and if I even dream of you so much as jaywalking I will snap your scrawny neck myself!"

Xander watched the scared young man as he ran for his life down the deserted street. Xander turned and began to walk away from the two women. Buffy called out to him. "We're going to go back to the Magic Box for a debrief... Xander? XANDER!" But he had enough, enough of her making the wrong decisions without even asking his opinion. "You don't own me anymore Slayer! Whatever I felt for you is gone, letting that scumbag go was the last straw." He held his hand up and waived it as he walked over to his car. "Have a good life Buffy and tell Dawn I'll miss HER."

He was in his car and halfway down the street before Buffy realised he was truly gone. Willow walked up to her and said. "He'll be back once he's calmed down, you know Xander he can't stay away from the Scooby's."

Buffy nods but in her heart she knows Willow is wrong. "I should have done something when he told us Spike was back to his old ways."

Willow sighs. "We all make mistakes Buffy, we wouldn't be human if we didn't."

Buffy stares at Xander's car as it vanishes around a corner. "Yeah but my mistakes end up killing people." Xander had only been gone a matter of seconds but his leaving left a hole in her life larger than anything else she had known, outside the loss of her mother. "I think we may have been wrong about letting Warren go."

Willow shakes her head. "We don't kill humans Buffy, it's what separates us from the creatures we hunt." Buffy closed her eyes but she could still see the bloodied body of Anya as the three of them entered the Magic box only days earlier. Xander was right I should have staked Spike when we first began to suspect his chip had been deactivated."

Willow looked at Buffy then bit her lip before telling her. "He'll be back you'll see. Xander can't hold a grudge for very long."

Several weeks later a groggy Warren wakes up to the sound of alarms ringing in his ears and several large policemen pointing guns at him. "Put the gun down and step away from it!" They ordered. He looked confused; the last thing he remembered was putting the finishing touches onto the next generation of his Buffy bot and then waking up here. He glanced around and saw he was sitting in the middle of a bank, a bank covered in debris and pieces of burnt money, with a gun in his hand. He dropped the gun and stood up with his hands on his head.

One of the cops holstered his gun and took out his handcuffs. As he placed them on Warren's wrists the scientist exclaims. "I was set up! Someone knocked me out and brought me here!"

The cop manhandled him into the squad car. "Right and I suppose the money and the dead body we found in your car was planted as well."

Only when he was taken through the main room of central booking did Warren realise who had set him up, as he was dragged through the passageways he saw several construction workers repairing a large hole in the wall of one of the main offices. Warren's eyes fell upon the foreman as the man gave him a one finger salute. "Harris! He was the one that set me up!"

The officer raised an eyebrow and then apologised to Xander. "Sorry Alex we get all types in here." They continued on through to the cells as Xander told him. "I don't mind Frank, just as long as you keep him locked up." Xander went back to work as he thought about his actions. He knew the first thing Warren would do when Buffy released him would be to try for a spot of revenge so Xander had made it his job to follow Warren wherever he went and when he found him working on the Buffy bot with the dead body of the owner of the electronics store lying behind the counter Xander began to form a plan of revenge that would see the bastard pay for his crimes.

Xander watched them drag Warren away. "Amazing how simple a 'clouding spell' is to perform." He then slipped into the computer room and pretends to check out the walls until he could see no one was in there. He closed the door then made his way over to the keyboard and began typing. "And Miss Calender, God rest her soul, said I'd never get the hang of this!" He ran the program he had just entered and his new history was created care of Sunnydale P.D.'s wonderful record of lax security and donut addicted members.

He slowly opened the door and made his way back to the rest of his gang. "We're almost finished here so I may as well head back to the office." He then walked to his car and threw his tool belt into the back. When he arrived home he checked his messages and found them all to be from Willow and Buffy, which he erased, but one was from Dawn. "hey Xand I just called to see if you were all right and to ask when you were coming over again? Just because my sister is dumb it doesn't mean it runs in the family, call me."

Xander looked at his packed bags and shook his head. "Maybe from Frisco kid but not from here."

Chapter 1

TARA'S HOME - SAN FRANCISCO 2005.

Tara watched as the young man stepped from her bathroom and she grinned. "No that's the Xander I know and love." She sees him rub his face where the heavy beard and moustache had been not more than half an hour ago. He grins and tells her. "it's going to feel strange for a while." He ducked his head and looked into the hall mirror. "I kinda got used to the look."

Tara grimaced and shook her head. "Nah! The Drug dealer look stopped being cool when Miami Vice folded!" She saw the scar above his hip as he tucked his shirt into his pants while he limped into the kitchen. She followed him in then watched him as he demolished the stack of pancakes. "They are giving you a desk job now though.. Right?" She looked at him with a scared look on her face. "I mean that is what they said at the hospital when they first brought you in when you..." She points to his waist and he smiles.

"Its okay Tara just saying it wont make it happen again." She blushes. "When that maniac shot you."

Xander forks another mouth full of her pancake into his mouth. "That's okay 'Cuz I shot him too so it all evened out in the end."

Tara sighed. "It all seemed so much better when you were just a normal policeman and was wearing that nice blue uniform."

Xander shrugged. "Yes but I like what I do Tara and it's the one thing I seem to be good at." Before she could reply there was knock at the door. Tara went to it and opened it. "Hey Tara, how's the good witch of the west doing?" Sam walked inside as Tara moved to let him in. "Okay I guess." She whispered. "Can't you do anything to get Xander to change job?"

Sam looks shocked. "But then the world would fall into chaos, the banks would close and hell would be unleashed upon the world.. Oh no that's when my in-laws arrive for Christmas." He places a hand on her shoulder. "Look I know what with everything that happened it may seem he's in danger every time he puts on the badge but the thing with Marco was a one off. Besides if Xander didn't take him down that asshole would still be out there killing kids."

Tara nods. "I know that Sam but it's just... I worry about him, its like the only reason he has to get up in the morning nowadays is if he's after some murderer or something."

Sam nods. "I know all about that Tara, you should talk to my wife you two would make a pair!" He drops the good humour act and tells her. "I promise I'll never let him get that deep again without being at his back." He stared into her eyes. "But the point is you have to know that if he didn't go under then Marco would still be out there killing."

Tara looks at Xander as he finishes off the stack of pancakes then she speaks up. "Yeah well I won't let you leave this house until I see you wearing your Kevlar vest."

Xander grins goofily at her. "But jeez ma none of the other kids are wearing them!" He wipes the syrup from his lips and then winks at Sam. "Besides I'm going to be desk bound for the next three weeks so I'd be better off sitting on my vest to stop my ass from falling off!"

Xander smiles as Tara laughs. "Your early today Sam, Jenny throw you out again?"

Sam grins and tells him. "Well she told me that if I didn't ask you to dinner tonight I shouldn't bother going home."

Xander looks at Tara. "Isn't Kim coming over tonight?" Tara nods then tells him. "But you shouldn't think that you have to make yourself scarce because of that." Xander shakes his head and tells her. "Just because I'm Mr. Celibacy these days doesn't mean you have to take the vows as well Tara."

He stands and sips his coffee then shrugs into his coat before picking up his bag. "I should be back around 5 then I'll shower change and head over to Sam's." He kisses the crown of her head. "Good luck tonight Tara." She blushes then smiles as Xander and Sam leave.

Xander, gingerly, gets in the passenger side and sits down; he then takes his gun from the bag, along with the badge, and slips it into his hip holster. He sees the look Sam gives him as he drives off and Xander shrugs. "Tara hates guns and it's her house."

Sam grins. "Under her thumb and you don't even get the fringe benefits." He then taps the front page of the news paper and Xander skims the report before asking Sam. "Jeez! When did this start?"

Sam shrugs. "About two days after you and Marco did your little dance on Dolores Street. By the way just where did you learn to shoot like that?" Sam had been impressed from the moment the video surveillance crew first showed them footage of Xander's showdown. "Freakiest damned shit I ever saw!"

Xander started to read the report with more interest. "You'd be amazed what the human body will do to stop someone from killing it Sam, I just pointed and pulled the trigger." He reads more. "Says here this was the second murder, who was the first?"

Sam pulls the car up at a set of lights and turns to him. "Jane Franklin but two is all the papers have found out about Xan, there's been three all up over the past three days. There's even talk of them being connected to five more in Lalla land." The light turns green and he pulls off, heading towards the new SFPD offices of the Serious Crimes Unit. Xander taps the paper. "I want in on this Sam."

Sam looks at him as he drives the car into the underground car park. "Are you sure? You just came from a pretty dark place Xan are you sure you want to go back?"

Xander shrugs. "If I don't try to stop this who will?" Sam frowns. "There are over twenty guys on the squad now why not leave it to them?"

Xander hobbles out of the car and waves to a passing patrolman who shouted a greeting to him. "Because if I didn't at least try and more women died how do you think I'd feel?"

TARA'S HOUSE.

As soon as she heard the car pull away Tara reached for the phone and pressed the speed dial then waited to be connected. "Hey Willow is Buffy in?"

Her ex nodded and then told her. "Yeah She's with a customer at the moment. So how is he today?"

Before Tara can answer Willow says. "Here she is now Tara, see you soon."

She handed the phone over to Buffy who was out of breath from running to the office. "Hey witch queen! So how is the hero today?"

"He's in pain but he tries to hide it from me, I know he's taking his painkillers and the other medicine the doctors prescribed for him." She grins into the phone as she sees the empty plates. "Plus my little booster shots."

At the word pain Buffy's face broke into a frown. "So is it much pain or just a little? Should I get Dawn to visit him again?"

"He's coping Buffy. I don't think he'll let it get to him but I have to tell you it was a lot closer than he makes out to Dawn."

"What do you mean?" Buffy was even more worried now.

"I had better tell you everything I found out."

FLASHBACK.

Xander had his hair tied in a ponytail and his three month old beard made him look every inch the biker drug dealer his cover said he was. Ever since being promoted to detective he yearned for this moment, the moment they would move on a known dealer whose drugs were pumped into the veins of school kids and hardened junkies alike. But this dealer had a habit far worse than any of his clients. His drug was the thrill of chasing and trapping teenage kids before taking them out into the city after dark and hunting them down. Xander knew that this time he would use the protected haven of

Dolores Park after dark and then raping and butcher them there.

For the three months he's been assigned to the Bay Area Butcher case Xander had read up on everything the department had on the way the bodies were found and how they were killed. He slowly began to get inside the mans mindset until he could just about tell what the butcher would do next and that was how he knew the man would be hungering for a new kill a new child to rip the soul from.

Xander sat astride the Harley Fat Boy as he saw a near new Lincoln pull up to the curb at Dolores Park and a tall Hispanic man get out then scan the almost deserted area. He sees a friendly faces of two other men as they walk over to him and hug the man. Xander pretends to roll a smoke but he speaks into his throat mike. "Bingo Alpha! Bad guy at my six."

Xander glances in his mirror and sees the men take a struggling teenager from the back of the car. "Shit! He's got another victim. Repeat subject has a teenage female on site and it looks like him and his buddies are going night hunting." He sees the man slip a knife into the bonds and cuts them before pointing into the park. The frightened girl takes off like a spooked rabbit for the relative safety of the parks wooded area.

Marco gives her a twenty count before he and his friends take off after her with guns and knives drawn. Xander takes his gun out and inches back the slide to make sure there's a round in the chamber. "It's going down! Move in." He starts up his bike and it surges forward like a dog let loose from its leash.

It didn't take long for the three men to catch up to the girl and just when she thought her short life was over she heard the wail of sirens and the sound of a motor bike as it bared down on them before it peeled to one side, its rider rolling free of the bike as the men began shooting at him. Xander rolled and fired at the same time, his rounds peppering the men driving them away from the girl and allowing her to run in the direction of the sirens.

Xander ejected the spent clip and slammed home a fresh one. "SFPD! Drop your weapons or kiss your Asses good bye!" The tree he is hiding behind shudders at the impact of the rounds the three fire at him in response. "How come the smart repartee works for her?" He clicks his mike. "Three subjects are near the church at the Dolores end of the park." Xander pauses as he sees Marco make a break for it. "Make that two gone to ground while the main subject is legging it towards the stairways."

Xander sees him run around a corner and Xander dives past the corner, turns and fires at the fleeing felon catching him in the knee. Xander stands and walks cautiously towards him. "Subject is down.." He sees people leaving their homes to see what the excitement is about. Xander takes his new detectives badge from around his neck and holds it up so they can see, never taking his eyes off of the perp as he did so. "Go back inside people nothing to see here."

Just then Marco turns and fires at Xander, the first round hitting him plumb in the centre of his vest. The blow felt like Olaf's hammer as it drove him back, the second and third bruised ribs and muscle but the fourth struck him just below the vest, above his hip causing Xander to stagger back before falling to the ground. Marco struggled to his feet and tried to get away taunting Xander as he did. "See you in hell Asshole!"

Xander fought against the pain as it burned through his hip. He raised his Colt and carefully lined up his target as Marco hobbled for his life. "You first!" He pulled the trigger and a neat hole was drilled in Marco's forehead. Xander looked down as other officers went to Marco, one of them kicking the gun from his lifeless fingers. Sam came running up to Xander and then paled at the sight of all the blood. "Christ on a crutch!"

Xander looked at his now ruined shirt and jacket. "Yeah Tara's going to knock me silly for this..." Suddenly the world span around and Xander collapsed back onto the road.

Tara sighed then tried to get her emotions in check. "The doctor told Sam that the bullet missed the main artery by a matter of microns but he still lost a lot of blood. They had to use CPR twice on the way to the hospital and he... His heart stopped on the table." She coughs and tells Buffy. "But he's back to normal cracking jokes about it and making out like nothing really happened."

Buffy feels a tear as it slides down her cheek. "Yeah he used to do that a lot as I recall." She looks at Willow. "Do you think he'd mind... Would he be angry if I came to visit an old friend?"

Tara sighs. "I was hoping you'd say that." Her fingers entwined the cord as she continued. "A visit from both of the Summers sisters would be a great help."

Buffy checks her diary. "Faith is coming in tomorrow with her new watcher so Sunny D should be in safe hands. How about I drive up on Monday? That'll give you three days to prepare him."

Tara let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and said. "Yes that would be great Buffy. I think you're just what he needs about now."

Chapter 2

SERIOUS CRIMES UNIT.

Xander had shook hands with several of the people he knew and had received slaps on the back and general good hearted banter from the people he had worked on the Bay Area Butcher with before he finally sat back at his desk. He took out his card and inserted it into the computer terminal before booting up the system. The computer checked his ID against those in its memory and cleared him for everything up to Ochre level and above. He keyed in a request for the latest on the investigation into the Jane Franklin's murder. He called up the C.S.I. file and then skimmed through their review of the information. As he did his phone rang and he picked it up. "Detective Harris."

"So how is my hunky man in blue today?" He smiles. "Well that would depend on whom you wanted Miss Summers. If you mean Sam then he's okay, still married but okay."

He could almost see Dawn's smile in her voice as it carried down the phone line. "I just thought I'd call and see how you were doing so far."

Xander grins. "So many pretty women and all interested in my health must be my new deodorant kicking in."

The commander's secretary walks over to him and Xander says. "Hang on Dawn." He places a hand over the phone as she tells him. "Captain Franks wants a word as soon as you're free Xander." Xander nods and he tells her. "Sure thing Carrie, I'll be in as soon as I hang up." He watches her walk away and he shakes his head. "Man I love this town." He takes his hand away then tells Dawn. "So how is life treating you at good old USF?"

Dawn sighs. "I never knew architecture was so hard! I thought it would be a breeze but then I forgot about the math!" She changes the subject. "Never mind me I rang to see how you were holding up on the first day of your desk job?"

Xander looks at the computer screen and shrugs. "I think it's going to be a long three weeks. I only just got in and already someone's brought me two coffees and three donuts!"

"Ah the hard and dangerous life of our men in blue. Just remember if they try to get you back in the field just say no' otherwise I know a Wicca that will curse your ass!" She sounded worried. "I mean it Xand, you mean too much to us to lose you and you really put the fear of God into..A lot of your friends when you went hero on us."

Xander lent across his desk to pick up the folder Sam had just placed on his desk and he grimaced as his wound prickled at the strain on it. "Ahh! So that's why you called." he covered the gasp and was pleased with his efforts. "You just want me for my body."

"Duh Brainiac! What else would I want you for? And now I'm at University I can go for you in a big way and not run the risk of one of your guys having to arrest you." She was looking at the Examiner as her room mate showed her the article on page 5. "Hey! Why didn't you say you were in the paper?" Dawn could fel her friend blush as her roommate reads it out to her.

Xander sinks into his seat as he whispers to her. "Dawn please don't tell anyone about this!"

Dawn stares at the phone. "Why on earth not? My best friend gets an award after almost getting killed and you want me to be quiet about it."

Xander sighs. "Yeah I'm getting a medal for killing someone and if the world was even a little bit sane she would have received one years ago..." Xander stopped and shook his head. "Never mind, hey who knows maybe now I can get a free coffee at Starbucks?"

Dawn smiled at Xander's remark not because it was funny but because he was finally remembering her sister in a good way instead of with animosity. "Jeez with any luck you could get a Danish as well." Xander sees a blonde woman walk into the squad room and the Captains secretary walks over and guides her into his office. "Yep maybe even a iced frappe or two as well, look I have to go it looks like something's about to happen here so keep well and don't party too hard."

Dawn grins. "Yeah well I'd say the same to you but I happen to know you never party, hell the only time you go out is when you and Sam have a case. See you on Sunday?"

Xander remembers he has to go pick Dawn up to take her to Tara's. "Yeah see you Sunday Dawn."

Katrina waits till Dawn hangs up and she places the page on her bed. "Your boyfriend looks hot Dawn!"

Dawn looks at the picture of Xander that must have been from his graduation at the Academy and she smiles. "He always was Cat, its just that it took his leaving us for certain people to recognise the fact." She reads the article then flips the page over to the front and sees the main headline. "Hey she was our age!" She exclaims then points to the picture. "Eew gross! It says she was the second 'Escort girl' to be murdered in as many days."

Cat reads the article over Dawn's shoulder. "So do you think lover boy will be assigned to the case?"

Dawn shakes her head. "Nah, he's on light duties. Besides Tara says he told her he wouldn't be going on full duties for quite some time yet." she reads what the killer did to his victim. "And I must say I'm glad he's not."

SCU.

Officer Kate Lockley is motioned to sit as the Captain reads the request from the LAPD. "It says here that you think our murders are linked to the five victims in LA." He looks up at her and asks. "What makes you think that?"

Kate takes out a folder and shows him. "Well they were killed in a similar fashion, they were all call girls working the same patch of ground and they were roughly the same age."

He reads the report and sighs. "Great just what we need right now!" He glances out his window at Xander's desk. "We just stopped one maniac that had butchered seven teenagers over a two year period and now you say another freak has moved into town."

Kate nods. "Yes I read the report in LA and the arresting officer seems like the kind of guy we'll need on the team. This Officer Harris, his record reads like a poster boy for the SFPD."

The captain nods. "He would have but he's on reduced duties till he's fully recovered." he looks at her. "I have to warn you though, even if I can swing it, he's built quiet a reputation since he started to work for us. Hell he makes 'Spooky' Mulder look like a frigging normal guy!"

Kate looks at Captain Franks and asks. "In what way?"

Franks glances at Xander. "Well he has this way of getting into the guy's head and he begins to see things, things that he shouldn't. It's really weird shit, pardon my French, but the other guys joke around with him but when they need a break in a case he's the guy they go to."

Kate sighs as she remembers her time at the LAPD and nods, knowing how her 'view ' of a case made her the squad outcast. "Jeez now we have to have him!" She looks at the Captain. "What if we kept him at a desk would that help us get him?"

"Assigning him to a desk and keeping him there are two different matters officer Lockley." He reads the file once more then nods. "But in view of the evidence I'd say we need to use whatever we can to stop this freak show before the press gets wind of it, and I get calls from the mayors office day and night like I did on the Marco case."

Kate asks. "Before we decide anything would it be possible to get a copy of his records?" She sees Franks brow crease. "I mean the last thing you want is for this case to go off on a tangent and the killer get away?"

Franks nods and types in a command on his desktop, after a few seconds a flash memory card is ejected from the PC. He hands it over to Kate and tells her. "That's encrypted to your name so if anything appears in the press we'll know where the information came from." Kate nods and takes her PDA from her coat pocket and slipped the flashcard in. "Do you mind if I read this first?" Frank shrugs and presses a button. "Denise could you bring in two coffees.." He looks at Kate and she says. "Milk and two please."

Denise acknowledges his request and complies. Kate meanwhile scans Xander's record. "Impressive.. Came in the top ten percent of his year. Highest score in Marksmanship, self-defence and police procedure. Currently midway through his Law degree..." Franks interrupts her. "Yeah and his talents will be missed, the DA has already got him earmarked for a fast tracked career." He snorts. "Hell give it a couple of years and we'll probably be taking orders from him."

Kate whispers. "Unless his views get him canned." She looks up and asks. "The wound he received while arresting the Bay side Butcher, will it hinder our investigation?"

Franks shrugs. "Knowing Harris he will play on it for all he can get but no it shouldn't hinder our investigation." Denise brings in the coffee and Franks tells Kate. "He has a one tracked mind though, once you set him on this maniacs trail nothing short of killing him will stop him and he couldn't care how high this thing will go. If God all mighty committed it I'm sure he'd go to heaven and bust his ass!"

Kate spots a fly in the ointment. "Um.. It says here his hometown is Sunnydale."

Franks nods. "Yeah he enrolled into our academy on the recommendation of their Chief of police, that and the glowing report from his High school principle made his entry a formality."

Kate gazed at the name on the screen. Sunnydale! She only knew three people that came from Sunnydale. One was a cursed Vampire that called himself Angel and had attacked her, the second was a rogue Slayer turned murderess called Faith and the last was the current Slayer called Buffy. And she for one liked the distance between LA and Sunnydale, hell Kate wished Sunnydale was on the moon and those three beings were on it. She reminded herself to check up on Faith and try to find out if she knew this Alexander Lavelle Harris and if she did the odds were that the young man had something to hide.

She skimmed down past all the commendations and usual things that any good officer will pick up in his/her career until she came across a photo of the man. She stared at it then looked over her shoulder at the men in the office. Sure enough there he was bent over his console furiously tapping away at some report or researching another case.

Xander hit the keys in frustration as the screen flashed. "Operation exceeds your access level. Please see supervisor for more information." Xander looked at the screen as Sam lent over. "Hey buddy hit a roadblock?" Xander nods. "Yeah and it's called departmental procedure." Sam laughs. "Well it certainly is mental."

Sam looks over his shoulder and curses. "Damn! What did you do?" Xander turns his head to see Franks heading his way. "How do you know it wasn't you?"

Sam whispers. "'Cuz I ain't the poster boy for Troubles 'R' Us." Sam settles back in his chair as Franks stops at Xander's desk. "Good morning Alex, how's the hip?"

Xander looks up and says. "Fine until I move it thanks."

Franks nods. "Would it hurt too much if you accompanied me to my office?" Xander watched Sam as he drew a line across his throat behind the Captain's back and pretended to choke. Xander grinned and nodded, following Franks into his office. He motioned for Xander to sit and points to Kate. "Harris I'd like you to meet officer Kate Lockley, she has requested you join the joint departmental investigation into the murders of the three women."

Xander looks at the officer and thinks. "Glad to meet you officer Lockley, I can't remember ever seeing you at any of the briefings I've been to."

Franks tells him. "That's because Lockley's from the LAPD, Alex and we are to extend any and all help in this matter. Now then you will be assigned to the squad investigating, you will be working under officer Lockley." He looks directly at Xander. "Is that clear? No more bullshit heroics Harris. You will follow her orders as long as she is over you do you understand?"

Xander shrugs. "I have no problem taking orders from a woman." He shrugs. "In fact I do some of my best work under women." Xander realised what he had said. "Uhh that didn't come out right."

Franks glares at him. "I'd say that was an understatement."

Kate tries to hide her smile as Franks tells him. "As of tomorrow you will be assigned to the triple murder investigation. However you will confine yourself to research and a desk." Xander nods but knows he will eventually break that order if they had any chance of catching the fiend.

Chapter 3

FAIRHAVEN APPARTMENTS.

The man stood naked as he stared into the full length mirror in his bedroom and began an animated conversation with himself. "I know! Don't you think I know they came close? But YOU wanted her and I had no other choice!" He cocked his head as if listening to a reply and then shook his head. "NO! It's too soon; they'll be combing the streets looking for us... AGHHH!!!"

The mirror reflected his arm being lifted above his shoulder and twisted. "Okay! All right I get it! You're hungry again. " His arm dropped and he began to rub it. "Man why can't you like pizza like everyone else?" A dark shape coalesced behind him as a voice, sounding like nails being dragged down a blackboard, echoed in the room. "Because fear sustains us and gives us life!"

The man moves from the mirror and picks up the paper and giggles insanely. "Only two! Hahahaha! They only think we killed two of the sluts!"

He looks over at the dresser table and moves over to it. On the table lays several wallets and he shuffles through them. "Who will we be tonight?" He picks up an old worn wallet and grins insanely. "Oh sir! You're going to be such a naughty boy!" He then walked over to the closet and removed suit and placed it on the bed, he then moved to the drawer and took out a snubbed nosed revolver and his ' tools'.

He dressed and placed the gun in its ankle holster before hiding the tool belt under his shirt. He looked at the mirror once more and made the sign of the cross. "Forgive me father for we are about to sin." He closes his eyes as he begs. "This time can I have my fun before you feed?"

S.V.U.

As Xander and Kate made their way back to his desk Kate hands him the memory stick she had brought from LA and asks. "So your from Sunnydale then?"

Xander nods. "Yep a nice little seaside town midway.." Kate finishes his sentence. "Between LA and San Francisco.. I know someone that visited there for a while." They sit down across the desk from each other and she glances at him. "I hear the nightlife is something to be avoided?"

Xander shrugged. "Wouldn't know about that, I was too busy studying or watching Dark Angel to go out much. As I recall we did have a lot of trouble with gangs on PCP though." He looked up from restarting his computer. "So who was this friend? Maybe I knew them."

"Oh if you didn't get out much I doubt if you knew them. One I arrested for murder, her name was Faith Williams and the other was a private eye I had a lot of trouble with and his name was Angel."

Xander kept typing and never missed a beat as he shook his head. "Faith Williams and Angel.. Any last name for him?"

Kate looked disappointed. "No.. Just Angel, you know like Pink or Madonna or.. Dracula."

Xander looks at her and does his best Legosi impression. "I don't drink..Vine..." He grins then explains. "Sorry Ms Lockley but I already get all the ribbing I need from the people I work with, I don't need to get more from an import." He begins downloading all the information from Kate's memory stick. He pauses and tells her. "No doubt Franks gave you a copy of my record so you know I'm good at what I do."

Kate nods. "You're not good Alex, your a freak! If I had you as a partner in LA a lot of unsolved crimes would be solved." She smiles. "However I did notice a slight trend in your arrest reports. More coroners reports as opposed to jail time."

"When you're dealing with the criminals my partner and I deal with they have a tendency not to view jail time as an option."

Kate holds up her hands and tells him. "No need to tell me Alex, why else do you think I scored this little number? I Uhh have a tendency to gravitate towards the type of crimes that no one else likes to touch."

Sam walks to his desk that is now occupied by Kate. He grins behind her back and makes the universal sign for sex as he nods and finishes with the okay sign. "So I see I'm replaced by a younger model after all these years."

Sam tells her. "A younger and far prettier model if I may add." She grins and blushes as she tells him her name and he tells her his. Sam then turns to Xander. "I drew the short straw tonight so I guess the dinner's off."

"That's okay Sam there'll always be another day."

"Yeah but Jenny's cousin won't... Oh Ow!" Sam stops and looks at him as Xander looks up from his desk. "Please tell me you weren't setting me up again Sam?"

Sam grins at him. "Hey you know how it is, us married men hate to see you single guys having fun." He leans in. "Besides my friend you are in desperate need of a good fu.... n time out on the town." Sam blushes as he remembers Kate is sitting across from them.

Kate looks from Sam to Xander. "Don't you live with your girlfriend? I would have thought you would get all the FUN you would want from her."

Sam laughs as he walks away. "From Tara? You'd have a better chance than he ever would. See ya tomorrow Xand!"

Kate looks at Xander quizzically. "What?"

"Nothing, its just Sam's weird sense of humour." He goes back to reviewing the five murders in LA and compares them to the ones in SF. "The good news is this guy's getting sloppy."

Kate asks. "And the bad news." Xander looks at her. "He's also getting a whole lot more inventive." He brings up the coroners reports and they view them side by side He then calls up the witnesses at all eight murders and reads them until Xander slaps the plasma screen. "DAMN!" His fingers type fast and another case report appears. Kate reads them and tells him. "These are almost identical to the crimes in LA? Where did this occur?"

Xander waives her off. "Wait a minute... Yep I was right. Every time a cop arrived at the scene and began to question people our boy was there watching the proceedings!" Joe Barnett, Dr. T. Neill Cream, Albert Victor Prince, Frederick Deeming, George Hutchinson, Severin Klosowski, Aaron Kosminski and lastly James Kenneth Stephen! "Kate shrugs." So? Should I know these guys?"

Xander leans back in his chair and rubs the wound above his hip. "You asked where did these other crimes ocur, try the Whitechapel area of London.... 1888!"

Kate looks at him. "Sorry I thought you said 1881 for a minute.... Hang on." She shakes her head." You don't mean... Please tell me you don't think Jack the freaking Ripper did these crimes?

SUMMER'S HOME.

Buffy looked around the lounge and sighed. Ever since her sister had left earlier that year the old home had become so very empty. Sure she had Willow and the newly returned Faith staying with her but they were no matches for the fun times this old home had once seen. She knew the reasons the house had stopped being a home. It had begun with her mother's death and the events of that summer in '02 had put the finishing touch to the home.

She went into her room and picked up the album that still laid across her bed from where she had been glancing at it when had arrived with her new watcher, Willow. Buffy flicked through the book until she saw Xander and Anya showing off the engagement ring, Xander and Anya getting back together after the wedding fiasco, Xander and Dawn at her prom. That was the last photo she had of him. Just two short days latter her lover had returned to his bad old ways and Buffy being who she was back then had refused to believe the evidence. Right up until the phone call from Xander's landlord telling him to get home quick.

They arrived in time to see the ambulance take off and the coroner's wagon arrive. As long as she lived she would never forget the mournful wail Xander had emitted as they saw her body. Nothing they did could console him and he finally broke away from them and ran off into the twilight with but one purpose in mind. Buffy found him at Spike's new home and the sight she saw broke her heart in two.

Her lover, the demon supposedly electronically prevented from harming any human, was beating the crap out of Xander. "Stay down droopy and I'll make this easy!" Spike demanded but Xander kept dragging himself to his feet and attempted once more to end Spike's unlife. "I'm going to send you to hell even if it is only when Buffy realises what it is you are!"

Buffy's voice frightens Spike with its venom. "Oh Buffy realises what he is Xand! It's just taken me till now to realise what a complete idiot I had been!"

Spike moves back from Xander. "'Bout bloody time Slayer!" He wipes some of his blood from his mouth. "This young whelp must have been attacked and turned, and now he expects you to help him finish me off!"

She walks and stands in front of Spike looking at Xander. "Can't have that can we Spikey?" She glares at Xander. "How many times do I have to tell you that I'm the Slayer?" She turns to face Spike. "And killing scum like this is my job!" She drives her stake into Spikes chest, missing the heart by inches but causing him pain. He drops to the floor cursing her. "ya missed pussy!" She shakes her head as she sees the sun rising. "No, the way I see it staking you would be too easy." She offers Xander her hand. "Care to help?"

Willow found them sitting in front of a billboard watching the sun creep up the sign as it inched towards something crucified in the middle. Buffy hands him the coke. "I got to admit Xand as Slaying goes this is a new way for me."

Xander watches as the sun strikes Spike's foot and it bursts into flames, he showed no emotions at all as the vamp squealed in pain as his body was slowly cremated by the sun's rising. "The thing is Buffy, someone had to take the chip out and now we know it was Warren. So the question is what do we do about it?"

Willow tells them. "I'd say deep frying the demon that killed Anya was a good start."

Xander covered the coke as Spike explodes into dust. "But Spike was just being what he always was, I blame Warren for everything that happened. If he hadn't de chipped dusty over there then Anya would still be alive."

Buffy tells him. "We can take Warren down but when all's said and done he is still human."

And those words haunt her to this day, if she had done something about Warren then Xander would be with them today and not risking his life in SF.

STREETS OF SAN FRANSCISCO.

It was raining hard that night and Sam was even more pissed off than usual as he stepped from the car and made his way to the crowd of hookers as they sheltered under the awning of the hotel. "Hey girls! " He had an incredulous look on his face. "Can you ladies not read or did God make you dumber than dirt?"

One of them stepped forward. "We got to live, like the next guy! Besides we figured what kind of nut job would be out now that 'Frisco's finest are on the job?" They all laugh until a scream is heard coming from inside the cheap hotel. Sam takes his gun out and orders his partner for back up.

The squad car pulled up to the now crowded hotel and an officer told Xander. "You can't park there! This is a.. Oh sorry sir I didn't.." Xander sped past him and into the lobby of the hotel. Franks held him still. "My advise is don't go in there Harris!"

Xander broke his hold and made his way into the room followed by Kate. At first she thought the room was painted red but she quickly realised it was blood that painted the walls of the bedroom. There on the bed was victim number nine and at her feet was Sam.

One of the cops made an off the cuff remark. "Why didn't the fat fool just stand back and pull his piece on him?" Xander had the street cop up against the wall with his hand around his throat. "That 'Fat fool' was a hundred times the cop you'll ever be!"

Xander felt his side twinge and he dropped the cop after Kate told him. "He's not the one you should be venting against Xander." Xander nodded and moved across to his friend. The forensic squad was picking up spent cartridges from the pool of blood that fanned away from Sam's body. He saw the same left to right pattern of the slash that the other victims throats had. Xander looks long at his friend and sighs. "It's my fault! If I had just did what I promised he wouldn't have been out here and..." Xander's head tilted to one side as he noticed something. He looked at each wall and then at different objects before asking. "Sam emptied his clip right?"

Kate looks at the scene of crime officer and he nods. "yeah." Xander waived his hands around the room. "So tell me where are the bullet holes?" He looked at the body. "Sam was good; if he could see it he could hit it, so the question is kiddies.. Where are the slugs?"

One of the SCU men called out to Xander. "Alex you had better come look at this." The man led him into the bathroom and pointed to the mirror, written on it blood was.... "Hello once more dear Boss. Got me self turned around when chummy barged in and spoiled me fun. Now I gots to find me another whore! Me old chum Abberline sends you 'is best and he 'opes you have better luck than wot 'e did. Regards From Hell. Saucy Jack."

Jim asks him. "Does any of this shit mean anything to you Alex?" Xander nods. "I want samples of the blood this was written with and a transcript taken to cryptology."

Kate walks over to the bath and says. "Alex?" He walks over and there in the middle of the bath were all 15 rounds from Sam's gun showing the mushroom effect of hitting something. Xander kneels and uses a pen to turn them over. "Well Sam hit something, there's blood on some of these."

Kate looks at the spent nine millimetre projectiles and says. "We need bigger guns."

Chapter 4

S.U.V.

Xander slumped back in his chair and rubbed his eyes in an effort to wake him self up. He sighed and shook his head. "Such a god damned waste!" He exclaimed. "Fifteen years on the force, wife three kids and a mortgage." Xander's hand swept Sam's desk clean of paperwork before his fist hit the surface. "I don't care who he is or who he knows this freak's going down!"

Kate looked at him and her heart went out to the man. She had sat there while he told Jenny that her husband was dead and he swore to her he would put his murderer in the ground if it were the last thing he ever did. "It's not your fault Alex, you didn't kill him and he would have been assigned to this case with or without you."

Xander rested his head in the palms of his hands. "what I want to know is why did the hooker take the man into the room? Shit the media have been in a feeding frenzy about this killer and his victims and yet they're still out there working the streets."

Kate sighs. "I talked to few of the 'ladies' and they said that a lot of the girls have called it a night till we catch the killer, so they thought that with the opposition taking a holiday..."

"That they could make a few extra bucks." Xander shook his head. "And for that a good man died! I got to tell you Kate, my opinion of the human race is going downhill at a frightening pace." He glances at the clock and swears. "Shit!" He picked up his phone and dials Tara. "She must have gone out." He holds up a finger. "Tara it's me I'm fine but I have to tell you something when I get home."

He hangs up and his hand hesitates over the phone. His mind telling him to go home while his heart tells him to ring 'HER'. He shakes his head before he reaches for his PDA and slips the memory stick from his computer and removes his ID card from the security port. "I'm calling it a night, I don't suppose I could bum a ride?"

Kate nods and they make their way to the elevator down to the car park. Xander keyed in his address to the onboard navi-system and it produced a map on the LCD screen for Kate to follow. "Remember when you had to ask the garage guy for directions... Sorry I forgot you're a guy. Guys don't ask even if they're lost." Xander grins then is lost in thought Sam was a good policeman and if he went into a room where a woman was screaming he would have been prepared. So just how does someone get under a cops radar and then butcher him?

He was so lost in thought he never realised Kate had driven him home and was waiting for him to either get out or invite her in. Xander looked up as the porch light snapped on. "Oh jeez I'm sorry. Not much for company tonight."

"Yeah well the murder of a friend will do that to you." She sighs. "Do you want me to pick you up tomorrow?"

Xander shakes his head. "No.. I ahh have a few things to do before I go into work tomorrow." He climbs out of the car and grimaces as he begins to feel the pain in his side. He pats the top of the car. "See you tomorrow around 10." Kate nods. "Just take it easy Alex, we will catch this asshole!" She grips his hand in support and then drives off after tapping the address of her hotel into the system.

He grips his PDA and then walks up to the front door jumping back when it flies open and Tara rushes out, tears in her eyes. "Oh god Xander!" She hugged him and he clasped his arms around her. "I heard about Sam while we were at the movies." She backs away and then her eyes go wide at the sight of his shirt. He glances down "Don't worry its Sam's blood not mine." She tugs him inside and then sits him down.

Xander grimaces and then unclips his gun. "Sorry I..." Tara takes it from him, holding it like it was a live snake, then places it in his drawer before returning. She sees him place the PDA on the table and turn it on before he starts to shake. It is only when she hears his sobs that she realises he is crying. She goes to him and he hugs her chest like he was a little boy and cries his heart out. "I am so sick of losing friends, Tara. First Jesse then Jenny, Joyce then Buffy. I thought it was over but then I lost Anya and now Sam!" He looks at her. "I swear it's best to go through life without making friends!"

"Hush now, you shouldn't say that! " She holds him tight. "You can't call that living; life is more than just breathing Xander. Without friends and loved ones this world isn't worth being in."

Xander's sobs come to a halt slowly and he then tells her. "Do you believe in God?" Tara nods. "I believe in the existence of a divine power that watches over us."

Xander shakes his head. "How can you still believe? After all the murders and evil in this world, how can you believe?"

She looks into his eyes. "I believe that the Great Spirit has a plan for each and every one of us. Some he calls to his side regardless of how we feel about it, others he has greater plans for them, greater than they could ever imagine."

Xander flips the screen towards her. "In your circle of friends would anyone have heard of a creature that can shape shift to someone you trust?"

Tara nods. "I'll ask around." She looks back at him. "If what you think is true then you should be even more vigilant." She takes his hands in hers and then closes her eyes. "We should pray for a swift journey for Sam's soul as it travels back to the Guff."

When Xander finally went to bed Tara phoned Buffy as quietly as she could. "Buffy? He needs you now!"

6 A.M.

Xander hat a fitful nights sleep, his inner demons dredging up all his old fears and anxieties in the form of nightmares. He woke and went for his morning jog avoiding the early morning workers on their Segways as they travelled to work. He jogged up to the heavy doors of the OKAY CORRAL SHOOTING RANGE and looked into the camera. "OLA' Hector open up!" The doors inner lock clicked open and Xander stepped in then shut the door behind him.

Hector was a veteran of the Texas brush wars of '03 when Mexico, deep in internal turmoil, allowed the drug cartels to strike out at the American oppressors. It was a short sharp war that left death and desolation all along the border. "What can I do for you at this ungodly hour Alex?"

Xander dropped his department issue Glock onto the counter. "I need a bigger gun."

Hector grinned. "You do know Dirty Harry is dead don't you?" He then rolled his wheelchair version of the Segway over to a wall and depressed a button allowing the wall to slide back and reveal a large safe. "I've got a. 44 Magnum semi-auto that should fit the bill." He takes it out and places it on the counter. "Short slide, compact, gas ducted to reduce recoil, nine round clips. It can take the new Tazer round or.." He drops a box next to the gun and taps it. "The all new super pumped Glazer anti-personnel round. This shit is so hot you'll need to sift the remains for finger prints."

Hector watches as Xander runs through the drill on the new gun. Hector picks up one of the rounds and twirls it in his fingers. "I heard about Sam." Xander's eyes snap to Hectors. "I knew him when he was just a snot nosed SFC in the Rangers with me." He slams the round on the counter. "I want to read about how you sent the freak that did that to him straight to frigging hell!"

Hector presses a buzzer and another door pops open. "You know the way to the range, get used to the gun and the shells." Xander moves to take out his wallet but Hector glares at him. "Don't you be offering me money now Harris!" His fist hit the stumps where his legs used to be. "If it weren't for these I'd be cruising the streets looking for a little Texas Justice. So I guess you'll have to be my Judicial System"

Xander sighs. "Look, Hector, I know you're hurting, Hell we both are, but I'm just going to use this as an aide to arresting this piece of shit. Sam emptied a clip into the guy and all it did was spit the bullets into the bath like they were watermelon pips." Hector grins. "You hit him with that and the only thing he'll be spitting up is his life!"

By the time Xander had gotten used to the gun, and was satisfied with his marksmanship, three hours had passed. He cleaned the magnum and placed it in its holster. Hector slid him over another box of Glazer 3's. "Go with God Xander, and from what I hear you'll need his help."

Xander slipped the holster and gun into his belt then placed the spare clip and rounds into his belly bag before jogging home to Tara and a hot shower.

As Xander rounded the corner of his street he slowed down and checked his pulse, as he did his fingers go to the wound on his side. All that remained was a slight puckered scar that barely hurt. Xander shook his head. "I have to see Doc about this, even for me this thing healed just too damned fast." He remembered the times he had been hurt before, both by demon and human, and he was bewildered at just how fast his body repaired itself. He also remembered how he always craved sweet, energy filled food, just like he did now.

He ran a hand across his brow and felt the slickness of his sweat, he also felt very light headed and that wasn't normal even for him. He stopped at the convenience store on the corner and bought a fist full of Twinkies and several energy drinks. He just about inhaled the Twinkies and had drunk all but one of the drinks before he even left the corner. He placed the trash in the can and began to jog the remaining quater mile back to his home feeling a lot better than he had.

As he drew closer to his home he saw a strange SUV parked out front and he kept looking at it as he walked up the steps to Tara's. He was about to open the door when he heard her voice, his heart sped up and his hand began to shake as he remembered who's car it was. He turned around and smelt the clean scent of the street after a night's hard rain and then he picked up the scent of her perfume, he used to remember the brand but now all he could remember was that it smelt like a field of flowers in the spring sun.

"NO!" He berated himself, how could he forget so easily the things she had done, things she had allowed to be done. A soft, almost melodic voice echoed through his mind. "Because you love her, you always have and always will my love." He span around and searched for the person who said the words his heart knew were true. "Anya?"

He could feel her close to him as she soothed his anger away. His breath chokes in his throat as he rests his head against the door frame. "Anya... I miss you so much."

Just then Tara opens the door and Xander is jolted from his memories. "Xander! You'll never guess who's' stopped by?"

Xander looked past her and saw Buffy, his pulse raced as his heart felt like it would burst but all he managed was. "Yeah I can see, so how's life been treating you Slayer?" He dropped his keys on the hallway stand and brushed past her. "I have to shower and get to work." Buffy watched him as he walked up the stairs into the shower and she turned to Tara. "He looks pale, is he getting enough sleep?"

Tara shakes her head. "Hardly at all last night and if it's anything like his last case, he won't sleep properly till the killer's caught." Tara turns to Buffy. "I'm worried about him, Last night my circle did a reading and well... We need to get him away from here now!" She steeled herself for Buffy's response before telling her. "There's a Wicca that specialises in reading your lifeline through the aura in photographs, and she could only see Xander's up until this Thursday."

Buffy grabs her. "That will not happen Tara!" The look in her eyes was one of fear and regret. "I will not let it happen!"

Tara tells her. "There was more, she said it was hard to get a reading from him because..." She bites the side of her lip and she glances up to where Xander was. "Because his soul is so old. She swears his aura is either that of a man born in the 1860's or one that comes from then!"

Buffy shakes her head. "I think we had better call Giles in London, he'll know what to do." She too looks at the place where Xander was showering. "I hope and pray he does!"

Chapter 5

TARA'S HOME.

Buffy stood silent, her mind trying to take in Tara's words. "His soul is old? That makes no sense at all Tara, I mean he's been our friend from the beginning and Willow's known him from childhood so how can his soul be old?" Buffy takes out her cell phone just as the front doorbell rings. She dials The Magic Box and speaks to Willow as Tara goes to the door. "Hey Wills, Yeah he's in one piece. Look I need some help here trying to work a few things out so would you mind useing your old hacker skills to find them out for me?"

Willow sits back in her chair and grabs a pen and paper. "His souls is what?" she thinks for a few beats then tells Buffy. "I can't say I've heard of that, apart from demons and we know he's not a demon." She taps the pen against her lip. "I could always phone Giles and get the council involved. As for the other thing I'll try to find out all I can about the murders and try to see if a demon is involved. "

Buffy had felt more kindly towards the Council of Watchers ever since they placed Giles in charge of their American Section. "Okay and say Hi to Giles for me. We'll keep him safe Willow I promise." She closed her phone as Dawn ran into the room. "I just heard, is he all right?" Buffy's sister was in a flap over her friend's welfare. "I only spoke to him the other day and he was coming over to the University tomorrow."

Buffy hugs her sister and tells her. "He's hurting, Dawn, Sam was his best friend in this town and he's taking his murder hard." She places a hand on her cheek. "Would you try to find out if he'll be okay for me? Talk to him and draw him out."

Dawn looked at her. "Why don't you ask him?"

Buffy sighs. "I don't think he'll talk to me, I think I burnt that bridge years ago." Dawn sees a look in her eyes, one that she has seen in the mirror ever since she had started at USF and Xander had come to see her. "You love him don't you?"

Buffy sighed again only this one came from the heart. "What does it matter? A Slayer can't have a normal guy for a lover." She looked sadly at Dawn. "I learnt that lesson the day Pike was killed trying to help me." Buffy couldn't bare the thought of losing him because of her destiny.

Dawn tells her. "Pike loved you enough to give his life for you. Xander felt the same from the moment he saw you."

"I won't let him die because of what I am." She tells Dawn but Dawn just shakes her head and points to the mornings paper. "He left you and yet he still fights against evil at the risk of his own life. At least while he was with us he was safer than he is now."

"But he can't even stand being in the same room as me! Can't you understand he still hates me after all this time?"

"I bet if you let him know how you feel he would open up to you and tell you what his heart already knows." She glances at Tara. "How long has been living with you Tara?"

Tara looks at Dawn quizzically. "Ever since he moved to here, about three years ago why?" Dawn looks directly into Buffy's eyes. "And how many lovers has he had? How many female friends even?"

Tara tells them. "He's had no lovers that I know of and the only female friends he has are myself and Dawn now that she's moved here as well."

Buffy shrugs. "So? He's morning Anya's death not me!"

Dawn feels frustrated in her efforts to draw Buffy out. "Okay so then you don't love him that much is plain to see! Then you won't mind if I do?"

Buffy's head jerked up at her. "NO!" She fought for the correct words. "You... Your just a little girl!"

Dawn indignantly told her. "I happen to be almost 19 if you had cared to notice and believe me men have! I haven't tried anything because I thought you loved him but jeez sis if you still can't make up your mind move over and give the next girl a shot!"

Tara tells Buffy. "It's not Anya's name he cried out for when he was shot and it's not her name he moans when his sleep is full of nightmares."

The two women saw the look of shock on Buffy's face at Tara's news but before they can go on Xander walks down the stairs and into the lounge. He sees Dawn and his face lights up. "Hey Dawnster! What brings you to these humble lodgings?"

"Humble?" She looks around. "Jeez Xand there's a dorm full of students that would do anything to live in a place like this." She hugged him. "I'm sorry about Sam, he was a good friend."

Xander shrugged. "Good people die everyday Dawn, it's a fact of life." He picks up his PDA and then looks for the keys to his car, his eyes look across to Buffy and he has to fight the desire to hug her. He looks at Tara and asks. "Will Buffy be staying the night?"

Dawn holds his arm. "Surely you're not going in today?" Xander shrugs. "The sooner we find this creep the quicker I can sleep better at night."

He places his hand on Dawn's shoulder and tells her. "Just tell your friends to stay in their dorms at night and trust no one."

Xander sees his keys hanging on the hook and he grabs them and leaves. "See you tonight Tara... Nice to see you again Buffy." She watches him go to the old garage and open the door. "Trust no one? Very X-filesy..." She looks at Tara.

Tara tells her. "He thinks the killer maybe a shape shifter." They hear the rumble of a large block motor and Buffy raises an eyebrow at Tara. "He bought it as a graduation present to himself." They watch as a 2002 Mustang Bullet backs out of the garage. Xander steps out and closes the garage door then waves at them as he drives off. "Cool ride!" Dawn exclaims. "Do you think he would give me a lift back to the dorms? My roomy would gag at the sight of me climbing out of that!"

Buffy glares at Dawn and her sister glares back. "I'm not a little girl anymore Buffy and if you don't grab him I will!" Dawn looks at Tara suddenly worried about what she had said. "He thinks it's a shape shifter then?" Tara nods. "Good! It means he's finally excepting that demons exist outside of Sunnydale." She looks at Buffy. "And it's only a short step from that to realising that there are evil humans in Sunnydale that need to be brought to justice."

Meanwhile, in the basement of a condemned building, a ghostly figure begins to take shape in front of an alter made up of human remains. It drops the heart it had ripped from the last victims chest into a silver bowl that was held over a small flame. "With this corrupt heart from a soiled dove I claim the rights of Jondohar! GIVE MY SPIRIT FORM!"

A red mist begins to coalesce and a deep voice resonates through the basement. "You have done well my young apprentice but to regain your physical form you must offer up five more hearts, the last three must be innocent from the touch of man and have seen one and twenty years of life."

The ghostly figure rants. "You expect me to find three 21-year-old virgins.. In this town!"

SERIOUS CRIMES UNIT.

Xander walks into the unit's offices and he sees the black mood his fellow officers are in. He sits at his terminal and slides his ID into the slot, as he waits for it to boot up he glances at the empty chair opposite him and his hands form fists, squeezing together till his knuckles turn white. He relaxes his hands then types his request into the computer and waits for its answer. As he does Kate walks up and sits in Sam's old chair. "How are we today Alex?"

"About as good as you'd expect seeing as how I lost a friend last night." The computer beeped as it received an answer to Alex's request. "Jesus H Christ!" The information rolled across his screen until it finally ran out of information. "Listen to this... Mary Jane Kelly was murdered on November 9th 1888 however there were 14 other murders committed after hers that were linked by physical evidence to the first five committed in the Whitechapel area. The last two were in the Southampton area just before June of 1889."

Kate asks. "What has this to do with our case?" Xander holds up his hand. "When I found that out I ran a check on all ports and harbours for matching M.O. and bingo. July 1889 Marianne Rose a local hooker was found murdered in an alleyway by the boarding house she stayed at and was followed by three more before they stopped in 1890. Same series of murders happen every 21 years till the first murder occurred in LA! All of a sudden he starts his spree a year early why?"

Kate shakes her head. "Are you listening to the words coming out of your mouth? You're saying that my perp is what a hundred and forty five years old?"

"I've dealt with things even older and so have you." He tossed her a memory stick. "I can get personnel files as well as the chief can Kate... So how is Angel?" He sees her eyes snap to his as her hand moves to her neck. "Don't talk to me about that asshole!"

Xander grins. "Nice to see dead boy made friends in LA like he did in Sunnydale." He scrolls down to the last entry. "The weird thing is all of the men suspected of being the Ripper either died of natural causes, were themselves victims of murders or were executed for other crimes and records were not the high point of the civilization at that time so if anyone of importance to the case vanished we'll never know."

Kate looks at him. "Are you saying all of these murders were committed by some sort of vampire?"

He cocks his head. "Not a vampire but some kind of demon, a demon that maybe had human assistance."

Kate asks him. "We find the helper and we squeeze him for his boss?"

Xander picks up an evidence bag and fingers one of the mushroomed bullets they had found in the bath. "No I figure we put this guy in a cell and wait for his boss to come to me."

"Ah you mean us don't you? Or are you going all Dirty Harry on me?" Kate asks him.

"What we need to do is to try and get hold of the street surveillance tapes of any of the crowd scenes. I'm sure there must have been several Federal buildings near where the murders were committed." After the September 11th atrocities occurred all State and Federal buildings were ordered to install security cameras that covered the outside of the building. However it took a federal warrant to view any of the footage taken due to the civil rights issue.

Kate asks. "And what makes you think a federal Judge will issue a warrant?"

"Nine murders and the murder of a police officer tends to open a lot of doors Kate." Xander tells her as he dials the Federal building.

After a quick trip to the federal building and seven hours later the pair is watching the last of the time released videos. "There! " Kate points to a man dressed as a priest as the facial recognition computer software picks him out. "Same guy, different hair and teeth but its him!"

Xander presses a button and the still frame picture joins the others. "One man my ass! There's at least three that we have found!" Kate sits back in her chair. "It looks like we have a murder cult on our hands."

"Maybe." Xander tells her. "But it looks to me like none of them even know the others are there." He plays the footage simultaneously. "Watch.. If they were working this together don't you think they would acknowledge each other? They don't even seem to recognise one another and if they were involved why hang around?"

Kate shrugs. "I'm no psych major but maybe they get their Jolly's watching us chase our tails?"

Xander keys in the information and then lets the computer process the information. He rubs his eyes then looks at the time. "It'll take this thing hours to sift out the information we want." He stands and slips into his jacket. "I'm going to head off home and come back early tomorrow." Kate nods and says. "I might hang around a bit longer, see you tomorrow Alex."

All through the drive home Xander couldn't shake the feeling he had seen the man posing as a priest before, but just as he thought he remembered him the name would slip through his fingers. He pulled up the drive and noticed the Jeep was still parked outside. "Oh joy she's still here!" He sighed angrily. But another side of him was joyful that she was still there.

Tara greeted him as he entered. "Suppers almost ready, go shower and change and I'll make you a coffee." Xander waived at the others and noticed how Buffy went red at something that had been said while Dawn beamed at him. "Hey Xand! " Xander grinned at her. "Hey Dawn." Before he went upstairs and showered.

Dawn turned to her. "So like I said are you going to make your play for him or do I get to go all seducto-rama on his ass?"

Tara sighs before Buffy can answer. "I'm sorry to tell you Dawn but he loves you.. Like a sister and nothing more." Dawn looks at her and then at Buffy. "Give me enough time and I'll change his mind. The point is do you want to go through life wondering what if or will you take a chance and go for it?"

Buffy was at a loss for words as she battled her worst enemy yet. Indecision! She knew she had more than just friendly feelings for Xander, hell the way she felt it was a wonder she didn't just knock him to the ground and take what she wanted! But she also knew Xander was more than just hurt by her inaction regarding Spike and Warren, it had seemed she had cut him to his very soul and she was scared that he would reject her and in doing so would break her heart.

Dawn tells her. "If you don't do anything before he gives me a lift back to my dorm I'll take it as said that you don't want to try."

Supper went without much being said until Tara asks him. "So is there anything you can tell us about these murders?"

Xander tells them. "I may have been a bit quick in saying it was a demon. We now think it's more likely that it's a cult of some sort. We identified at least three people that have turned up on surveillance cameras in different disguises." He sits back and stares at remnants of his meal. "I still can't shake this feeling it's much more than what we're seeing though. It's like we're looking at an iceberg." he looks up at them. "What we're seeing is what's above the surface and there's a big assed hunk of information hidden beneath the waves."

Dawn tells him. "The University has boosted campus security and we need a card to get in our out of the dorms now."

Xander nods. "That's good but just remember what I said before, trust no one that you would trust with your life! I mean it Dawn all these victims are about your age or slightly older."

Tara has a thought. "Girls Dawn's age tend to have almost pure souls, not yet corrupted by life's trials and tribulations as much as older people."

Xander looks at her. "So you think it might be going for their souls?" Xander shakes his head. "The girls that have been taken are not what you would call the purest of hearts. Whether by hard luck or an even harder life, these people were engaged in the world's oldest profession and I think that there is where our answer lies." His eyes gaze off into the distance and his eyes cloud over. "If you had seen the look on these poor girls faces.... I'll get 'im this time Mary 'pon my soul I will!"

Buffy looks at Tara and then back to Xander. "What was that all about?"

Xander stops gazing and looks at her. "what?"

"The whole channelling Spike thing." She tells him. "I'll get 'im this time Mary 'pon my soul I will!" She does her best cockney impression.

Xander glares at her. "Is this some kind of sick slayer joke? I'd rather you didn't mention his name around me!" Xander stands up and clears the dishes into the kitchen. When he gets back Tara asks him. "What did you mean by it though Xander?"

"By what?" Tara tells him and he shakes his head. "You two really need to get out more, all I said was you should have seen the look on the victims faces it was like a snapshot of hell!" He takes the other plates in and Dawn asks. "Is it me or did we just enter the twilight zone?"

Tara tells them. "I think the strain is getting to him." she turns to Buffy. "And the accent had a little cockney in it but mostly it was more of a Dorset accent." she looks at them. "Kim's father's from Dorset..." Her face pales before she goes to get the papers Xander had printed out. Xander walked into the room and grabbed his coat. "If you want that lift back to your dorm we had better move Dawn."

Dawn glares at Buffy who looks up at Xander. "Could I see you for a minute? Alone?" She stands and walks Xander into the next room as Tara comes back in. She looks at Dawn and tells her. "I thought it was weird." She shows her the print out of Inspector Abberlin's history. "He was born in Dorset! That matches the accent we heard."

Dawn shrugs. "So what? Maybe he has been working on this case too hard and the fact his best friend was killed only yesterday may have started him thinking about the other Ripper case." Tara tells her. "But there was a rumour that he had a thing for the last prostitute murdered, Mary Kelly and put that with what Cheryl said about Xander's soul being very old."

Dawn looks at the room where Xander and Buffy are then looks back at her. "You think that Xander thinks he's this Abberline guy?"

"Not thinks he is Dawn, I think he IS Abberline!"

Chapter 6

TARA'S HOME.

Xander followed Buffy into the room and she turned and placed a hand on his chest. "Xander I need to tell you something...Something that's been on my mind for a while now." He looked at her and he began to have trouble breathing as his mind took it all in. She stood on her toes and pulled him down so her lips were at his ear. "I think I love you." She slowly released him until her lips met his and then she kissed him and his world exploded into a thousand pieces.

His arms folded around her slim frame and he deepened the kiss as their tongues met and fought for supremacy. His mind reeled at what his body was doing as his hands roamed over her and Buffy's did likewise to his. Finally the kiss ended and Buffy gasped. "WOW!" Xander grinned. "I second that Wow and up it to Whoa mamma!" Xander was in a state of confusion; half of him was sickened by the action. After all this was the woman responsible for letting Anya die and allowing her killer to go free. And yet she did nothing anyone else in love wouldn't have done. She hesitated at the thought Spike was back to his normal ways and Anya had paid the price. Now he knew Buffy too had paid a price and his feelings for her had resembled those of when he had first set eyes on her.

She settled down to her normal height and she rested against his chest. "Why did I have to take so long to see what was in front of me?"

Xander palmed the crown of her head and let his palm slide down to rest on her cheek and his thumb stroked her. "Never mind all that now Buff, we have found one another and...." His eyes blinked as the world around him changed the electric lights were changed for gas and the stench emanating from the street was stifling. He looked down at the woman in his arms and he told her. "Emma, I have to do this! This creature is killing innocents."

Buffy looked at him. "Xander?" Xander placed a finger to her lips and told her. "This will be over soon and then we can get back to normal. " he looked forlornly at the window. "I owe it to 'er, I owe's it to Mary and all the others an if it's my lot to join 'em well then so be it, but I ain't goin' down without taking that beast with me!"

Buffy shook him. "Xander you're scaring me!" Xander shook his head and looked at her. "What?"

He looked at her as she says. "You went all weird on me." Xander shook his head. "I'm not into mind games Buffy. You want some one else for that." he walked out on her and looked around. "I really need to get some sleep!" He called out to Dawn. "Come on Dawnster time I got you home!"

Dawn looked at Tara and told her. "I'll try and get some more information out of him on the drive back to my dorm." Tara nods. "And I'll ring the circle and see what they know." She waived at Dawn as she raced down the steps to Xander's car. Buffy came out and Tara asked. "So did things go well?"

Buffy shook her head. "It was and then he zoned out on me. He called me Emma and that it would be over soon and that he owed it to Mary and the others, he would take the beast down with him."

"Emma?" Tara asked as Xander's car sped away. "Abberlin's wife was called Emma and Mary.. Well you know about her, but this beast thing I wonder what that is."

"I don't care! What the hell is happening to him Tara?" Buffy almost broke the Wicca's arm as she shook her.

"I'm trying to find out but it's like a jig saw and we only have a few pieces." She tells her.

U.S.F.

Xander showed his I.D. to the guard as they drove up to the check point and he waived him through. "That's new he told Dawn." Dawn looked sideways at him and said. "Yeah the installed it last week along wth the door guard. Jimmy's been moved up to our dorm now."

Xander's brow knitted together. "Jimmy?"

Dawn shook her head. "You know the campus policeman that was kind enough to show us to the dorm. I think his last names Maybrick"

Xander pulled up in the car park in front of the Hall and was going to let her walk to the dorms but when he saw Henry wave at Dawn he stopped her and took out his radio. "Despatch this is officer 51978 Harris Alexander L. I want to run a check on a University of San Francisco Campus security Guard by the name of James, possibly Jimmy, Maybrick." He waited for an acknowledgment then handed her his radio. "I'm just going to check on something but if anything 'funky' happens press this down and say officer down, then tell them where okay?"

Dawn started to look around the dorms. "Why? Is he out there?" She sank back into the seat and gripped the radio. "I don't know yet, I'm just going to ask Jim some questions then come back here okay?"

Xander loosened the. 44 auto in his holster then slipped his police issue Glock into his hand. "Hey Jimmy." He called out. "You really should have known better than hang around you kill sites dude."

Jimmy saw him walking towards him and he began to panic. "He knows! Master he knows! Help me!" He cried out.

The radio in Dawn's hand crackled into life. "Inspector Harris we have a detain for questioning order for a James Maybrick but the order goes back almost ten years." Dawn shakes her head. "That would mean Jimmy was 12. No way is this the same guy." she gets out of the car just as Xander draws his weapon on Jimmy.

"Hold it right there Maybrick... Hey wait a minute! There was a James Maybrick listed as a suspect in the.." Xander was interrupted by Dawn running up to him. "The radio says he has a detain for questioning order out on him but it's ten years old!"

"Okay ' Jimmy' how about we put these bracelets on and we go for a nice ride?" Xander unhooks the handcuffs from his belt and shakes them out.

Jimmy looks behind Xander's back and begins to giggle. "My master might not approve of that!" Dawn turns and her eyes go wide, she taps Xander on the shoulder. "Uh Xand you may want to get a bigger gun!"

The twilight mist begins to form a vague shape but Xander presses his gun into Jimmy's neck. "Cuff him Dawn." He watches as she clips the cuffs shut then he squeezes them tighter causing the man to cry out in pain. Xander then watches the form become mass and Dawn screams. The creature swipes at her and she ducks but falls back hitting her head. Xander growls at it. "Hold it right there or your buddy gets a hole where he doesn't need one!"

The creature shows its teeth and growls at him. "I know you Abberline! You won't do that!"

Xander's finger tightens on the trigger. "The names Harris butt face and if you think I wont just take another step!" He looks over to Dawn. "Dawn. DAWN! " She mumbles and tries to stand up. "Dawn I want you to head for the Dorms and stay there." She shakes her head trying to clear the ringing in her ears.

She then holds up the radio. "I'll get help." She depresses the button and the creature dives for her. Xander tackles it to the ground, loosing his grip on the gun in the process. Dawn screams out as she runs for help. "Xander!" She depresses the button again. "Officer down, Kennedy Hall Dorms University of San..." Her eyes go wide as the creature rears itself to its full height dragging Xander up by his hand.

Dawn feels light headed as the pain in her head grows stronger. "Xander! "

Jimmy is dancing underneath the creature. "Kill him! Rip his heart out like the others!" Xander's free hand reaches for the. 44 and pulls it free. Jimmy sees this and laughs. "Oh he's got a gun! Big frigging deal lawman! Guns can't hurt him!"

Xander grimaces as the creature spins him around and heads for Dawn. "Yeah? Lets see him laugh this off." He thumbs off the safety and points it at the beast chest. "Say cheese mutha..." He squeezes the trigger and the heavy boom of the. 44 magnum reverberated across the car park. The creature let out a scream of pain and Xander laughed. "Ooh that had to hurt! Shall we go for..." The creature's maw opened and he swung Xander towards its mouth.

Xander quickly emptied the nine round clip into the unholy creatures maw and prayed for Dawn's sake it would be enough. The creature began to vanish but not before it flung Xander away from it like a rag doll. He saw the monster return to whatever dimensions it had appeared from.

He span like a top through the air until he saw a large tree getting dangerously close. "Holy crap!" he cried out just before his head hit the trunk and he collapsed at its base.

Xander couldn't open his eyes but he could hear a loud ringing noise and he didn't know whether the churches had all decided to ring their bells in celebration that Harris had done himself an injury again or.... All thought left his mind as it shut down to stop the pain that was racking his body. Dawn raced over to him as fast as her wobbly legs would allow as she slumped next to him she sought out, and found, the gun he had used. She held it in front of her to protect them little realising the gun was empty and the slide had remained open.

That was how campus security found them and Dawn refused to let them near him until the Para-medics arrived along with several police officers and Kate. Kate walked up to her after the medics had said she had a slight concussion and several abrasions. Dawn asked. "How is he?"

Kate smiled. "He'll be fine after a night or two in hospital... Dawn we need to know what happened."

Dawn held her long hair in her hands and looked confused. "It's wrong?" She looked at Kate. "My hair's red not this colour!"

Kate shook her head. "Look I know your hurting but please try to stay with me on this. What happened after Alex called in?"

She looked confused. "Fred saw Jimmy, Jimmy Maybrick and he tried to arrest him when." Her voice took on an angry timber. "That THING! That 'orrible thing attacked us." She pointed to his gun. "He fired that at it and it went mad before it vanished!" She looked at her. "How is he?" Dawn shook her head and then said. "Kate! When did you get here? How is he?"

She looked over to the blond as she ran over to them. "Look here's your sister now she'll tell you." Buffy pushed Kate out of the way and her fingers searched over her sister making sure she was okay. "Dawn! Oh God Dawn are you okay?"

She nods. "Yeah apart from a head ache I'm good to go, but its Xander I'm worried about." Buffy looked up at Kate and Kate told her. "He'll be fine, he has a hard head that boy." Buffy nods. "Its the lack of brains where danger is concerned that worries me."

Kate tells her. "Well according to the chief Xander has captured our Ripper and he was injured in the pursuit, However from what this Jimmy is babbling on about he seems to think his 'master' will soon free him and extract revenge against Xander. Only he calls him Abberline."

Buffy nods and tells her. "Is it all right to take Dawn home before I go and see Xander?"

Kate tells her. "The medics say she should be fine but I'd keep an eye on her to be sure." Kate sighs. "I think I we should all be very careful, personally I don't think we've seen the last of the Ripper."

Chapter 7

ROOM 402.

The doctor re-checked Xander's chart then wrote more information onto the LCD screen. "Make sure you check him every half hour, apart from that he should be good until we check him on morning rounds." The nurse nods then smiles at the policeman sat at the door. "Would you like some coffee?" she asked and the officer nods. "I'd kill for a Starbucks but seeing as they went belly up last year I guess I'll have to settle for Seattle's best."

The nurse nodded and told him she'd be a minute then left. The officer looked in on Xander then shook his head. "Man you should get bonus points from this place the amount of time you spend in it." He looked up the hall as two women made their way towards him. He knew one was the looker from the LAPD but the other was a mystery. Kate nodded at him. "How is he?"

The officer told her. "The Doc's just been in and said he should be fine." He watches as the petite blond walked over and sat at Xander's side. "Who's the blond?"

"A friend of his." Kate told him. "A friend like his room mate or a 'Friend'?"

Kate ignored his question and walked into the room. "He says they think he'll be fine Buffy."

Buffy tucked a loose crop of hair back behind his ear as she said. "It's been too long, I staid away from him longer than I should have and now look at him." Kate placed a hand n her shoulder. "From what I found out about him Alex would have done this regardless of whether you and he were together. He has a drive within him to protect the innocent and bring the guilty to justice."

They both turned to look at Xander as he jerked in his sleep, his hands clawing at the sheets as a nightmare tore through his mind. "Shh Xander it's okay, I'm here to help you." Buffy cooed to him she watched him settle then turned to Kate. "I wonder what it is he's fighting?"

*****

Xander was standing in a street lit by flickering gaslight as his eyes sought to pierce the gloom of a fog laden night. "Well I never thought we'd get as bad as LA! But here we are!" The sounds of hobnailed boots striking the cobblestone street made him turn around to face the stranger as he walked towards him. "You won't be catching him by lying in bed Harris!" The man walked closer and Xander caught sight of his features in the flickering light. "You 'urt 'im and as I stand 'ere that was more than I ever did!" He pushed his face closer to Xander's. "But 'urting 'im ain't killin 'im is it?"

Xander was searching his mind for answers. "But I shot him nine times at point blank range with a frigging. 44 magnum! Nothing could have survived that."

"Nothing human, Harris and all you did was piss it orf! Now it will be back for blood! Yours and anyone you hold dear." The man looked saddened and then took out an old style revolver. "I hit him, as well you know. Did as much flaming damage as a flea on a 'hippo's arse!" He looked at Xander. "But something you did hurt him, made it bleed even! An if it bleeds.. It can die!"

Xander felt the pain in his head increase as he tried to think the problem out. "If it wasn't the gun then what? The bullets?" His eyes widened. "They were Glazer mark 3's, just buckshot suspended in some sort of resin."

The last word echoed through his mind until....

"RESIN." Xander spoke as he came to. Buffy immediately gripped his hand as Kate called out for a nurse. Buffy kissed him then exclaimed. "We were.. I was worried Xander." Xander tried to speak but his mouth felt as though some one had packed it full of cotton. "Shresin. Resininthebullets!"

Buffy became afraid for him as he thrashed on the bed, his mind trying to tell them what he had worked out but his body was heavily sedated. He finally regained enough control to tell her. "It was the resin that hurt it, not the bullets." His body began to sleep once more but he still tried to warn her. "See...Hector he knows... Resin not bulletssssss" His struggles slowed and then stopped all together just as the nurse entered the room. She checked his vitals on the monitor and then told her. "He's fine, he's out of danger and resting."

The nurse guided Buffy and Kate from the room. "What he needs now is rest, come back in the morning and he should be wide awake and demanding to leave." Kate tells the officer on guard. "Call me as soon as he wakens." She then turns to Buffy. "We should get back to Dawn, I'm sure there's more to this than we know."

Buffy nods. "But as soon as he wakes..." Kate tells her. "As soon as I know so will you."

Xander began to toss and turn in his sleep until his eyes snapped open; instead of his dark brown eyes a pair of hazel eyes scanned the room. He pulled the drip from his arm and then the monitor began to wail as the connectors were pulled out from his arm. He cocked his head to one side then pressed the silence button on the monitor before he made his way to a closet and retrieved his clothes.

His hand fished inside the coat pocket and found his cell phone and he then preceded to dial Hectors number. "Hi Hector it's me Xander."

The crippled Hispanic beamed. "Hey man I see you caught our guy."

"I caught a small fish the shark got away from me. I need to know more about the bullets you gave me, like what were the buckshot suspended in?"

Hector rubbed his eyes then told him. "Jeez I didn't know I'd be on who want's to be a Billionaire at this time in the morning." He switches on his bedside light then tells Xander. "Give me some time to get the information... umm not to appear dumb but why?"

"Because it may just end this nightmare!" Xander flips his phone shut then starts to leave but pauses at the mirror. He rubs his face and shakes his head. "The bleedin' Council of Watchers have a lot to answer for but for now I'll have to be satisfied in getting our pound of flesh Mary me love. "He looks out through the small window and sees the policeman look around before heading for the toilets. "Perfeck must be all that coffee and donuts the peelers have over 'ere, gives 'em a weak bladder!"

Tara's HOME.

As soon as they arrived at Tara's house the Wicca came running out to greet them. "Giles just rang, he found out something I think you need to know." She ushered them inside before telling Buffy. "Giles found all the files dating back to the original Ripper murders. The watcher of the then current Slayer had made entries regarding Mary, the Slayer, coming up against a demon that she believed was the Ripper. The Council had an agent working in the Scotland Yard at the time and they called all the favours the could to get him assigned to the case."

Buffy tells her. "Let me guess his name was Abberline?"

Tara nods. "But that's not all; he began getting information from the Slayer who was working undercover trying to entice the demon to attack her. He was seconds away from tracking down the demon when it found Mary and butchered her."

Kate stopped her. "Wait a minute; are you saying that Mary Kelly was the Slayer? "

Tara nods. "But it doesn't stop there Abberline's second in command swore that two nights later he found Abberline dead, his throat cut from ear to ear but when he returned with a surgeon Abberline was talking to three men. These three men were in fact members of the Council and, according to Miles's diary, these men had sent Abberlin's soul to a future time to kill the demon and he returned before the monster could kill him in his time line."

Buffy shakes her head. "Is this confusing or am I having a blond attack?"

Tara tells her. "Giles believes that when Xander died Abberlin's soul inhabited his body, but when Xander was revived the soul of Abberline was forced into Xander's subconscious until he was put on this case."

Kate asks her the question Buffy was dreading to ask. "So is he Alex or is he Abberline?"

OKAY CORRAL SHOOTING RANGE.

Xander stepped through the open door and swept past the wheelchair bound Hector. "It's a good thing I like you Harris or you would be so frigging dead!"

Xander turned and demanded." Did you find the information or are you going to stuff me around?"

Hector looked strangely at him. "What's with the fake accent? Never mind." He shook his head. "If I don't know they can't prosecute me right?" He rolls over to the counter and places one of the bullets on the counter. "The buckshot is suspended in an epoxy resin that hardens. It's basically a plastic bullet with a kicker." Hector pulls a mean looking shotgun from under the counter. US Arms counter insurgency combat shotgun. It can go pump or semi at the flick of a switch. Fifteen round magazine that can handle explosive, phosphorus, armour piercing or... Ta da...! "He slaps a cartridge on the counter." Plastic bullets made of the same techno babble that the Glazer three's are."

Xander picks up the gun and grins at Hector. "Show me."

By the time Xander left he knew the workings of the gun inside out. Hector also supplied the shells and the concealable holster for the gun and shells. Xander then borrowed an old black duster to hide his arsenal before he left the gun club. He walked out into the early morning sun and covered his eyes. "Soon this will all be over me love and we can be together once more."

He walked over to the motorbike he had stolen from the hospital garage and started it up. "And I know exactly where you and your helpers will strike next!" He zoomed off and drove until he hit the freeway heading towards the University of San Francisco. Xander was slowly being consumed by one thing and that was to destroy the demon that killed his beloved Mary. The soul of Frederick Abberline was in almost total control of his body and yet it retained all the knowledge that Xander had.

As he approached the entrance to the University he took out his police ID and flipped it out to show the security guard. "How's the head?" The campus security guard asked him. "Getting better all the time." Xander told him as he drove off towards Dawn's dorm room.

Chapter 8

TARA'S HOME.

Buffy, Tara and Kate had spent the night trying to sort through the information that they had found and Buffy just slumped into her chair. "This is impossible!" she turned to Tara. "Why would the Council of Watchers send a man's soul into the future in the hope he could kill a demon? Wouldn't it have been better to have left a note, you know like they did for me ' you will fight the master and die..." Her eyes misted over. "Only I didn't because he saved me."

Tara tells her. "And now we can repay him for all his help and sacrifice." she grips her hand when Buffy tells her. "So this Mary Kelly was the Slayer in 1888?"

Dawn stepped off of the stairs and stood there as she told Buffy. "Yes she was Elisabeth." Buffy turned and gasped at Dawn's appearance. Dawn touched her new hair. "I found a glamour spell amongst the young Wicca's things." She let her curly red locks fall back to her shoulders. "It looks normal to me now an I feel fine." She sighs.

"Dawn?" Buffy stands and walks towards her. "Dawn?" She repeats.

Her sister looks confused. "Nah! Me names Mary, Mary Kelly." She looks at Buffy. "I knows you are the Slayer and I needs your 'elp. I found out that the council had sent my Fred's soul to this time to stop the demon Anubis and nuffing would stop me from saving him! " She looks forlornly at Buffy. "E was me first an only love an I miss him so! But it is no reason for them to take your love from you and use him as a weapon!"

Buffy was a mess of emotions, firstly she wanted her sister back but she also wanted any information this Mary had that could help them against the demon they now knew was Anubis. Tara spoke to Mary. "Anubis was the Egyptian God of the underworld." Mary nodded and told her. "Yes and he requires the souls of 17 young women, but it's worse than that it also feeds on the fear it's victims generate as it kills them."

Buffy tells her. "Xander thinks a resin might have an effect on it? He also thinks that there's some kind of cult the demon has built up around it and it uses them to help it murder the girls."

"Resin?" Mary asks. "I have the knowledge of your sister but resin means nothing to me." she thinks then looks at Buffy. "Fred once came upon it before it could attack another victim and he swore that some tar from a road repair cart saved his life."

Kate exclaimed. "Tar! Tar is made from crude oil! The resin used in those bullets is a similar form of plastic!" She looked at the three and said. "They're both made from oil!" Kate swore then flipped out her cell phone and dialled a number. "Xander's friend that supplied him with the gun and ammunition, I bet he's have some idea what we need."

Before she pressed dial her phone rang and she answered it, her face turning pale before she acknowledged the caller and hung up. "Xander's disappeared from the hospital!"

U.S.F.

Xander pulled the bike up to the Dorm rooms and then killed the motor and stepped off of the bike. He shrugged the gun into a more comfortable position before he headed for Dawn's room and a meeting with Katrina Roundtree. He showed the doorman his ID then made his way to Dawn's room and knocked. "Miss Roundtree it's Officer Harris I'd like to talk to you about your ahh night time activities."

Katrina meekly opened the door and invited him in. "what. What do you mean?"

Xander looked into her eyes and told her. "You have no scholarship, no student loan and no money coming from home add to that you don't work I was wondering just how you managed to pay for all this and the fine clothes you wear?"

She paled and slumped onto the bed as Xander continued. "I'm not with vice and I could give a rats arse what you do but I want to know who sends you on your 'dates'? "

Tears began to form in her eyes as she told him. "My mom's going to kill me when she finds out... I tried to find the money, when I first came here I had three jobs to try and support my school fees and dorm costs but I couldn't do that and keep up my grades."

Xander tells her. "And then someone offered you a lifeline, or so it seemed at the time, who was it?"

Katrina sobs. "he was so kind and I thought he loved me but then he said that I had to help him out. A man he owed money to threatened to break his legs if he didn't pay and he had told him that a night with a sexy young thing would salve his anger."

"So you slept with this guy and that's how it started?" Xander asked. "At first it felt dirty but then I had no more money worries and my grades improved.." Katrina told him. "And Professor Hollingsworth told me I could stop at any time." Xander nods. "Do you know how many others were involved?"

She nods. "I know that Carrie was one other and she... She was killed last week by the Ripper."

Xander sighs. "And I'm willing to bet the others were part of his stable as well." He looks at her. "This goes no further than this room Katrina, and I'll never tell, but it has to stop." He takes out his wallet and hands her a card. "Call this number first thing in the morning and the woman there will help you get things together. Hell knowing Tara she will probably..." Xander was interrupted by the arrival of a well-dressed man.

"Miss Roundtree what's the meaning of this? You know you can't have men in your room!" Xander looked at her. "I take it this is the Prof?" Katrina nods and Xander grips the man by the neck and forces him against the wall. "Play times over sport!" Xander tells him as Abberline takes over. "Now i need to know some things and your going to help me right." He tightened his grip. "RIGHT!"

Hollingsworth baulked and told him. "i don't know ahh!!!" He screamed out as Xander pressed his thumb into the nerves under the Professor's eye. "I 'ates liars book boy! Now spill yer guts before I show 'em to ya!" He then dug his thumb in deeper. "Who's giving you your orders? Who's your guvnor?"

"HARINGTON! 257 Fulton Street opposite Golden Gate Park! He's the one you want I just follow his orders!" Xander drops him and then turns red with rage. "Why? You're meant to mould young minds here not corrupt them!"

The Professor rubs his throat as he tells him. "I have a gambling problem and he knew it. I owe him almost $200,000.00 and he said this was a way I could pay him back that we could both enjoy!"

Xander clenched his fists. "The other victims were they your girls?" The man nods. "And you did nothing?"

"I.. I have my position to keep up!"

Xander glowered at him. "Your position? Your freaking position! " Xander hit him hard causing him to collapse in a heap. "Your 'position' will be in the dock at old Bailey to answer charges of pimping out your students and aiding and abetting in the murders of four of them you piece of shite!"

He turns to Katrina. "I will make sure you play no further part in this matter."

Her hand shakes as she looks at a card on her dresser. "I was supposed to go to that address tonight!"

Xander grabs the man by the scruff of the neck and lifts him up. "Stay inside and let no one in. The Prof an' me are goin' ta pay a visit on the 'Man'."

TARA'S HOME.

Pandemonium reigned as Kate told the others of Xander's disappearance, she then tried to calm them down by figuring out just where he would go if Xander was still in control. "Hector's!" Buffy told them. "He would want to get the one weapon he knew would hurt the demon." Kate and Buffy raced to Kate's car and Dawn jumped in the back seat much to Buffy's annoyance. Dawn told her. "I know Abberline and if he's in control of your friend then I'm the only hope you have of finding him."

They raced to Hector's and as they left the gun shop with the information that Xander had indeed picked up a bigger gun and the plastic shells for it a call came out for Kate over her radio to inform her that Xander had been seen at the University o San Francisco. "Why would he go back there?" Kate asked.

Dawn answers. "I think your sister has thought for sometime that her room mate maybe involved in selling her body to pay her way through college. Maybe Xander thinks the same way?"

Kate turned on the siren and lights and sped towards the University while Dawn grabbed her cell phone and dialled her dorm room. "Hey Cat has my... Has Xander been there?" She looks at the other women.' He has.. Okay slow down... 257 Fulton Street just opposite Golden Gate Park okay. Well if he said to lock yourself in and not to open the door for anyone then that's what I'd do Cat. "She hung up and told them." Cat was in a prostitution ring and Proffesor Hollingsworth headed it up! He also found out that the four girls that were murdered were all part of the ring!"

"Is Xander still there?" Buffy asked.

"No he's gone to the address of Hollingsworth's boss taking the good Professor with him." Dawn tells her.

Kate taps in 257 Fulton Street into the navi-comp and it hows the route she needs to take to get there. "Hold on!" She drives the car across three lanes to the nearest exit and floors it down the off ramp.

Meanwhile back at Tara's house Tara has placed a call to Giles. "Do you have any bloody idea what the time is?"

Tara tells him with unhidden anger. "It's a lot later than you think! We know Giles; we know about the Slayer called Mary Kelly and we know about the spell the Council placed on Abberlin's soul! I too know a few spell Watcher and unless you want to end up working alongside Abberline in 1888 I suggest you tell me everything!"

She heard Giles sigh and then someone murmur next to him. "It's okay Olivia go back to sleep it's Council business." She heard Giles say.

"I'm casting the spell as we speak Giles!" Tara informed him.

"Okay just give me a few seconds to gather my wits." He replied. "Now! I want it all now not when you've thought up a convincing lie!" Tara shouted down the line.

"Back in 2001 when the council interviewed everyone before they decided to tell us about Glory they thought Xander was just a normal human but when they arrived back in the U.K. they found mention of him in one of the codices. It said that in 1889 the then leader of the council gave permission for Abberlin's soul to be cast into the future to a time when they thought he could destroy the demon and the runes had said he would take the form of an Officer Alexander Harris of the SFPD." Giles tried to gather his strength to tell her the next piece of information. "The codex also said that the body of Officer Harris would vanish with that of the demon!"

Tara was stunned by the news. "So you're telling me that they willingly forfeited Xander's life just to have a chance at destroying this creature? What kind of monsters do you work for?"

"That was then Tara!" Giles told her.

"And what are you doing now to rectify the situation? Or are you going to sit on your thumbs while Buffy loses him?" Tara demands. "He is at this minute trying to do your work all the while oblivious to the fact that even if he wins he loses!"

Giles stammers. "Well wee had thought to send someone back to a time before the murders started and inform the Slayer's watcher of future events."

"What's stopping you?"

"The fact that we would be messing with history with no idea of the outcome. What if someone dies that shouldn't have? Or someone lives that should have died what then?"

"Then we would live with the knowledge that at least we tried!" Tara slammed the phone down and raced to her special room in the attic to search for the right spell.

Chapter 9

257 FULTON STREET.

Hollingsworth walked up to the front door and rang the bell; he then glanced back behind him and saw the barrel of the shotgun motion for him to ring again. As he did the door opened slightly and a man demanded. "What the hell are you doing here?" Hollingsworth was about to warn him when Xander barrelled into him causing the two to be thrown back into the house in a tangle of limbs. Xander reversed the gun and butted the professor into unconsciousness, he then pointed the barrel at Harrington. "Where is it?"

Harrington nervously glanced at a small door then said. "I don't know what you mean! Who the hell are you."

"Light's out!" He slammed the butt of the shotgun into Harrington's jaw then moved over to the door and slowly opened it. The gut-wrenching stench of rotting flesh assaulted his senses as he made his way down the well-worn stairs. The closer he came to the basement the more revolting the stench became. "Oh this has got to be the place!" He gasped for air, breathing only through his mouth to try and ease the impact of the smell of death and decay.

He looked around the basement and saw some kind of alter in the middle of the room; he then began to carefully move towards it the barrel of his gun moving around the room searching for the demon. His ears picked up a wet sucking sound and he made his way towards it as soundlessly as he could.

He saw a creature bent over what looked like a butchered animal but when Xander saw the blood stained dress that had been thrown carelessly in the corner he knew this was the beast he had been hunting. He snicked the safety off then hefted the gun to his shoulder. "Free lunch is finished sport, consider the counter closed for good!" He watched the creature freeze in place then turn to face him, his hands dripping with the blood of the young girl as he held her heart. "ABBERLINE! You're dead!"

He moved his head to one side then told him. "I'll admit I've 'ad better days but in about three seconds I'm going to feel a 'ole lot better!"

The creature that now looked like the American suspect Francis Tumblety grinned. "You couldn't stop me then what makes you so sure you can now?"

"Remember those pesky little bullets I hit you with before? Well I'm about to introduce you to their big brother!" Xander stepped back so he was out of reach of the creature and aimed his gun at the creature's heart. Tumblety raised his hands. "Great lord Anubis I thy servant call upon thee to help me!"

Xander felt the kick of the gun and the smell of cordite as he fired his gun at the monster. After each round he spoke the name of the creatures victim until he shifted his aim to its head. "And this one's for Mary god rest 'er soul!"

Before he could pull the trigger he felt the blow to his back, he turned and the shotgun took the next blow that Harrington delivered. Xander brought the barrel to face Harrington's chest but when he went to pull the trigger it refused to fire. He cursed the man and then jabbed the barrel into Harrington's stomach causing the man to double over in pain and drop the baseball bat.

Xander then chopped down with the now useless gun and he heard the man's skull crack. Deep inside Xander's mind a small voice cried out in shock at his actions but the spirit of Abberline just turned to stare at the demon that had run rampant ever since 1888. A bright blue light surrounded it as it painfully made it's way to the altar and dropped the heart that it still clutched into a silver chalice.

Xander dropped the shotgun and scanned the room for a weapon his grin widened when he saw the plastic handled mop in the corner of the room. He raced over and picked it up, twirling the mop like a baton. "And now you die!"

Before he could deliver the fatal blow a dark figure took shape above the alter and spoke in a voice that grated on Xander's ears like fingernails being scratched down a blackboard. "Thee thinks thee can kill a servant of mine with impunity?"

Xander stalked forward bringing the handle to the apex of its swing. "Actually I was going to use this!" The visage waived its arm at Xander and he was flung back with so much force the impact of his body left a dent in the wall. Xander slid down the wall and his chest felt like Mark Maguire had just hit a home run with it. He gasped for breath and the pain increased but he knew he didn't have long before the creature would once again avoid justice.

Tumblety began to revert to its natural form and Xander had to swallow hard to keep the bile from rising in his stomach. It looked like something from a Dante' nightmare, all teeth and spikes, but the maw in it's chest was the most frightening. "A wonderful specimen is it not?" The Lord Anubis told him. "A creature such as this should be protected and nurtured, fed its much needed supply of energy and saved from such cretinous fools as you!"

The shadow lord stroked the creature and it mewed like a cat before letting out a screech of pain. "You almost killed it and now I will have to set things back the way they were, only this time it will know it's mistakes and bring about my re-birth at the proper time!" It growled out a string of words and the wall began to form a swirling vortex. " The creature struggled to make it to the spinning vortex and make it's escape but the pain was too much and it stopped at the threshold.

It hissed at Xander. "Thissss Time Abberline I will not be so carelessss! Thisss time I will kill you firssst!" The creature began to slide through the portal and return to 1888 and as it did Anubis told it. "You will be healed by this transference but you will also be human until you perform the act of sacrifice to my name!" It then turned to Xander. "What to do with you?"

Xander shrugged. "Kill him and let me go with his head in a sack?" He asked. Anubis grinned and showed its needle like teeth. "Didn't think my luck would hold."

OUTSIDE.

Kate brought her car to a screeching halt outside of Harrington's house then told the two women as she pulled her gun from it's holster. "Stay here until I return. Buffy shook her head." No way! I'm not going to lose him now! "She stepped out of the car just as Hollingsworth came staggering from the house. Kate pointed her gun at him." Place your hands on your head and drop to your knees."

Hollingsworth came running out. "Are you mad? We have to get away from here before it's too late!" As he made it to the curb the house began to bend around the lower half, as if it were being twisted in time and space. "I don't know what he did but it's pissed!"

Kate pulled him to the ground and pressed her knee into his back as she cuffed him. "What who did?" Buffy asked and prayed her guess was wrong.

"That idiot policeman! He went in guns blazing and now something far worse is kicking around in the basement!"

Dawn shouted out and pointed to the house. "Look!" The whole structure began to fold in on itself until it was ripped apart by an implosion. "Xander!" Buffy cried out as she raced for the demolished building."

Meanwhile Xander sees the vortex beginning to close as Anubis advances on him. He tries to find someway of getting the creature back to face justice but he knew it was now over a hundred years away from any form of justice. He looked at the alter and then a plan formed as he hefted the mop. "Why is it that when you guys are sent to hell you never learn to just flamin' well stay there?"

He threw the makeshift spear at the altar and it was destroyed under the impact of the mop. Anubis began to vanish and as he did it told Xander. "Thy soul is marked mortal! We shall meet again!"

"Take a number and join the line mate!" Xander yelled at it. He then sucked in his breath and grimaced against the pain. "Well here goes another dumb idea!" He took off at a run and dived through the closing portal barely scrapping through as Buffy began to race down the stairs. She saw him dive into a liquid circle of energy and then the portal winked out of existence. Kate gripped her arm. "Come on we have to go NOW!"

The walls began to groan under the strain as Kate had to yell at her. "He's gone Buffy! And he wouldn't want you to die as well!" Kate had to use all her energy to drag Buffy out of the ruins and up into the light of day. As they came running from the now collapsed house Dawn ran up to them. "Xander?"

Buffy tried to speak but suddenly found she could hardly breath let alone form words. Kate looked at Dawn and shook her head. "He dove into some kind of light show just before the house collapsed."

The three of them lent against the car for support and all three looked like they had the last ounce of energy drained from them. Buffy's knees buckled and she dropped to the road and began to sob.

Kate tries to say something but Dawn follows her sister to the ground and the pair begin to hug one another for support as a Lexus drives up to them and a red haired woman steps out of the passenger side of the car. She walks around to them and asks. "Buffy Anne Summers?" Her head turns from one to the other before Buffy nods.

The woman smiles. "Hello my name is Mary Abberline and my family have been waiting a long time to deliver this." She hands her an ancient leather bound folder and then stands back. "My great, great, grandfather befriended the man that wrote this and he gave his word to see it delivered on this day and at this location." She tried to peer inside as Buffy opened it. "We've all been wondering what it could possibly be, I mean for someone to have written something in 1888 to someone that lived in 2005 it would have to be something pretty darned important."

Buffy took out a small tarnished silver cross and as she began to read from the letter a tear began to run down her cheek. "Greetings from 1888! Well I always knew that when you finally fell for me I would be in trouble..."

Chapter 10

CAVENDISH STREET 1888.

Xander finally saw light at the end of the tunnel and then a red brick wall. "Crap!" He exclaimed as he hit the wall hard and slid down it. "For the love of God, why does it always have to be my freaking hip?" he picked himself up and saw the surprised looks of a few of the local streetwalkers. He nods to them. "Evening girls.. Nice night for a um a walk."

One of the better looking of the girls walks towards him. "Penny a suck Guv!" She licked her lips as Xander blushed. "I could suck the bleedin' Thames dry I could given 'alf a chance."

Xander pretends to check his pockets and frowns then shrugs. "Darn! I knew i had a penny when I left home!"

The streetwalker swore at him and doubted he had any think she could find anyway then walked back to her friends. ""Ave you seen that new tart that operates in the Whitechapel Road? Toffy nosed git she is, turnin down paying men just so's she could service that peeler Abberline."

Xander quickly turned and looked at her. "Found some money 'ave you lover?" She mocks.

He begs her. "The date... What's the date?"

"Time I got me a new one, the old ones plumb wore out!" Her friends laugh and one tells her. "Good one Lizzy "

Xander sees a policeman walking his beat and he runs over to him. "Inspector Frederick Abberline, I need to see him immediately."

The man eyes him suspiciously. "You can sees 'im in the morning at Scotland yard like any normal citizen."

Xander remembers his badge and hopes the man doesn't know what the American policemen use. He holds out his wallet and tells him. "My name is Inspector Harris and I'm over here from San Francisco in an attempt to help him catch the ripper before it's too late."

He looks at him and tells him. "You 'ad best go back to your rooms and sleep it off sir I'll be sure to let Fred know you're 'ere."

Xander becomes mad. "I don't have any freaking rooms! I need to see Inspector Frederick Abberline NOW!"

"I'll show you the bleedin' inside of a prison cell if you don't let go of my arm!" The policeman moves away from Xander. "If you're in that much of a hurry he.." The man grins. "he's usually in the company of one of the night girls 'bout this time." he thinks. "I think she 'as a place in Miller Court, 13 I think."

Xander points in a direction and asks. "And that would be?"

"Down to yer left and Third Street on the right, just follow yer nose an ya can't miss it."

Xander ran, following the policeman's directions until he comes to a ramshackle building with a broken window by the front door. He pounds on the door until a red-haired woman answers. "Mary Kelly?" Xander finds himself being flung against a wall by inhuman strength and the small framed girl tells him. "Did that scum Trafford send ya?"

Xander almost yelled at her. "Listen Slayer unless you ant the lives of innocents on your hands I suggest you use your ears and not your muscles!" She tightened her grip. "Slayer? What's a bleedin' Slayer?"

"In every generation there is born a chosen one blah blah bloody blah! I know! And if Frederick Abberline's in there I suggest we talk." She relaxed her grip and she asked. "So Miles what do we do with him?"

A refined voice tells her. "Bring him in, what's one more? Hell I might even ring the bloody Times and take out an advertisement!"

Xander's ears picked up an unmistakable noise and slowly turned to face a man pointing an old style revolver at him. "Why not invite the gentleman inside Mary?" Xander sighed and walked into the room with his hands up. "So are you from Special Branch or.." Abberline threw a cross at Xander and he deftly caught it.

Xander held the cross firmly in his hand to prove he was not a nightstalker and then told Abberline. "You need my help, I kow how to kill this creature, this servant of Anubis." Xander glances at the newspaper spread out on the table and sees the date. "And if we don't stop it in less than two days time." He looks at Mary. "You die!"

257 FULTON STREET.

Buffy looks up from the ancient manuscript and asked the girl. "Mary Abberline?" She nods and holds out her hand. "I'm named after my great great grandmother." She motions for them to get in the limo as the emergency services arrive. "My family owes Mr. Harris a great debt, one that could not be repaid in one lifetime."

The car pulls away leaving Kate to handle the repercussions of the destroyed house. Buffy turns to Mary. "So Xander survived?"

Mary nods. "He came through the same portal that the Demon lord sent Tumblety back to 1888." Buffy begins to read the letter and learns of what happened then sees the date. "But this is dated November 12th 1888." She looks at her face and then Mary gives her another letter.

"As I said my family owes Mr. Harris a great deal, this is from Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline and it tells of his friend Alexander Harris. A stranger that died so a normal man could find the love he was denied."

Buffy shakes her head. "Xander went back and destroyed this demon then and was unable to return here?"

She shakes her head. "He and my great, great grandfather chased Tumblety to the docks at Dover and caught him before he escaped to Europe."

Dawn shook her head. "No, that's not right!" She turns to Buffy. "Tumblety escaped to America not Europe so they would have caught him at Southampton."

"No, Tumblety tried to kill Mary Kelly but Xander had laid a trap for him. A trap Tumblety's coachman walked into and allowed Tumblety to escape. He then planned on escaping to Europe before the police closed in on him."

Buffy slumped into her seat and grasped the letter to her stomach. "and that was where Tumblety killed Xander."

Again Mary shook her head. "No, we don't know what happened but we do know Alexander killed Tumblety and then for some reason ran off into the night. It wasn't till several days later that they found his headless corpse in an abandoned warehouse on Nixon Street, not to far away from where Tumblety met his fate."

Chapter 11

13 MILLERS COURT.

Xander sat down at the table and felt for the wounds he had suffered whilst fighting the demon. He frowned when he found they were gone and put it down to the portal and then read the reports into the Ripper's last victim. "It's too late then." He looked at Miles. "I gave up my future to follow this hell spawn back to a time where he could be dealt with but only if I killed him before he made the first of his sacrifices to Anubis." Xander slumped in his chair then laughs, catching the three off guard. "Gods, do they like screwing with my life or what?"

Mary stands behind him unsure of whether the stranger represents an ally or a foe. He rubs his hair with both hands then tells them. "Elizabeth Stride and Catherine Eddowes were both killed on September the 30th and they were the ones to endow him with power over death."

Miles turns to him. "He cannot be killed then!"

Xander grins and opens his coat to reveal the field jacket underneath and the 2 gauge cartridges it held. "If you can get me a shotgun then believe me he can be killed."

Abberline nods. "If it means destroying this thing and saving Mary, I can get you a bleedin' cannon!"

Mary asks Xander. "So mister...? It appears you know our name but we know very little of yours."

Xander takes her hand in his. "The names Harris, Alexander Harris." He looks at Abberline and tells him. "I loved, or will love in about 120 odd years time, a slayer as well." He bows to Mary. "Only I pray you two find more joy than I ever did."

"So Mister Harris you chase this creature back to my time and kill it then what?" Mary asks him.

"Well I guess if I live through it I can do one of two things." He looks at the paper. "Either I can use what little I remember from history 101 and make a comfortable life for myself in the past or I keep my head down, move to a deserted island and try not to screw up history."

Abberline stands and goes over to Mary, she grips his hand before he tells Xander. "First we get this Tumblety and deal with him." He looks at Miles. "Then I'm sure the people that Miles works for would be very interested in helping you out, provided you help them with their inquiries."

Xander holds up his hand to Mie. "No offence Mr. Miles but I had dealings with the Council of Watchers in my time and I'll tell you what I know that could help the Slayers but as for them." He shook his head. "They tend to guard their knowledge too tightly."

Abberline pecks Mary on her cheek. "I'll go and see what I can find out about this..."

"Francis Tumblety." Xander tells him. "Yeah I'll go find out about good old Frankie and see you in the morning." He moves and Mary follows him, stopping by the door. Xander sees one of Abberline's hands stroke her back and the unmistakable sound of a kiss reverberates in the room. Xander turns to Miles. "And you're okay with the Slayer having a normal life?"

Miles shrugs. "It goes against all my training but when all is said and done she will do whatever she wants." The door closes and a very happy Slayer looks at Xander. "And I want Fred!"

Xander spent the rest of the night telling Mary about his adventures with his Slayer and then the subject came back to his future. "You love her, this Buffy." She giggled at the name. "Is that a normal American name in the future?"

Xander grins. "No but then again she's not a normal woman."

Mary looks sadly at Xander. "You love her don't you? Then why come back to my time?"

Xander looked at Mary and sighed. "Because it had killed in my time and I..." He shrugged. "My soul couldn't let it go unpunished, whether in my time or this time. It ends now Mary, with its death or mine! "

Xander has a thought. "Hey I don't suppose you guys have heard of a Vampire called Angelus have you?"

Miles thinks and then tells him. "I think I may have. He is a minor flunky for a master vampire but the small group he is with separated from The Master about three weeks ago."

Xander thinks for a second then tells them. "Nah I better not, who knows what damage I'd do to the future if I staked the bastards now."

Mary tells him. "The last I heard him and his sire, Darla, were legging it to France anyway." She grins at him. "Seems it's getting too hot for all the vampires around here now."

Miles asks. "When Fred gets back with the shotgun just what do you plan to use it for?" Mary tells him. "I managed to put a dagger into it once and Fred, well he emptied that revolver he has hidden into its 'ide but nuffin' happened. Was like throwin' pebbles at it he said."

Xander takes out one of the modified rounds and places it on the table. "I hit it with this and believe me it hurt it!"

"Don't want to 'urt it love, we want to kill the bleeder!" Mary tells him as she stands and walks over to the only window in the one room flat. She looks outside and tells them. "Sun's up." She grins. "An' 'ere comes Fred!"

Inspector Abberline steps inside the modest room and removes his hat. "Well it took a while but one Francis Tumblety is currently behind bars at the Bailey." He grins at Xander. "It appears he exposed himself to two ladies last night and I had to arrest him."

Xander looked stunned. "You arrested him? How?"

Abberline shrugged and placed his hand on Xander's shoulder. "Mr. Tumblety I arrest you for flashing your wedding tackle in a public place." Xander asks. "And he went with you?" Abberline grins. "As meek as a kitten 'e was."

Xander shook his head as the others grinned. "Then it's not him... It's not Tumblety! The creature I fought would have ripped your heart out before you could blink."

"Aye, and the one I fought but this was a man and one so mild he was frightened by 'is own shadow." Abberline explains. "But you did say Francis Tumblety, an American citizen and that's who I got."

Miles scratches his chin. "Maybe you're both right. Might not Inspector Abberline have arrested the Tumblety from our time? Leaving the one from yours to complete his plans?"

"This is so whack!" Xander runs a hand through his hair as they stare at him. "I mean it's so stuffed up." He sighs. "Next time Willow starts rambling on about time vortexes and the effect one action could have I swear to god I'll stay awake!"

Mary tells them. "Still we have two advantages." She looks at Xander. "You have those cartridge thingies that you say will kill 'im." She looks at Abberline. "An' we know 'es going to come after me tomorrow night."

TARA'S HOME.

Mary orders her driver to pull up and the three go into the house where Buffy slumps into a chair. Tara looks at Dawn and she tells her. "We lost Xander!" Tara shakes her head and cries out. "No, for the love of the Gods how?"

Buffy is in an almost trance like state as she tells her. "The creature escaped back into the past and Xander went after it."

"So we bring him back!" She replies.

Buffy shakes her head and hands her the sheaf of paper. "He's dead, he was killed just after he destroyed the creature."

Dawn jerks up in her seat. "So we go back to a time before he gets killed and bring him back!"

Tara shakes her head. "We need a focus point, an object he had with him, to lock on to. Even then we'd have to be sure we didn't inadvertently change the past somehow."

Mary tells her. "Well I think he's already done that otherwise I wouldn't be here."

Tara looked at Buffy confused and Buffy points to Mary. "Mary, Tara. Tara, Mary Abberline." She stares at her. "Mary Kelly and Frederick Abberline's great, great granddaughter."

Tara almost has a fit. "But.. But she's... And she was a Slayer so how...?"

Mary grins." Yes Mary Kelly was the Slayer but on the night the creature attacked her she died and Fred was there to revive her and another was called to take her place. After what Alexander told him about how the council treated Buffy Miles kept the fact Mary lived from them. She and Fred married and had three kids. "She held up her arms." And here I am."

Tara shook her head. "Time travel was always Willows strong suit, but even I know we need a focus point, a time and a place."

Buffy suddenly sat straighter in her seat. "Then you get them and you get them quick! I'm going back and I'm not returning with out him." Her eyes widen and she reaches for the leather folder and pulls out a wrinkled old wallet and gently prised it open to reveal Xander's ID card. "We have a focus point!"

13 MILLER'S COURT-NOVEMBER 9.

Abberline came storming into the room and threw his hat on the bed. "It was 'is freaking coachman!" He pulled out his revolver and checked it for the hundredth time. "I arrested 'is effin flunky!"

Xander clicked the twin barrels of the cut down shotgun together. "Never mind, it leaves us free to deal with Mr. Tumblety without having to splatter his brains all over the cell bars." He shrugged at Abberline. "Less questions for you to lie to and leaves the three of you free and clear."

Mary tells them. "Right then it's almost dark so I 'ad better get out there and give 'im a trail to follow back 'ere."

Abberline shakes his head. "While I thought we 'ad a chance I was all for this plan but now... No way love. No way am I going to let you stake yourself out like a sacrificial goat!"

Xander grins as he sees a wig Mary had for her role as a hooker. "I have a plan, but I need your dress and that wig."

Chapter 12

PRESENT DAY.

Buffy had spent the night waiting nervously by the phone waiting for either Willow or Giles to call with the information to enable them to bring Xander back from the past. She watched as Dawn slinked down the stairs stretching and yawning, she scratched her head then slumped in a chair opposite her sister. "Man being possessed can really tire you out." She scratched her hair again. "Damn my hair feels like its full of fleas or something."

Tara walks in with a tray carrying three coffees. "Well a glamour spell will do that Dawn." She saw Dawn and then Buffy look at the phone. "When they find the correct spell they will call."

Buffy nods then asks. "I thought you of all people would know how to perform a time spell."

Tara nods. "I know how to send someone back in time but not how to bring them to the present."

There is a knock at the front door and Kate walks in carrying a leather bound book. "I managed to get hold of a copy of the reports from 1888. So we will know exactly where to search for Xander." She opens the page and reads from a marked spot. "The warehouse where his uh body was found was located next to a new oil rendering plant. They were making the tat for roads and guess what a by-product was? Yep the same basic crap the bullets are made of, less refined but they were there in the cast offs."

She grabbed a cup of coffee from the tray but stopped as she saw Dawn begin to read the whole report. "Don't!" But by the look in Dawn's eyes she knew her warning was too late. Dawn shook like someone had walked over her grave then rushed out of the room. The others looked at Kate. "it's... Pretty graphic about his cause of death."

Buffy read the report then when she came to Xander's autopsy she paled then looked up at Kate. "You have got to be kidding me!" she turned to Tara. "I don't care if you can't bring me back just send me to him NOW!"

Tara shook her head. "Not if it means we lose both of you Buffy!"

Buffy spins the book around and jabs her finger at the passage. "You read this and then tell me it's not worth the risk!"

Tara reads it then a tear begins to run down her cheek. "We knew he died that day Buffy and this still doesn't change my mind. I will not send you back without the knowledge to be able to return the both of you!"

1888- November 9- 8.45 p.m.

Tumblety followed the whore like a lost puppy. "Stupid bitch! Doesn't even realise her days are now numbered in minutes!" He kept a discreet distance from her as she stopped and chatted to every hooker on her way home. He could sense her being and savoured the taste of her. "hmm my pretty dove you will be a tender meal! Your emotions are like a beacon to my soul!" He licked his lips with a forked tongue and his inner monster craved her taste. "Soon! Soon my pretty!"

He watched her as she stood outside her home then he had to turn away as she looked his way. When he looked back she was gone, obviously she had entered the one room hovel she called home. He looked around and made sure no one else was near and then peered into the window. he saw her standing by the chest of drawers she was using as a makeshift dresser and he grinned evilly as he drew the surgeons knife from under his cape. "My last meal before I become a loyal servant of Anubis!"

He silently entered the room and shut the door behind him. *The stupid bitch has forgotten to lock the door! * He grinned and made his way closer to her, he flashed the knife and watched the blade make pretty patterns on the walls. "Time my dinner bitch!"

The redhead turned around but instead of a frightened girl he found himself staring down the twin barrels of a shotgun. Xander grabbed the front of the wig and ripped it from his head. "Nah ah ah! " He shook his head. "The sign definitely said, no shirt, no soul no service. I'm going to have to ask you to die now!"

Xander pulled both triggers and the blast shook the small room like a bomb had exploded. Both rounds caught the creature in the chest blasting it through the door and into the street. "Shit!" Xander exclaimed as he made his way outside. He ejected the spent rounds then ripped the front of the dress in his attempt to get at the other rounds. "Stupid freaking dresses!" He fumbled with the shells as he feed them into the two barrels before clicking them shut.

He looked at the creature as it rolled around on the ground then said. "Now then where was I? Oh yeah... Go to hell." He pulled the trigger and the round thumped into its body. "Do not pass go, do not collect $200 dollars!" He pulled the trigger but as he did he felt a hammer blow to his shoulder that threw him to the ground.

By the time he could gather his wits Abberline was at his side. "Stay still I'll fetch a doctor." Xander's vision began to clear and he gripped Abberline's jacket. "Just tell me it's dead!"

Abberline shook his head. "That scum Taylor, 'is coachman, helped 'im get away!" Abberline tried to finish tying the wound closed but Xander stood up. "God damn it! What does it take to kill this sucker?"

Abberline takes out his revolver and looks at him. "Let's find out shall we?" Just as he finishes they hear a woman's scream and Abberline blanches. "Mary!"

The pair run like the devil himself was after them and they came upon Taylor ripping at Mary's dress as she lay there unmoving. "Come on my pretty show Sammy your goods!"

Abberline took up his stance and said. "How about mine!" He pulled the trigger and the back of the man's head flew away in a red mist. Abberline spat at his corpse as he dropped down next to Mary and tried to wake her. "Mary... Mary me love come on wake up, its Fred."

Xander took in the dead man and Abberline's cracked voice as he rocked Mary. "Hush little baby don't you cry, Freddie's going to by you a mocking bird..." He looked up at Xander and sniggered. "All that worry about the creature getting her and it ended up a mortal done 'er in!"

Xander had to pry him away from her so he could check her vitals. He looked up at Abberline. "She's got a pulse but it's weak and thready." He checked her breathing then placed her on her back and started to perform mouth to mouth. "Are you sick? Kissing her when she's dead." Abberline went to fight Xander off of her when she suddenly she coughed and gripped her head. "Ow me 'ead!"

She looked up at Fred. "You look like you seen a ghost!" Abberline looked at Xander. "You are a bleeding miracle worker!" He hugged Xander and kept saying thank you. Xander tried to push him away. "We have to catch Tumblety remember?"

Mary was sat there watching the pair. "If you two want to be alone I'll understand but the peelers 'round 'ere are awful strict on that sort of going on." The two jump apart and Xander smiled at her. "Glad to see you're back Mary, now Abberline can wait here till you feel better while I go finish what I came all this way for." Xander stopped and then told her. "Don't forget what I said, this is your one chance to get away from the council grab each other with both hands and never let go."

Mary shakes her head. "but I can't, I have a duty to protect the innocent..." Xander holds up his hand. "Believe me, about now some poor Shmuck of a girl is being told she is the chosen one and she will carry on with the battle." She saw a look of sadness pass over him. "I only wish I had the nerve to grab my dream when I had the opportunity." He heard the sound of a carriage making speed to get away and the sounds of police whistles fill the night air. "Now I have to get to Southampton before chuckles gets clean away!"

"Dover.. You mean Dover 'Cuz that's where he was heading'." Mary told him. "No, Southampton, I am from the future you know." Xander replied.

"So was he, remember? He knows what you know and the last thing I heard was him telling Taylor to get him to the ferry for France after he dealt with me." Mary informs him.

Xander flaps his arms. "Great! Now he changes the script! " He looks at Abberline as Miles runs up to them. "What's the quickest way to Dover?"

Abberline kisses Mary. "Now that Miles is here we can both go by Police carriage!"

Abberline waves to a coach and tells the driver. "The port authority at Dover and bugger the Hack Law!"

Chapter 13

PRESENT DAY.

Tara walked into the lounge thinking it was the last place she had seen her book on temporal placement when she saw Buffy sitting in the dark, the old leather bound book Kate had brought from the police station opened at Xander's autopsy, with her fingers almost caressing the passage. Tara stopped and tried to back out of the room but Buffy looked up at her and Tara stopped. She saw Buffy's red rimmed eyes and she also saw a strangeness there, then she realised what was missing, the spark of life that had always been there was gone. In its place was a harrowing look of defeat. "We won't be able to do anything will we?" Her hands robotically closed the book her fingers tracing the embossed name on the front. "Abberline must have really liked him. Then how could you not like Xander?"

Tara nods. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, he's a sweetie, one that grows on you." She looked at Buffy and saw that she mourned the loss of Xander more than as just a good friend. Buffy looked up at her. "You know he always kept his promise to me, right up until the whole Spike mess." She covered her face with her hands. "All those times he was there for me and I just took as said that he would always be there for me." She draped her hands on the book and her voice almost broke. "And yet when he needed me the most I was to engrossed in a murderous bastard that I ignored his pain."

"Love makes you do the wacky, Buffy. It makes us all do it because we're all human with human frailties and emotions." She took Buffy's hand in hers and asked. "How long?"

Buffy gave her a nervous grin. "Ever since I realised what his being gone really meant to me." She sighed. "That and the way Dawn kept telling me what a great guy he was and sending me the clippings. The day he was shot and I.... I thought he was gone my whole world crumbled, it was then that my heart finally caught up with my mind." Her shoulders drooped and Tara could hear a strangled sob. "And now he is gone and in a way he dreaded from the first time we met."

Tara could hear the phone ringing but let one of the others pick it up, she had a much more pressing problem here at the moment. She gripped her hands firmly and told her. "He did what he's always done, placed the safety of others before his own, you could see it in the way he fought both demon and man. But now we must put him before all else and bring him home."

Dawn came running in. "It's Giles! He's found a way to bring Xander back!"

WAREHOUSE DISTRICT -DOVER.

The carriage stopped with a jerk and the two policemen jumped out. Abberline told Xander. "Well there's the oil depot, now just how do we get this thing to take a bath in it? Cuz I'm thinking the minute it smells this place it'll run a mile!"

Xander rechecked the shotgun then told Abberline. "We don't give it a choice. We either chase it in there or we knock the shit out and dump it into the tank!" He looks back to the ferry terminal. "He has to be there waiting for the next ferry, I say we go wish him Bon Voyage!"

Abberline nods as he withdraws his revolver then looks at Xander's shoulder. "You should really wait till you stopped bleeding." he looks around the area. "There are other things out here besides Tumblety you know."

Xander adjusts the bandage and tells him. "I only got time for one creature of the night at a time Fred." He grinned. "Besides what kind of creature would put up with this stink?"

Abberline grins for the first time since his Mary was injured. "Well you'd know what happens future boy, if someone from your time doesn't know what happens next no one would."

Xander grins back at him. "When this is all over I'll tell you everything of importance that happens between now and 2005, the only thing is we can't do anything to stop it." Xander shrugs. "Affecting the flow of time and all that crap."

The pair run off towards the terminal just as a man moves from the cover of darkness. He breaths out a cloud of cigarette smoke and grins. "Well isn't this just... Peachy?"

Xander is at one end of the terminal, while Abberline is at the other, and they move towards each other scrutinising the faces of the few people there waiting for the 11.00 p.m. ferry to France. Xander catches sight of a blonde woman that looks vaguely familiar, she's dressed in what must have been the height of fashion for this time and his mind struggles to grasp at where he had seen her before but a cry from Abberline brushes the thought aside.

"Stop there Tumblety!" Xander's head snaps to the direction of the voice and he sees Abberline with his revolver pointed at a man as he runs from the terminal. Xander takes off at great speed trying to intercept Tumblety. The pair drives the man like a pair of sheep dogs towards the refinery and Xander sees Tumblety stop and search for any other way out of the trap.

Abberline fires his revolver causing the man to take off towards the closed doors of the refinery. The pair meet up at the gates and Xander tells him. "You go cover the back and we'll force him into the holding bay!"

Xander can hear Abberline telling the night watchman to go and get the police as they set off for the final battle. Xander can see Tumblety as the creature runs in a mad panic looking for a way out. "It's almost over Tumblety." He takes a lungful of the foul air and grimaces. "Smell that? That's what vengeance smells like Tumblety! All those women you killed for food, after all this time now you'll know the true meaning of fear!"

Tumblety sees a door still opened and laughs. "I'll get away like I always do Harris! And then I'll be coming for you! You and that bitch Kelly!" He yells in pain as Abberline's bullet strikes him in the chest.

Abberline calmly walks each round up the creatures body. "You got as close to Mary as you're ever going to get!" The gun clicked on an empty chamber and Abberline re-loaded as he walked towards Tumblety. The creature was mad with pain and he scrambled through the open doors and into the main holding tanks of the refinery. He ran as fast as his body could allow up the gantry followed by Xander and Abberline then it paused and cursed as it realised its mistake.

Xander nodded to Abberline and he raced over to the tank controls and pulled on the chain that opened the top of the tank. The creature felt the blast then the burning pain of the plastic slug as Xander fired into it. Tumblety turned and watched as Xander ejected the spent rounds and calmly fed the shotgun two more rounds. It flinched at the sound of the barrels snapping closed. Xander held the butt of the gun to his uninjured shoulder and aimed between Tumblety's eyes. "Say goodnight Gracie!"

Tumblety straightened and began to change. "You pull that trigger and we all die! I'm not dead yet, Human! My master will hunt you down and take you to hell!"

Xander grins and then shrugs. "It's a risk I'm willing to take. When you see him tell him every time he tries this I'll be waiting! Tell him to take a number and join the queue." Xander pulled both triggers and the creature flew back over the railings and dropped into the tank of unrefined oil.

Abberline raced back to join Xander and they watched as the creature twisted and turned in the oil before it left Tumblety's body and tried to swim out of the tank. It began to change, taking the form of each life it had possessed until the sight of a formless green mass was left. It then dissolved into the oil causing it to change into a thick black tar.

Xander relaxed his shoulder's and sighed. "I hope every night's not like this Fred, otherwise I might just retire to my country estate."

Abberline looks serious for a minute. "Nah sometimes we get into all sorts of trouble." The pair grin at each other then Abberline says. "Would you look at that! Talk about the bleedin' cavalry arriving too late." Xander looks to where Abberline pointed and he saw three policemen running into the building. "best you put that cannon away while I go and say a few words to our fellow peelers."

Xander tucked the gun into the leather combat holster he had been wearing when he travelled back in time. "Jeez lucky we got him." he said to himself. "Only four rounds left."

He walked down the gantry and watched Abberline in heated discussion with the three policemen and then something made the hairs on the back of his head prickle. He turned and scanned the area but could see nothing. He slowly made his way out of the building and into the night air and then he stopped frozen in his tracks as his worst nightmare stared back at him.

There were four people standing at the entrance to the refinery and Xander gulped. "Fancy meeting you here."

The blonde smiled and stalked towards him. "My friends and I were just about to leave this place when Druscilla's childe came to me with a strange story about a man from the future." Darla glanced at Dru and she told her. "You were right dear, he will make a fine childe!"

Xander remembered now where he had last saw the blonde. "At least I know you end badly Darla!" he looks at the others. "you all end badly." He glares at Spike. "But you Spike, you end worse of all!"

Darla turns to Angelus. "he has knowledge, knowledge that would make us invincible. Weaken him for me my pet."

Angelus grins. "It would be me honour me love!" He vamps out and strides towards Xander. "Don't worry this will only hurt... A lot!"

Xander slowly takes out the shotgun and reloads. "Oh a gun!" Angelus feigns terror then growls. "That won't do you any good boy!"

Xander points it at Angelus. "No but I bet it'll sting like a bitch!" He pulls the trigger and the large plastic slug rips into Angelus slamming him back against a wall. Xander back peddles and then fires at Darla causing her to cry out in pain as she joins her child kicking and screaming in pain on the ground. Xander then takes off at a run as he breaks open the shotgun and hastily reloads.

He slides to a stop and quickly turns, just in time to shoot Dru before she grabs him. He watched her as she gripped her stomach and writhed on the ground then Xander searched for a safe heaven. He saw an empty warehouse and made his way towards it as he heard Abberline calling out his name. Xander couldn't let his new friend walk into these creatures for he knew once they recovered from their all to brief injuries they would be out baying for blood.

He knew he had just one shot left and that Spike was hovering around somewhere so he tried to make himself as scarce as he could. Just as he entered the door a pair of strong hands flung him up against a wall then turned him around. "Now that was not very sociable was it? We invite you to join our band of brothers and you do that!"

"Screw you Spike!" Xander brought the gun up but Spike pushed it to one side and twisted Xander's neck to the left. He sniffed his shoulder. "Aw you got an ouchie!" He licked at the blood and smiled. "Mmm just the way I like it!" He then sank his fangs into Xander's throat and drank.

Xander struggled but he felt himself become weaker as his blood drained from his body. His mind became puzzled when he could hear the sound of surf and then he had a moment of clarity and knew that if Spike turned him he would retain the knowledge of everything that would happen until 2005. With this knowledge Darla's 'family' would rule the world, drowning it in the blood of innocents.

Xander now knew what had to be done. He slowly raised the barrel inching it towards his own head until he could feel the cold steel pressing against his cheek. "Gotta go now.. Bye!" His finger pressed the trigger...

But suddenly the weight of the vampire vanished and was replaced by a cloud of dust. Xander felt the barrel pulled away from his head just as the blast would have decapitated him. He slumped to the ground and curled up in a ball and began to sob. "No! Please God don't let this happen!"

Buffy gripped Xander around the waist and easily lifted him into her arms. "Now is not the time to give in Xand." She kissed him then noticed all the blood covering his body. Her face was set in a grim visage. "you had better have that ambulance waiting Kate!" She mumbled as she ran towards the bright blue portal that was rippling five feet in front of her. She dived through it carrying an unconscious Xander with her.

LATER.

Xander drifted into consciousness and heard someone saying. ".... Mrs. Harris. He should be regaining consciousness any time now." Xander slumped back in the bed and grimaced at both his wounds and the fact some idiot had called his mother. He heard dawn tell him. "I know your awake Xander; I saw your eyes move. he slowly opened his eyes and smiled." Hey Dawnie, long time no see."

She grinned and told him. "Yeah Brainiac, about a hundred odd years!" She hugged him till she realised how badly hurt he was then she went red. "Sorry I didn't..."

Xander shook his head and told her. "Don't worry about it Dawn, they got me on some of the good stuff. Besides, pain means I'm alive!" He motioned her closer, a worried look on his face. "Why is my mom here?"

Dawn looked confused and then looked around the room. She saw Buffy and smiled. "You have been out of it haven't you."

Xander squawked in pain as he turned his head to see what Dawn was looking at. "History has changed since you were last here Xand. I remember the way it was because I'm not what you would call a 'normal girl', and so do you and Buffy because you were both affected by the portal, but history has changed Xander."

She gave him the idiots guide tour of the new and improved 2005.Mary had married Abberline and they had both lived a long and happy life. The new Slayer lived the same life span as she would have but the two Slayers Spike would have killed went on to be amongst the best there were. Living longer than they had originally meant a Slayer was not called instead it bypassed her and went straight to Kendra and then Faith.

Xander dared not wish it were true lest he curse it with the usual Harris luck. "And your sister?"

Dawn shrugged. "Faith is helping to train the next Slayer." Xander did a double take. "Faith?" Dawn grinned. "Take a chill pill boy toy, yes Faith. Faith is my sister in this reality."

Xander looked over at Buffy. "What about.." he motioned towards Buffy and Dawn realised he didn't know.

"Well Joyce moved to Sunnydale to take over the museum and her daughter moaned and bitched about leaving LA like the true princess she was. That was until she met the Slayer's boyfriend and he met her. When Kendra died she was there to comfort him and they've been together ever since." She stood up. "I'll call her over... Mrs. Harris, I think your husband want's a word."

Xander began choking and buffy rushed to his side. "Are you all right honey?" She leans into him and whispers. "Quiet a shock ain't it?"

She placed her hand on his cheek and he saw the love in her eyes. "Yeah but a really, really good one!"

The doctor came over and the two women moved aside as he shone a small torch into Xander's eyes. "Well Inspector Harris you seem to be coming along fine." He wrote something on Xander's chart then told him. "I'll let your partner know you're awake, I think he has a few words about you taking on that killer by yourself."

Xander nods and Buffy sits next to him. "By the way Mom wants us to visit when you're better." She whispers. "i think she want's another ' grandchildren ' talk again."

Xander grins. "Tell her I'll be happy to oblige her as long as her daughter wants."

Buffy kisses him. "Oh I want!"

END