"Xander? Why are you here?" Kennedy asked.
Xander looked at the window he was fixing and smiled. "Well, I don't know. Could it because someone shattered the window? Again?"
"No, I want to know. You're nothing. Not a slayer or a potential, not a witch or a watcher, not a key or a werewolf. You're not even a vamp or ex-demon. Hell, even Andrew use to be a bad guy. You are just in the way. So why don't you fix the window and get out before you distract Buffy and Willow and get them killed." Kennedy finished.
Kennedy expected Xander to hang his head in shame, finish, and leave. Perhaps, he would even try to sway her with tales of daring-do. He didn't. Instead, Kennedy was shocked to see him sit down and start laughing.
"Why are you laughing?" She pushed getting upset.
"Kennedy, the things that go on around here are just so unbelievable. I couldn't create something so . . . " He waived his arms around the room, "fantastic if I tried. So, I don't. I go with what I know." He said still smiling.
She looked at him suspiciously, "What do you mean?"
He reached into his pocket and handed her his card.
Alexander L. Harris, Co-Founder
Mutant Enemy Productions, Inc.
Hollywood, CA
Kennedy just started at him in shock, "Isn't that the company that produces 'Josie: The Chosen One'?"
"Yep, I met my business partner Joss in a night club in Oxnard in a story that you are so not going to hear. After a while, he found out about the nightlife here and suggested that we could turn it all into something profitable. I didn't have much to loose. So I write and he handles the business end." Xander explained still grinning at the look of astonishment on Kennedy's face.
She started to sputter, "but you're nothing, nothing but a carpenter."
"Glad to see slayers, or rather potentials, are trained in observation." He sighed. "How many new cars have I had to replace in the last year? If you don't know ask Willow. How much time have I missed from work just since you have been here? Yet, I still afford my place, pay Willow's share of the bills around here, and buy all the food for the several dozen people who are here. Besides, don't I usually go to work in a suit?"
He gave her a minute to think about it as he began to pick up his tools.
"Let me answer the questions for you. I have been through four cars, four, that take a nice chunk of change. I have missed a lot of time at work, but it works out. See I own the construction company; I wasn't going to risk anyone else redesigning the high school when it was being placed on the Hellmouth. I tend to be hands on because I enjoy the work and I want it done right. Willow knows that I am lending her money for tuition and expenses. She doesn't ask, but sometimes I think she knows. No one realizes where the food is coming from; everyone else thinks someone else is doing it. Also, I own the note on Buffy's house. Why do you think it hasn't been foreclosed? Like she has the money for the mortgage and her wardrobe."
She stood gaping at him.
"So to answer you question, I stay because I believe what we do is right. Because despite the way I get treated sometimes, Willow, Dawn, and even Buffy are my sisters and I love them. But most of all, I stay for the story ideas and all money I earn from them." He grinned at her, picked up his gear, and started to walk to the door.
He turned and glanced at her, "Oh, Kennedy. I suggest this stays between the two of us. They'll never believe you." He grinned and left leaving Kennedy standing there in the middle of the room with her mouth hanging open.