Dawn was waiting outside of her house. Everybody else was waiting inside. It had been two years since anybody had seen Xander. Even though he had been gone for two years, her feelings for him never went away. 'Just one more year, and he's mine.'
Joyce stuck her head out the door. She saw her youngest daughter sitting on the steps, and she knew what was going through Dawn's head. Joyce felt sympathy for Dawn. She knew her youngest loved Xander, but she also knew that Xander only loved her as a baby sister. She went through the moping daughter bit years ago when Angel left. She really did not want to go through it again. 'I just know she will be heart broken. I'll be there for her, like I was for Buffy.'
Dawn wasn't really paying attention, when a black Trans Am pulled up to her house. In the driver's seat was a blonde woman she had never seen before. In the passenger seat was Xander. Dawn was about to run to the car to hug Xander, when she saw Xander turn to the blonde and kiss her on the mouth. Dawn saw this, turned to her house, ran upstairs and slammed her door hard. The sound of Dawn running and slamming her door got everybody's attention. They all looked outside, and they saw Xander running to the house and his friend following him.
Xander sees the commotion and hurries to talk to Dawn. He sees everybody, including a couple of people he had never seen before, in the doorway. "Hello, everybody. I'll explain everything once I talk to Dawn. Before I do, I would like to introduce you to my fiancé, Natalie Cook. Natalie, this is everybody. But I don't know the guy, or the blonde in the full length skirt." Xander walks to Dawn's door.
He knocks on it. "Dawn? It's Xander. Can I come in?"
"Go away." The words were muffled as if spoken through a pillow. It also sounded like she was crying. 'Of course she is crying.
She's loved you since she met you.'
"I know you're upset, Dawn. But I have known her for almost two years, and we are going to be married. Think of it this way, you're Julia Roberts in My Best Friend's Wedding. Only in a John Hughes Sixteen Candles sort of way. Would it help if I told you that Natalie wants you to be a Bridesmaid? So, wipe your eyes, fix your make-up, and come down stairs and meet Natalie. She really wants to meet you." Xander left Dawn's door. He heard Dawn open her door a little bit.
"I'll be down in a few minutes. Wait for me?"
"Sure thing, Dawn Patrol." Xander walked to the living room with a smile on his face. When he got there, he was assaulted by a red-headed missile. At this moment, he was glad Willow was not the Slayer. The way she was hugging him would have broken a few ribs if she had Slayer strength. He could barely understand Willow. She was talking to him through his shirt. He just held her until she talked herself out. Which took 15 minutes. He noticed Buffy was waiting her turn.
Xander was worried that Buffy would crack a couple of his ribs hugging him. She saw this in his eyes, but hugged him fiercely anyway. "Air. I need air." Buffy hugged him harder for one second before releasing him. She was happy that Xander came home.
He walked over to Joyce and she gave Xander a motherly hug. He was glad that Joyce took pity on him and lightly hugged him. For which his ribs were grateful. He smiled at Giles, and since they were men and men don't hug, they firmly shook each others hands.
Xander turned to Willow, who was holding the hand of the blonde he had never seen before. "Who is your friend, Will?"
With pride in her voice, "This is my significant other, Tara McClay. Oz left me for some werewolf skank in another band. Tara here was in my Wicca group in college. We've been going out for a year. And quite happy." Xander was ok with the fact that Willow was a lesbian. Her happiness meant everything to him. And, if Tara made her happy, then Xander was happy.
Next, he saw Buffy sitting in the lap of a guy that was sitting in the sunlight. Xander liked this guy already. "Who is your chair, Buffy?"
"This is my boyfriend, Riley Finn. He was a teacher's assistant at Sunnydale University. He is going for his Master's Degree in Psychology. I'm so proud of him." Xander heard the pride in her voice.
As soon as the introductions of Buffy and Willow's new relationships were done, Dawn came downstairs. Xander saw her, and his heart broke. Dawn was trying to look like nothing was wrong, but it was just a mask. And Xander knew all about those. He walked up to her and hugged her. He knew he had a lot of work to do in making Dawn feel better, and he was willing to put the time in.
Dawn looked up at Xander. "So, who is this woman that you are marrying? Why couldn't you wait for me?" Xander was stumped on how to answer her second question, without hurting her more than she already was.
"This is Natalie Cook. We work for Townsend Investigations.
I'm a Private Investigator. And so is she." He leaned into Dawn, and whispered, "There were times when we were alone where she would play my secretary." This statement made Dawn's eyes bug out. She was stunned at Xander telling her this. Seeing this, Xander smiled. He loved shocking one of "his girls."
Everybody was stunned when Xander told his family about his job and his engagement. Mrs. Summers looked like she had something on her mind, and was trying to put the pieces together.
'Could it be? It's not possible. Is it?' She asked Xander, "What is the name of your boss?" She prayed he wasn't working for him.
"Charlie Townsend." There was a mini explosion in the room.
No one had time to duck and cover.
"You work for that bastard! I don't believe it! How could he have done that to me? If I ever see him again, it won't be pretty."
Everybody was confused as to why Joyce Summers, mother of all the young adults in the room by either blood or love, was going postal.
Buffy was the first to ask. "What's wrong, Mom?"
Joyce took a few calming breaths. "Twenty years ago, I met a nice man named Charlie Townsend. We fell in love. We were careful in our relationship, but apparently the pill did not work the way it should. I was about to tell him that he was a father when he upped and disappeared. I never heard form him again. Hank was a good friend and decided to raise you Buffy as his own. The last five years of our marriage was one of convenience."
Everybody could not believe what they just heard. Buffy's father wasn't really her father. Natalie couldn't believe she had a half sister. She went to Buffy and hugged her. Not even Xander knew why.
"Buffy, we're sisters. Well, half sisters anyway. I never had a baby sister." This got a snicker out of Dawn. Buffy looked at Dawn with her Death Glare. That made Dawn laugh even harder. Dawn's laughing made everyone laugh harder. After a good laugh, everyone's mood seemed to lighten. Willow asked the next question.
"So Xander, what is it that you investigate? Cheating spouses?"
Xander looked at her with his lopsided grin. "Something like that. There's also missing and kidnapped people and stolen items.
It's a good living. I get to help people, like we used to in high school." He looked at Riley and Tara. He whispered to Dawn, "Do they know about the night life here?" Dawn nodded. "Do they know Buffy is a Slayer?" Dawn nodded again. Satisfied with those answers, he continued. "Other than the day we met, we have never run in to any vampires. Which means, I just jinxed us."
Again seated on Riley's lap, Buffy asked, "What do you mean other than the first time?"
"How do people normally get involved in this lifestyle? They get attacked by vampires and we save them. Natalie and her friends were in Oxnard. I was working there as a male stripper. My car broke down and I needed the money." The look on Buffy and Willow's faces was priceless. Yes, they got a sneak peek senior year when Xander went out for the swim team, but he just stood there. To see him dancing with no clothes on, they would have done anything to see.
"That night as I was walking back to my hotel room, I heard fighting. I ran to see what was going on. And I see three women fighting off three vampires. Their fighting styles were impressive, but ineffective against vampires. I had a stake with me, so while the vampires were distracted, I dusted them from behind. After the usual you're lying, vampires don't exist, and everything else that is standard from intended vampire victims, we talked all night about vampires. I told them everything. Except who you were exactly, Buffy. I told them about Slayers, just not by name. I talked to their information guy, and does he have a sense of humor. He loves to golf, his favorite movie is Caddyshack and he hates the gopher. After meeting Bosley, there was a phone call from Charlie, their boss. He offered me a job. I had nothing better to do at the time, so I accepted it. And what red blooded American male would pass up the chance of hanging out and working with three beautiful women? It was just like high school. Only, I'm getting paid and the people we were working for didn't have a secret agenda." (A/N: I was tempted to get in some Buffy bashing. Thought it would be better to slam the Council.)