Bewitched, Chapter 27

[thismaz]

Title: Bewitched, Chapter 27
Pairing: S/X. I promise it will get back there... eventually.
Rating: This chapter PG-13
Summary: Valentine's Day arrived and Dru dipped her finger in the brew, giving it a stir. That was two years ago and the fall-out is still falling.
Word Count: 3,190
Betaed by sparrow2000 and DJ, for which, many thanks. Thanks also to Sparrow for conflabbing on plot twists and forms.
Comments: Are greatly appreciated, loved and cherished.
Disclaimer: here.
Prologue here, with a link to the other chapters, or you can find the whole thing, in reverse order, in tags, or in the correct order, in memories. There's a menu of links on the right hand side of my main journal page.


Many thanks to mwrgana for the beautiful banner.



Chapter 27

Xander wasn't sure if waking up feeling ill on Thanksgiving morning was a curse, or a reprieve. He and Willow had promised to help Buffy with her plan to host a Scooby meal and he was supposed to meet them outside Giles' apartment at 9:30. His clock read 9:00 in big glowy red numerals but his attempt to sit up resulted in dizzy failure, so he closed his eyes and waited for the moment to pass.

The insistent ringing of the phone roused him and he fumbled blindly for the handset of the bedroom extension, more to shut it up than to talk to whoever was on the other end.

It was Buffy. Of course it was. Who else would it be? "Xander, where are you?" she asked as soon as he croaked a half-hearted 'Hello'. "No, I know where you are, but why are you still there? You were supposed to meet me at Giles'."

"I know. Sorry."

"Well, it's okay, because I have to do some shopping, so I'll swing by and we can go together."

"Err..."

"See you in a few," she finished and she was gone.

Xander let his hand fall, the handset still grasped slackly, against his chest. He turned his head and stared at his clock. 12:15? How did that happen? Fumbling the handset back into place, he rolled out from under the covers and onto the floor, on his knees. He had to use the edge of the bed to help him stand, before he staggered down the hall, bracing himself against the wall with both hands.

After taking the latch off the front door, he fell into the recliner chair that his mom had forced on him and closed his eyes again. His boxers and t-shirt were stuck to his skin with sweat, but he was shivering. Curling up in the seat and resting his head where the arm met the chair back allowed him to drag a corner of the throw he'd used to cover the chair down over one shoulder. It didn't really help, but he was too tired to stand up and pull the rug free.

When Buffy arrived, what seemed like only moments later, she took one look at him and decided he was very ill, which was something he could have told her, if she'd asked. She also decided that he couldn't stay safe in his own apartment to die quietly. It said something for the state of Xander's brain that he hardly objected when she wrestled him into a pair of sweats and forced his shoes onto his feet. It probably said even more that he didn't protest when she grabbed his car keys off the kitchen table.

The doctor she dragged him to, was no help. All he could tell them was that Xander was very sick and had too many symptoms to measure. He wanted to check him into the hospital and was already reaching for the phone to call an ambulance when Xander managed to croak out his refusal.

Buffy looked like she was ready to argue the doctor's case, but Xander glared at her and she apparently got the message. She hauled him back out of his chair. "What, then?" she asked, an impatient snap in her voice.

"Take me home?" he begged.

Instead, she took him to Giles. He staggered in through the door, one arm around Buffy's shoulders, but he managed to keep his feet, so he was counting that a win.

Giles looked up from his seat at his desk and immediately jumped up. "Xander, what's wrong?" he cried, hurrying forward to help.

Sheer terror at Buffy's driving had shocked some alertness into Xander, so he was able to make what he thought was a very coherent reply. "No insurance," he said.

Helping him across the room, Buffy and Giles lowered him onto the sofa. "The doctor couldn't figure it out," Buffy explained. "He's got a whole load of symptoms that don't add up."

Giles went into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a bowl of cold water and a cloth. Perching on the edge of the sofa, he dipped the cloth in the bowl and laid it across Xander's forehead. "You should be in a hospital," he observed.

Xander waved his hand weakly, dismissing that suggestion. "I don't really feel that bad."

"Well, you look awful. Lie still and I'll get you some Tylenol."

Choking the tablets down, Xander lay back with a glass of water by his side. At some point, Willow arrived with peas and spent some time fussing and worrying over him, until he closed his eyes in self defence, after which she went to the kitchen and had a fiercely whispered conversation with Buffy. Buffy, herself, was in full organisation mode - planning shopping and cooking arrangements, as well as freaking over the instructions in the cookbook, which she obviously didn't understand. Xander was simply relieved to be left in peace.

Giles seemed to have resigned himself to his fate as host and alcoholic lubrication appeared to be playing a part in him achieving that state. He kept the cloth on Xander's forehead damp, but for most of the next hour, alternated between sitting in the chair next to the fireplace, reading, with a glass clutched in his hand and jumping to his feet every time Buffy or Willow returned, apparently to save his kitchen from destruction. That happened a lot, more than gathering the ingredients for a single meal should require. Bits and pieces of their conversations registered on Xander's brain.

It appeared that there had been a murder, or possibly two; there was something about a priest. Buffy, it seemed, was investigating, in between shopping and freaking. Xander's own connectedness to everything fluctuated, but he was dimly aware of a big debate about Native American rights, and possibly bats.

During one of the lulls, Giles came over and sat on the coffee table by Xander's side. "We think we've discovered what is wrong with you," he said.

Xander opened his eyes. The Tylenol had apparently helped a little, because he didn't feel quite so light headed. Giles placed a mug down next to him, took the cloth and wet it again, before laying it back across Xander's forehead. "There appears to be a vengeful Chumash spirit loose in Sunnydale," he explained.

"A what-mash? And it made me sick? Why?"

"We think it was trapped in the old mission you discovered yesterday."

Bracing his hands against the cushions, Xander forced himself back along the seat, until he was reclining against the arm of the sofa. "Old mission?" he asked. "What old mission? I don't have a mission, that's Buffy."

Giles smiled. "I'm not so sure about that," he said. Picking up the mug, he passed it to Xander. "Here, drink this," he instructed. "The honey will soothe your throat." He went on to explain what was going on, all the stuff that Xander had missed. "Which is why there is really no point in taking you to the hospital, after all," he concluded.

Xander was still stuck a few sentences back. "I have syphilis?" he asked.

"Among other things."

Letting his head fall to the side, to rest against the back of the sofa, Xander took a deep breath. "Oh great," he said. "Isn't that just dandy?"

Giles' hand was warm on his shoulder. "We'll sort it out, Xander," he said firmly. "Don't worry, when the spirit is banished, all your symptoms should clear up."

Forcing a smile, Xander promised, "Going to hold you to that."

Smiling back, Giles patted him awkwardly with the hand that still rested on his shoulder. "Okay," he agreed.

If he had been intending to add anything, he was interrupted by the door opening to Buffy's and Willow's return. "No luck finding Hus," Buffy reported.

"That's our Spirit guy?" Xander asked. "But you are going to find him, right? And slay?"

Willow crossed the room and frowned down at him over the back of the sofa. "We can't do that," she objected. "His people were wronged."

"He gave me syphilis!" Xander looked over at Buffy, who had perched herself on the arm of the chair Giles had been sitting in earlier. "You have to slay him."

Buffy pulled a strangely anguished expression, half way between sympathetic and reluctant. "Yeah, that's sort of the question before the court."

"Question?" Xander asked. "Why is there even a question?"

"Well, there are two sides to it," Willow explained.

"Two sides to slaying him?" Xander looked at each of them in turn. Buffy shifted awkwardly and stood up, turning her back. Willow stared at him with her chin up. Xander gritted his teeth. "Speaking as the representative from syphilis, I vote, 'kill!'"

Willow actually wrung her hands together. "It's not that simple," she said.

Breaking in, before Xander could respond with the rightful indignation her prevarication deserved, Giles observed, "We've never faced this sort of spirit before. We really don't know what will kill it." He paused, and Xander followed his gaze to Willow's rebellious expression. "Figuratively speaking," he added. "Or bind it, or whatever. Yes, Willow, we have heard you on the subject."

"But I don't think you listen," Willow muttered.

Buffy interrupted their staring match by running away, mumbling something about condensed milk, and Willow followed her. Giles went after them and tried to remonstrate. It all got very heated again with Giles talking sense, as far as Xander was concerned, Willow being stubborn and Buffy hovering between them, desperately mixing potato mash in a bowl. Xander sank back against the cushions and tried to block them all out, while he processed the fact that his best friends seemed to feel more sympathy for a dead man than for him.

He was hardly aware of the knock on the door, or the abrupt shift in the atmosphere when it was opened. He certainly didn't recognise the voice of the man outside, at least not when he said, "Help me," although something stirred his memory when he went on to yell indignantly, "Oi! What part of help me do you not understand?"

"The part where I help you," Buffy retorted.

Surely that couldn't be Spike, pleading? "Come on, I'm parboiling out here."

Apparently it was, because after some bargaining, Buffy invited him in by name. Spike added to the volatile mix was more than Xander thought he could handle. He closed his eyes and dragged a cushion over his head to shut out the sound of the new argument.

He must have drifted again and wasn't sure how much he missed, but it was quieter when he pulled the cushion away from his eyes. Spike was standing by his feet, looking down at him. He sounded subdued when he said, "You look like shit, mate."

Xander started to scramble away, but Buffy came to the rescue and dragged Spike over to a straight backed chair, forcing him to sit while she tied him up with a long length of rope that Giles produced from somewhere.

"Hey! That pinches," Spike protested, which got him no sympathy. "I came to you in friendship." Buffy gave him a look that would have had Xander quaking in his boots. Why couldn't she turn that sort of determination on this Hus guy? What Spike was doing in Giles' apartment, Xander couldn't imagine. He was inclined to believe he was a fever dream, but pinching his own arm didn't make him go away. "Well, all right, seething hatred," Spike allowed, "but I've got useful information and I feel I'm being mistreated."

Buffy tied the last knot and stood back with her arms crossed. "So tell me everything you know."

Spike sounded distinctly sulky when he replied, "I'm too hungry to remember everything."

"Then sit," Buffy retorted.

Xander pulled his feet inwards and swung around so he was sitting on the sofa. "Does he know about Hus?" he asked.

Buffy shook her head. "No, he's offering info on the commandos."

"Oh." Xander lost interest and let his head rest against the sofa back.

"Hang on," Giles exclaimed. "That might be important."

"What?" Buffy asked. "The commandos?"

"No, command structures. The victims. Apart from Xander, and we presume the man he rescued, Hus has targeted authority figures - Father Gabriel, the curator of the cultural centre. Who else fits the pattern?"

"The dean?" Buffy suggested. "Dean Guerrero. He's the king of us and he was at the ceremony."

Nodding, Giles agreed. "Yes, a likely candidate. We should warn him."

Glancing across at Spike, Xander intercepted a strange look directed at him. He turned away and considered the question of standing and walking any distance. Unfortunately, yet another argument had sprung up between Willow and Buffy about, once again, whether Hus should even be killed. Willow had apparently been searching for spells to fix mystical syphilis, instead of the research she was supposed to have been doing, into ways to kill dead Chumash spirits and Buffy appeared to have reached the end of her tolerance tether.

Of all people, it was Spike who brought it all to a grinding halt. "Oh, someone put a stake in me," he cried.

Unsettled, for reasons he didn't want to examine, Xander was feeling grouchy enough to reply, "I vote for that."

Spike shot him a venomous look, which oddly settled Xander slightly, but otherwise took no notice. He stared directly at Buffy and Willow. "I just can't take all this mamby-pamby boo-hooing about the bloody Indians," he snarled. "You won, all right? You came in and you killed them and you took their land. That's what conquering nations do. You had better weapons and you massacred them. End of story!"

Xander wanted to cheer, but that would have undermined his stand on hating vampires in general and this one in particular. Spike's diatribe seemed to have had an effect though. Willow made a last bid for talking to Hus, but Buffy finally came down on the side of slayage.

"You exterminated his race," Spike added, pounding any last objection to dust under the sledgehammer of his logic. "What could you possibly say that would make him feel better? It's kill or be killed here. Take your bloody pick."

"Fine, ok?" Buffy shouted. She put down her bowl of mashed potatoes, adding more quietly, "But someone still has to go warn the dean."

"I'll go," Willow offered. "I need the air."

"Not alone," Buffy said. "We'll all go."

Spike stared around the room, his eyes coming to rest on Xander. "Leave that one. He looks like he's ready to drop any minute and I think I can eat someone if he's already dead."

That didn't make any sense to Xander, but it did force him to his feet. "I'm coming too," he decided.

"Someone had better stay, to guard the prisoner," Giles said. "I'll keep on looking for a solution, at the same time."

So they left on their ultimately unnecessary and embarrassing mission. The only really odd thing, besides the fact that Willow ended up with a slice of pie, was the appearance of Angel. The girls went into the dean's house, leaving Xander on guard outside, on the grounds that he might scare the residents in the wrong way. At first Xander thought it was more syphilitic delirium that had Angel suddenly appear in front of his face.

"You look like shit," Angel said.

"Funny, Spike said that too," he replied.

That got a puzzled look from Angel, who stared at him spechlessly, while Xander wondered at his own subconscious that would conjure first Spike, then Angel, when he was feeling so close to death. Except, Spike was real, wasn't he? Xander looked at Angel, trying to work out if he was real, as well.

"All the Chumash weapons are missing from the cultural centre," Angel said. "Something's up. Where's Buffy?"

Xander gestured over his shoulder. "Trying to warn Dean Guerrero."

"It's not the dean he's after." Hallucination Angel sounded exasperated; maybe he was real. "Hus is a warrior. To a warrior, the leader means the strongest fighter. He's formed a raiding party and he knows where she's supposed to be." And he seemed to be making remarkable sense, which wouldn't tend the verdict either way, except that Xander wasn't sure that he was capable of so much coherent reasoning.

At that moment there was a click behind him and Xander spun around, and almost fell as the world kept spinning, but it was only Buffy and Willow backing out of the door. "We gotta get back," he said, as soon as they reached the street. Angel had disappeared. "I had a vision, or a realisation, or something, and Hus is a warrior, so he'll go after the warrior here and that's you," he explained, pointing at Buffy.

Buffy looked alarmed, while Willow looked impressed. "Of course," she said. Turning to Buffy, she gave her a shove. "Run, we'll catch you up." Buffy hesitated for a moment. "We'll be fine, as long as you're not with us," Willow assured her. "Run!"

Buffy ran. Xander and Willow hurried after her, although he needed her help to stay upright.

When they got back to Giles' place, there was a battle in full fight. Willow grabbed a shovel and started hitting on a guy with a bow and war paint. Xander put his head down and simply charged at another, getting him in the midriff and knocking him down. He landed on top of his victim, who immediately tried to get his hands around Xander's neck. Xander attempted to roll off, but all at once the body disappeared, fading away like a dusted vampire, only without the dust and he fell six inches to the ground. His elbows and forearms protected his face from the concrete and he lay still for a moment, simply enjoying having a clear head and non-achy limbs.

A pair of feet appeared in front of his face and he looked up, smiling at Willow.

"How do you feel?" she asked.

"Like someone magically cured me of syphilis," he replied, pushing himself up onto his feet.

Willow snorted. "I'm glad," she said. "But it doesn't make it right."

Throwing an arm around her shoulder, Xander gave her a hug. "Nothing about this was right," he agreed and she looked up at him from under her lashes, offering him a tentative smile before turning into him and burying her face in his chest.

He brought his other arm around her and hugged her tight. After a few moments, her arms circled his waist and she hugged him back.

Xander nuzzled her hair and placed a kiss on her crown before lifting his head to look around. The courtyard was empty. The door to Giles' apartment was open and Xander could see inside. Spike was sitting facing the door, tied to his chair, and Xander was taken aback by the expression of fury on his gameface. Pushing Willow gently aside and herding her into the apartment, Xander kept himself between her and Spike's angry gaze.



Note - Bits of dialogue borrowed and adapted from the episode 4.08, Pangs.

Bewitched, Chapter 28

Comments

[shakatany.livejournal.com]

Nice blend of canon and your Anya-less "Pangs" and at least we have the two bois in the same place. Now for your version of "Something Blue" where Spike and Xander become engaged then Olivia can show up so Spike can get to Xander's place and things can really heat up - right?

Shakatany

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*laughs* We can live in hope. *teasing, sorry*
Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. This chapter was so canon, it was almost frustrating - I felt like I was recounting the episode at times, but yes, no Anya, which did make for some interesting challenges.

[1-mad-squirrel.livejournal.com]

Icon love!

[shakatany.livejournal.com]

Thank you. It's by spikeshunny

Shakatany

[mulder200.livejournal.com]

LOL! Poor Xander! That had to be one Thanksgiving he would never want to relive again. And I love how Buffy is more freaked about the perfect dinner and Willow Native American rights to give him any sympathy.

And now we have Spike added to the group reluctantly. And the final scene where he looks with fury at Xander & Willow hugging speaks volumes! He is so jealous!

And why do I have a feeling that this fic is going to go one way past past S4 and maybe even into S7?

I look forward to reading more.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Yes, poor Xander. But you wrong Buffy and Willow. Really you do. Really. *thinks* Yes, really. *grins* After all, Buffy did take him to the doctor, before dumping him on Giles, and Willow did spend time fussing over him, until he closed his eyes to get away from her. ;)

And why do I have a feeling that this fic is going to go on way past past S4 and maybe even into S7?
*wails* Oh no, please don't say that. Please.

Yes, finally (finally!!!) we have them both in the same room. *is so relieved* More next week.

[melanie2525.livejournal.com]

Interesting remake of that episode. I so prefer it Anya less. But always hated Spike in a chair. Can't wait to see where you take it next.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*laughs* Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Anya was a fun character, but she has no place in this AU.

[sparrow2000.livejournal.com]

Very nice bending of canon, hon.

"No insurance," That line still makes me laugh like hell. while Giles saying "I'm not so sure about that," makes me all mushy! Sigh...

Hallucination Angel is hilarious - I can just picture him standing there staring at Xander in a perplexed manner *g*

Yay, the boys are finally back in the same room, but why do I think it's not going to be plain sailing from now on...

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Thanks, hon. I'm so pleased you liked those lines. They were two of my favourite bits in this chapter.
I wasn't sure whether to include Angel in here at all. I could have pushed the action through without him, but I decided that doing so would just be me being lazy, since I was playing so close to canon in everything else.
but why do I think it's not going to be plain sailing from now on...
Umm... because you know me?
Thank you for your work with this chapter. Your questions about why I have done something are always so helpful.

[missus-grace.livejournal.com]

Poor Xander - he wasn't sure what he was seeing. But now it's over and he can see Spike. He sees Spike jealous, but I'm not sure he knows that yet.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

No, I don't think he does. I think you are right there.

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

I really enjoyed the vividly drawn morning with Xander at death's door, drifting in and out of a feverish sleep. Buffy man handling him into the car and taking him to the hospital and Giles' house was also great. The hilarious shout outs to her lack of driving skills made me grin. Xander's terse "No insurance" explanation for not checking into the hospital was excellent. Every twist from canon was deftly woven into the rich fabric of this fun episode.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Wow, thank you so much. I am chuffed to bits, reading your comment. I was so worried that this chapter would be boring, because I felt like I was recounting the episode. You reassure me that that wasn't so, and I am very grateful to you for it.

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

This was, perhaps, your most canon chapter, but I thought you very effectively used the fact that everyone knew the plot to express it all in the stutter/stop of Xander's semi-delusional state. I really felt his illness from the inside this way.

I so adore Spike's statement about the whole Hus matter. Ruthlessly practical and terribly accurate. Willow is trying to right a wrong that can't be righted. Certainly not in the way she's trying. This is such a wierd time for Willow. It's almost like with Oz gone she temporarily loses her moral center. Actually, it started before Oz left. She's definitely flailing and you're showing that. I'll be interested to see if you so more with it than was done in canon.

And did I detect a note of concern for our poor, syphilis ridden Xander from Spike's direction? Or maybe I'm reading into things. :)

Regardless, you took canon and made it your own. Very nice.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Ah, I am so glad it worked. Thank you for the reassurance.

Spike's whole speech about the Chumash was wonderful. I would have loved to use it all, but it was just too long and it would have been an indulgence.

Your point about Willow is true, just as Buffy got disorientated by the big wide world of university, so did Willow, in her own way. Losing Oz was part of that and made it worse. So many relationships don't survive that transition, but their break-up had that extra bit of angst. I honestly don't know how much of Willow's state of mind we will see over the rest of this. I have the plot for Spike and Xander kind of in my head, but the others...

And did I detect a note of concern for our poor, syphilis ridden Xander from Spike's direction?
*g* Maybe just a little.

Thank you very much.

[chaoskir.livejournal.com]

Ahhh that was a very nice thing to do. Reading the last two updates in once after my 8-days-vacation. Thanks a lot for the exciting an der wonderful very emphatetically written chapters. I do love your fic.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much indeed. I hope you had a lovely holiday and I'm glad to see that the wind off the North Sea didn't blow you away. I'm very glad you enjoyed the catch up.

[laazikaat.livejournal.com]

Together at last! Very interesting seeing that episode from Xander's perspective. I look forward to next weeks chapter

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Yes, together, finally. *wipes brow* Thanks, hon.
You might have seen now that there was no chapter yesterday? I will be back as soon as I can, but it won't be next week, I'm afraid. *hugs*

[mrs-sakuma.livejournal.com]

/finally/! the boys are in vicinity of each other. i loved seeing this episode from xan's pov. he was never quite sure what was real and what wasn't.

oh, but spike's angry!face. that was fantastic. that just made everything. he's jealous. and the way he told xander he looks like shit seemed more sympathetic/worried than anything else.

of course, at this point, spike was looking pretty shitty himself, what with being half-starved.~

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

/finally/!
*laughs* Yes, at last they are physically close. *g*
Thank you. I'm so pleased you enjoyed Xander's delirium. I really enjoyed imagining the situation from the point of view of someone with a fever. As you say, he was never quite sure what was real and what wasn't.