Armageddon Saga
Chapter Forty-Four:
Family ReunionsBy the Lady Sirona ladysirona@LadySirona.com
Xander and Willow got out of the taxi and stared at the small house where they were headed. With Buffy’s mom and dad there at here bedside, there was no time for them to see her and so they went to see relatives of Xander’s that lived in London.Willow snuggled up against him as they knocked on the door. He was still weak from the attack he sustained in the fiasco with Rubik. Willow never got the whole story, and if Xander had his way, she never would. He was unsure of the sensations and emotions that Angel had made him feel and had spent the time since focusing on Willow to forget them.
Rebecca opened the door to look at the couple. The man she assumed to be Alexander Harris her nephew with Willow his girlfriend. Alexander stood in his dark turtleneck and looked like death reheated. He was pale and haggard, dark circles under his eyes. His face was pale and he first impulse was to wave a cross in his face to make sure he wasn’t a vampire. When he didn’t react to the one around her neck she relaxed.
“Alexander!” His Aunt Rebecca squealed as she hauled him into a hug. She had seen him once in his childhood and he was the lost waif of the family. “I am so glad you could make it!” She noticed his pale face and was glad to feel his body’s warmth, and his heartbeat and the fact he didn’t flinch from the cross on her neck. He may look like one but he wasn’t a vampire
Xander tolerated the loving aunt’s mauling and when he could breath he introduced Willow, “Hi Aunt Becca, this is my girlfriend Willow. Willow Aunt Becca my mom’s sister.” Willow bobbed in greeting and allowed herself to be enfolded in her copious bosom and hugged.
“Enter if you are able.” Becca invited them in. Xander had gotten used to such invitations, but Willow found the wording unusual for a family invitation and frowned a bit. Willow noticed that Becca watched them carefully to see if they could enter without a proper invitation. Interesting.
They were brought in and introduced to the other members of the household in the sitting room. A frail white haired woman in the corner chair was introduced as Sarah, and a dark haired beauty on the couch was introduced as Miriam.
“I am really glad you could take us on such short notice. We were going to look you up but with Buffy’s accident and all, it was nice for you to let us stay.” Xander was pleased that he and Willow could stay with them and visit rather than lurk around Watcher Control like some sort of red-haired stepchildren.
“Oh no it is fine that you stay here. I knew you would be visiting but I am so glad we can get together!” Rebecca bubbled. Willow noticed that the other two did not seem to be as happy with them staying, not at all.
When Xander and Willow excused themselves to settle in Miriam and Sarah rounded on Rebecca. “How dare you invite unknown people into the house with the Armageddon Battle going on! Are you daft? We don’t know anything about them and we have a lot of research the council wants done!”
Rebecca looked at them. “They are innocent high school children from the United States. There is no way they know anything about what we are into. Do your research… I will bet they will not even pay attention. The world almost ended recently and I am not passing this opportunity up. This is my chance to see a part of my family. I haven seen Alexander since he was in diapers!”
Miriam and Sarah sighed. To have strangers in the house when doing research for the Watcher’s Council. This was too much!
A pleasant evening was spent visiting with Aunt Rebecca. Xander entertained her with tales of escapades of the family. Willow watched with a patient eye, as she had lived all the stories.Later Willow walked in to the kitchen to get a drink and found Miriam and Sarah pawing over some pictures… A picture of Drusilla was on the top. Xander walked in behind her and saw the picture. “Oh Spike… the voices in my head… make them stop!” He went on and mimicked Drusilla’s insane chatter for Willow who burst into laughter. Miriam and Sarah stared in shock at the show. He knows Drusilla enough to imitate her?“I am so glad on top of everything we don’t have to deal with that psycho bitch!” Xander laughed as he took out a soda. Willow nodded. They seemed very comfortable talking about Drusilla. A sick thought crossed the woman’s minds. Were they pawns of Spike?
“Well at least she is weak and useless…” Sarah commented quietly.
“Like hell, after Spike did that restoration ritual she is close to full strength. Still crazy as hell though but now full strength.” Xander walked out with the soda Willow following him. The women stared after them in shock.
“Who the hell are these people that can quote things not known to the general Watcher body and mimic Drusilla’s speech pattern?” Sarah rounded on Rebecca. “Your lost family knows to damned much!”“I dunno. He said he and Willow would be traveling Europe and had hoped to get together. That’s all I know.” Rebecca was beginning to wonder if they invited a scorpion in their midst.“What if they are thrall of Spike’s?” Miriam asked quietly. “You saw his paleness, the turtleneck sweater. What if he looks to Spike and was sent here to attack the Council through us?” She voiced their fears.
Rebecca looked down. “I don’t think he is thrall to Spike but we need to watch carefully.”
Xander was afire. He was hot and felt like he was burning up as well as burning with thirst. He got up for a drink of water but the tap water didn’t settle his thirst at all. So he headed for the kitchen for some ice cold water. He was so thirsty….Sarah looked up form the table to see Alexander stumble into the room. His face was deathly pale and his cheeks glowed a unhealthy glow with fever. His shirt was off and his neck was covered in bandages. They watched as he took a soda out of the refrigerator and drank it down feebly. “Alexander are you OK?” Sarah asked him. Sarah was on the phone to Watcher Control at the time and she just stopped talking in surprise.
Xander turned to see the three women looking at him but didn’t answer as he fell forward in a faint. “Willow!” Miriam screamed as she ran to his side. A quick evaluation shoed he was burning with fever to the point he was hot to the touch.
Will ran in and dropped to her knees “Oh God Xander!” She felt him and shuddered with the heat radiating off him. She lifted the dressing from his neck to show an angry infected vampire bite. The women shuddered. They were right, he was a victim of a vampire attack
Willow bolted to the phone hung Sarah up and then Sarah watched in surprise as Willow dialed Watcher Control AGAIN. “Watcher Prime,” Was all she asked for. She was obviously told that he wasn’t there. She hung up and dialed another number. The women looked at her in surprise, who were they that they knew of Watcher prime never mind the Watcher control emergency number?
“Giles. Willow. Need Angel NOW.” Willow chatted in rapid Willow speak as Rebecca’s jaw dropped. She was asking for the Cucularaine? “Angel. Xander. Bite. Sick. NOW!”
Willow was frantic, she listened to Angel and then nodded to the phone. “Ok, see you” She hung up. The women stared at her. She had called the Cucularaine?Willow went back to Xander who had come around. “Its ok Xander. Angel is on his way. He thinks the bite you got from Rubik is infected.” He stroked him with cool clothes waiting. Time seemed to crawl.
The knock came to the door and Rebecca opened the door to se a handsome young man on her front porch. She looked at him. Is this the one? Angel... Angelus, the Cucularaine and consort to Slayer Prime? “You must be Angel, Willow is expecting you, enter if you are able.”The problem was he couldn’t enter. It wasn’t a proper invitation. He stood on the porch confused as to how to get inside while Rebecca stood there looking at him in confusion. *Oh god it was the Cucularaine! *“Angel Come in to the kitchen we need you!” Willow called in a panic and he bolted past Rebecca’s surprised expression. Oh god… Angelus had access to their house!
He dropped next to Xander and looked at the bite. “Damn Rubik’s bite was dirty. He’s infected. We need to get him to the hospital. Willow Call Watcher Control activate a Priority three.” Angel scooped him up and carried him to the car as Willow called it in.
Willow looked at Rebecca as she left. “I’ll reseal the house when I get back.” They watched her disappear. She could reseal a house against Angelus? Who were they that the Watcher council did their beck and call? And Angelus fetches him to the hospital?
“He is septic from the animal bite. We will admit him over night for a series of IV antibiotics and he should be fine.” The Emergency Physician addressed Willow and Giles. “His blood count was severely low. He should have gotten medical attention when he was first bit. We will give him a few blood transfusions he will feel like a new human in a day or so. Any Questions?”Giles and Willow denied them and the Doctor left. Giles sighed and sat in a chair dejectedly. “I was afraid, this would happen. But we just didn’t have time… to have him medically evaluated. After... Well, we just forgot.”Willow sat next to hum. “Yeah I know Giles. Yeah I know. How is Buffy doing?”
He looked at her. “Not well. Not well at all. They don’t think… They don’t think she will make it through the night.”