Fic: Family Dynamics 2/? (Mag7: ATF, BtVS Crossover Fic, PG-13)

[sparrow015]

Title: Family Dynamics [2/?]
Series: Bloodlines
Author: Sparrow
Fandom: Magnificent Seven: ATF, Buffy the Vampire Slaye
Characters: Xander Harris, Chris Larabee, Rupert Giles, Willow Rosenberg, mentions of OC’s and original characters
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I do not own Magnificent Seven or Buffy the Vampire Slayer in any way, shape or form. Any original characters, I do own.
Spoilers: Anything from Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 1-7. I haven’t read any of Season 8, so this is my AU version of the season.
Author’s Note: I just want to thank strangevisitor7 for the awesome betaing! Also, this story is inspired by On a Strangers Front Porch by IndraLeigh, so I just want to thank the author for posting the story as I am always looking forward to each new chapter.
Summary: Chris gets to know his son a bit better.

Part 1



The first couple of days of that long week, Chris found himself sleeping – a lot. He was reassured constantly that it was normal and in no time at all he’d be up and about.

He used this time to get to know Xander.

When Xander was asleep the boy’s best friend, a red-headed young woman called Willow would sneak in to read comics to his son. If he was awake, they would chit-chat and he got hear stories from when Xander was younger.

He couldn’t decide if he felt sad that he'd missed Xander’s childhood or pissed that his son grew up without him. He settled for a mixture of the two.

Chris grunted from his position in the bed. He was sick and tired of being mostly tired. He could barely stay awake for an hour. Magical mono his ass.

“I hear a grumpy guss!” Willow sing-songed as she moved from her place at Xander's side to check on Chris.

“I ain’t grumpy.” Chris glowered.

“Sure and that look on your face is going to woo the ladies sometime today,” Willow grinned.

“I ain’t trying to ‘woo the ladies’,” Chris said as he tried to find a more comfortable position. It wasn’t working.

“The men folk then?” Willow asked.

“NO!!!” Chris shouted. “Why would you even ask that?”

“Well, it’s an honest question,” Willow pointed out as she sat down in the chair next to Chris’s bed.

Chris hmfphed and settled for glaring at her.

Willow returned the stare and smiled nervously. “You’re in a fine mood today.”

“Well, when you can barely stay awake for more than hour, then we’ll see how you’re doing too,” Chris growled at her.

Chris kept up the glare as Willow started to tease him. “So, Mr. Grumpy, what kind of stories did you want to know about Xander today?”

Chris was frustrated, but in the face of Willow's cheery demeanour, he was having trouble maintaining his foul mood.

“Tell me about these ‘Scoobies’ you keep mentioning,” Chris ordered. “I want to know about them.”

And learned about them he did. Alive and dead.

He drifted off to the soft tone of Willow’s voice, relating something about someone called ‘Queen C’.

Once when he awoke, he was surprised to see four people crowded around Xander’s bed as he slept.

As one they had turned from the sleeping figure of his son and eyed him. He swore their eyes had glowed green for a split second, before sleep over took him again.

By the fourth day of enforced bed rest, Willow had pulled out what she called the ‘Resolve Face’ when he tried to get out of bed. When faced with her determination, Chris resigned himself to staying in bed. Xander laughed at him admitting he couldn’t say ‘no’ to the Resolve face either.

It was on the fifth day of his bed rest that he stayed awake long enough to demand a cell to call his team.

He dialled a series of numbers on the cell phone provided to him. Xander claimed it was ‘magicked up the wazoo’, courtesy of Willow and would get reception and dial anywhere he wanted. His son said he wanted his dad to have a cell that would work anywhere, so the phone was a gift and to refuse it would result in being pouted at, by Willow.

Well, he couldn’t say no to that.

While pondering all of this, he listened as his new cell phone rang several times. Just as he was about to hang up…

“Agent Wilmington.”

Chris paused for breath before answering. “Hey, big dog.”

There was silence on the other end before a joyous cry rang out. “CHRIS!!!”

Chris chuckled slightly as he heard the others rush over and Buck defending his ownership of the phone "Back! Back! I get to yell at him first."

“Is this a bad time to call?” Chris drawled, amused by the antics of his team.

“NO!! No!” Buck cried out. “Just - aw hell Chris.”

Chris could hear some sniffling and realized that Buck was truly upset. He didn’t mean to disappear on them. He didn’t ask to get kidnapped by demons. “I’m okay, Buck. I’m okay.”

“You disappear on us for two weeks and you’re only okay?!” Buck shouted into the phone.

Chris winced when he heard some scuffling and Nathan’s voice came on the phone. “What do you mean you’re okay? That’s nearly as bad as fine! What’s wrong?”

“Put everyone on speaker, Nathan, only want to explain this once,” Chris ordered.

There was a click of a button and Chris could make out the others voicing their own opinions.

“SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP LADIES!! ONLY GONNA EXPLAIN THIS ONCE!!” Chris yelled into the cell phone.

Immediately the chatter on the other end quieted down and he could hear chairs scrapping.

“So here's what happened," Chris began. "I was stuck in a medical coma. My kidnappers put me in one. During that time, I was exposed to some kind of biological pathogen, along with another fellow. We’re being kept in quarantine until the effect of this weird mono-like flu wears off,” Chris explained.

“And that is the only reason why you’re stuck in quarantine? It’s not deadly, is it?” Nathan asked.

“Yes it’s the only reason I’m stuck here in quarantine and no, it’s not deadly, just annoying. I should be home in another week and a half,” Chris stated.

“Where are you exactly, Brother Chris?” Josiah asked.

Here, Chris winced. There was going to be a major explosion. “England.”

“England!” Team Seven exploded.

“How the fuck did you end up in England?” Vin demanded.

“I was in a coma for two weeks!! How the hell should I know?” Chris shot back. “I only got told where I was when I woke up in another facility.”

“Wait, wait, another facility?” JD interrupted.

“The other fella that was kidnapped, has connections over here,” Chris said. “They were the ones who launched the rescue for their employee.”

“And got you as a bonus, eh big dog?” Buck chuckled.

“Something like that,” Chris chuckled back.

"Any idea why the two of you were kidnapped together like that?” Josiah wondered.

Chris sighed and dropped the bomb. “The kidnappers were actually a cult that followed bloodlines. Real whack jobs, who also had people that were into science. and spreading biological pathogens. They kidnapped me, because the people most compatible for their ritual - were my son and myself.”

There was silence on the other end of the phone and Chris just briefly wondered if he finally broke his team.

“Chris, Adam’s dead,” Buck mangled out.

“I have another son, Buck,” Chris explained. “Remember Jessica. Well, she had a kid and never told me about it.”

“So, this is Adam’s big brother?” Buck asked.

“Yep.”

“What is the younger Larabee’s name?” Ezra asked.

“He goes by the name Xander Harris,” Chris said.

The chatter started to increase. Chris could hear Buck telling JD to go find out who ‘Xander Harris’ is and Nathan trying to get Chris to tell him more of his condition. He found himself yawning and blinking a couple of times.

“Fellas, I’m gonna have to let you go here,” Chris half-yelled. “Side-effect is starting to come through here. Probably gonna fall asleep within a few minutes.”

“You’ll call us again?” Vin asked.

“Couldn’t keep me away,” Chris mumbled. “Talk to y’all later.”

With a click of a button, he ended the call. Dropping the phone to his side, Chris barely felt the hand that gently untangled the cell from his fingers, as he drifted off to sleep.

~~~

He woke up several hours later to see that Xander was wide awake and talking to Giles, who was sipping, what Chris guessed was tea.

“Fellas,” Chris said by way of greeting.

“Hey parental unit of mine!” Xander grinned. “Pull up a comfy chair and we’ll chat. This is the only place the men folk can gather and not be hounded by the women.”

Chris chuckled as he moved to take the indicated seat by Xander's bed. “And why the Infirmary?”

“Because according to Buffy, ‘Men are big babies and won’t even go to the hospital if their limb is threatening to fall off from an infection from a Kaxeask demon.’” Xander grinned as Giles nearly choked on his tea.

“Good lord, Xander,” Giles sputtered. “You didn’t do that impression while she was around did you?”

“Hell no! I like myself in a non-pulp Xander way,” Xander shuddered.

Chris chuckled at Xander’s choice of words and then looked at Giles as he pulled up a chair. “Do you have a dictionary to understand half of those words?”

“Sadly, the California dialect has no translation,” Giles sighed. “It is a language onto its own.”

“But Giles can understand it just fine, due to the number of years he’s been around said ‘California dialect’,” Xander deadpanned.

“Quite.” Giles smiled around the edges of his teacup.

“Are there any other men folk around?” Chris lightly joked as he moved slightly around in the cushy chair.

“Well, there’s Robin, who’s currently in Cleveland, Andrew is in Rome with Buffy, those two are coming here next week with Dawn,” Xander hummed and hawed. “Spike and Oz are on patrol with the mini-slays and the other two are lurking about the grounds with the rest of the pack.”

“Pack?” Chris asked.

“Um, well, Dad, Chris, something you gotta know,” Xander fidgeted.

“Xander, whatever you tell me, you are my son and the rest don’t matter,” Chris said gruffly.

Giles gave an approving nod and Xander blinked away the sudden onset of tears in his good eye.

“Good to know,” Xander choked out. “But it still needs to be said.”

“All right, what do you need to say?”

“Well, to make a very long story short, I kinda, maybe, accidentally killed the Oba of a werehyena pack The remaining members declared me their new Oba,” Xander babbled out nervously.

Chris pinched the bridge of his nose. “And why would they declare you their leader, if you ain’t a werehyena.”

“Um, well, I kinda got possessed by this primal hyena spirit back in high school and it was supposed to have been exorcised out, but it stuck around,” Xander nervously said. “Only, I didn’t know until some voodoo shaman guy in Africa shook his funky magical staff at me, because I saved his daughter from a pride of lions, and poof! The hyena spirit was back in my head.”

“Large and in charge,” Giles muttered.

“Giles?” Xander asked, shocked.

“Hmm? Continue on with your story, Xander,” Giles motioned with his cup.

Xander eyed Giles and then looked back at Chris. “I kinda maybe went a little feral and somehow I ended up in LA. My hyena spirit, didn’t like being asleep that long. I still no idea how I ended up in LA,” Xander pondered. “I woke up with four other people in a bed and they told me what happened.”

Chris’s eyes were a little large and his mouth opened and closed a few times.

“And the only reason I believed them, was because I had blood on my hands and I knew, just knew, it wasn’t their’s,” Xander sighed. “Plus, my hyena was saying they were part of the pack and blah, blah, blah.”

“Xander,” Giles chided.

“I’m still human!” Xander blurted out. “But with some extra features.”

“What kind of extra features?” Chris asked.

“Well, I can’t shift, but senses are increased,” Xander explained. “And my speed and strength are a bit higher than a normal human’s perspective. Of course, when I get really angry, my eye glows and I get this level up. Downside is, when I’m done, I crash and am out for the count for a few hours.”

“Does this hyena spirit, see me as pack?” Chris asked, wondering if there was anything about his son that would be considered normal.

Xander closed his eye and inhaled deeply. Opening, his brown eye flared green for a second and one word pass from his lips. “Pack.”

Both Giles and Chris exhaled at the same time, unaware theyd been holding their breath.

Chris watched as Xander shook his head a couple of times as the green cleared out of his eye and then he smiled.

“So, when do we get released from here?” Chris asked. So much had happened over the past week, he needed some time to absorb this new revelation from Xander and it was time to change the topic.

“Sometime tomorrow,” Giles promised.

“Whoo and might I add hoo!” Xander cheered. “Am really sick and tired of these walls.”

“Here, here,” Chris agreed.

“We’ll set you up in a spare room,” Giles started.

“Giles, he’ll stay with me,” Xander said.

“Xander! We have plenty of spare rooms,” Giles continued on.

Xander growled and his eye flashed green. “Blood Pack stays with blood pack.”

Chris tensed at that statement as Giles eyed Xander and then nodded.

“Very well,” Giles set the tea cup aside and cleaned his glasses. “But you get to explain to your pack who he is and why he’s staying in your room.”

Xander’s eye went brown and he wilted a little. “Oh yeah…Carola and Tyrone like to climb into my bed to snuggle.”

“Snuggle?” Chris’s eyebrow rose.

“Well, were hyenas are a tactile bunch, so you’ll see a lot of touching between them and me, but it’s mostly for reassurance. Carola was about four when she was bitten and is ten now. She likes to snuggle. Tyrone is her very protective seventeen year old brother and he goes, where she goes,” Xander shrugged. “And Carola likes to snuggle with me, ‘cause she finds me safe, so Tyrone usually ends up in the bed too.”

“You lead a very interesting life,” Chris stated.

“You don’t know the half of it,” Xander chuckled. “They might pull you into the bed as well; pack craziness running through their heads and what not.”

Chris nodded that he understood when in truth he wasn't sure he did. In his tired mental state it was a little too much to absorb right now

“To the were hyena pack, everyone here is my pack,” Xander explained. “But you, you’re blood pack. So they might sniff, lick and touch you a bit more.”

“Because we’re related?” Chris asked incredulously.

“Yes.”

“Wonderful,” Chris grunted out.

“When confronted with a new person, they tend to act like hyena’s in human bodies, but they snap back to pretty quickly.” Xander looked apologetic. “I’ll try and ask them to tone it down, but that’s the best I can do.”

Sighing, Chris listened as Giles and Xander chatted on about various topics that flew right over his head.

Sometimes interrupting to ask the occasional question about who was who, but was mostly content to listen and watch his son.

He learned from just sitting and listening.

His son had been in charge of the Africa division for the better part of two years, before transferring back to England. Xander was due to take over the North America branch from a Robin Wood, but volunteered for the kidnapping first.

Who volunteers for a kidnapping? But Chris couldn’t complain too much, other than the missing two weeks, the kidnapping brought him to his son.

His son.

He would never get tired of those two words.

END PART 2.

Part 1 // Part 3

Comments

[tygermama.livejournal.com]

*hugs you*

It's up! I love how Willow doesn't take Chris' grumpiness personally and Giles sounds like he's liking having another 'adult' around and I can't wait for the next part!

[sparrowsverse.livejournal.com]

part 3, Chris has a mini-meltdown and Xander explains the world as he knows it. :D

Yes, other than Robin - who I really don't like too much, Giles has another adult around. There will be adult conversation! *gasp!*

[tpena19.livejournal.com]

Awesomeness! This chapter was cool. I like how Xander has the were-hyena thing, will the rest of the Mag7 boys end up being pack too? And will any of them already know Xander or any of the Buffy verse crew? Or if not that know about the supernatural? I am full of questions and looking forward to reading answers! Great fic.

[sparrowsverse.livejournal.com]

Am very glad you enjoyed!

Well, Xander isn't a were-hyena, he's more spirit-hyena, but chock full of Xanderness. :D No actual transformations, beyond a green glowing eye when he's truly mad.

As for everything else, you'll have to wait and see. ;)

[ldygossamer.livejournal.com]

I really like this crossover and hope to see more soon. The plot was wonderfully thought out.

[sparrowsverse.livejournal.com]

I'm glad your enjoying the crossover!! :D Currently I'm stuck, but I know where I want the fic to go, just need to get beyond where I am. :D

[luna-altyerre.livejournal.com]

Love the story so far... I always like Xander getting new parental unit/s. A question though, are the were-hyenas like the ones form Anita Blake? cause they sound like it...what with the glowing eyes, pack structure and need for contact. If so, are you going to make it a three way cross...so Chris'll be semi-accepting of the pack 'cause that's 'normal' but still freaking over the idea of demons?
I'll keep reading either way, this is a good plot so far.

[sparrowsverse.livejournal.com]

the were-hyenas are like the ones from Anita Blake, i needed something to base them off of them, but it's not going to be a three-way cross. It's mostly the idea from the series I'm using.

Am working on part 3, hit a bit of a writer's block on it, but it's moving along nicely now. :) And am glad your liking it! *grins*