Fic: Family Dynamics 3/? (Mag7: ATF, BtVS Crossover Fic, PG-13)

[sparrow015]

Title: Family Dynamics [3/?]
Series: Bloodlines
Author: Sparrow
Fandom: Magnificent Seven: ATF, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Characters: Xander Harris, Chris Larabee, Buffy Summers, Giles, Willow Rosenberg 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.
Summary: Chris finally learns about Xander’s past.




It was sometime the next afternoon that Chris and Xander were allowed out of the infirmary with strict orders of not to overdo it.

Chris chuckled as he watched Xander shout a cry of, “FREEDOM!! SWEET, SWEET FREEDOM!!”

Exasperated shouts of “Xander!” and “Good Lord, must you really?” followed from Willow and Giles respectively.

Under the watchful eye of the two, Chris and Xander were herded upstairs to his son’s bedroom; where they were told food would be sent up soon.

Entering the room, Chris saw a king size bed with matching furniture, a flat screen TV bolted into the wall. There were several bookshelves around the room and a small couch with a table in front of it off to the side. It looked like a hotel suite room.

An hour later, both had showered and after feasted on steak and potatoes.

“Oh, that was good grub,” Xander sighed contentedly.

Setting his cutlery down on the plate, Chris cracked his neck. His eyes widened slightly to see Xander do the exact same thing.

Grinning sheepishly, Xander grabbed the napkin off his lap and set it on the plate.

“Now what?” Chris asked after a moment of silence.

Xander shrugged. “Up to you.”

Chris scratched at a spot behind his ear. “I want to know what’s going on. The hyena’s and those demons.”

“Well…” Xander started, but Chris interrupted before he could explain.

“And in that damn cave you mentioned something about Slayers! What are those?” Chris asked. “And vampires!! Vampires!!”

Xander sighed. “Yes, Dad. Vampires.”

Standing up, Chris started to pace the bedroom, before sinking wearily back onto the small couch. “Just trying to wrap my head around all of this.”

“Right on time, then.” Xander sat next to Chris.

“You were timing me to see when I'd start questioning this?” Chris scoffed.

“Something like that. You haven’t really had any time to absorb and take in what I’ve told you,” Xander said. “You’ve been tossed all over the place, forced bed rest from some wonky, magical mono and we’ve only really started to talk. Make sense your brain is finally re-engaging.”

Chris nodded. “We’ve only really been awake together for about, what, three or four days? Not long enough to get to know someone.”

“At the most,” Xander agreed. “But I couldn’t tell you a lot before, because honestly, I didn’t have permission to share secrets that weren’t mine.”

Something then occurred to Chris. “Is that what that Hyena information was about? You trying to freak me out more and push me away?”

“Something like that,” Xander admitted. “Stuff was hitting me to and I thought, ‘hey, let’s throw wacky stuff at him and see if he runs’ kinda thing.”

“Well as you can see, I haven’t gone anywhere,” Chris assured him.

“Yeah, I guess not.” Xander smiled.

There was a few minutes of silence, each trying to absorb the situation.

“So, what can you tell me?” Chris finally asked.

“Well father-mine, it’s a long and sordid tale,” Xander began.

“I seem to have lots of time.” Chris leaned further back into the small sofa.

“Right, right,” Xander sighed as he sank onto the bed. “Well, this story begins with the new girl in school and the boy who fell for her. He fell for her fast and hard.”

Chris watched as Xander absently rubbed his ribs.

“What the boy didn’t know is, that the girl had a secret and because of that secret, the rest of his life would be dedicated to an epic battle of good versus evil,” Xander explained. “Within one week, he lost his best guy friend to vampires who had turned said friend in an effort to lure the girl out. This girl, as it turns out was gifted with supernatural powers and called The Slayer. It was also the first time I killed.”

“WHAT!” Chris exclaimed.

“Jesse, my friend. He'd been turned into a vampire and he wanted to turn me so we’d have eternal life together,” Xander said sadly. “But I didn't want that life. I had my stake raised, a girl running for her life bumped into Jesse and into my stake. I killed my best friend.”

Chris watched as his son pulled himself together and continued.

“Finally get to high school to lose a friend and gain another one,” Xander sighed. “It was also when Willow and I learned about things that went bump in the night that we found out the town was built on top of a mystical convergence.”

“Mystical convergence?” Chris asked.

“The Boca Del Inferno, Mouth of Hell and let me tell you, surviving high school was pretty much that, hell.”

Chris sat and listened as Xander went into year’s worth of back story and personal history.

The Hyena Spirit that left something in Xander was explained. His son’s perchance for being a ‘demon magnet’; the sordid history of being a Scooby, how all of them had sins on their very beings, and then the activation of the potentials into Slayers conclusing with his participation in ‘The Final Battle of Sunnydale’.

Chris couldn't even imagine the level of survival that his son had endured night after night, and Chris had been a Navy Seal.

Surging forward and in a rare bout of emotion, he grabbed Xander and pulled him close.

Stiffening slightly, Xander then relaxed into the embrace.

“What you just told me,” Chris breathed. “It’s not going to send me packing. I’ve missed so many years and I’m not going to miss anymore, even if I have to deal with all of this.”

Xander could only nod and the two let go of one another.

Chris shifted so that they were sitting shoulder to shoulder.

Xander gently nudged Chris’s shoulder with his own. “Are we all right?” he asked.

“Yeah, we’re all right,” Chris replied as he bumped Xander back.

They sat in silence for long moments before Xander shook his head cursing, “We were supposed to be resting here,” Xander winced. “And I kept us up all night.”

“No worries, they probably know we’re talking,” Chris reasoned.

“Yeah, Willow will want juicy details later on,” Xander laughed lightly.

“She’s a good friend isn't she?” Chris smiled.

“The very best.”

~~~

It took them a couple of days, but they finally got on a regular sleep schedule.
On the morning of the third day, Chris awoke to some murmuring from Xander’s bed. Glancing over, he could make out a small curly dark-brown haired girl in pink pyjama’s sitting on the edge of the bed.

Sensing his scrutiny both Xander and the girl turned their heads and looked at Chris.

“Hey, Dad,” Xander smiled at him. “I see you’re finally up.”

“Yeah, who’s this little one?”

Xander propped her up a bit on his side. “This is Carola Pawle, the one I told you about.”

“Ah yes,” Chris smiled. “Hello, Carola.”

Carola waved her hand at Chris and then buried her face into Xander’s neck.

“When she’s not acting all were hyenaey, she’s actually quite shy,” Xander explained.

“Most kids are, especially when confronted with new people.”

Chris watched Xander and Carola interact and felt a small pang in his chest, remembering his own child, Adam.

“Okay, kiddo, still a bit sick here myself, so why don’t you head on out and get breakfast from Willow,” Xander told Carola.

Pouting slightly, Carola slid off the bed and headed out of the room, closing the door as she left.

“It’s morning?” Chris asked.

“Yeah, figured you might want to talk or call your teammates in private or something else,” Xander explained sheepishly. “Buffy and her sister, Dawn, are coming in today and I should really be cleaned up and rested to see those two.”

“The one you fell for literally?” Chris joked.

“Hey!” Xander yelled.

Chris just smirked..

“So, mean, Pops, mean,” Xander pouted.

“I have to survive my team somehow.”

“Tell me about it,” Xander commiserated. “The girls in here drive me nuts sometimes. Give me Africa with the rhino’s, drug and gun runners and crazy demons.”

“Huh,” Chris blinked. “Sounds like Denver minus the rhino’s and crazy demons.”

“Well, guess I’ll find something similar in Cleveland,” Xander said.

“Guess you'll be on your way there soon?”

Xander nodder. "But, I do have a couple of weeks of vacation,” Xander said. “If you want, maybe I could come visit you for that amount of time before I head back to work?”

Chris blinked. “Yeah, sure, if that’s what you want. I would really like that.” He smiled at Xander, who returned the smile.

The tender moment was broken by the banging on the door.

“Xander! You get your Xander-shaped butt out here and give me a hug!”

Chris raised an eyebrow as Xander quickly got off of the bed and opened the door to his room.

He could make out a small blond who wrapped her arms around Xander, literally picked him up and twirled him around.

“Buffalicious, you’re early and still sick here! At least until the coven gives the okay to me and Dad,” Xander proclaimed as the blond dropped him to his feet.

“Doofus! Here you go and get all baity and you come back with a Dad!” The blond proclaimed.

“Surprise?”

The blond looked around Xander and gave Chris a cool, hard stare.

“Uh, Buffy, please leave him in one piece,” Xander asked as Buffy pushed past around Xander to stand toe to toe with Chris.

“So, got any secretaries in Spain you’re gonna be boinking and leaving Xander in the dust?” Buffy asked.

“No.”

“Planning on sticking around?”

“Yep.”

“Good,” Buffy nodded and then turned her attentions towards Xander. “He’s a keeper, Xander. I say keep him.”

“Wicked,” Xander grinned at Buffy and then Chris. “Now, all you need to do is pass the Dawnmeister’s inspection.”

“Can’t be too hard,” Chris chuckled.

“Oh, she’ll set you on fire in your bed if don’t turn out to be a good parent,” Xander said nonchalantly.

Chris shrugged. “Worse ways to go.”

Buffy laughed. “Oh, we are defiantly keeping him.” And she left the room.

“Congratulations, Dad,” Xander said as he placed his arm on Chris’s shoulder. “I think you just became an honorary dad to another person besides, Willow. Welcome to the Scooby Family.”

“Now, you just have to survive meeting mine,” Chris laughed.

“I’ve survived meeting worse,” Xander said confidently.

Chris raised an eyebrow and moved to leave the room. Xander quickly followed.

“Hey! What’s with the raised eyebrow?”

Keeping his laughter inside, Chris headed down to the kitchen.

“Dad! Hey! Don’t just raise your eyebrow and give me the silent treatment here! Your team can’t be that bad!”

END PART 3.

Part 2 // Part 4