Tenhawk Presents : #4366

#4366

Rating: AO - Adults Only

Disclaimer : Not mine, never will be, no money made... Don’t sue.

Subject : Xander’s back after a long sojourn, now with a purpose and a power.

A/N : This fic will include explicit sexual situations as well as violence, hate crimes, demonic evil, human evil, and lots of other nasty things. It’s NOT a PWP, but it’s sure as hell not for the kiddies.

Rating : NC-17

June 1998

Sunnydale California

Xander Harris tossed the last of his bags into the back of the old convertible and glanced back with a smile as he noticed his friends approach.

“Hey guys.”

“Hey you.” Willow smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, “Gonna miss you.”

“You too.” Xander said, a little self consciously as he noticed Oz staring at him with equanimity. He slowly returned the embrace, with a firm but chaste pat on his friends back. “All of you.”

“Ditto.” Oz said softly.

“Yeah.” Buffy smiled sadly. “You sure you want to do this?”

Xander shrugged as Willow let him go, “You know... I’ve never been out of Sunnydale... I guess if I’m not going to do the whole college thing, then maybe I should do the road trip thing... you know, before I settle down to fast food joints and small town living for the rest of my life.”

Buffy spared him a mildly cross look, but reluctantly accepted that. “Fine. But write.”

“And call, Mister.” Willow gave him her patented ‘resolve face’.

Xander smirked, but nodded. “You got it.”

Buffy stepped forward, hugging him. “Just be careful.”

Xander hugged her back, enthusiastically, and grinned. “Hey... It’s me.”

“You doof.” She slapped his shoulder. “That’s why I brought it up.”

Xander let out a manly yelp and rubbed his shoulder while giving Buffy a mock wounded look. “Hey! Slayer strength, Buff...”

She rolled her eyes, smirking at him. “Wimp.”

“We are not all blessed with supernatural strength Buffster.” He smirked right back. “And I don’t go around calling you a dwarf just cause you’re a few feet shorter then me do I?”

“Hey!” She glared at him, but he just smirked back and stuck his tongue out at her.

“Goof.” She accused him.

Xander smirked, “Guilty.”

“Alright you two...” Willow glared at them, mock crossly. “Don’t make me turn the hose on you.”

“We’ll be good.” Xander and Buffy grinned at her as they spoke at once.

Willow just rolled her eyes and smiled.

It started as an involuntary movement together, then suddenly the three of them were hugging each other tightly.

“Be careful, Xander.” Buffy whispered urgently. “I don’t want to lose my friends.”

“No worry.” Xander whispered back, his breath carrying his words to both their ears. “I’ll be back, you can count on that.”

The three broke apart after a moment and looked around at each other uncomfortably for a moment.

“Anyway...” Xander rubbed the back of his head. “You know... I’ve got to sail with the tide, catch the morning sun... whatever other silly crap you can come up with.”

The two girls laughed and stepped back as Xander hopped over the door and into his car.

“Alright, Xander... But BE Careful!” Buffy ordered again, smiling.

“Yes Ma...” Xander called over his shoulder as he shifted the car into gear and drove out of his drive.

He turned out toward the interstate, waving his hand to the girls as he drove away.

“He’s gonna get into SO much trouble.” Buffy said, sighing as she smiled softly.

“Yeah.” Willow nodded, smirking. “But he’s Xander... He’ll be ok.”

“Yeah.” Buffy whispered back.

He was on his way out of Sunnydale when he noticed a familiar face sitting at the bus stop, a small duffle bag by her feet. Xander pulled the old convertible over and slid it to a stop right in the Bus’ spot.

“You going somewhere young lady?” He asked in his best ‘old man’ voice, smirking at the downturned head.

“Yeah, I’m waiting for the bus, so if you don’t mind I’d...” Cordelia Chase trailed off as she looked up. She smiled involuntarily for a moment before her face froze into the cold mask she reserved just for him. “Xander.”

“Hop in.” He told her.

“I will not!” She looked at him incredulously.

“Come on,” He rolled his eyes, “Hop in.”

“No. I’m going to LA today.” She told him. “I don’t have time to waste with a cheating geek.”

Xander sighed, counted to five, then forced another smile. “Let me save you the bus fare. Hop in.”

“You want to drive me to LA.” Cordy said, staring.

“Why not?” He shrugged, “I was planning on going north, but hey... South is good too.”

Cordy’s breath caught as she remembered something. “Your road trip.”

Xander smiled, nodding. “Come on, Cor...”

“I already have my ticket...”

“Trade it in.”

“I...” She hesitated, looking at him for a long moment.

Just then the Bus pulled up behind him and the driver laid on the horn.

“Come on, Cor...” Xander smiled. “Free trip.”

She looked at her ticket, then at Xander again, and still hesitated.

The Bus horn blared again.

“Cut it out!” Cordelia Chase yelled at the driver waving her hand angrily. “I’m trying to think here!”

“Just get in the car.” Xander finally said with a tone of command.

“Don’t you take that tone with me, Xander Harris!” Cordy reacted instantly, not noticing that Xander was hopping over the seat and climbing out of the car.

“Hey Buddy!” The Bus Driver yelled. “Move that heap before I call a cop!”

Xander picked Cordelia’s bag off the ground and tossed it in the back of the car.

“Hey! What do you think you’re.... PUT ME DOWN!!” Cordelia Shrieked as Xander flipped her up and dropped her over the door, then jogged around the car and jumped in the drivers side.

The old convertible pulled away from the curb as Cordy continued her ranting tirade.

“Xander Harris! This is Kidnapping! I’ll have you arrested! I’m missing my bus!”

Xander whistled lightly all the way to the freeway, then turned south toward Los Angeles. By that point Cordy had finally quieted down, so he stopped whistling and grinned over at her. “Admit it, Cor... You don’t want to take the Bus anyway.”

She looked at him sourly, “Yeah, well now I don’t have a choice do I? And now I have a useless ticket!”

Xander rolled his eyes, “Forget about the ticket, ok? Just enjoy the ride. Consider it my apology.”

Cordelia folded her arms over her chest and stared straight ahead.

Mile after mile passed like this, sullen silence their only communication, until Cordelia finally sighed. “I thought you already apologized.”

“Huh?” Xander blinked, looking over.

“The dress.” She said, “I... Well.. Thanks.”

Xander shook his head. “You deserved it.”

“No. I didn’t.” Cordelia said, “But I really wanted it...”

Xander risked a smile, “Well that was close enough for me.”

Cordy smiled, then tried to cover it up, but Xander caught it and smirked at her until she gave in and smiled again. “Damn you, Xander.”

Xander made a show of looking frightened, then checked over his shoulder, then ahead, then over his shoulder again.

“What are you doing??”

“Wondering if we’re far enough from the Hellmouth that I’m not going to get zapped or something.” Xander grinned, “I learned a while ago that loose lips result in bodily mutilations.”

Cordelia rolled her eyes and sighed, but smiled again in response. “You dufus.”

“That’s me.” Xander grinned happily.

The road went on and they drive on until Los Angels loomed into view ahead.

It was nighttime before they found a place to stop, and Cordelia looked around and sighed as she reached for her bag.

“Thanks for the drive, Xander...” She said, hesitating. “And... It was nice to talk again.”

Xander smiled, “Hey, what are you planning doing?”

She shrugged, “I guess I’ll get a hotel room and start apartment and job hunting tomorrow... I’ve got a little money to keep me going.”

Xander nodded, then made a decision. “Tell you what. I’m planning on staying in town for a while anyway. How about I help you out with the whole apartment hunting thing?”

She looked at him for a long moment, then shook her head. “I don’t know, Xander... I mean...”

“Hey.” He said, pulling himself up to sit on the side of the car door. “No strings. I’d just like to see that you’re set before I move on, k? I swear.”

Cordelia looked around, then suddenly shook her head and muttered a very unladylike curse. “Damn you Xander. Why can’t I hate you like I’m supposed to!?”

He grinned, shrugging. “Must be my magnetic personality.”

“Yeah. Right.” She scoffed. “I’m thinking that it’s a defect in my personality.”

“You? Never!” Xander proclaimed.

“You know what? You’re right.” Cordy said. “It must be something about you. I guess you really did grow on me.”

Xander beamed.

“Like some kind of foot fungus.” Cordy finished, turning away with a smirk.

Xander drooped, then smiled softly as he hopped out of the car and chased after her. “I’ll take what I can get!”

Cordelia watched as Xander got them a room, noting that he’d asked for two beds, and felt a pang of worry. She wasn’t supposed to be here with Xander. She was supposed to be getting out on her own, making her own way in Hollywood.

She wasn’t sure that she wanted Xander getting in the way.

But something inside told her differently. Deep down, where she’d never admit it, even to herself, she was scared. Cordelia ‘Queen C’ Chase was terrified of the big city in a way that she had never been on any previous visit.

Of course, before she stayed at the Marriot with people waiting on her every desire.

This time it was a place that was a few steps seedier then the Holiday Inn, and she was pretty certain had an hourly rate for it’s rooms.

Which, now that she thought about it...

<EWWWW>

Still she followed Xander to their room and gratefully sat on the bet closest to the door as Xander tossed his bags by the other, and ducked into the bathroom.

At least she could trust Xander not to do anything, or even expect anything in return.

Sometimes she hated Xander for that. He made it so damned hard to stay angry with him. First he cheats on her with *Willow* of all people...

<The skanky witch.> She thought uncharitably.

Then what does he do?

He turns right around and spends a *fortune* on her Prom dress.

And now?

Now he pays for a hotel room, and promises to help her get settled before he moves on.

Cordy could really despise the little dweeb if he weren’t so damned selfless.

The next few days fell into a pattern as Xander drove Cordy around the city, checking out the apartments she could find in her price range, and dropping her resume off at modeling agencies, the actors guild, a few agents that her father knew well enough to get her in the door.

And, of course, a couple waitress jobs and some other things that Cordelia would have rather no one know about.

Xander never said anything negative, though, he just dropped her off and waited for her to be done, then they were off to the next one.

During the evenings they ate cheap, talking about the days on the Hellmouth, and generally had a pretty good time for a couple of people on a budget that had lost the shoestring about twenty miles back.

“Pass the sweet and sour chicken...” Xander said, fumbling with his chopsticks as he tried to get a quarter ounce of fried rice up to his mouth.

Cordy giggled as the rice wound up over more of his lap and chest then his face or mouth and slid him the chicken.

“Oh, sure... laugh at the disadvantaged guy.” Xander put on a mock hurt look.

Cordelia grinned, pushing a lock of hair back from her face, and leaned over. “Like this...”

She dipped the chopsticks into the rice and easily got a large portion onto the crisscrossed sticks, bringing it up in a smooth motion to her lips.

The hungry look in Xander’s eyes had her laughing so hard in those few seconds that she almost spilled the rice, but instead managed to reverse it’s course and guide the food toward his mouth.

Xander looked surprised, but as he’d only managed to get about five percent of the food actually *into* his mouth, he opened up and let her deposit the rice. As she withdrew the sticks he chewed thoughtfully on it, and suddenly his eyes lit up and he got this supremely happy look on his face.

“What is it?” Cordy asked, curious.

“So THAT’s what it tastes like.” Xander declared, and Cordy broke up.

Xander watched her laugh for a long moment, just grinning as she laughed, then a pang hit him and his face lost the smile as he remembered.

Cordy caught the look, and her laughter petered off as she looked at Xander. “What is it?”

He looked at her seriously, “I never wanted to hurt you, Cor...”

Cordy chilled, and looked away. “I don’t want to talk about this, Xander.”

“I know... but, I didn’t want to hurt you. I just want you to know that...” Xander stammered.

“Damn you, Xander!” Cordy’s ire flared. “We’re having a good time, I don’t want to talk about Willow and you right now!”

“There is no Willow and me.” Xander said seriously. “Not beyond friends. Never was, not really, and there never will be.”

“You could have fooled me.” She said stonily.

“What happened...” Xander shook his head, “I don’t know... It wouldn’t happen in a sane universe...”

Xander laughed bitterly, “I love Willow, but I don’t see her that way.”

“Then why’d it happen?”

Xander shrugged, “I wish I knew. It was like... suddenly we just saw each other for the first time...”

Cordy snorted. “Right. I hate to break it to you, but Willow has been chasing you for years.”

“What? No.” Xander protested. “She never...”

“Oh get real.” Cordy rolled her eyes, “That tart had you staked out in the sun to dry from the day the girls in our class started noticing boys. You never wonder why you didn’t have any other girls hanging around you?”

Xander blinked, then shrugged. “I thought it was because we were the geeks?”

Cordy laughed, “Right. I hate to break it to you, Xan... But you were never THAT low on the pole.”

“I didn’t know.” Xander said, shrugging. “It doesn’t matter though. This isn’t about Willow, not really. It’s about me... and you.”

“Yeah. Right.”

“What happened with Willow was one of the biggest mistakes of my life.” Xander admitted. “And I’ve made a few lulus that I’d rather no one ever find out about. It screwed up my relationship with Willow, and it cost me my relationship with you.”

Cordelia looked back up, biting her lip. “Damn it, Xander. Don’t do this.”

“Cor... I...” Xander stammered again, trying to get out what he was trying to say. “This isn’t a come on... I’m not trying to get you to take me back or anything like that. I know that you have to do your thing out here now, and I’m not really going to fit in the picture... Besides, I’ve got to go back... I mean, I don’t know how to do anything else... so sooner or later I’m going back to Sunnydale to keep up the fight.”

He took a deep breath, “I guess what I’m trying to say is... well... I just need to clear the air once and for all, Cor...”

“Cordy... I...” Xander started, but was stopped by a finger on his lips.

He looped up and into the dark eyes of Cordelia Chase as she shifted closer to him, his eyes questioning as hers glittered with unshed tears. Then, suddenly, her lips her one his and they were kissing and his arms wrapped around her as they tumbled back onto the floor.

“Cor...” He gasped as they broke apart. “I.. We... I mean...”

“Shut up.” She told him in no uncertain terms. “Just... shut up.”

Then she kissed him again, and he returned the kiss, accepting the hot breath from her open mouth as he opened his own and their tongues slid along one another. Xander flashed back to the janitor’s closet as they lay there, their hands sliding along each other’s backs, and again he felt that same churning tension in his gut as he worried about what he was going to do to screw this up.

He wanted her forgiveness, but was this the way?

He didn’t know, but couldn’t stop himself from slipping a hand under her blouse and sliding it along the bare skin of her back. He could feel her hands do the same, roaming free along his back and stomach.

He had to stop this, or it wasn’t going to stop.

“Cor...” He tried again, pulling away. “I can’t stay... I...”

She nodded, eyes still teary. “I know... It’s just... just tonight. That’s all. Just tonight.”

Then she kissed him again and he was lost.

Their feverish clasp continued, his hands fumbling with her bra until it unclipped under her blouse, then she let him undo those buttons in a fumbling rush. Then the blouse was away, taking the bra with it, and Xander gasped in awe as her breasts swung unfettered above him.

He couldn’t believe he was here, but believe or not, he wasn’t going to stop now.

He couldn’t.

Stopping now would kill him, he just knew it.

He dipped his head, drawing her down to him, and kissed along her jaw and neck, then down along her breast at a growing pace until he closed his lips around the dark aureola, drawing her stiffening nipple into his mouth.

Cordy hissed, her hands pulling his hand up closer and tighter until her breast was mashed against him as he suckled at it, his teeth grazing her sensitive flesh. The sound wasn’t lost on him, and he increased his force as his hands moved lower, unfastening the belt she wore and diving under her skirt and panties to cup her ass cheeks.

Cordelia arced her back at the sensation, feeling Xander’s fingers delve lower, much as they had before in the school closest. She’d known that he was good with his hands, she’d learned that much from their grope sessions. She’d never tell him, but he’d done more for her in their short sessions then any of her other boyfriends had ever managed in any leisurely makeout session she’d ever had.

Now, with his mouth, she was honestly regretting not having made this choice a lot sooner.

<Maybe then Willow wouldn’t have drawn his...> The bitter thought was chased away as his fingers moved around to the front of her skirt and slid along the slick bud, drawing a gasp from her mouth and driving all thoughts but the moment from her mind.

Her skirt was gone with an easy flick, but the panties were giving him a lot of trouble.

Cordy actually giggled as they got stuck halfway down her thighs, and pulled away from him, much to Xander’s disappointment.

“I’ll handle this... You...” She looked at him pointedly, “deal with your own.”

Xander looked down and realized that he was still full dressed, and quickly set out to correct that. His shirt was gone in a flash, the baggy cloth fluttering through the air as he unbuttoned the cargo pants and kicked them off.

That left him his boxers, but Cordelia stopped him when he started to take them off.

“So hard.” She whispered, her hand sliding along his stomach. “I’ll never know why you hide this... You look good, you know. Show it off.”

Xander slid back, her hands slowly guiding him to the bed until he fell back onto it. He caught himself and remained seated as she straddled his lap and drew his head back so he could kiss her again.

Kiss her he did.

Their tongues tangled together again, and Xander slid one hand up between them to cover her right breast. As they kissed he kneaded and massaged it, drawing gasps and moans from her as she drew them from him by rocking against his pelvis and grinding his hardness between them.

He knew what she liked when it came to her breasts, and played his fingers across her nipples until they stiffened under his ministrations, then he broke the kiss and ducked his head down to engulf them again, one by one.

She groaned and threw her head back, clutching at him as he hooked one hand around her arced back to keep her from falling off him, but didn’t stop what he was doing. His free hand found her sex and he gently ran his fingers along the folds until she shivered, then let his thumb draw small circles around the bud the way they had back in the closet.

Cordelia groaned just the way he remembered, and he looked up to see her biting her lip to keep the sound inside.

“Let it out.” He urged, nipping at her tit. “No one will notice here...”

His teeth, fingers, thumb, and words finally did it and She let out a rising groan that became a cry as her body stiffened and shuddered. Xander held her as she shook, cupping her back and ass, and he smiled, more then a little proud, as Cordelia Chase came in his arms.

After a moment she looked down at him and caught the smile. She scowled playfully at him and smirked, “Don’t let it go to your head, dweeb... It’s been a while for me.”

Somehow being called a dweeb didn’t bother him in the slightest. Just this once.

“How long?” He whispered, his fingers moving again.

“Ahhh!... Since...” Cordy flushed with arousal and embarrassment. “Well, since the last time we...”

“You haven’t dated?” Xander paused in surprise. He’d thought that she had gone on several dates, not counting Wesley. A thought that made him shudder.

“They were jerks...” Cordy replied, taking the pause as a chance to slide back away from his fingers. She slid down his legs, straddling his shins as she kneeled in front of him, then reached up and hooked her hands into his boxers.

Xander shifted as she tugged, letting her pull the underwear down his legs, marveling at the fact that he was about to be very naked with a very naked Cordelia Chase. They’d never gotten passed the loose clothes and heavy... well *very* heavy petting before.

Cordelia leaned in as his cock came free and slapped against his flat stomach, brushing against her cheek as she kissed along his abs while pushing the boxers down to his ankles. She wrapped her hand around him as she pulled back at looked at his cock for the first time.

Oh, she’d felt it before, but they’d never dared remove any clothing where they usually spent their ‘dates’, so this was the first time she’d actually seen him.

It was as impressive as she’d felt it to be, not that she actually had all *that* much experience in the past.

Still, what she was about to do for Xander was only the second time she’d ever done in her life. So Cordelia hesitated a moment as she worked her hand along him, then leaned in again.

Xander shivered as he felt the hot breath on his cock, then shook as Cordelia Chase took him in her mouth and tightened her lips around him.

“Oh GodDamn....” He groaned out as she started to suck on him, and he fell back under the feeling, not able to actually keep his seated position under the sensations he felt.

Cordelia felt him fall over and would undoubtedly have smiled or smirked or something had she been able, but she wasn’t. She kept up the pressure, bobbing her head on him as her hands slid up his stomach and roamed freely over his tight skin.

Xander felt her hands as though from a million miles away, the sensation of her tongue on his dick blotting everything else out, but managed to somehow react to them anyway. He reached down, entwining her fingers with his and clasping her palms against his own as she went on, moving in a steadily increasing rhythm that was drawing him along faster and faster.

His heart was in his throat as Cordelia continued, and then suddenly every muscle in his body was clenching uncontrollably.

“Cor...” He gasped... “I’m coming... I’m...”

Cordelia hadn’t even considered swallowing the first time she’d done this, but she had been prepared then, with a handkerchief nearby and the intent to use it in the back of her mind. This time she wasn’t too keen on the idea, but the moment had caught her by surprise and even Xander’s warning hadn’t been enough. So when he began jerking in his mouth, semen pumping along his cock, she didn’t move and did her best to swallow as quickly as she could.

It lasted an interminable time, she thought, the moment drawing out until she was wondering how much more he could possible have inside him, and then it drew to an end as Xander gasped out and pulsed twice more, then relaxed.

Slowly she drew her head up, the long slide of skin against skin sending more shivers along Xander’s body as her lips stayed tight to his softening rod, then she let him go with an intentional popping sound that elicited yet another moan from him.

Xander looked down weakly, noting that she had something of a proud smirk on her face as well, and smiled just as weakly. “I’ll give you that round, Cor.”

She swallowed again and wiped her lips as she crawled up on the bed beside him, then smiled. “How about we call it a draw?”

Xander nodded, then pulled her up against him and kissed her again.

“God, Cor... You are incredible.” He told her simply and honestly.

“I know.” She smiled, replying in kind.

Some time later, still lying closely together, Xander felt himself respond to her gentle movements and shifted uncomfortably.

“Getting shy on me?” She smirked, reaching down to grasp him again. Her eyebrows went up and she opened her mouth in a small ‘oh’. “I see... ready for some more.”

Xander shivered again, then moved.

He pushed up, forcing her over onto her back and straddled her like that for a moment, looking into her eyes with a serious air. “Are you sure you want to keep going?”

“Don’t ask stupid questions.” She growled lightly, cupping a hand around his ass. “I started this didn’t I?”

He nodded a little, then kissed her and slowly slid one leg between her thighs, pushing her legs apart. The second followed, and in a moment he was poised over her, looking down at the most ravishing sight he’d ever seen.

“Cor... I...”

She silenced him with a look and whispered back, “Please... go slow. This... this is my first...”

He looked surprised, which irritated her momentarily until she considered that she’d probably have been surprised herself. She’d dated more then her share of guys, most of them football players with small brains and big mouths.

Certainly, when they’d begun their closet grope sessions, she’d been the one with the experience. Guiding his hands, teasing him with hers. It wasn’t a huge shock for him to think that she’d already done a lot more.

So she forgave him the moment of irritation he’d just caused and simply nodded as she pulled him closer.

Xander caught his breath as she guided him to her, then pushed slowly against her until he felt himself slide in. For a brief moment he flashed to Faith, thinking about how she had been different then this, then it was gone and all he could think about was the girl under him.

He slid forward steadily, but slowly, pausing when he found a point of resistance that was trying to prevent him. Cordelia decided the moment for him by thrusting up against him until he broke through, then she fell back against the bed with him down against her, both of them holding still as they just savored the moment.

Finally Xander moved back, sliding slowly out again, then slid back in until this time their hips touched and she gasped as he nudged against something deep inside her. After that the progression was quick, and soon the feverish pace of earlier had reasserted itself. Skin slapped against Skin as Xander thrust down into Cordelia, and he braced himself above her and watched as each thrust sent her breasts swaying back and forth.

It was intoxicating, hypnotic, and altogether irresistible for Xander so he dipped his head down again again drew her breast into his mouth, drawing the nipple up between his teeth and catching it with moderate pressure as she moaned.

In moments Cordy was thrusting back hard against him as her hands locked around his head and drew him tight to her chest, and Xander was loving every second of it as he felt the pleasure build. It was too soon, though, and he didn’t want it to end so fast so he slowed his pace, drawing a groan from her this time as she pushed urgently against her.

Xander replaced the speed of his thrusts with the pressure of his fingers, moving them nimbly along the flesh where they were joined as he maintained a steady pace. He let her breast go and straightened up, still thrusting against her, and continued to let his fingers play against her folds and clitoris as he watched her breasts sway and shimmer from the force of their motions.

The combined stimulation sent her on ahead of him, her breath coming in tight pants as she felt the sensation deep in her stomach. Her eyes flew open as the feeling mounted and she lunged up, clutching at Xander as he caught her reflexively.

“Faster...” She urged him, wanting to feel him as she came. “Please, Xander... Faster.”

Xander thrust faster, now using his grip on her to pull her up with each thrust, then let gravity draw her back down. They were moving together, her arms around his neck drawing her up as her legs hung limply one either side of him.

Suddenly Xander felt himself tighten and knew he had to stop, to draw back, to do something.

“Cordy... I’m... I can’t...” He gasped out.

“Don’t stop.” She whispered urgently. “Don’t stop. It’s alright... I’m protected.”

By the time she had finished speaking, Xander couldn’t have stopped if he’d wanted to. He thrust harder, lifting her up with an urgency he hadn’t ever felt before, and dropping her sharply down again.

Cordelia’s groans had given way to rhythmic yelps of pleasure with each abrupt jerk, his cock reaching deep inside her and pushing at her insides with a throbbing pain that seemed to give way to pleasure the second it drew the cry from her throat.

She felt herself tighten, the loss of muscle control making her shudder and go limp in his arms for a moment, then suddenly she jerked, her legs kicking out as her eyes opened and she stared into Xander’s eyes with a glazed look that he’d never forget.

In that moment it was over for him as well, and he felt himself tighten and begin to jerk with a spasmodic rhythm that made it damned hard to stay upright as he kept them both from falling over as they came.

She felt him erupt inside her, the heat drawing out her own orgasm with almost painful results, and she just leaned against him and held on tight as the moment drew on and on and on.

As it passed, Xander slowly leaned forward, letting Cordy down slowly onto her back and tried to pull away but found her tightly hugging to him. He didn’t feel like even trying to break loose, so he just rolled over onto his back and brought her with him, still pulsing around him as he occasionally throbbed inside of her.

“I wish we’d done this a long time ago.” She whispered to him before drawing out a deep kiss from him.

He smiled weakly after that, shaking his head. “I’m pretty sure that’s supposed to be my line.”

Cordy smiled, wickedly though wearily, and he reached up to brush a few locks of hair from her face. “I wish it could last.”

Xander felt a lump in his throat, not knowing what t say.

When he did try to speak, she silenced him with a kiss and shook her head. “Don’t. You know you can’t promise anything... and I know I can’t ask.”

“You can ask.” He croaked out. “You can always ask... Cor, I love you.”

“I know.” She whispered, resting her head on his chest. “I know you do, Xander.”

He cupped her head and back, holding her tight as they fell silent, and looked up at the cracked paint on th ceiling above them. After a short time he felt Cordy’s breathing change and knew that she was asleep, and despite the slight discomfort of her weight, Xander didn’t even consider moving.

A short time after that, he slipped off to sleep as well.

Cordelia awoke, warm and mostly comfortable, squirming slightly as she felt a dull ache from between her thighs and a pressure to match it. She blinked, looking slowly around, then found herself staring down at the solid chest of Xander Harris and the memory flooded back.

She swallowed, the blushed lightly, as she realized that he was still inside her and, despite being asleep, was hard once again.

<Well... this is one memory I think I’m going to enjoy.> She smiled, rocking back slowly to feel him all the better. <And I do think that I’ll make the most of it...>

She rocked a bit more, then slowly pushed herself up until she was sitting erect on his erection, letting it settle deep in her belly as she smiled down at Xander’s oblivious features.

She shook her hair back, flinging it over her shoulder, and began to rock back on him as Xander’s eyes began to flutter.

Xander awoke slowly and eminently pleasantly from an equally pleasant dream, only to find that his dream was effectively in sync with reality.

He opened his eyes to see Cordy riding him slowly, smiling down at him as she waiting for him to come completely to.

“Ummm...” Xander looked up at her breasts as they bobbed in time to her motions, “Good morning?”

“Not quite.” She smiled, glancing at the clock.

Xander groaned under her continued motions, and didn’t bother to check the clock. Somehow the time just wasn’t a big concern for him at the moment. What he did do was thrust up into her, arcing his back and lifting his butt off the bed just as she dropped down.

The sudden shift of pace took Cordelia by surprise and she yelped just a little, and leaned forward as they came back down, bringing her breasts into easy reach.

He hadn’t planned it that way, but Xander was more then willing to take advantage of pure dumb luck when it came his way. In fact, that *was* his preferred fighting style, in all truth. He’d have to do something better in bed, he decided, but for now...

Cordelia let out a stifled cry as his hands found her large breasts and caught them in a firm grip. She arced back against his crotch, taking him deep again, but his hands followed her and she was assaulted from both sides by the sensations Xander was giving her.

Xander wrenched himself up into a half seated position as she rocked on him, pulling her close as he could so he could again catch her tits in his mouth. The spit slick flesh slid against his face as he teased at her with his tongue, and he reveled in the feeling of it as Cordelia increased the pace.

This time he felt a pleasant ache working against the sensations she was bringing him, and he knew that they hadn’t been asleep very long at all. So while he laved her breasts, one hand cupping her butt, and the other entwined in her hair right along the back of her lovely skull, Xander began to push her faster and harder, knowing that he would be good for quite a while this time.

Cordelia’s breath came faster and in sharp pants accompanied by gasps of pleasure and pain as he stroked deeply inside her, and within moments what had been under her control was spiraling out of her grasp so quickly it was dizzying.

When she came this time, Xander didn’t stop, he just shifted until he was seated upright, her legs spread out behind him and his crooked under her. It was his hands and upper body that controlled the motions now, but that was enough, and so they continued to move against each other as Cordelia shuddered and shook.

Her eyes were glazed again, driving a spike of pure lust through Xander when he saw that faraway look in her eyes, so he pushed harder, drawing out the moment for her as much as he could. When it dwindled away finally, Cordelia was left limp in his arms, her eyes clouded and her breath shallow as he continued to move.

Xander turned them around, laying her back against the headboard, hair splayed out around her head against the pillow as she looked up at him and smiled.

He wasn’t done yet, though, and he kept moving against her as she just lay there this time and luxuriated in the feeling. His thrusts started slowly, but quickly picked up steam as he felt himself actually grow harder as he gazed down at her near perfect body.

Her breasts moved with him, jostling up and down, and even swaying a little in circles from the thrusts. Her eyes were glazing again with that look that Xander knew that he could become addicted to, and he knew that she was building to another climax. Her legs had been limp, but she had moved them enough to lock them around his back as he thrust, keeping him close.

Xander had no intention of going anywhere just then though.

He could feel the ache inside him increase, and knew that he was drawing nearer now himself He began to move harder, faster, pushing against her until she was holding her hands against the headboard to keep from banging against it with each thrust.

This time when she came Xander could feel her through their connection rather then through her entire body, and that set him aflame as he pushed harder into her shuddering body.

Her stomach palpitated with the force of the orgasm, and he felt her muscles tighten around him, and the sudden drawn out cry ripped from her throat was the last straw.

Xander froze, pain and pleasure mixing in him as the ache filled him just as he felt himself pulse into her clasping body. Her muscles tightened around him as his tried to expand, doubling the sensation for them both, and their eyes snapped open as they stared into each other’s souls for that long unending little death.

When it was over Xander collapsed, barely able to shift his weight to fall beside her. She rolled over a little, letting him in beside her, then pushed back against him until they were tightly entwined yet again. This time there was nothing sexual about it, they were neither one in any shape to pursue anything of that sort even had they been so inclined.

In silence they lay there as the clocked ticked in the background.

Finally, Cordelia spoke softly. “Thank you, Xander.”

Xander blinked, “What? What for?”

“For... everything.” She said, curling against him. “For everything.”

Xander didn’t know what to say to that, so he just drew her closer and kissed her on the forehead. “You’re welcome then.”

In the morning the world didn’t seem quite as oppressive to Cordy as she got up and showered in the dingy bathroom, then got dressed and fixed her hair and makeup in the cracked mirror.

Xander was awake when she slipped back out, eyes watching her every move.

“Morning.” She said, shifting a little uncomfortably under his gaze.

“You’re beautiful.” He told her simple.

“Xander... We... I have to...”

Xander nodded, pushing himself up. “Let’s find you an apartment, Cor. I... I’ve still got my See America thing to do... don’t I?”

It was a question, she knew, and one intended for her.

She wanted to say one thing, but instead she nodded. “Yeah.”

“Alright.” Xander smiled. “Let’s get you set to take on Hollywood then.”

Cordy nodded, looking away as Xander pulled on his boxers and headed for the bathroom.

They found her an apartment later that day, and moved in the same hour. She didn’t have a whole lot to move in, so it didn’t take long at all.

The place wasn’t quite as dingy as the motel room they’d just left, but it wasn’t much of an improvement. The neighborhood was probably a little worse too, and that was causing Xander a lot of concern.

Herself as well, if she’d admit it, but Cordelia knew how to take care of herself.

“Puh-lease.” She told Xander when he objected. “I’ve helped you hunt Vampires when Slaychick was AWOL remember? I can handle some street punks.”

Xander still didn’t like it, but she reminded him that it was her choice and not his. Besides, the apartment was cheap, and she didn’t have the money for anything better. That brought up him offering her some of his savings, but she turned him down flat on that as well.

It had been bad enough that she was living off him for the past few days, now it was time for her to stand on her own.

So Xander sighed finally and nodded, though he made her promise to call him if she needed anything.

Cordelia just nodded and promised, though she had no intention of bothering him with any of her problems.

Then she invited him to stay the night, and he accepted, and they spent the night getting very little sleep while enjoying her very first apartment.

The next morning, though, Xander had run out of excuses. To stay any longer would be to admit something that he didn’t think either of them were quite ready to admit, so they agreed that it was his day to move on.

Cordelia left him in his car at the curb as she headed back up to her apartment and Xander watched her go, stomach clenched in a painful ball as his throat constricted.

He didn’t see her eyes glisten because she’d turned away from him too quickly, and the traffic kept the soft sob from reaching his ears, so Xander started up the car, shifted it into gear, and pulled out into traffic.

Within minutes he was on the freeway and headed out of the city.

July 1998

Oxnard California

“Stupid piece of shit!!” Xander cursed, kicking the tire as he spat at the car.

The old clunker had finally given up the ghost just inside city limits and now Xander was standing out in the middle of the road at midnight with only a few hundred bucks left in his pocket.

He just knew that there was no way he was getting the engine repaired for less then eight hundred, if he was lucky. Chances were it would go higher then that, maybe even fifteen hundred.

He’d had it, more then enough to fix the car and move on, but now he didn’t and he didn’t regret where it had gone. Not for a single second.

But now he was in a bit of trouble, and he’d have to figure a way out of it.

<Alright... let’s get to town... find a garage with a tow truck.> He sighed, tucking his hands in his pocket as he started to move out.

Xander had gotten about ten minutes down the road when an odd sensation feel over him and he spun around. Hellmouth reflexes kicked in as the light erupted around him and he evaded it the first time without knowing what it was, but it speared him a second later and everything went white.

******

July 2004

Seattle

Tom Bishop nodded to the dark haired young man who moved as if in a daze, “Name?”

“Uh... Xander... I mean, Alexander Harris. Sunnydale California.”

“Date of abduction?”

“July of 98 I guess.” The young man seemed lost, not that Bishop blamed him.

“Day?”

“Ummm... the third.”

“3^rd of July... ‘98... let’s see... That makes you Returnee Number Four Thousand Three Hundred and Sixty Six... Here’s your tag, keep it with you. Alright, next!?”

August 2004

Quarantine - Homeland Sec, Seattle Office

He’d been here for a month, and even with almost a thousand people in this one section, and the rest divided up into four identical sections, Xander was starting to feel a little antsy and wanted to see some faces that didn’t belong to the returnees.

They’d been given access to cable, and fairly recent reading material, though Xander was pretty sure that it was all being edited for security reasons still. He could tell from the way some of them looked at him that a lot of people wondered if maybe he was contagious still, despite the best medical tests they’d been able to devise.

Not that he’d ever actually been sick, of course. But as hard as he tried Xander couldn’t muster more then a few grumbles about the whole Quarantine thing. He figured that he’d had done the same in the governments position.

A month and no one had come to see him, despite the Governments promise to contact any surviving family.

He’d given them G-man’s name, as well as his parents, Buffy, Willow, Mrs Summers... pretty much anyone he could think of... including Cordelia.

Nothing.

That, combined with the looks he had gotten upon mentioning Sunnydale... Well Xander wasn’t feeling to good.

Fact was, a fairly large part of him wanted to smash through the bulletproof glass that separated him from his ‘contact’ officer, and wring the guy’s neck until he coughed up some real info.

A larger part, though, something deep inside him, held him back.

Xander couldn’t quite figure that out, because he’d never been Mr Control when it came to his friends, but right now it was like there was this fatalistic ‘Que Sera Sera’ cloud floating over his head. And, he didn’t think he was alone.

Most of the others seemed to be thinking the exact same thing as he was.

Like... It didn’t matter how long they were in here, no matter what they said when they whined and bitched about being locked up. Like they were willing to be patient, bide their time.

Like they knew their time would come.

Xander shuddered, shaking off that line of thought quickly, shying away from it as if from an open flame.

“Hey...” A voice called from behind him. “You alright?”

Xander half turned to see a tall black man looking at him with a look of concern in his face, he forced a weak smile and nodded. “Yeah... yeah, I’m fine.”

He extended his hand to the man, “I’m Xander by the way.”

The black man looked at his hand for a moment before slowly accepting the gesture and nodded with a sudden smile, “Richard.”

“Well nice to meet you, Richard.” Xander pushed the worries aside, gesturing to a chair. “Grab a chair, take a load off.”

The man nodded, accepting the offered seat and shook his head as he settled in.

“Something up?” Xander asked curiously.

“Just amazed at how the world has changed.” Richard said, “I was watching TV last night and I saw it, but it didn’t seem real... Now the way you reacted just sort of drove it home.”

“Me?” Xander looked puzzled. “Huh?”

Richard smiled, “When... Before I was taken... There weren’t too many white folk who’d have offered me their hand and a seat as quickly as you just did.”

Xander shrugged, “Didn’t think about it... When were you taken?”

“During the Korean War.”

“Ouch.” Xander winced. “Damn, that’s gotta suck. I thought I was bad off... at least I’m in under the decade.”

The two of the laughed a bit at that, and began talking easily.

September 2004

Quarantine - Homeland Sec, Seattle Office

Ok, it was official, he was going completely stir crazy.

The weird part was that no matter how much he wailed and screamed and pitched a total fit on the inside, all he could seem to manage on the outside was some decidedly minor league bitching about being cooped up.

It was starting to get to Xander, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was under a spell or something.

It didn’t seem to bother any of the others, but near as he could tell none of them had any experience with the supernatural, so they might not be able to put two and two together without getting a very nice looking five.

“Don’t worry.” A soft voice said from just behind him, causing Xander to turn quickly.

He had to look waaay down to find the voice, but when he did he smiled. “Hey Maia. What’s that?”

“I said don’t worry... they’re letting us go soon.” She said softly, smiling at him.

Xander dropped down to one knee, “How do you know that?”

“I just do.” She told him. “You have some friends left out there, you know. They’re not all... gone.”

Xander swallowed, shivering a bit. “Maybe. Maia... my friends live a dangerous life, if they haven’t contacted me by now...”

He shook his head.

“They’re busy.” She told him. “And the Government can’t find them.”

Xander’s breath hitched, but he just nodded. Everyone in Quarantine who knew Maia knew that she was to be listened too, even though they’d all die horrible deaths before they told any of the suits about her. “Well... I hope so.”

“You’ll see.” She smiled, though he could see a sadness in her eyes too. “It’ll all be alright... in the end.”

Xander shivered, but nodded. “I hope so.”

September 2004

Quarantine - Homeland Sec, Seattle Office

“Everyone, please listen to me! The general release of the returnees has been cleared...” Tom Baldwin held up his hands to forestall the rush of questions. “Now calm down... we’re moving as fast as we can, but we have to establish a procedure for this and... well, to be honest, we’re kind of flying by the seat of our pants on this one...”

A few of the returnees chuckled at the joke and Tom smiled.

“Alright, first thing... Given the situation,” He said loud enough for everyone in this group to hear. “We are NOT kicking anyone out... I can’t stress that enough people... Anyone who wants to stay, or come back, has a room here for as long as they need it.”

There were a few murmurs of appreciation through the group, a lot of the returnees from further back didn’t have any family waiting for them and it was comforting to know they had a place. Most, though, just wanted out.

“For those of you who want to leave, we’re working out a system...” Tom held up a placard with a chain attached. “We’ll give you each one of these... it’ll have your returnee number on it. This is so that people can recognize those of you who have been gone for... longer periods.”

The group hushed a bit, but they nodded in acceptance.

“Alright... that’s it for now.” Tom Baldwin told them. “We’re setting up booths now so you can get your number, and if you want us to contact anyone specific for you... just let the agents know.”

He looked around at all of them, and smiled as comfortingly as he could. “I hope everything works out for you... You people deserve it.”

With that he turned and left the Quarantine facility.

September 2004

Seattle

Xander Harris stood in slight awe as he looked over the city of Seattle for the first time. It was beautiful, though he couldn’t quite say *why*. The air felt pure and clean to him, though he could hear others around him coughing and muttering something about smog. The people looked... *perfect*, though he could see all the faults around him.

It just didn’t seem to matter much.

In his pocket he had a total of eight hundred dollars and some odd change, Homeland Security had kept his wooden stakes, but they’d returned his spiderco flip knife. The only other thing he had was a ticket to LA, one way, via grayhound.

They’d finally told him about Sunnydale, which Xander didn’t know what the hell to make of.

<A sinkhole. Right.> He shook his head. <God I hope the scoobs made it out in one piece.>

Xander eyed the bus stop as he walked up, flashing back to a day that felt only a few months earlier when he’d stopped at a very different bus stop.

He took a deep breath, forcing away the butterflies that were roaming around his stomach, and headed toward the waiting bus.

Next stop... Los Angeles.

September 2004

Los Angeles City Limits

Who are the 4400?

The newspaper was the first piece of unedited news that Xander had read since being returned, and it didn’t appear that the world had changed all that much, well aside from the returnees of course.

That was all the papers wanted to talk about now.

The identities of the 4400, where they had been, why they were back.

Of course, the papers had less solid info then Xander himself, which meant that they were basically lying their butts off to cover for the fact that they had nothing. He noticed that they were being called the ‘returnees’ anymore, but now the papers had apparently decided that ‘The 4400' was the proper title.

A lot was being made of the round number, Xander noted as the buildings glided by while the bus made it’s way into the city. As if the number 4400 was somehow more special then if, say, 4398 people had been returned. Frankly, Xander thought it was completely inane, as Giles would have said.

The fact that these people were back, THAT was what was important. The fact that they were a round number was coincidence until otherwise proven.

“Buncha freaks.” A guy said from next to him.

“What’s that?” Xander asked, looking up.

“Those freaks, the 4400.” The guy said, waving at the newspaper. “Buncha wierdos, that’s what I say.”

“How’s that?” Xander asked, a slight smile playing at his lips.

“Well... They just appeared out of nowhere... That ain’t normal...” The guy said, actually searching for his words. Apparently he wasn’t used to anyone asking him to explain himself.

Not that Xander was surprised.

Xander shrugged, “Last I checked they didn’t ask for what happened... Don’t usually blame someone for getting shot in a random drive-by, you know?”

The guy mumbled something under his breath and turned to bother someone else. Xander just shrugged it off and looked out the window again.

<I wonder if the others are dealing with this too?> He was glad that Homeland Security had decided to keep their names and identities from the public.

Some would surely get out, of course, but hopefully people would have a chance to get used to them before it really hit the fan.

September 2004

Los Angeles

Xander trudged through the city, not sure what to do now. Cordy’s apartment was otherwise occupied, of course. If she’d still been there, then even the Government would have a hard job missing her.

She was pretty much the only lead he had on anyone in LA, and while she’d been the first person he wanted to see... he hadn’t really expected to find her.

Fact was, Xander thought glumly, if she were still alive, the Government probably would have found her. Or at least had some evidence of her existence.

<I guess you didn’t make it into show biz, Cor.> He thought sadly.

The city felt different to him this time, though. It felt crisp, and clean, and new somehow. Like it was a different city from what he had left after his week with Cordelia. He didn’t know why, didn’t really care, but for some reason the press of people around him kept him from falling too far into the depression that was nipping at his heels.

Xander glanced up as he came to a stop and nodded. He’d found what he was looking for.

September 2004

Homeland Security, Los Angeles Office

“Mr Harris?”

Xander looked up at the young woman in the business suit and nodded. “That’s right.”

“Nice to meet you.” She smiled, though Xander thought he could detect a hint of another emotion under her features.

Awe maybe, fear, possibly. Something no doubt associated with the 4400.

“I’m just checking in like they told me too.” He told her, “I just got into town yesterday...”

“That’s fine.” She kept the smile up. “Is there anything we can help you with?”

Xander hesitated, then shook his head. “No. Homeland Security has been more then helpful already, thanks... Actually, I think I’ll be moving on by tomorrow.”

“Leaving already?” She asked, frowning just slightly.

Xander nodded. “I... I don’t have anyone here that I can find, so I think I’ll hitchhike up to Sunnydale.”

Her features became clouded, “You do know what happened to Sunnydale, right?”

“Yeah... sinkhole.” Xander nodded, “But I grew up there, and my entire life was there. I’ve got to see it, you know?”

“I suppose I do.” She nodded. “Very well, I’ll enter that into your file. Be sure to check in when you get back, or with the closest Homeland Security Office to where ever you go.”

Xander nodded. “Will do. Thanks.”

“I’m just sorry I couldn’t help you find someone, Mr Harris.”

Xander shrugged, but didn’t bother to reply as he walked out.

September 2004

Lip of the Sunnydale Crater

“Dear sweet Jesus.” Xander said softly, looking down at the ruins of his entire life.

There was a security fence setup around the crater, which Xander had scaled in about twenty seconds flat, and now he was just looking down at the wreckage of the town below him.

It looked like hell to him.

Some of the buildings seemed to actually have held up, though Xander knew that was an illusion as soon as he started to move around. From one side something could look like a solid building, but from another angle it was just a piece of wall that had miraculously stayed in one piece.

Xander glanced around, checking for any of the tourists or security patrols he’d seen earlier, and seeing none, hopped off the lip and began to make his way down.

He had to know.

He had to see what had happened down there, in his town. What had turned it into from Sunnydale, home of the Hellmouth and Xander Harris, to the Sunnydale Memorial Park??

September 2004

Sunnydale Ruins

<Jesus. I think that was the Bronze...> Xander thought to himself as he moved through the rubble, looking toward the corner of an old building that was sticking up through the ground.

“I can’t believe this happened...” He whispered. “I just can’t believe it.”

There was nothing left.

He had realized that all too quickly when he actually got down and into the middle of things. From the lip of the crater, what looked to be a damaged street became nothing more then a haphazard scattering of rubble parted by an upheaved section of asphalt when he got closer.

If he was right, and that WAS the Bronze, though...

Xander turned right, working his way by feel, not by landmarks, until he found himself where he thought Revello street was. All that was left of it was rubble that littered the occasional glimpse of a rooftop, or the occasional tree that had started to grow up through the rock.

“I think... I think...” Xander paused at the peak of a wrecked roof, then looked up and down the ‘street’ as he tried to determine his location.

It might be, he finally decided. It just might be.

He clambered down over some boulders and found himself standing on the roof. It was awkwardly angled and obviously buckled, but Xander could see part of the house itself below him so he crawled over slowly and leaned over the eave while praying that the wreckage would hold him up.

1630.

He’d found it.

His mouth was dry as he swung over the edge and let himself drop.

After this he’d check on his parents house too, and maybe Willows... though he knew that she was rarely home, and her parents were there even less.

But for now, he had to see this.

The bottom half of the house was totally buried, so Xander had to kick his way in through a broken window. Inside, he found himself in the wreckage of Buffy’s room. It didn’t look anything like he remembered, of course, but it was her room.

He could tell that.

There was an old battered truck, left open, at the foot of her bed. Empty.

<She took her weapons.> He thought, swallowing. <At least they saw it... saw *something* coming. Maybe they got out.>

The door frame was buckled, but he managed to kick the door open and make his way out into the hallway. It was dark, the light from outside not penetrating, and Xander wished he had brought a flashlight, but he didn’t let it stop him as he moved deeper.

After a while his eyes adjusted, and he could see most of the stuff around him. Around him the house creaked suddenly and he froze. When nothing else happened, Xander slowly let himself breath again.

<This is really stupid.> He decided, just before moving deeper in the house and deeper into the past.

The darkness deepened as he reached the bottom of the stairs and looked around the remnants of the living room and hall. Everything looked right, or as right as it could given the damage he was seeing. Xander stepped slowly through the ghosts of his past, the dust kicking up with each step as he moved through the silent memorial to the bravest girl he’d ever known.

Xander could tell that the place was damaged, even before the fall. He was surprised, but knew the look of the wood shards. His Uncle Rory had taught him all about tools when he was growing up, from a hammer and nails to an impact wrench. Their was practically a timeline of damage surrounding him, and Xander didn’t understand how it could be.

There was a step that had broken off and been badly repaired, whoever had done it used the wrong nails and a claw hammer to remove the old step.

One of the window frames was mismatched, it looked like someone had fixed it with a badly sized replacement, and not even bothered to paint it properly. The thick white coat was flaking off, but beside it where the work was original the paint was still in good shape.

One of the door frames was shattered, and underneath the damage Xander could see and feel that it had been rebuild at least three times with different wood each time, and different measures as well.

He shook his head, it just didn’t make any sense.

He was expecting damage, he’d have to be a fool not too.

But this wasn’t damage, it was shoddy maintenance.

Joyce Summers would NEVER have put up with that.

<What the hell happened here?> He thought to himself as he walked through the kitchen like a ghost, turning toward the hall that led to the basement door.

The stairs down to the basement were mostly intact, but Xander held on to the wall as he moved slowly down the twisted path. The full basement had faired better then the rest of the house, he could immediately see, and despite a wide crack that cut the entire place in two it was largely intact.

Above him the huge beams of the house’s floor joists were still solid, and the rest of the basement looked more or less like it should... except...

There wasn’t enough clutter.

Joyce had used it as a storeroom, but Xander didn’t seem much stored down here. He frowned, unable to completely fathom it. There was appliances upstairs, clothes in the closets, the bed was even made... well more or less. Who took the junk out of a house before the appliances when they’re evacuating?

He kicked a shard of a two by six out of his way as he moved over next to a small cot that had been set up in the basement and knelt down beside it.

<What the hell?> He frowned, lifting a pair of manacles from the cot as his eyes followed the heavy chain back to the cement wall.

Chains bolted to the wall, manacles heavy enough to hold a vampire, Xander shook his head.

<Maybe for Oz?> He puzzled, shaking his head.

It didn’t make sense.

You used a heavy cage for a werewolf. You didn’t chain it up, that was suicide.

Xander sighed and stood up. He looked around the skeletal remains of a major part of his old life and slowly shook his head as he started to move back up the stairs.

Why did it all feel so wrong?

Maybe it was just him.

Xander didn’t know anymore.

He made his way upstairs in a daze, not able to think clearly as his mind spun with the staggering reality that his friends were probably all dead. He’d known that in Quarantine, even thought he’d accepted it, but suddenly he realized that he didn’t feel any acceptance anymore.

He felt *pissed*.

He didn’t know what the hell had happened here. Didn’t know who or what had done this to Sunnydale, but he’d find out.

Oh yes. He’d fucking well find out.

He was plotting this in his mind as he moved silently through the dusty remains of Buffy’s room when his foot snagged something and he stumbled. Xander caught himself against the overturned dresser and looked down.

He blinked and kneeled down, picking up a plush pig that was covered in dust.

<Mr Gordo.> he stared at the toy in shock and awe.

“Buffy would never have left you if she had a choice.” He whispered. “What in hell happened here?”

After clawing out through Buffy’s window, Xander saw that the sun had fallen behind the lip of the crater now, and the sky was darkening rapidly so he started to move.

He didn’t know what, if anything, was left in Sunnydale but he didn’t feel like finding out either.

He clenched the plush pig in his teeth as he climbed back up onto the roof, then tucked it under his arm as he hopped up to the rumble and stepped back out into the remnants of Revello street. He spun around once to get his bearings, then took off at a light job as he tried to find his way back to the section of the crater wall he had descended.

He was halfway back to the Bronze when he suddenly saw something he recognized and skidded to a stop.

It was one of the old fashioned lampposts that the Mayor had insisted on installing for the ‘ambience’, but he recognized the scratched surface of it as he slowly approached, extending his hand to touch the cool metal.

<My house is just down this road...> He looked up at the sky, then began to walk down toward the home he had grown up and lived his entire life in.

His place was a total loss.

Xander didn’t even bother trying to go inside. The roof had caved in, and there was a huge boulder resting on the northwest corner. The only section of the house that looked intact was the basement door, and there was nothing down there he wanted to see.

He was turning away from the ruins of his childhood when a scrabble of rocks sounded behind him and he spun on one heel.

The blow struck him in the side of the head, bringing stars to his eyes as Xander was lifted clear off his feet and thrown back across the rubble strewn street. He slid across a field of stones and sharp rocks, his clothing and skin torn and bloodied by the fall, and came to a stop against the ruins of his home.

As his vision cleared he saw a hulking figure looming over him, and swallowed hard.

“Human.” The demon ground out, spittle flying as it growled it’s unearthly voice. “This OUR place now. You not welcome.”

Xander groaned, shifting as he pulled a rock out from where it was sticking into his back. “Fine. I was just leaving...”

“You go nowhere. You stay now... for Dinner.” The demon smiled, a rather hideous sight that Xander really didn’t care for.

“Thanks, but I’m not hungry.” Xander pushed himself up to his feet.

“I AM.”

Xander sighed, “Why did I just KNOW that you were going to say that?”

The demon growled, and swatted at him again.

Xander ducked this time, having seen it coming, and rolled clear. He came back to his feet and cast about for a weapon, but the best he could do was a hefty rock. “Listen... I’m *really* not looking for a fight...”

The demon growled inarticulately and charged, forcing Xander to peg it with the rock at ten feet.

The good sized rock bounced off the demon as the demon’s head snapped back, and an ugly greenish gash opened up on it’s head. As the green fluid leaked across it’s face the demon glared at him and then looked up and bellowed to the sky.

Xander’s heart dropped.

“Oh please tell me that was an ‘I surrender’ call...” He said painfully as the demon looked back at him with a look of fierce satisfaction.

“I’m taking that’s a no then...” Xander said, starting to back away.

He was stopped by the sound of movement behind him, and soon he saw that he was quickly being surrounded by demons of various types.

And they all looked pretty hungry.

“Oh Shit.” Xander muttered as he slumped.

The demons just snarled, some smiling, some just leering at him like he was a porterhouse.

“Oh yeah...” Xander nodded. “I’m fucked.”

The demons charged.

Xander flew through the air, landing with a crunch against the rocks, and slammed into the shattered wall of his one time home. A trickle of warm liquid filled his eyes after this smash, and he struggled against the sudden weight of the air around him, trying to get to his feet.

His face was a mask of blood and caked dirt, the dust and dirt of years covering the scalp wound as he looked around at the semi circle of demons who were taking this fight way too casually for his ego to like.

“So... Had enough yet guys?” He asked as he stood up yet again.

They’d pounded him into the ground more times then he could remember just then, though in all honesty he WAS having trouble remembering his name at the moment, and the demons were just getting into the swing of things so his question touched off some amused chuckles from those that could understand him, which spurred a quick exchange of grunts and growls as some of those who did understand explained it to those who didn’t.

That done, they all laughed at him some more.

<Laughing good.> Xander thought as he stood unsteadily and blinked the blood away. <Laughing not beating.>

One of the demons stepped forward casually and batted him again with an almost light backhand to the jaw.

Xander went down again, hard.

His eyes crossed as his head bounced off a rock, the world blurring as he fought and struggled to regain consciousness.

Around him the demons noted that their plaything wasn’t getting up this time, so they took the time to ‘debate’ who got what.

As they were growling and clawing, one of the few Vampires to remain in the vicinity of the old Hellmouth, noticed something in the dirt and frowned as he moved over to check it out. He wasn’t too concerned with the outcome of the argument, fact was he was well fed and was here mostly to beat the human up a bit more then anything else.

Tourists coming to check out the famous Sunnydale Disaster kept him in the pink, as they say. So he let the demons argue about the bones and gristle lying there on the ground and picked up the little pink thing he’d spotted.

He looked at the stuffed pig for a long moment, and puzzled over how something like that had gotten there.

That was when a gurgling voice spoke up, startling all of them.

“Put the pig... down.”

The vampire and demons alike turned to see the human back on his knees, sort of. He was kneeling on one knee, his boot planted hard to balance him as he glared straight at the vampire in question.

“Excuse me?” The Vampire asked, laughing. “Is the little piggy yours?”

Some of the demons chuckled and the vampire laughed.

The human... didn’t.

“I said... Put the pig... down.” He growled, spitting blood out of his mouth to clear the gurgle.

The vampire shook his head in amazement, taking a step closer to the human. “Are you stupid, or just retarded?”

Xander heard the question, but it was from a long way off. All he could feel was the heat of the rage burning inside him now, eyeing the vampire that held Mr Gordo.

That stupid little toy was now the only link he had left to his past life.

It was, almost literally, all he had left.

There was no *fucking* way that some undead bloodsucker was going to take it.

The fires raged inside him, blazing brighter and brighter as he forced himself to his feet.

“Last chance.” He growled. “Put the pig down.”

The vampire laughed, making a big show of bringing the stuffed toy up to his mouth as if to drain the toy like he would a human. “You think I’ll get much out of a little morsel like this?”

Something deep inside Xander snapped, unleashing something he’d never felt before.

The fires of rage flooded out and the entire world burned, the flames lighting up his vision as if by magic. Suddenly, night or not, he could *see*. The vampire was a few paces away, the demons closer, and he could feel each of them as they moved around him.

Abruptly the rage reached a critical mass and Xander screamed his rage.

“Put the PIG... DOWN!!” He roared as the entire area suddenly erupted in flames hotter then the pits themselves.

The vampire went first, the white hot fire bursting him from the inside out, boiling his stolen blood to steam in his veins long before the flames finally, and mercifully, ended his existence.

The demons fared only slightly better, lasting long enough for the pain to render their minds to incoherent screaming founts of pain.

From outside the Sunnydale crater the pillar of flames was visible for miles, reaching to the heavens by all reports, but vanishing before anyone could get any real kind of fix on it.

Back inside the crater the flames blew out as quickly as they’d appeared, leaving a black circle around the spot Xander Harris stood in. He wavered for a moment, eyes locking on a dirty and dusty little pink plush pig as it fell to the ground and bounced once, then twice, and came to a rest just in front of him.

He fell to his knees, mind shutting down.

“I told you to put the pig down.” He said dully.

Then Xander Harris pitched over onto his face and lay still.

The sun was high in the sky when Xander groaned and rolled over. He felt like hell, his bones ached and his face was covered in dried blood, caked and pinching at his skin. He rolled to his knees and groaned again as he staggered upright.

<What the hell...> He looked around, trying to remember where he was.

Then he remembered.

It was Sunnydale.

The memories rushed back and Xander collapsed again, falling to his knees and then sitting back on his heels as a wave of emotion hit him.

He howled.

They were all dead.

It was the only answer.

He’d been gone, taken perhaps, but gone nonetheless... And they were all dead.

He should have been with them. He should have died with them if nothing else.

They’d all died, and the demons were still alive and killing.

Xander felt his face harden as he fought back the sobs and the constriction of his throat. The demons had killed them. It didn’t matter which ones. They were all to blame, those that lived for violence. The predators. The monsters.

They were all to blame for this.

Xander swallowed his sobs then, rocking in place as his hands reached down and found Mr Gordo beside him.

He clutched the toy pig close as he rocked.

They were all going to die.

Every.

Damned.

One.

In a circle around him, as he vowed that, a ring of fire suddenly erupted and Xander Harris screamed again, this time in rage.

The already cracked door splintered under Xander’s kick, raining wood and dust into the dark interior of the garage.

He’d left his place and move down a block to his Uncle Rory’s, figuring that the Father’s Brother might have left some things he could use.

He moved slowly through the house, kicking up more dust with every step and eyed the bottles of JD that littered the floor.

His Uncle Rory had never worked a day in his life, much to the disgust of Anthony Harris, and had given in to the bottle relatively early.

<Unlike dear old dad who waited until he had a kid in the house.> Xander thought darkly as he kicked over a broken table and moved towards the garage.

Rory Harris was one of those lucky individuals who happened to be the ‘rich uncles’ favorite nephew, and had inherited a trust fund that kept him going comfortably. He hadn’t been rich, but he always had some cash on hand, and usually had one new toy or another kicking around the house.

Right now, Xander was looking for the former.

<Come on, Unk...> He thought, hand searching along the bottom of the cracked liqueur cabinet. <It’s got to be here and... ah...>

Once, when Xander was twelve, Uncle Rory had told him that his ‘no good excuse for a dad’ would rob his kindly old uncle blind if Rory didn’t hide his cash. So Rory hid it in the one place that he knew Anthony Harris wouldn’t look too closely at once he got there. Tony never could pass up a drink, or ten, at least not since Xander was six. So Rory hid the cash under the liqueur cabinet in a little pouch he’d designed himself.

Xander flipped the belt and pouch over his shoulder after casually flipping through the bills inside, and noting that Rory’s emergency stash was intact.

He then moved on, kicking in the door to the four car garage and moving in.

He almost immediately winced as he looked at the twisted hunk of metal on the other side.

“Ohhh... God that’s just a crime.” He whispered, shaking his head.

A ‘71 Cuda that must have been his uncles latest project hadn’t taken the collapse well. The frame was obviously twisted, and the body panels had actually been shorn off the old muscle car in places. Xander patted the classic as he moved past it, and wondered why Rory had left it there.

A moment later he found his answer.

The Hemi engine that was supposed to power the old muscle car was on the ground a short distance away, still attached to the hydraulic lift Rory used for engine work.

He found what he was looking for a little further over though. Rory’s pride and joy from way back, a gleaming black hand built one of a kind Chopper that was now a slightly dinged, very dusty, yet still one of a kind chopper.

Xander manhandled the heavy bike to it’s wheels and blew the dust off the engine as he flicked the contact switches over. A press of the starter switch elicited nothing more then a strangled sound, but Xander took that as a good sign.

He flipped another switch over, then reached down and fiddled with the engine choke, and finally popped out the kick start and stepped on the lever... hard.

The powerful 1968 Harley Davidson shovel head engine roared to life like it was brand new and Xander nodded once.

Now all he had to do was get it out of Rory’s Garage, and out of the Sunnydale Crater.

The heavy Garage doors exploded outward a few minutes later, revealing the weak, but strengthening, head lamp of the custom chopper as it slowly recharged the dead battery. Xander kicked the bike into gear and let up the clutch a moment later, then slowly tooled the bike out of the garage, moving around the larger chunks of rock and over or through the smaller ones.

<I don’t know where the hell this pyro shit came from,> Xander thought grimly as he aimed the bike toward the closest bank that led up the crater wall. <But it’s gonna come in real handy.>

Finding a bank that he could climb with the bike was next to impossible, but after a few hours of searching Xander found one where the lip was only at about an eighty degree grade for the last ten feet or so.

He got off the bike, revving the engine a couple times, and then kicked it into gear awkwardly and run the bike up the bank as far as he could before twisting the throttle to the handle and letting it rip out of his hands as he tumbled to the ground.

The Chopper lurched ahead, soaring over the incline and into the air under it’s own power as Xander hit the ground, getting a face full of dirt. As he rolled over he could hear the bike crash to the ground above him, but as it wasn’t coming back down on his head he figured that he was doing pretty good.

He rolled over to his hands and knees and scrambled up the rest of the bank, clambering over it to see the bike on it’s side, the engine still idling with it’s throaty sound.

Xander nodded once, smiling grimly.

Uncle Rory had once told him that there were few things as tough as bikes, and fewer still tougher then some good HD components in a well made frame.

Xander pulled the bike to it’s wheels and checked it out quickly, brushing off the wet, caked dirt, and scowling lightly over the new scratches and dings. Rory would kill him, but he wasn’t going to worry too much about them right now.

Xander straddled the bike again, checking out the fuel level.

<Enough to get to town.> He nodded.

Frowning, he balanced the bike with his feet and patted down his jacket and pants.

<Shit. No sunglasses... This ride is gonna be a real pain in the eyes.> He shook his head, then glanced back over his shoulder to the remains of Sunnydale.

Xander Harris lifted his right hand into the air and smirked grimly as he snapped his finers.

A wall of fire erupted behind him, and slowly began to burn down the bank of the crater, then another as Xander closed his eyes and focused. His rage fueled his efforts, and the crater slowly became engulfed in fire until the first licks of flames encountered one of the many fuel containers that still contained gas under pressure.

As the first of many fireballs erupted behind him Xander kicked the Chopper into gear and twisted the throttle.

<Oh Yeah.> He thought to himself as another fireball erupted behind him, sending a mushroom cloud of black smoke and orange flames into the sky. <Gonna be REAL handy.>

Then, as his entire life burned in his wake, Xander Harris turned the bike onto the tourist route and headed for the freeway.

Chapter 2

September 2004, Homeland Security - Seattle Office

“We just got a report out of the LA Office.” Dennis Ryland growled as he stepped into the think tank section of The 4400 investigative Hq.

“Something to do with the 4400?” Diana Skouris asked, looking up.

“Possibly. You tell me.” Ryland said, tossing a folder to the large table.

Diana got it before Tom Baldwin could, and flipped it open. “Alexander Harris... Went to visit the Sunnydale National Park?”

“That’s where he’s from.” Baldwin said, remembering the case. “That’s nothing unusual.”

“The entire Park Crater just went up in flames.” Ryland replied sourly.

“Oookay. So that IS a little unusual.” Tom replied with a twist of his lips. “Still, that place has been off limits since the town collapsed for a reason... No one ever bothered to even try recovering the fuel stores, chemical tanks, and so forth. Could be a Coincidence.”

“Could be.” Ryland nodded, then shrugged. “But just the same I’ve instructed the Homeland Security Offices to hold him for us the next time he checks in... just in case.”

Tom nodded, then shrugged himself as he tossed another file to the table. “Compared to Knox, I think that setting fire to the ruins of his old home town is small potatoes.”

“That depends on how he did it, doesn’t it?” Ryland asked with half a grim smirk.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Ryland didn’t answer, he just turned and left.

Tom sighed, and turned to his partner. “Any ideas how this fits into your ‘ripple theory’?”

She just shrugged and passed the file down to one of the think tank techs “Process that, alright?”

The nerdy looking guy nodded and quickly ran off with the file, and she turned back to Tom. “I don’t know. Maybe we’ll never quite figure it out, but *if* he is responsible... well, we’ll start tracking the obvious repercussions of the fire. Problem is, we’ve already seen that the ripples can be real subtle.”

“No kidding.” Tom replied sourly.

October 2004

San Francisco

Xander Harris stepped into the biker bar, running one hand through his hair as he bit down on the cigar in his teeth. He looked nothing like the person who had left Quarantine just a month earlier, now he was dressing to fit in as he moved from one low life dive to another.

The tight cut leather jacket he wore flapped open as he walked, the kidney armor chafing slightly as it rubbed against his back. He’d picked up a pair of leather pants for the road and a tinted pair of gargoyles ballistics sunglasses from a mall near LA. His sneakers had been replaced with steel capped engineer’s boots, and he wore a pair of fingerless gloves protecting his hands.

Since he hadn’t cut his hair in well over a month, he was also a little on the raggedy side, but that didn’t bother him much anymore, if it ever had. All he did was keep the front trimmed so it wasn’t in his eyes, and other then that he didn’t give a damn.

Xander remembered once thinking that he’d never be caught dead in a pair of leather pants, and the memory of the friendly bickering with Buffy brought a momentary smile to his face, even the memory of Angel and his brooding ways did that now.

But that was then, and this was now, and he found that he actually had a reason to wear them.

Better leather pants then leaving half his skin on the road after an accident.

The bar was doing good business, he could tell, though from the looks of the clientele Xander wasn’t sure he’d be bragging about it.

Almost all of the bikers were demons of one type or another, and damned few of them looked friendly.

Not that Xander cared.

He walked up to the bar and eyed the nervous looking bartender.

The guy was an easy Six Foot Four, and probably weighed in at over three hundred and fifty pounds, but he looked like a shaking leaf as he eyed the bikers who had taken over his place. The few humans in the bar were in a similar condition, despite the fact that they were all about as tough looking as the bartender himself and mostly carried some weapons or another.

“Hey.” Xander said, snapping a finger to the bartender. When he didn’t get a reaction he spoke up a bit, “Hey!”

“Huh? What? Sorry, man... what do you want?”

“Give me a beer.” Xander said simply, taking a stool next to an ugly demon with enough piercings to make a goth freak jealous. “Cold.”

The Bartender nodded, ducking back as the demon next to him turned and growled at Xander in an irritated fashion. “This part of the bar isn’t for humans.”

Xander shrugged, “Says you.”

“Damn right says me!” The demon growled, slamming his fist down. “Move over in the corner with your own kind!”

Xander looked slowly over to the corner, noting that at least half the bikers over there were sporting wounds that were still fresh, and he snorted as he shook his head. “No thanks, man. I think I’ll stay right here.”

The demon started to get up, but the bartender rushed over with the beer and handed it quickly to Xander. “Come on, pal... You don’t want trouble with Blade. He’s dangerous... just take the beer, it’s on the house, and go take a seat in the corner.”

Xander took the bottle, then turned slightly in his stool and took a swig. “Blade huh?”

The ugly demon smiled at him, showing off the razor sharp piece of metal that transected his cheeks. “That’s right.”

“Funny.” Xander said dryly as he whipped the bottle down on the counter, smashing it and sending most of the beer spraying across the bar. “You don’t look like Wesley Snipes.”

The demon had just enough time to grunt in surprise before Xander slammed the remains of the bottle up to it’s neck in his stomach. As the demon pitched over, Xander shoved him off the bar and slid off the stool.

The demon hit the ground groaning in surprise and pain, but other then that the bar was suddenly silent.

“Gonna... Kill... You...” Blade growled from the ground, struggling to get up.

Xander just kicked the bottle in deeper and looked around.

The demons stared at him in a shocked stupor, their alcohol addled minds not quite catching up to what was happening. After several long moments, the first of them started to recognize the implicit challenge and growled as it got to it’s feet and started toward Xander.

Xander just smirked and stood there.

The demon yelled suddenly and charged, pulling a long knife from it’s pocket as it moved to the attack.

A yell that quickly turned into a scream of pain as the demon checked it’s flight, then fell over in pain on the ground, continuing to scream while the entire bar watched in shocked awe.

First it merely writhed on the floor, then boiling liquid began to seep out of it’s orifices, eyes, mouth, nose. Then there was an audible pop as it’s eyeballs exploded from the heat, and finally a sizzling sound as it stopped moving and began to disintegrate.

The demons froze, staring at Xander in shock and awe, not certain what had just happened.

Then the moment was past and the bar erupted into chaos as the demons broke and ran, or tried to charge him again, or just tried to duck quietly out the back.

It didn’t matter, they all fried in that instant.

The ones charging him hit the floor as flames began to erupt from their mouths, the ones trying to run fell through the door, flames erupting through their bodies in a blaze of heat. Those that tried to duck out the back way found it blocked by a wall of fire that suddenly swept through them, turning them to cinders.

Then, as quickly as the flames started, they were blown out as if by a great wind, and the bar fell silent again.

Xander turned to the bartender and took his seat again, “I seem to have spilled my beer.”

The bartender stared at him for a long moment then shuddered. “Right... Uh... Here you go.”

He dropped another bottle on the bar and popped the cap. Xander lifted it to his lips and took a long drag of the cold liquid, emptying about half the bottle. Then he set it down and nodded, “I needed that, thanks. Been a dry day on the road.”

“Yeah...” The bartender swallowed, moving his tongue around his mouth as he tried to wet it. “I hear that the heat’s a real killer today...”

Xander smiled slightly, nodding. “Yeah. It’s real bitch.”

He got up from the stool, then dropped a ten dollar bill on the counter. “Thanks for the beer.”

“On the house man.” The Bartender replied instantly.

Xander shrugged, but didn’t pick up the money. “Maybe next time. Cya.”

As he started to walk out the door, the Bartender fingered the ten dollar bill and suddenly looked up. “Hey man! Who are you anyway?”

Xander paused at the door, his head ducking down as he suddenly flashed to a moment in the past. He saw long dark locks of hair, a perfect white smile, and deep eyes that he had gotten lost in. Then he pushed the door open as he spoke over his shoulder, “You can call me... Zeppo.”

Xander left the bar quickly, not caring to gather any more attention then he already had. He’d run into a small town about forty miles to the south that had just recently had a visit from those particular bikers, and had decided to make an example of them in quick fashion after seeing the carnage they’d wreaked.

They’d ripped through the town like the monsters they were, leaving death and chaos in their wake. Shattered lives, over twelve men dead, and some women in worse shape then that. Everyone was babbling about demons and monsters to the rescue teams, and most of them were on drug drips by the time Xander drove in.

He’d grabbed one of the survivors, nearly giving the kid a heart attack when he saw the Chopper Xander was driving, and managed to get the details out of him.

Since then he’d hit eight biker bars along the northern road that headed up the coast until he finally hit pay dirt here.

Once out on the road, Xander turned the Chopper toward the San Francisco lights.

Since he was this close, he decided he’d touch base with one of the people he’d met in Quarantine.

July 2004

Quarantine, Homeland Security - Seattle Office

Xander frowned as he paced the hallways outside his room. He’d quickly found that he just couldn’t get a good pace going in the room, it was too tight.

It had been several days now since the suits had assured him that they’d contact the names on the list he gave them, and they were still stalling him while giving him the strangest looks he’d ever had.

And it had all started when he’d mentioned the name of his home town.

Sunnydale.

Fact was, Xander was starting to wonder what these Homeland Sec dweebs knew about Sunnydale. Sure as hell something about that name meant *something* to them.

Most of the people he had talked to who still had family out there had already been contacted, by phone if nothing else. Which didn’t bode well for his chances of seeing any of the gang again as far as Xander was concerned.

He had another meeting coming up.

He had to get some answers this time, Xander decided.

“I’m sorry Mr Harris, I’m afraid that we haven’t been able to locate any of the people on your list yet...” The young woman said, closing a folder.

“What does that mean? Are they dead?”

“There’s no evidence of that...” She said, obviously trying to sound reassuring. “I’m sure that they’ve probably just slipped through the cracks and we’ll find them in short order...”

“You guys are the Government!” Xander snapped, rising to his feet. “Come on! You have to at least know if they’re still alive!”

“As I said...” She remained calm. “It’s entirely possible that they simply moved and haven’t completely registered on our computers yet. It can take months or even years before some records filter through... The Government doesn’t make a habit of following the movements of every last one of it’s citizens.”

“Bullshit.” Xander replied feelingly, shaking his head. “God damnit, what about my Parents then!? You can’t *possibly* be trying to tell me that every single person I ever KNEW just got up and moved away!”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Mr Harris.” The woman went on mildly. “We’ll let you know more when we know more.”

She then calmly closed the file again and placed it in a briefcase.

Xander watched in amazement as she calmly got ready to leave, and finally lost it in a very minor sort of way.

“Hey!” He slammed his hands against the bulletproof glass, making her jump in surprise. “You can’t be serious!”

“I assure you, Mr Harris... I’m quite serious.” She said cooly after regaining her composure, then walked out.

Xander growled as he turned around, punching the wall as he left.

“Damnit!”

“Hey...” A cool voice said from a short distance away. “It’s alright... relax. You won’t get anywhere like that.”

Xander turned to see a striking Brunette approaching with a calm, confident gate. He shook his head, “They won’t tell me anything about my family or friends.”

“I’m sure that they’re fine.” The woman told him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t understand...” Xander shook his head, “They...”

He trailed off, still shaking his head, thinking about how dangerous a life his friends led and how dangerous a place Sunnydale was.

“Why don’t you explain it?” The brunette asked with a serious face.

Xander shook his head, “I can’t... I... I just can’t.”

She nodded, “Alright... I guess I can take a hint.”

Xander glanced at her, “They tell you anything?”

She smiled, almost apologetically, “Yeah. They found my family... well, all the family I had anyway.”

He looked at her, puzzled.

She shrugged, “Most of my family died before I was taken... Actually... I died before I was taken.”

“That’s a new one.” Xander had to smile somewhat bemusedly. “I didn’t think the little green guys did the whole resurrection thing?”

“I guess I’m exceptional.” She said with a teasing smirk.

Xander laughed, not able to help it. “I guess so. Xander Harris. Is me...”

She laughed a little, accepting his extended hand in her own slim one. “Prudence. Prudence Halliwell... Call me Prue.”

******

October 2004

San Francisco, Halliwell Manor House

Xander let the shovel head motor rumble to silence as he kicked down the stand and looked up at the huge manor house he had stopped at. He checked the address again and nodded, looked like the right place, assuming he wasn’t in the wrong city or something.

He slid off the back, pulling the gargoyles lenses off his eyes and tucking them into his jacket as he walked up the drive. There was a very nice mini-van in the driveway, and the house appeared to be in excellent condition.

<Prue’s Family seems to do well for themselves.> he thought idly as he reached the door.

He was about to ring the bell when the paper on the step caught his attention as he saw the headline.

4400 Serial Killer strikes!

<What the fuck?> He leaned down, plucking up the paper and quickly skimmed the article.

According to the article a man by the name of Knox had been arrested and detained by homeland security in connection with the deaths of two girls since his return, and several others from before he had been taken. Xander shuddered, looking at the details the papers were printing.

<Fuck.> He thought. <If that shit is true, I’m not the only one who got boosted during our absence.>

The paper seemed to think that the man in question could somehow influence the minds of other people, rumors being spread about him using innocent people as puppets in his murders.

Xander snorted softly as he read the article.

<Damn.>

He sighed, shaking his head.

The whole situation was insane. That was the only word for it. Completely and utterly insane.

He was still looking at the paper when the door was flung open and a body ran into him. He managed to snag part of the door before they tumbled over and caught the girl before she could bounce back. She blushed rather nicely and looked at him with a pair of piercing green eyes.

“I’m SO sorry! I didn’t see you and...”

“Hey, hey...” Xander smiled. “It’s alright. I was the one standing in the door.”

She nodded, smoothing out her rumpled blouse, and looked him over with a critical eye. “Can I help you?”

“Yeah, I’m... well, I’m kinda looking for Prue.” Xander replied.

She froze in place, like he’d just uttered something completely shocking, then tried to quickly regain her composure. “Err... she’s not in right now.”

“When will she be back?”

“I’m not really sure...” She darted a glance over his shoulder. “It’s... complicated.”

Xander frowned, “How is it complicated... I’m just looking for...”

“Paige? Who is it?”

The girl hesitated, glancing back. “It’s just a guy, Piper...”

“What does he want?” The voice called.

“Nothing!” She called back, then shuffled Xander off the doorstep and let the door close.

“Hey!” Xander objected, “What the hell?”

“Piper and Prue are... well they’re not exactly getting along right now.” the girl, Paige, explained in hushed tones as she led him down the walk. “They had a really big fight a couple days ago and Prue stormed out... She hasn’t been back since.”

Xander sighed, “Do you know where she is?”

Paige shook her head, grimacing. “Not me. But Phoebe will know.”

“Phoebe?”

“Our other sister... Come on, I’ll get a hold of her at work...” Paige said, fishing out a cell phone. “She’s *supposed* to be on vacation, but according to Piper she and Prue are both workaholics...”

“Alright...” Xander shook his head bemusedly, a nagging bit of worry itching at him as he walked along with the beautiful woman.

The motel wasn’t the cheapest place Xander had ever seen, but it wasn’t exactly the Ritz Carlton either. He kicked the stand of his bike down and dismounted as his eyes roamed the line of room doors on the second level, looking for 219. Paige had said that Phoebe helped Prue check in here after her fight with Piper, so he was hoping that Prue was still around.

He took the stairs quickly and walked along the long line of doors until he reached the 19^th, then knocked.

“Go away.”

The voice soft, quiet, but audible.

“Prue... It’s Xander.”

There was a moment of silence, then Xander could hear movement inside. He waited for a few moments, then called out again. “Prue?”

There was no response for a short while longer, then the locks clicked and slid back and the door opened.

Prue was as beautiful as he remembered, but the sharp striking young lady he’d met in Quarantine wasn’t home at the moment. Her features were softer now, eyes puffy with a hint of red, and he could see the strain in her smile.

“Xander...” She greeted him, “H... How’d you find me?”

“Your sister.” He said, nodding to the door. “You mind if I come in?”

She shook herself, the nodded. “Yes... yes, come on in... please.”

Xander smiled softly, stepping in as she made room for him, “I guess it wasn’t easy to fit back in, huh?”

“Is it that obvious?” Prue asked, a sad hint of a smile touching her lips.

“Paige helped fill in the blanks.” Xander told her.

At the mention of Paige’s name, Prue froze for an instant, her eyes hardening and her mouth becoming a narrow slit. Then the moment passed and she nodded, “That was... nice of her.”

“You want to talk about it?” Xander asked, pulling up a chair.

“Not really.” She said, and Xander could feel the raw emotion in her voice.

Xander nodded, “Well... My homecoming isn’t exactly a fairy tale either... The woman I loved is gone, no trace of her anywhere... My entire town was destroyed...”

“What!?” Prue blinked, eyes wide.

“Sunnydale California,” Xander said, “Sank into the ground like some biblical city, swallowed up by a massive sinkhole.”

“Oh my god.” Prue said in dumb shock, falling into a chair. “You’re kidding.”

Xander shook his head.

“You’re not kidding.” She looked horrified. “Your family?”

“I got into the public records,” Xander shrugged, “But the relief agencies that helped the survivors didn’t keep great records, and a lot of people slipped through the cracks. No way to know if they got out or not.”

She covered her mouth with one slim hand, shaking her head. “My God, Xander... I’m... I’m so sorry.”

He sighed, shrugged, and looked up at the ceiling. “Nothing you can do about it, Prue... Now... whatever’s going on with your sisters... is it something you can work through? Or is it permanent?”

Prue froze for a moment, she shuddered. “I don’t know.”

Xander blinked, but just nodded. “Tell me about it.”

“I... I can’t.” She shook her head, “It’s complicated...”

“Well... keep it simple.” He advised her. “What was the fight over?”

She sighed, then smirked bitterly. “It was stupid really... but it was only the last straw...”

“Yeah well... I know all about those.” He told her.

“Since I... left... Piper’s taken over the house.” Prue told him, smiling bitterly. “Doing my job. She’s... She’s handled the club, paid the bills, had *two* sons... and basically learned to be the older sister... And suddenly... I’m back...”

“And you can’t seem to fit in anymore?”

“Yeah.” She nodded, then sighed, “But there’s so much more to it then just that... It’s just... I don’t know what to do, Xander. I’m lost...”

Xander nodded, smiling. “Been there... Well, you can’t find my family, and I can’t fight your sister...”

She smiled a little, genuinely and without the bitterness, at that.

“... So why don’t we cheer each other up?” Xander finished with a smile. “I’ve got a bike downstairs, some cash burning a hole in my pocket, and there’s big city out here that I’ve never seen... Seems to me I could use a tour guide.”

Prue nodded slowly, smiling. “You’re on.”

“That’s your bike?” Prue looked at the long forks of the custom chopper with a raised eyebrow.

“Used to belong to my Uncle Rory.” Xander nodded as he slid into the saddle and nodded behind him. “Hop on.”

Prue looked at the bike for a moment before sliding on behind Xander and slipping up right against him as he turned the engine over. “I thought you couldn’t find your family?”

“I couldn’t.” Xander said as he turned the bike around and slid it into gear. “I went back to Sunnydale... They never bothered clearing the sinkhole out... Found some stuff.”

“You mean this thing sat in a sinkhole for *how* many years!?” Prue shrieked as Xander twisted the throttle and pulled into traffic. “Xanderrrrr!!!!”

Xander just grinned as the wind rushed past him, “Relax! Uncle Rory was a great mechanic and he taught me everything I know! So... Where to first!?”

“This isn’t quite what I had in mind.” Xander said, bemused, as they walked through the museum.

“I used to be an assistant curator here.” Prue explained as she pointed out an exhibit. “I helped put that one together.”

Xander eyed the exhibit with more interest, now that it had a personal dimension. “That’s cool.”

“Cool?” She asked with an arched eyebrow.

“Yeah.” He grinned back, “Cool.”

“Cool.” She nodded slowly, then roll her eyes. “Well it’s nice to know my life passed muster.”

Xander chuckled, “I used to hang with a guy who was a Curator for a museum in London. Nice guy, dull as dishwater, but a nice guy.”

“Are you calling me dull??” She folded her arms over her chest and glared mildly at him, amusement twinkling in her eyes.

“Nooo... I’d *never* do that.” He smirked, then relaxed a bit. “Besides... Considering my life... Dull is nice. Dull is safe.”

She smirked at him, a bit of a joke hiding behind her eyes, but Xander couldn’t decipher it. “Led an exciting life have we?”

“I grew up in a town that sank into the earth.” Xander told her, “You ever stop and think that there was a reason for God to have the earth swallow it up?”

Prue froze with her mouth partially open, then nodded a bit. “Ok, you may just have a point there.”

They chuckled at that and walked on.

“There was a real... gang problem in my town.” Xander told her after a while, “When I was about fifteen... well, let’s just say that they tried to recruit me... When that didn’t take, they spent the next few years trying to kill me instead.”

“Ouch.” Prue winced. “That must have been rough... What about the Police?”

“Bought and paid for.” Xander said. “So after a while, I started fighting right back... Me and some friends of mine. We had a rival gang, I guess you could say...”

Xander smiled suddenly, “We called ourselves the Scooby Gang.”

Prue laughed, “Why on earth would you do that??”

“It was kind of a joke.” Xander grinned.

“I should hope so.” Prue snickered.

Xander smiled tolerantly as she laughed at him, nodding and waving his hand for her to hurry up and get it over with. “Anyway... Once I finished High School I decided I needed to get out of town for a while... One of my friends... My Ex actually, she was leaving too...”

Prue watched as he grew more somber, but didn’t interrupt.

“We... well, we kinda made up then...” Xander smiled softly, remembering. “Then, a couple days later... I was taken.”

Prue swallowed, recognizing the emotion in her voice as he spoke of his ‘ex’, and she didn’t think that the woman was much of an Ex anything to him at the moment. She nodded, taking a breath. “There was a break in at our home... The intruder... shot me.”

Xander glanced over sharply, this was the first time she’d told him much about what had happened to her.

“They say that I died... They even buried me.” Prue shuddered, “But I just remember being shot. Then...”

Xander nodded.

“And now I’m a stranger in my own life.” Prue said, swallowing hard. “And I don’t know how to fix it. All my life I’ve been the take charge one, the adult one... The older sister. Now... I don’t know what I am anymore.”

Xander sighed, “in my life... I’ve always defined who I was by my friends... By the people I protected. Now... I don’t have anyone to protect anymore, Prue... I don’t know who I am anymore...”

He swallowed, “But that’s not going to stop me. I don’t know why we were taken... I don’t know who did it... But I’m not going to let them break me. I won’t let it happen.”

He looked evenly at her, “Don’t let them break you either. You’re better then that. Stronger then that.”

She took a breath and nodded, “Yeah... Yeah. I am stronger then that.”

After a moment she smiled at him, then the drew closer and they hugged each other close.

“Thanks Xander. I needed that.”

“Anytime.” He whispered back in her ear. “Anytime. You ready to try and iron things out with your sisters?”

Prue nodded into his shoulder. “Yeah...”

“You want some backup?”

He felt her hesitate, then she nodded again. “Yeah.”

“Paige?”

“Phoebe? What is it?” Paige asked as she cradled the phone against her shoulder.

“I just got a call from Prue.”

Paige twitched and nearly dropped the phone, but just managed to recover and catch it in time. “Is she coming back?”

“Yeah. She wants to try to work things out.”

Paige sighed, “Thank GOD. Piper is driving me nuts.”

Phoebe laughed into the phone, “Tell me about it. She’s gone total gonzo since Prue got back.”

“Well, you have to admit that it was a major shock.”

“You know, I don’t get that...” Phoebe said, “I mean... yeah, it was a shock... But we deal with weird all the time. You’d think this wouldn’t be so hard.”

“Phoebe.” Paige muttered dryly, “Your sister came back from the dead. The day that’s not a shock, is the day you need to pack it in and retire to the bahamas.”

Phoebe chuckled, “Yeah. You’ve probably got a point... But with my luck some black voodoo witch doctor would track me down if I did and I’d wind up a zombie or something.”

“Don’t say that.” Paige smirked, “You might tempt fate.”

Phoebe smiled, “Yeah. You’re probably right. Look, I’m on my way home... we’ll talk to Piper together before Prue gets there, ok?”

“Thank you.” Paige said, relieved. “She’s in major Mom mode right now and frankly... I’m a little scared.”

Phoebe laughed into the phone, “I’m coming home. See you soon.”

“Bye.”

Piper Halliwell softly cooed as she bounced Chris, the younger, in her arms while patting his back.

“Piper! We have to talk with...” Phoebe said as she walked into the room.

“Ah ah ah...” Piper hissed, “He’s just falling asleep...”

“Oooh...” Phoebe clamped a hand over her mouth. “Sorry...”

Piper carefully set Chris down in the crib and turned back, “No harm done. What’s up?”

“Prue’s coming over.” Phoebe winced.

Piper’s face hardened a little, then shook herself. “So?”

“She’s coming to talk.” Phoebe said soothingly, “She wants to try to smooth things over.”

“Take things over you mean.” Piper growled just slightly.

“Come on, Piper... It’s not that bad...” Paige said.

“She tried to kick you out!” Piper threw up her arms.

“Shhh... Baby...” Phoebe said, shamelessly using anything at her disposal to keep the discussion civilized.

“And besides, she didn’t try to kick me out... She just wasn’t used to me.” Paige said, “It’s not like it’s hard to understand is it? She doesn’t know me...”

“You’re our *sister*.” Piper said, “She has to accept that.”

“And she does!” Phoebe said earnestly.

“Shhh...” Paige hissed.

“She just needs some time to work things out...” Phoebe said, “Come on, Piper... You know it can’t be easy for her either.”

Piper looked unconvinced.

“She comes back from the dead, and we have another sister in her place?” Phoebe said pointedly.

“Who just happens to have filled in the third place in the Power of Three as well...” Paige added.

“And it’s not like we really reacted well when we heard she was one of the 4400...” Phoebe said, “I mean we DID check her for any signs of demonhood as soon as she got out of Quarantine...”

“Now that we HAD to do.” Piper objected. “You know how many demons are trying to get at Wyatt.”

“And if that was everything, then it would be a problem...” Paige said reasonably, “But you guys haven’t exactly gotten along smoothly since she got back...”

“She’s just so... so...” Piper started.

“Unreasonable?” Phoebe asked.

“That’s right!”

“Stubborn?”

“That too.” Piper agreed.

“Bossy? Arrogant? Pigheaded?”

“Yes, yes, and yes.” Piper nodded, pointing to Phoebe. “See? She gets it.”

Phoebe nodded, “That’s exactly what I said about Prue when I first moved back home. Remember?”

Piper paused, seeing the trap a little too late.

Phoebe didn’t let her squirm out of it, “And do you remember what you told me then?”

Piper groaned. “That’s she still your sister, and she’s had a hard time of it... Always being the oldest and the responsible one. Phoebe, I hate you.”

Phoebe juste grinned, “I think I like being the middle sister.”

“Hate. You.” Piper told her flatly, then sighed. “Alright... alright... I’ll try. But I won’t let her boss me around!”

“Hey,” Phoebe hugged her, “I’m right with you on that, big sis.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“You ready?”

Prue nodded firmly from the back of the Chopper, “yeah.”

“Alright then.” Xander kicked the stand down and dismounted first, making a big show of offering Prue his hand.

She smiled and accepted it, slipping gracefully off the bike, “Let’s do this.”

Xander smiled encouragingly and gestured for her to precede him, then followed her up the path to the manor house.

She started to open the door, then hesitated and settled for a knock instead.

There was a brief moment, then the door opened, and yet another stunning brunette was standing there.

“Prue!” She chastised, “You don’t have to knock. Ever.”

“Thanks Pheebs.” Prue smiled, “But I thought that... just this once, you know?”

“Alright... Come on in... and who’s this?” Phoebe looked at Xander suspiciously.

“He’s a friend of mine from...” Prue paused, glancing back.

“Quarantine.” Xander said smoothly, smiling at Prue.

“Oh.” Phoebe blinked, then shook herself and smiled. “Well alright... Uhh... This is sort of a family discussion and...”

“He’s a friend, Phoebe.” Prue said firmly.

Phoebe hesitated, then finally nodded and stepped back. “Oookaaay. Piper’s gonna love this.”

Xander heard Prue mutter something under her breath that sounded vaguely like ‘as if I give a....’, but both he and Phoebe diplomatically ignored it.

“Hi.” He told Phoebe, “I’m Xander Harris.”

“Phoebe.” She said, smiling self consciously as she brushed a lock of air out of her face, “Halliwell... Well, I mean... Duh. Sorry.”

“No problem,” He grinned as he stepped past her, “I habitually trip over my own tongue. In fact, in highschool I had the word Nike permanently imprinted on it...”

She laughed and he chuckled, and they moved inside and closed the door.

Xander frowned as he looked at her.

“What?” A hand flashed to her cropped hair style. “What?”

“Say... Aren’t you the girl on all those billboards around town?”

Piper looked up to see Prue step into the living room and nodded, a little more cooly then she actually wanted to but she could seem to help herself. Ever since Prue had come back it was like they were constantly stepping on each other’s toes. Every way she turned, it was like Prue was already there, and it was driving her absolutely *nuts*.

“Prue.” She said, wincing internally as she heard how cold her voice sounded.

“Piper.” Prue replied in kind.

“Paige.” Phoebe mimicked from behind Prue with a twisted Smile.

“Phoebe.” Paige returned with a smirk.

“Gee, I wish I had a P-Name too.” A dark haired young man in black motorcycle leathers replied with a lopsided grin. “Can I get away with borrowing one of yours?”

Phoebe and Paige snickered, Prue fought to keep her face straight, and even Piper felt herself starting to laugh but quickly covered her mouth with her hand as she forced the impulse down. Instead she stared at the guy in question and arced an eyebrow. “Who is this?”

“This is Xander.” Phoebe said quickly, “He’s a friend of Prue’s...”

Piper started to object, but Phoebe cut her off quickly. “He’s just here for Prue, ok?”

Piper dropped the protest, but sighed and nodded. “Alright.”

They all stared at each other for a long moment.

“So.. Ah...” Phoebe jumped in, “Where to we start?”

More silence.

“God!” Phoebe finally snapped, “You two are SO acting like I used to.”

“Hey!” Both Piper and Prue snapped at the same time.

******

Xander watched the argument with a halfway grin, noting the almost ritualistic pattern the girls were following. It was obvious, even though he’d just met most of these girls, that they were family. Problems and all.

The two elder sister were glaring at Phoebe, who was smirking at both of them, and none of the three seemed inclined to back down now that the bell had rung.

“Well I wouldn’t be if she’d stop acting like a pigheaded, overbearing...” Piper started.

“Me!?” Prue glared, “Look who’s ego has grown to epic proportions!”

“Oh you want to get started on Ego, Miss ‘No job is good enough’!?” Piper growled, “Yours outgrew this house *years* ago! Why do you think Phoebe ran out on us in the first place?”

“Oh this is SO not about me!” Phoebe held up a hand.

“Shut up!” Both sister snapped at her.

“Yeow.” Paige said, shifting a little further from the center of the fight. “Major duck and cover time.”

Xander just shrugged and leaned slightly in her direction, “One thing I know... Never get between family when they fight...”

“Got that right.”

They both smirked, then turned back to the scheduled fight, already in progress.

“Damn it, Piper! I’m NOT trying to take anyone’s place!” Prue growled. “How am I supposed to act?? To me I just left a few months ago!”

“Well it’s been *years*!” Piper yelled back. “We thought we’d LOST you damn it! We had to move on!”

“You think I don’t know that!?”

“Well I don’t know.” Piper shot back, “It sure seems to me that it hasn’t occurred to you what we’ve gone through!”

“What am I supposed to do, damn it!?” Prue threw up her hands. “I’m only human, Piper! I can’t just change who I am because you don’t need me anymore!”

There was a long silence after that, and Phoebe was the first to speak through the shocked quiet.

“Prue... We... we’ve always needed you.” She said softly.

Piper clenched her jaw, looking between her two full sisters.

“Well you sure don’t act like it.” Prue said, her voice coming down.

Piper sighed, “Prue... It’s not that we don’t need you. It’s that we’ve had to learn to do without you... And, like it or not, Paige is a big part of the reason why we were able to do that.”

Prue shook her head, “It’s not easy, you know... being replaced.”

“No one can ever replace you.” Phoebe said firmly, “You’re our Sister.”

Paige watched the back and forth, eyes intent, and her stomach churned.

Prue gritted her teeth, then slowly looked away. “I know I’m your sister, and your mine. Nothing’s ever going to change that... It’s just...”

She sighed, “I don’t feel like I belong here anymore.”

“Prue!” Phoebe protested, rising to her feet. “That’s not true!”

“Maybe not... but it’s how I feel.”

The three sisters fell silent as the words were finally spoken, and they just stared at each other for a long moment.

“I think...” Piper said after a long moment, “That we can work with that...”

Prue nodded slowly.

Phoebe grinned, “C’mere you two!”

The three sisters laughed, Piper and Prue more closely emulating a sob actually, and embraced.

“God we missed you, Sis.” Phoebe said as they clenched each other.

“Ditto.” Piper said.

Prue half laughed, half cried. “I’d say the same, but... you know... I didn’t.”

Piper growled lightly as Phoebe smacked Prue’s shoulder.

“I’m just saying,” She grinned, “I wasn’t gone long from my perspective.”

“Oh you...”

Xander heard Paige sigh from beside him and glanced over at her, “Shouldn’t you be part of that?”

She looked over at him and saw him nod to the hug and shook her head. “They’re sisters.”

Xander frowned at her, but couldn’t say anything before Piper glowered at her.

“I heard that!”

Paige stared up, wide eyed, as Phoebe and Piper reached over and grabbed her hand.

“Get up here.” Phoebe smiled.

“You’re our sister too... And Prue’s.” Piper told her flat out. “And that’s never gonna change either... So get used to it.”

“Yeah.” Phoebe smirked, “You don’t lose us THAT easily.”

This time is was four beautiful women hugging, and Xander was pleasantly enjoying the image. Sisters or not, they were hot and they were touching each other.

All in all, it was a good day.

And, of course, that thought was the trigger that totally *fucked* the entire day up.

The demon materialized behind the sisters, who were still embracing, and quickly looked around the room as Xander stared in slack jawed shock for a second. It found it’s target just as Xander started to move, on instinct more then anything else.

Xander lifted from the couch like he was propelled by a rocket, and dove across the room as the demon materialized a firey red and black energy ball in it’s hand and cocked back for a throw.

He passed the Sisters, brushing hard against them and startling the four of them as he calculated the demon’s intent.

“Wha!?”

“Hey!”

“Xander?”

The demon’s arm snapped out, ending it’s motion pointed straight at the crib that contained Piper’s youngest son, and the ball of energy left it’s hand and arced straight at the crib as Xander kicked himself off the ground and into a dive.

“Demon!” Someone yelled from behind him, and Xander was bizarrely fascinated by how *calm* the voice was as he flashed between the demon and the crib.

The energy blast flashed right into Xander, and the four sisters watched in shock as the young man hit the ground with a solid boneless thud.

“Xander!!” Prue yelled, her eyes flaring as she snapped around to glare at the demon. Her hand snapped out once, fingers splayed, and the demon was wrenched off it’s feet and slammed back into the wall of the living room with enough force to crack the solid wall joists.

She physically *held* the demon there as her other hand snapped out and flashed in an arc.

Across the room the wall buckled as three two-by-fours wrenched themselves from the wall and suddenly ripped across the room, impaling the demon from stem to stern.

It gurgled there for a moment, black ichor running from it’s mouth, then vanished in a fiery swirl.

“That was a Golchar!” Paige yelled.

“On it!” Phoebe replied, hurtling the couch and bolting for the kitchen as Piper dashed for the baby.

Before she could get there another two demons appeared from nowhere, a ceremonial blade in one’s hand, and it flung the knife through the air straight at Chris while the other charged another energy blast.

“Oh no you don’t!” Piper flashed her hands at the second before it could fling it’s energy ball, blowing it to dust. “Paige!”

“Athame!” Paige yelled, reaching her hand out and converting the blade to mystical energy in mid air.

She swung her hand around, bringing the energy ball with it in a long arc around the room, then snapped it straight back at the demon.

The Golchar’s eyes snapped open in shock as it’s own blade rematerialized, already embedded in it’s chest.

A moment later, it to vanished in a disintegrating flame.

“Xander!” Prue yelled, rushing along with Piper toward the crib, but her run was checked when this time *four* demons flashed into existence in the middle of the Charmed Ones living room.

“Phoebe! A little help!” Piper yelled as she blew another one apart.

Prue checked her run, eyes glaring at another demon, her active power lifting it into the air and flinging it back into a wall.

Paige cast about as one of the demons charged an energy ball, then snapped her hand out. “Platter!”

A silver platter vanished from a display cabinet, appearing in her hand, and she whipped it at the demon like a discus.

The silver disc slammed into the demon’s head, dropping it like a stone, it’s energy ball scorching the floor.

“Paige!” Piper yelled.

“What!?”

“That belonged to Grams!”

“Well I’m *sorry*.” Paige rolled her eyes.

The fourth demon, however, had done what it’s siblings had failed at, and had reached the baby’s crib. In a flash it had Chris in it’s arms, and it growled openly at the witches. “You have failed, Witches... The baby is mine.”

“Not in this lifetime.” A decidedly angry and very male voice growled from behind him.

Paige, Piper, and Prue stared in shock as Xander rose to his feet behind the demon, the ugly red and black ball of demon energy floating in his hands as flames flickered in his eyes.

As they watched the demonic fireball shifted and changed, becoming awash in a blazing white flame, then he snapped his hand out and the fireball burned a hole right through the demon’s belly.

As it howled in pain and vanished, Xander lunged forward and caught Chris as the baby fell.

Through it all the infant never made a sound until he and Xander hit the floor rolling, then he giggled.

Phoebe rushed into the room, potion in hand, and stared at the scene. There were two demons incapacitated, but her sisters were all staring at the guy, Xander. She looked around, puzzled. “What? What’d I miss?”

Xander slowly climbed to his knees, then up to his feet, as baby Chris gurgled happily in his arms. He looked dryly around the room at the four sisters, then at the two demons that were still more or less incapacitated.

“You know, Prudence...” He said dryly, “I’m thinking that you have a family secret that I haven’t been privy to...”

The Sisters kept staring, and he sighed as he shook his head. “Can we deal with the demons first, then you can stare as much as you like.”

That shook them out of it, and Prue glared at the demon he was holding with her power. “Right. As for you...”

She lifted her other hand.

“Wait!” Paige yelled.

“What?” Prue snapped her head around.

“It’s a Golchar!” Paige said, as if that explained everything.

“So??”

“If we finish them off, eight more will attack.” Paige explained, “We need to prepare a vanquishing spell to eliminate the entire line.”

“Oh. Ok... You have one?” Prue asked, looking to Phoebe.

She nodded, “yeah... I’ve got it right here.”

“I can hold him.” Prue said evenly. “Do what you have to.”

Phoebe quickly passed out a vial to each Paige and Piper, who surrounded the demon on the floor. In turn they threw their vials on him, breaking the fragile glass and covering it with the potions.

“Line be severed...” Piper said calmly, cooly.

“Power be ended...” Phoebe continued.

“And end thy blood.” Paige finished as each of them took a breath.

“So say we three!”

The demon on the floor and the one against the wall both shuddered and screamed as their bodies began smoking, then vanished as a pit opened under them and swallowed them whole.

“Well...” Xander said after a moment, “I’m going out on a limb here... Witches by any chance?”

“And just what do you know about witches?” Paige asked as she cocked her hip and gave him a challenging stare.

“That the old hag with the warts was a really poor choice for the union representive?” Xander shrugged as he handed the baby over to Piper, who immediately began rocking him.

“Cute.” Paige said, trying not to chuckle.

“I try.” Xander shrugged.

“More importantly,” Piper glared mildly at him, “How’d you do that trick with the fireball?”

Xander shrugged, “That one, I can’t help you with. Frankly, I’m not sure myself. Whatever it is, it happened since I was returned.”

“Returned?” Piper asked suspiciously.

“He’s one of the 4400.” Phoebe replied, confused. “What fireball?”

“The one he caught.” Prue answered distractedly, then frowned. “Wait... you’re saying that those rumors the papers are writing about the 4400 is true? We’ve been changed?”

Xander shrugged, “I don’t really know... I just know that since I came back... well, I’ve been a little more volatile then usual.”

“He caught a fireball?” Phoebe asked.

“Yes,” Paige said, then looked at Xander. “When you say Volatile... I take it you don’t mean your temper?”

Xander chuckled, “Well actually, I have lost it a few times lately... But no.”

“Do you mean the demon’s fireball??” Phoebe broke in again.

“Oh for God’s sake, Phoebe!” Piper growled, “Yes, he caught the demon’s fireball! Geeesh!”

“Well sorry,” Phoebe rolled her eyes, “I was in the Kitchen grabbing the potions, remember?”

“And a very nice job you did too...” Paige replied, patting her head.

“Cut that out!” Phoebe pusher her hand away and glared at her smirking sister. “Smart ass.”

Paige just kept smirking.

Xander looked at the damage to the old manor and winced, “Does this happen a lot here?”

Piper sighed, setting Chris back in the crib. “More often then I like to think about.”

“Damn.” He looked over the damage and shook his head. “You know, Prue... I think you did more damage then the demons.”

“Some things never change.” Piper said dryly but with a hint of humor.

“You think Leo will be able to fix all this?” Phoebe asked, frowning. “I mean, you know, if he get’s over the brooding and soul searching thing?”

“I don’t know... looks pretty bad.” Piper sighed.

Xander walked over, sticking his head into the big chunk of wall that was missing and glanced up. “Nah... It’s not too bad. Just replace the studs and plaster over the hole. Might have to repaint the room though, I don’t know if matching this paint will be easy.”

“Oh we keep gallons of it in the basement.” Piper said with a wave of her hand.

Xander chuckled, “And THAT speaks volumes for what goes on around here.”

“You still haven’t said how you know about Witches and demons...” Prue glared at him, tapping her foot.

“Huh?” Xander glanced back, “Oh that. I’ve been a vampire hunter since I was fifteen. Three years nonstop until the summer I was taken... You know, if you’ve got some nails and a little drywall I can patch this up without any problem...”

“Basement.” Piper said automatically, tucking Chris in. “What I want to know, is who sent those demons...”

“They’re usually mercenary types...” Paige offered, “Stupid, but tough because of the whole multiplying thing.”

“No kidding.” Prue muttered.

Paige spared a brief glare for her, but went on. “Whoever it was couldn’t have known too much about us... otherwise they’d have known that we’d be ready for these guys.”

“Unless they weren’t meant to succeed...” Phoebe offered.

“Huh?” Xander looked up. “Why do you say that?”

“Wyatt...” Piper paled.

“Wyatt?” Xander frowned. “Who’s Wyatt?”

“Oh my God.” Piper spun around. “We have to check on Wyatt!”

“Who’s Wyatt!?”

“Her oldest son.” Prue answered him.

“We have to get to Magic School!”

Xander’s eyebrow went up, “Magic School??”

October, 2004

Magic School

“Wyatt!” Piper yelled as she burst into the old hall, “Where’s Wyatt!?”

An Attendant appeared from nowhere, looking puzzled. “He isn’t here, Miss Halliwell... He was sent home a short while ago... everything checked out, didn’t he arrive?”

“He did NOT.” Piper said flatly, then turned and rushed away.

The attendant paled and watched as Piper Halliwell stormed back out.

“Oh dear.”

October 2004

Halliwell Manor

“He’s not there.” Piper stated, nearing a panic state as she rushed back in. “Leo! Leo!”

“Now what is she doing!?” Xander asked, throwing up his hands.

“Long story, just go with it.” Paige advised.

A pillar of light coalesced into the shape of a man who turned to Piper, “You called?”

“Good advice.” Xander nodded dumbly.

“Wyatt’s missing.”

“What!?” Leo asked sharply. “When? How?”

Xander sighed, “I’m probably going to regret this... But who’s Captain Kirk?”

Paige snickered, despite the situation. “Piper’s husband... ermm... Ex... kinda, sorta.”

Piper, meanwhile, was giving Leo the rundown and the man was growing increasingly angry with each passing word. When she was done he nodded, “I’m going down there. I’ll find out who hired the Golchar demon...”

With that he vanished again into a pillar of lights.

“Wow. He didn’t even need a communicator.” Xander said, impressed.

Paige, meanwhile, made a note not to orb in front of Xander if she could help it. She didn’t want to hear what kind of jokes he’d make at her expense.

“I’ll get a scrying spell ready... Just in case Wyatt’s in range.” Phoebe announced, then she ran upstairs.

“I’ll check our inventory.” Paige jumped up. “We may need some of the rarer ingredients this time...”

“Right.” Piper nodded, “I’m taking Chris back to Magic School... Whoever it was must have intercepted Wyatt somehow... maybe I can find out how.”

Xander and Prue were left alone in the room.

Xander shrugged and sighed, “You mind showing me the basement? Since there’s nothing I can do about Wyatt I may as well fix the wall.”

Prue hesitated, looking around as if lost, and sighed finally. “Yeah... it’s just this way.”

Leo materialized in a familiar section of the underworld, already moving as the orbing effect dropped away from him, and burst into the open cave.

“Where is he!?”

A demon looked up, annoyed, and flung an energy ball at him.

Leo sidestepped it easily, then stepped into the demon’s subsequent lunge and shoved a dagger into it’s heart.

As the demon melted into the floor, the Seer looked over her pool and down at the melting demon with an annoyed look on her face.

“Oh great! Couldn’t you have waited until he paid me at least?” She demanded in annoyance.

Leo growled grabbing her boy the throat. “My son. Where is he?”

“Urkk...” The Seer gurgled a little bit before relaxing again despite the grip. She smirked at him despite being throttled, “Didn’t we already go through this, Leo?”

“We’ll go through it just as many times as it takes.” Leo told her evenly. “Until every demon gets it through their thick skulls that my Sons are off limits!”

The Seer shrugged in his grip, “I thought that had already happened.”

“Apparently not.”

“Are you so certain?” She smirked, “Maybe it’s someone a little ‘higher’? Like the last time...”

Leo let her go roughly, half turning away. “Wyatt, Piper, and I have patched that up. It’s not the same.”

“Well then,” The Seer said as she approached her pool. A wave of her hand set it shimmering, “Maybe it’s someone with a specific grudge...”

Leo looked at the pool as it formed an image, then he growled out in anger and orbed right out.

The Seer shook her head, smirking slightly at the space he’d vacated. “Oh, this is just too good.”

Piper was trailing slowly through the grand hall of Magic School, feeling for the place where he son had left.

She was growing more and more frustrated, the thin thread she was looking for continued to evade her, vanishing into the ether just as she thought she’d grasped it. Like it wasn’t quite in sync with her, or with...

Piper’s eyes flashed in uncontrolled ire and she suddenly turned and strode out of the hall.

“Miss Halliwell? Uh... Miss Halliwell??”

“Keep Chris here.” She said, not looking back. “Don’t let anyone in or out until I come back.”

With that she vanished from Magic School and the assistant fumbled around for a bit and looked flustered as he spoke. “Umm... Yes Ma’am.”

Xander wrenched the two by four joists out of the wall where Prue had planted them and was pleasantly surprised the see that they were intact and not shattered or broken. He shuddered at the level of power that would have taken, considering that the force would have to have been applied evenly across the boards or they’d have splintered for sure.

Instead they’d simply pulled clear of the nails, then flew across the room and embeded their blunt ends right through the demon and the wall.

<Nasty.> Xander thought admiringly.

It made his work easier anyway, as he fitted the same wood back into place with a few wacks of a hammer and nails. Once that was done he cut a square of the ruined drywall out, then carefully cut himself a matching one from the sheet he’d found in the basement.

After that it was just a matter of carefully fitting the new piece into place, nail it in using some of the drywall nails he’d found next to the board, and finally apply a coat of plaster to fill in the cracks and smooth out the section.

<Just like home after Dad lost a job.> He thought in a sort of bitter satisfaction as he put away his tools and stepped back.

“Not bad.”

Xander glanced up to see Phoebe smiling at him with a definite tinge of ‘smirkdom’ in her face. “Thanks. So what’s so funny?”

She shrugged, “Just wondering what it says about us that our handymen are able to teleport and heal, or catch fireballs with their bare hands.”

Xander smirked back, “That you helpless women are uncommonly good at conning us big strong guys into doing your dirty work?”

“Ooo....” She shook her head, “You’re gonna pay for that one.”

“I look forward to it.” Xander winked.

“Did you find anything?” Prue broke into the flirting, rolling her eyes.

Phoebe frowned, “No. I can’t scrye Wyatt anywhere.”

“I can explain that.” Leo growled as he orbed into the room.

“So can I.” Piper snapped. “Tempus?”

“Tempus.” Leo nodded.

Prue paled, “I thought he was vanquished?”

“Some demons are a little more stubborn the others.” Piper growled. “What’s his game this time?”

“No way to tell.” Leo said, “But we have to find him before he hurts Wyatt.”

Elsewhere

“Damnable child.” The Demon Tempus growled as it paced around the bright blue bubble surrounded Wyatt Halliwell, “You can’t stay in there forever.”

******

Halliwell Manor

“There has to be a way.” Prue said, frowning.

“Tempus doesn’t have to hide in the here and now...” Leo muttered, “He can fold time, create a bubble that’s impervious to scrying...”

“We have to find him!” Piper snapped.

“Wouldn’t a fold like that be noticeable?”

They all looked up to where Xander was leaning against a wall and frowning.

“This is a family matter...” Piper started, but Leo cut her off, his eyes widening.

“He’s right.”

“What?”

“He’s right.” Leo nodded, standing up. “If Tempus has carved out a pocket of time for himself, we might not be able to find Wyatt directly... But we should be able to scrye for the effects of the bubble.”

“Hey yeah...” Paige nodded, thinking about it. “It’s got to be playing havoc with the local balance of nature around it, right? I mean, it’s not something that is supposed to exist... So he’s got to be powering it, right?”

“Right.” Leo nodded grimly. “And that means...”

“We’ve got him.” Piper growled.

Elsewhere

“Such a good little boy.” Tempus said oilily, head calmly tilted as he smiled unnaturally at Wyatt. “Why don’t you come out and play with your uncle Tempus?”

The new tact wasn’t working much better then the old one, but Tempus was patient.

Golden Gate Bridge

The group landed on the top of the structure, the wind baffling around them as they looked around.

“Oh man.” Xander’s stomach lurched as he looked down. “Maybe I should have stayed back at the manor...”

Prue smirked, then slapped him on the back. “Come on, Xander. Toughen up.”

Xander lurched forward, then clawed back desperately away from the edge. “Don’t DO that!”

“Would you two stop clowning around!?” Piper growled. “We have to open a hole into the time pocket and it’s not going to be easy...”

They nodded and fell back, watching as the other sisters prepared their spell.

As they muttered the incantation, Xander’s eyes flicked over to Prue, and he was worried by what he saw there. There was a mixture of emotions that he recognized, including loss, sadness, and even a touch of helplessness... but she was also deeply angry, and he followed her gaze to the back of Paige’s head, and it worried him.

He silently stretched out a hand and took her’s, clasping it tightly.

Prue looked over at him in surprise, and he squeezed, nodding at her seriously.

She smiled softly after a second and squeezed back.

Then they both turned to look at the gaping portal that was opening.

Elsewhere

Tempus looked sharply to his right as he paused in his attempts to penetrate Wyatt’s shield, glaring into the nothingness that was there.

After a moment he forced an oily smile and shrugged.

“So soon?” He asked softly as the group of six people appeared from the mists.

“I’m here for my *son*.” Piper Halliwell, easily the most powerful of the Charmed Ones demanded, and Tempus simply smiled at her knowingly.

“Well, here he is... Safe and sound...”

She took a step forward, but he suddenly cast his right hand about. “Ah... Not so... fast.”

And time warped around them as Tempus did what it was that he did.

******

Piper growled as Tempus waved his hand and decided to do a little hand waving of her own. She brought her hands up and tapped her power, snapping out the motion with practiced speed.

Just as she finished the motion, though, Tempus seemed to blur and then he wasn’t where she was aiming.

A harmless explosion of air chuffed where he had been, and suddenly he right up beside her and she felt his hand brush her cheek.

Furious, Piper waved her hand at him again, only to have him blur once more and vanish.

******

Tempus smiled as he watched his collection move against the power of his spell. It was child’s play to dodge the attack of the lead Witch, all he had to do was simply move. She couldn’t possibly keep up with him at her current rate of time.

He looked over the others with mild interest until he came to one of the ones in the back.

“Prudence?” He said softly, eyes wide with surprise. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

Prue felt a brush of a hand on her cheek and flinched away from the unexpected touch, turning to see that it was Tempus and he was right beside her, looking at her intently.

She snapped a hand out on reflex, unleashing her telekinetic power, but hit nothing but air as the demon vanished into a blur and fled outside her field of vision.

Tempus watched the back of the witch turn as she tried to follow him, humming lightly to himself as he examined this scenario.

It certainly wasn’t what he’d expected.

He was expecting to see the Charmed Ones, but not the Ex-Charmed One.

He walked slowly around her, staying always one step out of her field of view.

“Prudence, Prudence, Prudence...” He said softly, idly thumbing his chin. “Now how in time did you get here?”

“Tsk tsk tsk...” The Time Demon shook his head, looking over the four witches after a moment. “This won’t do at all... Their can’t be *four* Charmed Ones... It’s just not... symmetrical.”

He idly walked through the group, sidestepping another attempt by the Witch who’s powers mirrored his own to blow him up, and laid a hand on the heads of each of the four in succession.

“Which one shall die?” He mused as he walked, laying a hand on their heads in turn. “Eenie Meenie Miny... Moe.”

He stopped in front of one, smirking. “Oh yes... The Mother...Perfect.”

He stepped out of the way of another of her blasts, then glanced up to see Prue waving her hand again and casually stepped up to Piper and nudged her into the path of the attack.

Xander glared at the blur as it moved around, largely ignoring him in favor of the girls, trying to follow it with his eyes but the damned thing kept managing to squeeze past him. Then it stopped and sharpened into view over next to Piper.

He watched as the blur seemed to push her over slightly, but didn’t pay attention to that.

He laid all his focus onto the demon now, and tapped the fire burning inside him since Sunnydale.

“Burn.” He said in a low voice.

“Burn.”

The hoarse whisper took Tempus by surprise, and he spun around to see where it was coming from.

His eyes widened as he saw one of the men staring right at him.

“Buuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrrrnnnnnnnnnn” The voice whispered a second time.

Tempus’ eyes widened as he recognized the man, then shook his head.

“Not possible. He’s supposed to be in...”

That was when the flames flicked up his clothes and then, suddenly he burst into a raging inferno. The Time Demon spun around, ripping his jacket off as he beat at the flames, and lost his focus.

And time returned to it’s normal pace.

Prue watched in Horror as the demon and Piper seemed to shift positions of a sudden, but couldn’t check her attack in time as her hand snapped out.

Piper was lifted off her feet and flung forward by the force, crashing right into the still elevated force field her eldest son was maintaining. She bounced back in a crashing display of light and magic and skidded to the floor in a ragdoll.

“Piper!” Prue’s voice cracked in anguish as she threw herself on the ground, sliding to her fallen sister. “Piper... talk to me... Please...”

Tempus beat out the last of the flames just as he wound up on the receiving end of a savate kick to the face that landed him on his back.

He looked up just in time to roll out of the way as a heel strike landed where his head had been. The Witch was moving in for a followup strike when an agonized cry distracted her.

“Piper!!”

Phoebe paused, hands still up in a fighting stance as she half turned her head and paled to see Piper lying on the ground behind her while Prue and Leo kneeled over her. She spun back around in time to catch Tempus by the head and slam her knee into his face.

“What did you DO!?” She growled in fury.

“Me?” He asked, putting on a very bad picture of innocence. “Nothing at all.”

“Liar!” Phoebe screamed, hitting him again.

Prue was sobbing behind her, and the sound sent a chill down her spine.

Prue never sobbed.

Never.

She slammed another kick into the demon’s face and turned around as he crumpled to the ground. “Guys...?”

Leo was pale and deathly as he looked up and slowly shook his head. “She’s dead.”

Prue collapsed beside her fallen sister, shaking her head. “I didn’t mean to... I didn’t... I didn’t...”

“Didn’t mean to what!?” Phoebe asked, shock setting in. She couldn’t process it, she couldn’t accept that Piper was dead.

It wasn’t possible.

“Why, kill her own sister of course.”

Phoebe spun around to see Tempus standing calmly just out of her reach, smiling at them. She paled, “You’re lying...”

“No. He’s not.” Prue uttered from the floor, her voice sell shocked as she looked up. “It was me. I did it.”

Tempus smiled in satisfaction. “Well, it’s been a gas... but I do believe that my work here is done. For the *time* being.”

“Oh no you don’t...” Leo Wyatt snarled as he charged across the space and tackled the Time Demon.

The two of them tumbled to the floor, snarling and grappling as the Charmed Ones stared in shock at their Fallen Sister.

Paige shook her head, “I... How...”

Prue shuddered, her head moving side to side in shock. “I don’t know! I was aiming for Tempus and then... then Piper was just... there.”

“He changed places with her.” Xander said coldly, walking past the huddle of women, intent on the demon. “Wasn’t your fault Prue. It’s his fault.”

Leo’s rage was impressive for a pacifist and he hammered his fists into the cursing and struggling demon without regard for his own life, his yelling incoherent as tears streamed down his cheeks.

“But don’t worry.” Xander told the sisters, “He won’t hurt anyone ever again.”

Phoebe looked up as Xander moved closer, seeing flames flicker in his dark eyes, and knew that he was about to do something... nasty.

“Leo.” Xander said calmly, “When you’re through pummeling him... step aside.”

A flicker of flame licked along the floor around Xander’s feet as he glared at the demon, and the tone of his voice even penetrated the grief stricken mind of Leo Wyatt. He looked back at Xander and saw the fires, then down at Tempus, then he got up.

He kicked the demon one last time and turned to Xander. “Make it hurt.”

“No problem.” Xander’s eyes were ablaze but his voice was ice.

“NO!!” Phoebe screamed just as Xander was about to fry the demon.

Xander half turned, “Why not!?”

“He can reverse time! Make it so this never happened!” She told him.

Xander slowly turned back to the demon, eyes still flickering with flame but now with a calculating look to them. “Is that true?”

“Never gonna happen.” Tempus smiled nastily.

Leo lunged at him again, yanking up to his feet and slamming him around into the wall of the fold place they were in. “You want to make a bet on that!?”

Tempus just laughed at him.

“Hold him still.” Xander said softly, shifting his focus.

Tempus and Leo glanced over in surprise as Xander reached down and grabbed the demon’s hand. He lifted it up and slowly folded down all of the demon’s fingers except the pinky. After a few seconds Leo felt Tempus lurch and start to struggle, but he held him tight as he stared in shock at the demon’s finger.

It began to bubble and blacken, smoke curling up from the finger as Xander just stared. Then the skin burst and bubbling blood flowed and down over the demon’s hand.

And Tempus screamed.

“You have nine more fingers.” Xander told him after a moment, glaring into the demon’s eyes, then glancing down. “And ten toes. Then I’ll start working on whatever’s left.”

The demon didn’t respond, So Xander grabbed another finger and slowly forced it up. As he started to focus on the appendage, Tempus broke.

“Alright! Alright! I’ll do it!”

Time turned back, the stars and earth spinning in reverse as Tempus worked his magic, making all that was... is.

24 hours earlier

Halliwell Manor - San Francisco, California

The black custom Chopper rumbled to a stop just as a cab squealed up to the curb, and Xander nodded as he saw a shaken Prue Halliwell climb out, pay the driver, and rush over in his direction.

“Have you...”

“I just got here.” Xander said, shaking his head.

She nodded, still pale, but they joined together and quickly moved up the path to the house. At the door, Prue didn’t stop she just barreled right in and almost bowled Paige over as the other girl was coming out.

“Hey! What gives!” Paige complained.

“We have to get Wyatt!” Prue snapped, pushing past her.

Paige spun around, “Wait! Wyatt?? Why?”

“You don’t remember!?” Prue froze, glaring back.

“Remember what?”

“We don’t have time for explanations right now.” Xander said as he pushed past her. “Let’s get to Piper, Prue.”

“Right.” Prue nodded, then turned around and rushed in.

“Hey! Who are you anyway!?” Paige shouted after Xander, then chased him into the kitchen.

Elsewhere

Tempus cursed and flung his hourglass away in frustration as he clenched his hand in pain. The wound was gone, but the phantom pains of the burn would remain for some time.

The Time Demon knew that his time was limited now.

The Charmed Ones would find him, they would hunt him to the ends of the earth to protect the child.

He had to act.

Immediately.

Halliwell Manor

Piper Haliwell looked up in shock as Prue burst into the kitchen, “What the hell!?”

“Piper, get Wyatt!”

“What? No.” Piper shook her head, “I don’t know what your game is, but don’t try to boss me around, Prue. I’m not...”

“Piper, Listen to me!” Prue growled, “Tempus is back. He’s after Wyatt... He’ll grab him from Magic School in a couple hours if we don’t move soon. He may already be moving... He knows that we know...”

Piper paled, “Tempus? He can’t... Magic School is...”

“You said that he must have grabbed Wyatt in transit.” Xander interjected. “But we don’t have time to argue about it...”

“Just who the hell are you?” Piper glared at him.

“He’s a friend.” Prue snapped, “Listen to him... Tempus grabbed Wyatt... we tracked him down but during the fight there was...”

Prue paled even more, and looked away.

“There was what??” Piper asked, looking at her sister with concern.

“An accident.” Xander said flatly. “You died. I ‘convinced’ Tempus to give us another crack at it, but if we know... HE knows.”

Piper and Paige both paled, and finally nodded.

“Alright... I’ll take Chris and go to Magic School to check on Wyatt...” Piper said shakily.

“I’ll call in Phoebe.” Paige replied.

Prue nodded, shaking with relief as her sisters rushed out. She looked over at Xander, “Thank you.”

“It was nothing.” Xander said simply.

“Oh it was something alright.” Prue sighed, leaning against the door of the fridge.

“Hey...” Xander said softly, turning to look at her. “You alright?”

She nodded, shivering. “I just really hate this bastard.”

Xander nodded, “I can understand that.”

Prue shook her head, “No. No you can’t. The last time we saw him... I lost someone very special to me... and this time...”

She started shaking again.

“Oh God. I killed Piper.” Prue said, hugging herself.

“Hey...” Xander said urgently, gently holding her shoulders, then pulling her closer as she shook against him. “It’s alright. We’re gonna be alright...”

Paige came rushing back in just then, talking as she slid her phone into a pocket. “Alright, Phoebe’s on her way home and...”

She slid to a stop and stared, “Umm... Sorry, I’ll just wait outside...”

“It’s ok.” Xander flashed her a smile. “Let’s get ready.”

“Wyatt!” Piper cried out, rushing over to her son as her assistant came running up behind her.

“Miss Halliwell... We were just about to send Wyatt home...”

“No!” She shouted, scaring the mousey man. “No. Keep him here, and look after Chris too, ok?”

“Uh... Certainly, Ma’am... May I ask what’s going on?”

“Demon trouble.” Piper said icily as she walked out.

Phoebe Haliwell rushed into the Manor House just as Piper returned, and the Charmed Ones shared a glance as they looked at their sister and the stranger.

“Alright... What’s going on?” Phoebe asked.

Xander looked up, “A demon. Goes by the name Tempus.”

Phoebe paled and swallowed. “Tempus?”

“Yeah. It was him.” Prue said, stronger now, but still a little shaky.

Each time she’d encountered Tempus, someone had died. Phoebe didn’t like the idea of dealing with him again. The First time, it had been Andy. The second, it was Prue.

“Where is he?” She asked softly.

“Some time fold dealy over the Golden Gate.” Xander said.

“Umm... Not to be rude here,” She said, looking at him. “But who the hell are you?”

“Xander Harris.” He said, smiling briefly. “Nice to meet you again for the first time, Phoebe.”

“Alright...” Piper glared. “We know where he is... Let’s go get him.”

Golden Gate

The shimmering glow dropped five figures on the top of the bridge structure, and the wind battered and baffled around them as Piper, Paige, and Phoebe moved forward and quickly located the fold in space time.

Gaining entrance was easily done, but when they slipped in, they found it empty.

Piper looked down as she came to a stop in the fold, and kicked over a broken hour glass.

“It was Tempus alright...” She growled.

“Yeah,” Paige replied, “But where’d he go?”

“I don’t know.” Piper said, “But he’s NOT getting my son.”

“Leo!” Piper yelled as soon as they had dropped back off in the Manor. “Get your disenchanted Elder BUTT down here!”

As the shimmer of light that was Leo Wyatt coalesced into sight, Xander grinned.

“Well beam me down Scotty.” He said, to the amusement of Paige.

Her amusement was short lived, though, when he turned on her. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about you... tsk tsk tsk...”

He wagged a finger at her.

“Last time around you didn’t tell me you could do the Captain Kirk thing too...”

“Gee, I wonder why?”

“What’s going on, Piper??” Leo asked, after staring at Xander for a long moment. “And who’s that?”

“Never mind him.” Piper growled, “Tempus is back... He grabbed Wyatt...”

“What!?” Leo snapped, “I’ll find...”

“No no no! Wyatt’s safe...”

“Huh? What?”

“Long story,” She told him. “We need to find Tempus before he tries again. Can you help?”

Leo shifted uncertainly, “Maybe.”

“Well get to it.” Piper said, “Who knows what he’ll try next.”

“Right...” Leo nodded and vanished in a spray of light.

“You know...” Phoebe said as he left, “There’s one thing bothering me about this...”

“Only one?” Xander asked with a comical expression.

She shrugged, “Only one for now... And that is, if we were all there when he reset time... Why do only you and Prue remember?”

Elsewhere

“Blast!”

Tempus cursed as he stood, shifted just outside time.

“How did they get here so fast...” The Time demon shook his head. “Impossible.”

He eyed the people milling about the manor house and focused on two of them in particular. Two very special people.

One was supposed to be dead, and the other was supposed to be on a different continent.

Tempus frowned, reaching out and cupping a section of the air with a sweeping motion. An image appeared in his hand, and he examined it carefully for a moment before looking back at the dark haired young man.

“Alexander Lavelle Harris.” Tempus muttered, “You are not supposed to be here. You never met the Charmed Ones... You were supposed to die in Africa in 2005... Unmourned and unlamented... Why are you HERE?”

Someone was mucking with the timeline, and Tempus didn’t like that one little bit. Messing with time was HIS job.

Bringing Prudence Halliwell back was bad enough, she was a powerful witch, but at least as the odd woman out among the Charmed Ones she couldn’t do much in the way of serious trouble making. Saving Alexander Harris from the ignominity of his exile to Africa... THAT was intolerable.

Tempus knew that The First and The Source had conspired very detailed plans to eliminate Mr Harris from their plans. It was rare that any human dedicate himself to fighting demons, rarer still that any of them actually *mean* it when they swear that vow. Most simply lose interest and retire, or die relatively quickly.

The ones who don’t are far too dangerous to let live.

Alexander Harris was one of those.

Blessed or cursed, depending on how you look at it, with the ability to survive despite the most ridiculous odds, and with just a hint of the inner eye that all humans held, but few used. The boy could zero in on the sole demon in a room of a thousand, though he didn’t realize it, and manage to attach himself to said demon until it inadvertently revealed itself.

Free Will.

Tempus spat in annoyance on the ground.

Humans had it, demons... and even Witches, didn’t.

Luckily most humans pissed it away along with the rest of their miserable existence, not even realizing that they had the most precious commodity in the universe. Was it any wonder that the traffic in human souls was so extensive? Not only did they ignore their own gifts, but they were willing to sell those same gifts in exchange for trinkets.

It was to laugh.

The most powerful ability in existence, and they traded it like some base commodity.

The Time Demon sighed.

Of course, that only made the rare individual who used his gifts all the more dangerous. There was some universal law, Tempus was certain, that stated that the rarer something was, the more powerful it became. It even worked in mundane matters, the demon thought.

One nuclear bomb was a weapon of nearly unimaginable might, ten thousand... were museum pieces.

And right now, he was looking at a thermo-nuclear device that was *supposed* to have been disabled, disarmed, and on it’s way to be dismantled.

It certainly *wasn’t* supposed to be sitting right there in the hands of the CHARMED ONES.

“What do you mean, *nothing*!?” Piper Haliwell snapped.

“He’s not just any demon, Piper.” Leo muttered, “Tempus is one of the Demon Lords... Why do you think he’s never *stayed* vanquished? Only the Source and the First and demons of their ilk are more powerful... and even that is more a matter of semantics...”

“Don’t talk to me about semantics!” Piper snapped, “He tried to take our son!”

“I know that, and we’ll get him.” Leo said soothingly. “It’s just going to take some work.”

Piper growled, turning away, but Leo followed her and began rubbing her shoulders. “We’ll get him. Believe me... As soon as he uses his powers near any of us, he’ll be visible. We’ll get him.”

Piper nodded, but didn’t say anything.

“So... Witch huh? How’s that working for you?” Xander asked Prue, settling in to the couch beside her as they seemed to have a little down time.

She shrugged, “Sometimes it feels like a real *curse*.”

“Ouch,” Xander winced. “Bad pun.”

“Captain Kirk?” Prue looked at him pointedly.

“Point.” He conceded, smiling.

“How’d you get into this?” She asked him after a moment.

Xander shrugged, “Best friend was turned by a vamp three years... ah shit, well three years ago my time. I guess it was...”

Xander had to stop and think, trying to count back from 2004. “Umm... Damn. Nine years ago.”

Prue nodded, “I’m sorry.”

“Nothing you can do.” Xander told her with a half smile. “Anyway, I started fighting them then, and I’ve never stopped... except for the enforced vacation we both got.”

Prue smiled, nodding. “Yeah.”

“You?” Xander asked her.

Prue had to think about that. Truth was, she didn’t have a choice, or at least she never seemed to have any choice in her lifestyle. Demons had always sought her out, or the Innocent had appeared in their laps, looking for help. She sighed, “Since my powers were reactivated my sisters and I were constantly attacked by demons... We didn’t really have much choice.”

Xander nodded, “Yeah. Seen that. No fun.”

“No. It’s not.” She agreed, “Where’d you see it?”

“Friend of mine. She was all up in the mystic warrior stuff,” Xander said vaguely. “Brought out the whole gunslinger effect...”

“What?”

“Gunslinger effect,” Xander smirked, “You know... When you’re the fastest gun in the west, every two bit yahoo wants to take your title?”

“Ahhh...” Prue nodded, “Yeah. Ok, I get that.”

“She never had a real choice either.” Xander said softly. “It was fight or die... so she fought... Maybe even harder then she really had to.”

“Sounds like quite a woman.” Prue said softly in return.

“She was...”

“She’s dead?”

Xander thought about it, wondering if Buffy was dead or alive. He shuddered, then just shrugged. “I don’t know. I couldn’t find any trace of her in Sunnydale... Of any of them...”

“I’m sorry.” Prue said again.

“It’s ok.”

“What are you going to do now?” She asked him after a moment.

“After the Tempus guy is dealt with, I’m going on the road again.” He told her.

“Why?”

Xander shook his head, “I don’t know... Just... a feeling. Like I can’t stay in place anywhere or something bad is gonna happen.”

Prue didn’t know what to say to that, it wasn’t something she could comment on. “Oh.”

“Besides,” Xander went on, “There are demons in other places... and I’m a hunter. I’m going to hunt them.”

“Why?”

Prue saw a hard glint shine in his eyes as Xander turned to look at her.

“Because they hunt us.”

He delivered the line with such calm equanimity that for a moment Prue felt the inevitability of Xander’s intent wash over her. Then it was gone, and she shivered and just nodded.

Tempus looked over his hastily gathered force of demons and warlocks, shaking his head as he considered how pitiful such a force would be against even the Charmed Ones.

With his help, though, they would be a force to be reckoned with.

“Remember... The young man is the target.” Tempus told them again. “The Charmed Ones are incidental.”

“Who is this guy?” One of the demons growled out. “He can’t be that powerful. I say we take the Charmed Ones first, THEN rips this human apart...”

“Don’t underestimate him... and don’t question my orders...” Tempus snapped back, a flash of light appearing in his hand, “Unless you’d like to spend the rest of eternity caught in a two minute time loop.”

The demon settled down, not saying anything further.

“Not that I need to explain myself to you, but no... The man isn’t as powerful as the Charmed Ones... But that doesn’t mean he isn’t dangerous...” The Time Demon rubbed his finger unconsciously. “He must be eliminated. The one who delivers his head will be well rewarded.”

The demons grumbled in interest and Tempus smiled thinly. “And the powers of the Charmed Ones will be added to the pot as well...”

This time they were more enthused, and Tempus had to hide his annoyance.

Any demon with a sliver of a brain knew that the powers of the Charmed Ones did one absolutely no good if one was dead. And yet these fools honestly thought that they’d be the ones to take the lives of the most powerful white witches in centuries.

<Fools.>

Out loud, Tempus merely smiled. “Then let us make out move...”

“And just remember...” He told them, “My power rides with you... to victory.”

“To Victory!!” Some of them yelled.

As the demons shimmered out, Tempus rolled his eyes and sighed. <Fools.>

The first demon shimmered into the living room just as Paige and Phoebe walked in with an armful of potion ingredients apiece.

“Witch!” The demon growled, forming a ball of lightning in it’s hand as it glared at the two of them.

Then it was ripped off it’s feet and thrown hard into a wall as the two Witches hastily set their stuff down and let out a yell. “Piper! Leo!”

Prue was holding it in place as she strode forward, Xander right on her heel.

Abruptly the demon began to scream as smoke began pouring from under it’s skin, then it suddenly burst into flames and vanished as vanquished demons normally do. Prue let up her hold and glanced at Xander, “Was that you?”

He nodded, but looked around warily. “Watch for it... Last time Tempus used more then one...”

“Right.”

A Warlock appeared right beside Phoebe a moment later, as if to prove the relevance of that statement, startling the young Witch, but not enough for her to forget her training.

“Hiyaaa!” She snapped, sending a reverse kick into the equally startled Warlock’s chest as he fell back and fell on his own knife.

The dead creature of darkness vanished into nothingness while Phoebe stared down at the spot where it had fallen and blinked. “Well that was kind of a let down...”

“Stop complaining!” Paige snapped as another demon appeared from nowhere. “We’ve got incoming!”

“What is going on... Oh! Oh! Demon!” Piper yelled, snapping her hands reflexively and blowing the demon apart with a motion. “That was NOT Tempus!”

“No kidding.” Prue snapped back, “Obviously he’s sending in some decoys to keep us distracted...”

“Or soften us up...” Xander offered.

“Or that.” Prue nodded.

“Distracted?? From what?” Piper looked around, “Wyatt and Chris are at Magic School... Demons can’t go there!”

“I don’t know!” Prue growled, turning slowly around as her mind raced. “Maybe he’s not after Wyatt afterall...”

“Well then why would he grab...” Piper trailed off as the sisters looked at each other.

“The Book of Shadows!” They yelled at the same time.

“The book of what??” Xander looked around in confusion.

“Nevermind...” Prue said, “We have to get...”

Three more demons, these ones all identical, shimmered in around them.

One blew up a second later as a second howled in pain before bursting into flames and melting, and the last one was thrown unceremoniously into a wall just before being abruptly rent limb from limb as Prue got angry.

“Ewwww!” Paige griped as she got spattered by demon gore.

“Oops.” Prue blinked, “I didn’t mean to do that.”

“Worry later.” Piper snapped, “To the attic!”

The group all broke and ran for the steps, only to be waylaid by another two demons in their path. Piper hit one with her power, but it only blasted it back against a wall, and it got back up again.

“We’ll never get there through all of these!” She complained.

“Go ahead!” Prue yelled, “I’ll hold them off!”

“What!? Are you crazy? They’ll slaughter you!” Paige yelled, actually looking worried.

“We’ll be fine!” Xander stepped in close to Prue, flame flickering in his eyes. “GO!”

“Come on!” Piper ordered, shoving the other two Charmed Ones up the stairs ahead of her as another four demons shimmered in around her sister and Xander.

As the sisters rushed up the stairs, one of the demons tried to ambush them near the top, only to suddenly be yanked forcibly from the stairs, through the banister, and smash solidly into the hardwood floor below.

At the top they paused for an instant to watch as Xander and Prue shifted back to back, dealing death to anything in their range.

“Whoa.” Phoebe muttered, staring down.

“Later!” Piper growled, shoving from behind. “Book! Now!”

Tempus stepped back into time in the Halliwell attic and looked at the coveted Book of Shadows with a slightly displeased expression.

The inital plan had been beautiful, though a tad complicated.

Twisting the mind of a child, even one as powerful as Wyatt Halliwell, wasn’t particularly difficult. Once he’d dropped his shield, Tempus could easily have gotten inside and done remarkable things to the child. Then Wyatt Halliwell, the Charmed One’s progeny, would have easily been induced to take their coveted book of Shadows.

Now, however, things were a great deal more annoying.

The sounds of the battle beneath him told Tempus that the demons were well on their way to being destroyed, which meant that he didn’t have much time.

Being Evil, he couldn’t hope to touch the book himself, and the level of magic it would take to shield himself didn’t bear thinking upon... However, he had little choice, so the Time Demon approached what was one of the most coveted Tomes of Magic in existence, refusing to flinch back even when the aura of the book became visible, it’s intensity painful to him.

“You will belong to me...” He whispered to the book, “Whether you like it or not. And once you are away from this house, you will no longer have the power to harm me.”

He slowly stretched out his hands, a counter glow from his own aura attacking the energy of the book as he sought to temporarily bind it’s power from harming him.

And then the doors burst open and the Charmed Ones rushed in.

“Well this is fun!” Xander called over his shoulder as a Warlock vanished screaming into fire in front of him. “You do this often?”

“Every... Damn... Week!” Prue growled, each pause signifying the painful end of a demon.

The two of them were slowly turning around each other, with demons laid out in concentric circles around them as they fought back to back.

“Cool!” Xander grinned, “Just like home!”

“I pity you your upbringing.” Prue grunted, but was unable to keep the humor out of her voice.

Xander shuddered against her back, and his voice was a little darker when he spoke. “You and me both. Mom and Dad had their own demons to fight, and they never seemed to win.”

Prue wanted to ask him what he meant by that, but was distracted by another demon before she could get the words out. The demon paid for the distraction with his life as Prue hit him from three sides simultaneously, ripping him apart under the stress.

After a moment the two of them realized that the attack was over.

The living room was in shambles, torn apart from Prue’s magic, or scorched by Xander’s fire, but the wave of demons had ceased.

“Is that it?” Xander asked, looking around.

“I think so...”

The two of them looked at each other, then stared upstairs as a scream echoed down the stairs.

They both bolted for the stairs at a flat out run.

Prue and Xander burst into the Attic in time to see the Charmed Ones begin to chant as the faced off against Tempus, Demon Lord of Time.

Tempus himself wasn’t going quietly, power of three or not, but his attempt to twist time had been blocked by a counter spell from Phoebe who had been expecting it this time. And so as the Charmed Ones chanted their power of three spell, all the demon could do was yell as the vortex opened up and swallowed him.

“This isn’t over, Witches!!”

Then he was gone and the attic suddenly fell silent as the vortex vanished, and the book of Shadows flipped closed.

“Whoa.” Xander nodded, again impressed. “Transporters, and now wormholes. We’ve moved from Kirk to Sisko.”

“Oh.... Shutup.” Piper growled at him, trying to keep from chuckling as everyone snickered around her.

Two Days Later

Halliwell Manor, San Francisco

“You don’t have to do this, Prue.” Piper said softly.

“Yeah...” Prue nodded slowly, “I kinda do.”

She hefted a pack with her camera bag and a new laptop computer, courtesy of ‘Ask Phoebe’, and hugged her little sister. “You’ve got things well in hand, Piper...”

Then she looked over at Paige, and nodded, “And you’ve got the Power of Three... I guess I just need to find something for me.”

“You could do that here...” Phoebe said, looking sad but resigned.

“No... I think I need to get out... have some fun.” Prue smiled, “Seems to me someone once told me that if I didn’t do it while I was young, I’d regret it.”

Phoebe nodded, remembering their old arguments. “Email me.”

“And call.” Piper’s eyes flashed.

“Will do.” Prue turned to Paige, nodding to the younger woman. “Take care of them for me. I’ll be back to check up on you.”

Paige looked a little apprehensive until Prue winked, then she relaxed and smiled. “I will. And you be careful.”

Prue nodded, “I will.”

Then, surprisingly the two half-sister quickly hugged, which then turned into a group hug, and went on for several long moments. Finally Prue broke away, “I... I’ve got go.”

They nodded and she walked out.

Outside, Xander watched as Prue walked towards him. “You sure about this?”

She nodded, “Yeah. Thanks for letting me tag along.”

“No problem.” He smiled, “I’ll enjoy the company.”

Prue smiled, brushing a lock of hair from her forehead as she pulled a black open face helmet down over her head, then climbed on behind him.

Xander revved the engine of the Chopper a couple times, then shifted it into gear. As they pulled away from the curb, both riders waved a good bye to the three sisters standing in front of the old Manor house.

Then they were away.

Chapter 3

Las Vegas, Nevada

October, 2004

The roar of motorcycles was still ringing in their ears when Xander cut the engine on the chopper and kicked down the stand. Around them were several hundred, if not thousand, other bikers from all walks of life. The convention city to end all convention cities was hosting one of the many annual biker gatherings that occurred around the country, and when they’d heard about it on the road just north of the California border, Xander and Prue had decided that Vegas was as good a destination as any other.

“I’ll check us in.” Prue told him as Xander stretched a bit and pulled a clean rag from where it was tucked in the seat.

He nodded, taking his gargoyle’s off and wiping his face down. “I’ll be close.”

She nodded and moved off to the motel office while Xander fitted the lenses back over his eyes and looked over the gathering of humanity that was swarming around him. Most of them were dressed roughly similar to himself, in leather armor designed to protect against leaving ones indispensable organs laying on the pavement after a crash.

Some of them looked more the part then others though and Xander picked them out of the crowd easily enough. The ‘real’ bikers that actually made up less then one percent of the population of the community, yet garnered over 99 percent of the attention.

Prue had swung a deal with some contacts of a friend of Phoebe’s in the publishing business, and had secured a position as an independent photographer, working mostly freelance. What that boiled down to was that she took pictures of whatever she wanted, and if any of them caught the eyes of the boss, they’d buy them.

Good work, Xander supposed, if you could actually sell anything.

Prue didn’t seem too worried about it, though, so Xander wasn’t planning on worrying for her. Fact was he didn’t have any steady income anywhere in his future either, and for some reason it didn’t worry him much either.

For all the problems the abduction had caused him, all the loss, all the heartache... and there was plenty of those to go around, there was also an odd sensation of freedom in it now.

Like somehow, someway, his old life was over and done with, and his new life had no limits. No restrictions.

It felt good, if he were to be honest about it, though Xander felt a pang of guilt at the thought. He didn’t think it was supposed to feel good, losing everyone you love and care for. It wasn’t supposed to be freeing to find out that your entire town was wiped from the face of the planet.

And yet, for all the pain, that’s exactly how he felt.

“Xander?”

Xander shook himself, glancing back as he saw Prue come up behind him. “Yeah?”

“Three twelve.” She told him, holding up a key. “Last room in the place... Now aren’t you glad I called ahead?”

Xander smiled, “Ecstatic.”

“Good.” She told him, “I’ve got dibs on the shower.”

Xander chuckled, but nodded and followed her to the room.

He found that he followed Prue a lot lately.

There was just something hypnotic about her ass in those leather pants.

Xander shook his head, trying to push any such thoughts like that out of his mind. Prue and he had flirted, but she’d not really indicated any interest in going any further, and he wasn’t about to push that.

For one thing, she could push back.

Really, really, hard.

<Still...> Xander smirked as he climbed the stairway behind her. <Nothing wrong with looking.>

Homeland Security, Seattle Offices

October 2004

Tom Baldwin stepped into the ‘think tank’, rubbing the back of his head.

“Tired?” Diana asked him, looking up briefly.

He nodded, “Yeah. I’m beat.”

“How’s Kyle?”

Tom sighed, thinking about his recently reawakened Son. He shook his head, “I don’t know. Somehow I guess I expected that when he awoke from the coma, everything would be better... you know?”

“He just needs some time.” Diana smiled at him.

“Yeah. I know... So, what’s up?” Tom looked over the array of material that was scattered across the desk.

“Just trying to pin down the effects of the Knox situation. The Ripples are just too hard to track...”

Whatever else Diana had to say was cut off when Dennis burst into the room, eyes alight with anger. “We’ve got a problem people...”

“What is it?” Tom leaned forward.

“Check this out.” Dennis lifted a remote and turned one of the monitors over to CNN.

******

Las Vegas, Nevada

October 2004

Address of The 4400 posted on web!

Xander stared at the paper in hand, not hearing anything around him as he read through the article intensely.

He didn’t even look up when Prue stepped out of the bathroom, her short hair plastered to her head as she held the towel around her body.

“Shower’s all yours.”

“What?” Xander looked up, confused. “Huh?”

“You ARE going to take a shower, right?” Prue half smiled at him. “Because, no offence, but that rag isn’t going to cut it.”

“Oh... yeah, sure.” Xander said, getting up with the paper in his hand. “You might want to check this out.”

She frowned at the serious expression on his face and noted that he didn’t even try to catch of glimpse of her breasts or ass as he walked past, tossing the paper down on her bed. That was a first in the time they’d been on the road, and whether she planned on making anything of their relationship beyond the friendly allies stage, she had to admit to herself that she enjoyed his looks.

Especially when he thought she wasn’t watching.

Prue smirked as she heard the shower startup, then sat down on the bed and picked up the paper.

Her breath caught in her throat as she read the headline, and immediately snagged her pack with the laptop.

Homeland Security, Seattle Office

October 2004

“We’ve got a leak.” Tom Baldwin said grimly as he looked over the list on the net.

Diana Skouris shook her head, “This is really bad...”

“My nephew is on that list.” Tom muttered, “Bad is an understatement. Do we have any idea who it is?”

“I’ve had some number crunchers working on it.” Dennis said after a moment, “We have the internal leak pinned down to eight people because of this...”

He pointed to a single name that appeared on their list, but not on the published version.

“Prudence Halliwell...” Diana frowned, “It says that she has no listed address...”

“That’s right, but that’s recent.” Dennis replied, “She made that change in the last week. Which means that the web site has been provided with the *latest* list available.”

Tom nodded, “Do you know who?”

“Not yet. But I know how, and who instigated it.” Dennis’ lips curled in derision. “You keep working on the 4400, I’ll handle the leak.”

Las Vegas, Nevada

October 2004

Xander stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist, turning away from Prue who was still in a similar dress.

“Sorry,” He winced, “I’ll just grab some clothes and...”

“I’m not on the web list.” She said, not looking up from the laptop.

“What?” Xander paused, looking over at her.

“I’m not on it. You either.”

Xander frowned, “You checked in with Homeland Sec before we left, right?”

She nodded.

“Then they’ve got a real problem.” Xander frowned. “The reason they don’t have me is easy... I don’t have an address, but you didn’t officially leave your Sisters until a week ago. That’s some leak they’ve got.”

“It’s going to get some people hurt, isn’t it?” Prue asked softly.

Xander shrugged, then nodded reluctantly. “Yeah. Probably... Since that Knox stuff, the 4400 haven’t been the most popular group in the country. So yeah, it’ll get some people hurt.”

Prue shook her head, “I think I’ll go check in with Homeland Security after I get dressed.”

Xander nodded, “Alright... If you want. I’ll come with you. I haven’t talked with any of them since LA.”

Homeland Security, Seattle Offices

October 2004

“We’ve caught a break.” Tom Baldwin said as he entered the ‘think tank’. “Looks like one of our wayward flock has checked in.”

Diana Skouris looked up, frowning. “What?”

“Alexander Harris.” Baldwin replied. “He checked in in Vegas with the Halliwell woman.”

Diana thought about it, then nodded. “Sunnydale.”

“That’s right. We’re being patched through via Sattelite.” Tom told her, “Dennis wants to talk to him personally.”

“Where is Dennis?”

“Right here.” Dennis Ryland said as he walked into the room and immediately took a seat in front of the large wall size display screen. “Is the patch ready?”

“Uh... Yessir.” One of the lab geeks said, hitting a couple keys.

“Put them through.”

The screen flickered, then came to life in time to show two people, a young man and woman, sitting in a room very similar to the one that they were in currently. Tom and Diana nodded automatically as the couple glanced up in reaction to their own screens coming to life.

“What’s this about?” The young man, Mr Harris, asked calmly.

“Good afternoon, Mr Harris.” Dennis said, equally calm. “We’re just doing a routine follow up on your case. It’s been sometime since you checked in, and we’re curious to know how well you’ve been fitting in.”

Harris snorted softly, then gave Dennis a look that clearly indicated that he should ‘pull the other one’.

“Anyone could have done that Mr...” Harris paused, then smiled. “Ryland, isn’t it?”

Tom glanced sharply over at Diana, who glanced back in surprise.

Dennis Ryland didn’t even flinch.

“You’ve done your research.” He nodded appreciably.

“Research is something I’m good at,” Harris replied, “But actually I just had to read the papers. You’ve been getting a lot of press.”

“The 4400 are big news.” Dennis equivocated. “That’s given me a lot more attention then I normally want.”

Harris smirked slightly.

The woman with him, Prudence Halliwell, leaned forward. “What’s this all about? Why are we being detained?”

“You aren’t.” Dennis replied, “I just wanted to speak with Mr Harris as soon as he checked in.”

“Why me?” Harris asked suspiciously.

“I understand you visited Sunnydale?” Ryland asked casually.

“That’s correct.” Harris replied, his manner shifting and calming slightly as he did.

“Were you aware that the Sunnydale Park Crater went up in flames a short time after you left LA?”

Harris didn’t so much as flicker, but Miss Halliwell glanced at him in surprise.

“No, I wasn’t. Was anyone hurt?” Harris asked softly.

Ryland’s eyes flickered slightly, but he shook his head. “No. The Crater has been off limits because the instability in the area had led to a lot of accidents among rescue workers, park officials, and tourists.”

Harris nodded, “Good.”

“Well, I think that’s enough.” Dennis said, leaning forward. “Let our people know where you’re staying in Vegas, if you would and...”

“Oh sure,” The young man smiled, reaching into his jacket at pulling out a sheet of paper. “In fact I’ve got our itinerary here... Cities, hotel rooms, and appointments for the next three months... I’ll just drop it off with the secretary.”

For the first time, Dennis Ryland froze in momentary surprise. “Are you serious?”

“Sure,” Harris smiled, “unless you want me to just post it on the net and cut out the middleman?”

Ryland closed his eyes momentarily and took a deep breath, “Mr Harris, I understand that...”

“Understand what? That you’ve endangered the safety and maybe the lives of four thousand three hundred and what? Ninety eight other people that I spent three months getting to know!?” Harris snapped, face reddening. “No offense, Mr Ryland, but learn to protect the secrets you already have before asking me for any others.”

With that Harris stood up and walked off screen with Miss Halliwell close behind.

They could hear him snap angrily at a guard, then a door opened and closed.

The screen flickered and went dead.

“Well.” Tom muttered, “That was interesting.”

Dennis leaned back in his seat and sighed, “An interesting individual.”

“Too bad we didn’t find out if he had anything to do with the fire in Sunnydale.” Diana sighed.

“He did.” Dennis replied calmly.

“How do you know that?”

“The look on Miss Halliwell’s face.” Dennis replied, “Mr Harris is an accomplished liar... But either Miss Halliwell is not, or she wasn’t prepared for that subject to be brought up. She knew that he had something to do with the fires, I could read it in her eyes.”

“And you let them walk out??”

“Tom, I’ve got more important things to worry about right now then a guy who set fire to an evacuated crater.” Dennis said flatly. “Just chalk him up on your list of 4400 to be watched more closely when we get the time, and leave it at that.”

“But...” Tom said as Dennis got up and walked out.

“Well...” Diana said simply, after the door had closed. “That was interesting.”

Tom sighed and shook his head, “As if we don’t have enough to worry about.... Now we have a firebug touring the country.”

“Let’s stay close to home for now.” Diana advised, “Ryland can advise the other offices to keep an eye out for him... We can’t do anything unless he does something first.”

“Aren’t you the one who was talking about disease vectors and wanting them back in quarantine?” Tom asked sarcastically.

“And aren’t you the one who kept telling me that these are people we’re talking about, not numbers?” She challenged him. “Alexander Harris has the same rights as any other citizen of the United States. Unless he breaks the law, we can’t just swoop out of the sky and grab him. So let’s focus on what we can do.”

Tom nodded reluctantly, just as an aide burst into the room with a dark look on his face.

“Mr Baldwin, Miss Skouris... You need to come see this... we just got a call.” He said, out of breath.

“Oh that can’t be good.” Tom muttered tiredly as he reached for the remote.

Las Vegas

October 2004

Xander Harris and Prudence Halliwell stepped out of the Offices of Homeland Security, both a little aggravated, but both calming as they stepped into the sunshine.

“What happened in Sunnydale?” Prue whispered as she slid onto the back of the Chopper behind him.

Xander shivered as she squirmed against his back, pushing the sensation away and shaking his head. “Later.”

She nodded at that and he hit the starter, letting the powerful shovelhead engine roar to life.

They headed back to their room, dodging the drunken party that had begun to form around the convention area. Prue snapped a few pictures on the way, then pushed Xander along. “Come on, I want to get my 35mm.”

So they moved a bit quicker and made it to their room despite several propositions from drunks for Prue, and more then a couple for Xander.

Inside, Xander sighed and tossed himself on the bed and sighed.

“What’s wrong?” Prue asked from where she was breaking out her gear.

“I don’t know. A feeling I guess.” He said, frowning and getting back up.

“That’s... very vague.”

“Yeah.” Xander sighed, turning on the TV.

He switched it to CNN and turned up the volume when he noted that the word ‘4400' was plastered across the bottom of the screen.

“... To recap, an explosion outside the home of known 4400 returnee has killed three and wounded several others. This comes in the wake of the public posting of the adresses of the 4400 on the web earlier this week.”

The announcer looked calm and detached, the way he was supposed to, but the scene playing out on the screen wasn’t nearly so ‘professional’.

Police and Paramedics were surrounding an area roughly the size of a small home that had been destroyed. Xander and Prue could see a stretcher being pulled out, the body covered, and there were two EMT’s carrying black bags under their arms as they made their way through the rubble.

As the scene droned on, Xander shook his head.

“That didn’t take long.”

Prue swallowed, nodding. “I didn’t really think... I mean...”

“We’re now, officially, a persecuted minority.” Xander announced, flipping the remote to the bed with a casual toss.

They watched the screen for a while longer, before Xander spoke.

“I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll check in with Homeland Security by phone from now on.” He said dryly, “They haven’t posted our pictures yet, so just on the off chance that that Ryland guy doesn’t let those slip through his fingers too... I’d rather not give anyone else a chance to get a hold of mine.”

Prue nodded softly. “Yeah. I think that’s a good idea.”

They both sat side by side as the ambulance on the screen pulled away from the scene, not bothering with it’s lights and not in any particular rush.

Something about that spoke volumes for them both.

******

Prudence Halliwell followed her companion as he walked through the throng of Bikers, her mood just a few degrees warmer then his own.

Neither of them had wanted to stay inside after watching the clean up of the bombing, but she had her doubts about the wisdom of going out too. The entire world suddenly seemed to be crowding in on her, and Prue didn’t like it.

Before, she had felt much the same, but it had always had a clear line of definition.

Demons, bad.

Humans, good.

Now what was she to think or do?

The bombing had almost immediately been followed by other reports of hate crimes against the 4400, and now she was feeling jumpy whenever she felt the press of people around her.

What if someone there knew what she was?

It didn’t matter if it was a demon or a human anymore. If the demons learned that she was a witch, or the humans learned that she was a retournee, what difference did it make?

Still, she bit down on the impulse to run, refusing to give into it with all the strength of will that she had mastered in her young life, and followed Xander as he pushed his way into one of the rougher bars. He looked good, in a dangerous sort of way, without the omnipresent goofy grin that seemed to follow him when he relaxed. Now, though, he had a look on his face that could only remind her of when they had been back to back, dealing death to the demons that had attacked her and her sisters.

Or when he had tortured Tempus to get the Time Demon to reverse the flow of time in order to save Piper.

Prue shivered slightly, the thrill of fear accompanied by what she had to admit was a strong sense of attraction. His very dichotomy made him terribly attractive.

On the one side, she knew him from Quarantine, when he had been there with a grin and a joke, ready to help everyone. This side of him was true, she knew for certain, and not merely a cover. It was who he was, and for all the darkness that had grown in him, she had still see in it in the way he had flirted with her sisters, protected her nephew, and supported her.

But the Darkness was true too.

It was too ingrained in him now to be anything else, and Prue had always had something of a suppressed desire for the bad boys.

That side of him made him a killer, but it somehow complimented the light he held in a way she wasn’t certain she understood. The mix of dark and light in him just felt... natural.

Prue pushed aside her thoughts as he led her to a couple of free stools at the bar and they slid onto them as one of the bartenders walked up.

“Hey cutey,” The strawberry blond smiled at Xander, “What can I get ya?”

“Jack Daniels.” He said, “Two glasses, leave the bottle.”

“You got it.” She winked at him, then wiggled off to fetch the drinks.

Prue noted with some amusement, that Xander didn’t notice.

Then, of course, she remembered why he didn’t notice and her amusement vanished. She sighed as the drinks arrived, and the bottle was left, then leaned close against him.

“What do we do now?” She asked, her voice carried on a short puff of breath into his ear.

Xander shivered, then shrugged. “I’m not real sure.”

“We can’t just stay here and get drunk.” She told him.

“Tonight we can.” He responded darkly.

Across the neon lights of the big city, another scene was playing out in another bar.

“Hey Joey! You wanna grab a case of Morgans from the back!? We’re runnin low up here!”

“You got it, Boss!” Joey Traven flipped a wave to his boss as he jogged to the back, looking for the Cap’n Morgan’s Rum in the dark room.

As it had since he had been returned, the darkness soon faded and in moments the store room was clear as day, so he quickly located the rum and hefted the case in his arms as he started to walk back to the front of the bar.

A noise attracted his attention, though, and he paused to look back.

There was nothing there, but Joey lowered the case to a stack of coors cases and turned around.

“Hello?” He asked, peering through the dark room with ease.

There was no answer, but the noise repeated itself.

Joey slowly walked down the length of the room, and saw that the door at the far end was hanging open. The door was a heavy steel security door that was never unlocked except for deliveries, and he knew that there had been none earlier in the day.

Joey pulled the door shut, letting the lock slick shut with a certainty, then half turned away.

He never felt the explosion that ripped his body apart.

******

“What have we got?” Jim Brass asked as he walked up behind the crouching man.

Gil Grissom shrugged slightly, “An explosion.”

“No, really?” Brass asked sarcastically, but the effect was lost on Grissom.

The CSI just stood up and pulled on a pair of rubber gloves as he began to make his way through the debris and rubble that was scattered through the bar.

“Greg... take notes.” He said softly.

Greg Sanders nodded, running up behind him with a pad in hand.

“Hemispherical debris pattern...” Gil said, “Looks like... glass shards and fire damage...”

“The uh... device went off in the back storeroom.” Greg offered, “That’s probably bottle shards and ignited alcohol.”

Gil nodded, but didn’t look back. “How many victims?”

“Thirty.” Greg replied, subdued, as they made their way through the area the paramedics had cleared out. “Seven dead, the rest wounded from flying glass, metal, and wood shards.”

Gil didn’t respond as he paused in his step and turned half around, hands outsplayed.

“The pattern suggests some kind of shaped charge.” He said, sounding confused. “But that’s precision work. Why waste that kind of detail on a bar like this?”

“I... I’m not sure I follow.”

“The bomb detonated in the back room, right?”

“Right...”

“Well then there’s no way, that with a device of this limited power, that the bomber could have known for sure that he’d kill anyone who was actually in the bar.” Gil frowned, looking around. “So a pipe bomb would have been much simpler... Why a shaped charge?”

“Bombers are predictable...” Greg suggested, “They like to use something that they know...”

“True...” Gil nodded, still moving through the debris, “But a bomber who knew shaped charges would be more precise. He’d set it in a way to eliminate his target, guaranteed.”

Gil stopped at the bar and frowned as he looked at the wall.

“Greg...”

“Yeah, boss?”

“How many victims?” Gil asked quietly as he moved closer, looking at a photo that was pushed out from the wall just a bit.

“Umm... thirty, Boss.” Greg replied.

“No...” Gil said, pulling the photo off the wall.

Greg jumped involuntarily as he found himself staring at the bloodied face of a person who’s head had been thrown almost *through* the hardwood paneling.

“I’d say... thirty one.” Gil told him calmly.

The glass hit the bar hard as Xander looked at the empty bottle.

The sad part was, he wasn’t even close to being drunk.

He considered ordering another bottle, but a glance over to Prue made him change his mind.

The young Wicca was watching him carefully, but her eyes were just starting to reach that unfocused look that Xander knew too well. She wasn’t *quite* inebriated, but neither was she entirely sober anymore, so he decided that they’d had enough.

“Come on, Prue.” He said, nudging her shoulder. “Let’s go.”

She smiled a bit, then nodded, and he helped her stand though she wasn’t that unsteady.

As they turned around they heard a commotion erupt to their right and they glanced down the bar to see a brawl starting up.

“And not a moment too soon.” Prue told him, lips pressed firmly together in mild disgust. “Let’s go.”

Xander nodded and they started moving out, only the brawl was actually moving around them faster then they could get through the crowd. In moments it had spread and was blocking their way to the door.

Two men were slugging it out just ahead of them, blocking their path as they moved, and Xander just rested a hand between Prue’s shoulder blades. “Prue.”

She nodded, her eyes narrowing, and abruptly the two were flung apart, and a path cleared.

Like the red sea parting, the brawl simply stopped as the two passed, fighters either pausing for a moment in drunken stupor as they imagined that they saw flames in the eyes of the man. And if that didn’t stop them, they were suddenly flung apart by the hand of god itself.

Prue and Xander stepped outside, into the garish neons of the seedy section of Vegas they were staying in, and turned left toward their room.

As they walked, Xander felt a tension in Prue that he wasn’t sure about.

“You ok?” He asked softly.

She nodded, “yeah. I’m just not used... I’ve never used my powers like that before.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He told her. “If we’d been dragged into that fight, we’d have sent them to the hospital... if they were lucky.”

She nodded, and some of her tension eased, so Xander let it go for now as he guided her back.

“I wonder...” She said after a moment.

“What?”

She smiled, a little blearily. “I was just thinking... I wonder if that counts as personal gain?”

Warrick Brown stepped into the lab with a sheet of paper in his hand, looking around until he found Gill Grissom. “We’ve got a positive match on the work of art from the bombing....”

Gil looked up from the plexi-glass shield, depressing a button to let the case fill with fumes. “Good. Run him through the database for priors, and see if he has any enemies with demo experience.”

“We tried that... there... was a problem.” Warrick said.

Gil raised an eyebrow, half turning. “Oh?”

“He had a prior in the files... but there must be some mistake, it was from twenty years ago.” Warrick said, handing the sheet over.

Gil frowned, looking down at the page. “Well this isn’t possible. Our Vic couldn’t have been more then five years old when this happened...”

“That’s why I said that there has to be a mistake.”

Gil frowned at it, shaking his head, and retrieved his glasses from the lab table. He slipped them on and looked over the information. “Are you sure that’s all you found on him in the database?”

Warrick shrugged, “The only other thing was a report from his parole officer, declaring him in violation of his parole... but it’s got to be a different person, this file is twenty years old.”

“Maybe.” Gil said, eyes gleaming. “Maybe not.”

“What’s up?”

Gil moved across the lab and turned a computer screen around, clicking on the webbrowser.

“Www.whoarethe4400.com?” Warrick asked over his shoulder, voice dropping. “You think he was...”

“Joey Traven.” Gil said, an odd smile of satisfaction appearing as he found the name on the list. “Listed as number three thousand and twelve by homeland security.”

“Wow.” Brown said, whistling.

“I think we’ve been looking in the wrong direction.” Gil told him, “We don’t need Mr Traven’s enemies... we need the enemies of the 4400.”

“Oh damn.” Warrick cursed.

“Exactly. I think we have a hate crime on our hands.”

Prue and Xander half spilled into their room, stumbling a bit as they laughed. The warming influence of the alcohol making one of Xander’s comments actually seem funny, to both of them. Prue stumbled a bit and fell on the closest bed, face flushed from laughing as she looked back at the source of the comment.

Xander was leaning back against the closed door, still chuckling himself, though he was having a hard time remembering exactly what it was that he said.

He looked good when he laughed, she decided. Just as good as when he was serious, maybe even better. She wasn’t sure of that though. He looked harmless just then, a goofy kid that was years younger then she was, and she suddenly felt a little guilty for the attraction she’d felt earlier.

“Oh god...” Xander said, his laughter quieting down. He wiped his eyes, “God, what were we laughing at?”

Prue smiled back, eyes dancing as his comment penetrated. “I can’t remember.”

That set them both off again, and she curled up on the bed while Xander slid to the floor. When she recovered from that bout, he was looking at her instead. His eyes, this time, had lost most of the amusement and almost all of the youth.

She shivered slightly, her own laughter drying up as his stare bored into her, until she finally spoke up. “What?”

He didn’t say anything for a long moment.

Finally, just when she couldn’t stand the silent staring any longer, he spoke.

“You’ve got a beautiful laugh.” He told her seriously.

Prue shivered again, then looked away.

She quickly got up, heading for the bathroom. “I should clean up for bed.”

Xander watched her retreat, expression slowly changing until he forced it to freeze over.

“Yeah.” He whispered. “Me too.”

******

“Is it true?”

Gil looked up as Greg rushed in, “Is what true?”

“That our vic was one of the 4400?” The younger man asked eagerly.

“So it would appear.” Gil replied, raising an eyebrow.

“Man, that’s just so...”

“Fascinating?” Gil asked.

“Cool.” Greg told him.

“I see.” Gil replied, handing Greg a sheet of paper.

“What’s this?” The young man asked, looking at the paper and blinking.

“This is what we have on Mr Traven.” Gil told him, “I’d like you to run down all connection to his previous... life... that are still in Las Vegas. Warrick is looking into the 4400 angle.”

Greg nodded, “Alright... I can handle that.”

Greg half turned to leave when Gil interrupted him.

“Greg.”

“Yeah, boss?”

“Quietly, but *quickly*.” Gil told him.

Greg frowned, “Why?”

“Because Warrick’s database search is certain to have already raised red flags in Homeland Security’s computers,” Gil told him, “And that means that the clock is ticking, Greg. They’ll be here, probably sooner then later.”

“Right.” Greg nodded, “I’ll get right on it.”

“You do that.” Gil told him, then watched as he left.

When the room was empty, Gil turned back to his computer and scrolled down the list that was displayed on his screen.

After a long moment he paused and highlighted a single line.

Cora Carina, number four thousand and twelve. Current Address, Los Vegas Nevada.

Prue paused at the door, leaning back against it as the steam from her shower slowly settled around her.

She didn’t know exactly what had happened there, Xander had just given her a compliment, which was certainly no cause for her to freak out.

It wasn’t like he was the first to do so, nor even the first to say those particular words.

It was just that, for that instant, she’d felt some connection.

She didn’t know if it was to him, or to something else, but the stare he had pinned her with had chilled her, and his words cut to the bone.

<Get a hold of yourself!> She snarled internally.

She straightened out, forcing herself steady, then stepped in front of the chipped mirror and examined herself carefully.

Her skin and features were unchanged from years earlier, which of course made sense as she’d only experience those years as months. Prue knew that she was pretty, her features had often been defined as sharp, which she chose to take as a compliment.

Being sharp, being hard, those were things she aspired to.

She’d needed them to climb as high as she had in the Museum, and had redoubled her effort to be hard as diamonds when her own exhibit had been stolen from her by her Ex. That had just underscored how badly she needed to be strong, needed to be hard.

In thirty seconds back there, Xander had stripped that away from her.

And the worst of it was that she didn’t think he knew that he was doing it.

When he’d pierced her with that stare, she’d suddenly felt self conscious, wondering what he was seeing. What he was thinking.

She’d felt her stomach begin to tighten, her heart beat a little faster, and her breath became short as she wondered if she was measuring up to whatever standard he was applying to her. She knew that men were like that, they compared her to their past, old loves, the girl next door, even their mothers.

And Prue never felt that she’d ever quite matched up to the expectations.

Then he’d spoke.

<You’ve got a beautiful laugh.>

His voice echoed around her for a moment.

Prue steadied herself as he stomach twisted again in response.

When he’d spoken, she’d forgotten for a minute that she was supposed to be hard. Strong.

Her stomach had jolted, and her breath caught in her throat. Prue had felt her legs tremble, and felt like she’d have fallen over if she hadn’t already been on the bed.

He made her weak.

And the worst of it was that she didn’t know why.

Sure, he was attractive, but so were a lot of guys she knew. He wasn’t more physically attractive then any of the rest, so why did he make her weak? And how did he do it?

She took a breath, pushing those thoughts aside, and pushed off the sink. She turned and walked over to the door, a towel wrapped around her, though she was wearing her underwear this time. When she opened the door she peeked out into the room and saw that Xander was under the blankets, asleep.

She took a grateful breath, and made her way quickly to her bed and climbed under the blankets.

For the moment she was just thankful to put off answering any of the questions she had for any amount of time she could.

Across from her, unnoticed, Xander Harris watched her shadow move against the wall, and waited for the light to go out. He didn’t know what he’d said to bother her so much, but he hoped he’d remember enough in the morning not to repeat it.

Then he closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him.

******

“H... Hello?”

“Miss Carina?”

“Yes...”

“I’m Captain Brass,” Brass said, showing the woman his badge. “Las Vegas PD.”

The small woman with cropped brown hair looked at him, then over his shoulder at the three police cars and milling people for a moment. “W... what’s this all about?”

“Miss Carina,” Gil Grissom spoke up, “There was an explosion in town earlier today... We believe that the intended victim was one Joey Traven.”

“Joey’s dead??” She paled.

“I’m afraid so.” Gil told her. “May we come in?”

The woman shuddered, but nodded and stepped back.

“Thank you, Ma’am.”

******

Xander rolled over in bed, laying on his back, and only kept his eyes from straying to Prue’s sleeping form with an almost violent exertion of will.

He couldn’t close his eyes now without thinking about her, and he was starting to think that maybe getting halfway to drunk was a bad idea. So he stared at the ceiling instead and counted the tiles, again.

He was halfway through the count when he was startled back to reality.

“Can’t sleep either?”

He twisted his head over, jolting slightly in bed, and saw Prue looking back at him from across the room. After his heart slowed a bit, he smiled and shrugged. “Guess not.”

She nodded silently, and he nodded back, and they both turned to stare at the ceiling.

<Damn it Xander, what the hell is wrong with you?> He asked himself, <Other then being this close to a mostly nude woman who’s undoubtedly in the top three most beautiful girls you’ve ever known?>

Which, he had to admit under his scowl, was saying something.

As he stared at the ceiling again, he heard a soft sigh from the bed next to his and looked over again.

Prue was still looking at him, her gaze serious and pensive, and it kind of chilled him. He knew that he was being considered just from the way she looked, and he wondered if he was passing muster. Somehow, he doubted it.

“Y... you think that it was someone trying to kill the 4400?”

“That’s what it looks like for now,” Gil nodded.

Cora Carina shuddered, hugging herself slightly, “Oh God. I... I don’t... I can’t take this. I just want to be left alone.”

Her plaintive words struck a chord with both Brass and Grissom, but neither man showed it. They just nodded, and Gil leaned forward slightly. “We don’t want you to worry. We’ll be posting around the clock protection and...”

“That would be *our* job.”

Gil and Brass both looked up to see a man in a suit muscle his way past the police guards, and Gil smiled sardonically. “Homeland Security, I presume.”

“Damned right you presume, Grissom.” The man growled, “Yes I know who you are. You should have called us as soon as you identified Joey Traven.”

Gil shrugged slowly, deliberately, “I knew that your computers would alert you soon enough. Consider it a test of your alertness.”

He looked down at his watch, then frowned as he looked back up, “You could use a little work on that.”

Jim Brass tried valiantly not to laugh at the look on the face of the guy from Homeland Security.

******

He was looking at her again.

This time Prue didn’t look away though, she’d gotten a handle on herself again. For a moment she cursed the alcohol that must have screwed up her control earlier, she should have never slipped like that. She liked Xander, and even trusted him... to a point. But that had given him too much power over her.

So now she met his dark brown eyes with her own crystal blue ones and didn’t look away.

She lost track of how long they stared at each other, the tension slowly building, and she wondered for a moment why he wouldn’t just look away.

Finally she swallowed, wetting her mouth, and spoke.

“About earlier...” She said, then trailed off.

“Don’t... it doesn’t matter.” Xander told her, “Hey, I get it...”

He smiled sardonically, “Flirting’s off limits, at least while we’re sleeping in the same room, right?”

“Yeah... No... I...” She shook her head, then smirked slightly herself. “I don’t know.”

“Oh?” Xander blurted before his mind actually caught up with the whirring gears that were spinning in it.

Prue actually blushed a little, looking away on reflex.

She looked back a moment later, and saw the mixture of emotions in his eyes.

Curiosity, a certain degree of lust, a lot of confusion, and maybe just a little awe or fear.

It wasn’t exactly a look that held anything threatening, but then she wasn’t afraid of anything he might do *physically*. Even if she didn’t trust Xander that way, Prue was still confident in her abilities to hold back damned near anything that tried to hurt her.

“Yeah.” She admitted.

“Oh.” Xander repeated, his question turning into a statement before he frowned and made an admission of his own. “Uh... I don’t know what that means.”

Prue giggled.

She didn’t want to. She *hated* how she sounded when she giggled. But she giggled just the same, her hand flashing up from under the blankets to cover her mouth. The motion knocked the blankets back a bit, and down, and revealed a bit more skin then she might have intended. Her first instinct was to yank it back up, but Xander’s sudden intake of breath and quick flicker of his eyes down below her face, then away from her completely amused her and complimented her at the same time.

She left the blankets the way they were.

“Look, the PD has cars on scene, just let us take care of this while we investigate, alright?” Brass said reasonably, his hands spreading out slightly in front of him, inviting the Homeland Sec agent to be reasonable.

The Agent declined the invitation.

“All matters pertaining to the 4400 are under Homeland Security jurisdiction.” He told Brass flatly, “That includes the protection of Miss Carina, *and* the investigation into the bombing.”

“Hey now, hold on...!” Brass growled.

“No, you hold on, Captain.” The man snapped, poking him in the chest with one finger. “This is our case, and our protectee!”

Cora, the ‘protectee’ in question, watched the exchange with growing insecurity.

“Don’t worry too much about it.”

She started, looking over to the other man who had come with the police. “What?”

Gil nodded to the two arguing men, “That. Don’t worry too much about it. They’ll work it out between them, this is just the opening moments.”

“W... what’s going to happen?”

Gil shrugged, “At a guess? Unless you leave Las Vegas, we’ll have a car posted here around the clock at least. Probably Homeland Security will do the same. If you don’t mind, one of us will have someone inside the apartment too.”

“What about... Joey?”

Gil sighed, but didn’t let it show. “My team will continue tracking down the clues... even if Homeland Security takes it over officially. There were seven other people killed in the explosion, and they were Vegas citizens... So we’re not letting this one go. We’ll find the person who did it.”

She nodded.

Something about the man was just comforting, though the Lord above knew it wasn’t his attitude.

<Oh dear lord god above, she didn’t lift the blanket up!> Xander practically shrieked in his mind as he looked back.

She was a Goddess, that was all he could come up with.

Her features were hard now, but there was a twinkling flicker of an impish smile floating just under the challenging surface. Her eyes danced, her lips twisted just so, and her nose was wrinkled just slightly as she gave him a look that challenged him to do or say anything about it.

The blanket hadn’t fallen *that* far, of course.

It still covered a most of her upper body, but her breasts were now in the clear, though still covered by the white bra of course. Mind you, that was more then enough to trigger a moment of hyperventilation in Xander which he fought a short, desperately valiant, battle against.

Thank God he won.

She’d seen it, of course, the fight for control, and he could tell in her eyes that she found it funny. Why shouldn’t she, he supposed, the slightly sardonic smile returning to his face as his eyes moved back to her face and eyes.

He tilted his head just slightly, almost in salute, as if to say ‘touche’.

Prue accepted the concession as gracefully as she knew how.

Which was to say, not very.

Her smile grew into a full fledged smirk of hardly concealed triumph which suddenly irritated Xander to no end.

<Oh, she wants to play that way, huh?>

Xander’s smile compressed, becoming a lopsided smirk as he determined not to let that one past.

Prue felt a flicker of worry as his face shifted, then her eyes widened in astonishment as he threw the blankets back and pivoted out of the bed, his feet planting themselves on the floor between their beds as he looked at her.

She wanted to say something, anything, but the words stuck in her throat as he got up.

Xander’s smirk grew as Prue’s expression shifted from smug victory to sudden, shocked worry.

Then he moved closer to her.

Gil Grissom stepped back into his lab, looking around at the darkened room for a moment before flipping on the lights. He walked across the room and opened up one of the evidence bags that lay spread across the large central table.

Inside were fragments from the bomb, as well as various pieces of debris that they hadn’t been able to completely identify. Piecing the bomb back together from those pieces was like working on a massive jigsaw puzzle, one that was not only missing pieces but didn’t have much variations in color.

Gil did so much love his job.

<What the hell is he doing?> Prue blurted mentally, eyes wide in shock as Xander crossed the distance to her from his own bed.

Despite her shock, she couldn’t help but notice and appreciate his form as he moved. The younger man had a hard body, though it wasn’t the rippled gym fit look some of her boyfriends had had. His muscles were taught, and bulged in all the right places, but had a firmer, solider look then the chiseled definition you got from constant repetitive work outs.

Her eyes traveled higher though, seeing in his eyes that he was pushing her, seeing just how far she was willing to go in the little game they’d been playing.

The quirk of his mouth told her that he was figuring on her backing down first.

<Like hell.> She growled internally, pursing her lips as she stared challengingly back.

<What the hell am I doing??> Xander wondered at the sheer *gall* he was exhibiting.

He didn’t know why, though he was doing his level best to keep that confusion and indecision from reaching his face. All he knew for certain was that he didn’t feel like being the passive straight man in this relationship, whatever sort of situation developed between him and Prue.

Even so, he almost chickened out as he got closer, until her face shifted and he read the challenge in her eyes. Prue was daring him to come closer, daring him to keep playing out the hand, and for the first time in his life Xander decided that he was going to make the first overt move.

So he didn’t stop, as she’d expected him to, and instead arrived at the side of Prue’s bed and loomed over her. He looked down at the beautiful woman who was looking back up, a measure of both astonishment and challenge still evident in her eyes.

So Xander smiled and leaned down.

******

<He didn’t stop!> Prue thought in a moment of near panic.

Xander’s hands came down on either side of her head as he leaned down, shifting the mattress slightly as it absorbed his weight, and Prue automatically lifted her own hands up to counter his movement.

Her heart skipped a beat as he shifted, catching her wrists in his hands, and gently but firmly planted them down above her head, holding her wrists in place with his body weight.

“What are you doing?” She said, voice breathless as he came closer.

“Playing the game.” He replied, that infuriating smirk still on his face.

She itched to wipe it clear off his face, but the immediate thought on how to do that, namely use her powers, seemed just a bit extreme. By the same token, she didn’t want to give him a flat out vocal ‘No’ just yet.

Not just yet.

“I don’t need my hands to throw you across the room,” She told him instead.

He just smiled, dropping his head quickly to her face. She felt the heat of his breath on her eyes as she closed them reflexively. Then his lips kissed the bridge of her nose and he pulled back, leaving her to blink up at him in confusion.

“I know, but then you’d have to squint at me and get the wrong kind of wrinkles.” He told her humorously.

“Why you brazen...” Prue growled, struggling a bit under his weight, but still didn’t access her powers or tell him to stop.

Xander leaned down again, cutting her off as he pressed his lips to hers and briefly savored the taste of her lip gloss as she cut off her words with a muffled gasp. He kept his eyes open, and Prue’s eyes opened even wider, as he kissed her. When he finally drew back, her glare was a little milder, though not by much.

“You’re assuming an awful lot.” She told him in a voice that almost sounded sour, except for the breathy pant that accompanied it.

“I know.” He told her, his heart beating like a jackhammer as he waited to see what her response was going to be.

Prue glared at him, her green eyes sparkling with emotion. She licked her lips for a moment, tasting him on her, and wondered how they’d gotten here.

No, not how. She knew how. Why maybe.

What was he after, for that matter, what was *she* after?

Was this a good idea? Should they just be allies? Would their having a physical relationship affect them in the future? How would it affect them? Could they get along long term? What if she...

Prue closed her eyes, drawing in a long and deep breath.

Above her she heard Xander gasp softly, and looked up at him.

His eyes weren’t focused on her face anymore, she noted wryly, and she quickly realized what her deep breath had done to her chest.

<Men.> She thought, her mental pronunciation bordering on disgust despite the amusement and flattery she felt.

Still, she retained the air in her lungs, and pushed her breasts out a little farther as his eyes roved along her chest. She watched his face as she did, hiding the smile as he let out his breath, looking almost awestruck.

She wasn’t the older sister anymore, Prue thought to herself. She wasn’t looking after her family now, she wasn’t in charge.

Xander’s eyes floated back up, tracing the graceful lines of her throat and chin, and came back to rest on her eyes.

The glare that had been there earlier was gone, but the challenge remained.

Xander smiled crookedly down at her, then slipped back down and kissed her again.

This time, Prue kissed back.

******

<Well this is a vote in favor of taking chances.> Xander thought abstractly as he felt Prue’s tongue push against his own, their kiss deepening.

He still had her hands above her head, pinned down by his weight, and was oddly torn about that in particular. One the one hand, he kind of liked the sensation of holding her down, as ridiculous as it was. Prue could easily throw him right across the room, and through the door and halfway down the block if she chose too.

But he liked her arms where they were, enjoyed the feeling of her body under him as they kissed.

On the other hand, he desperately wanted his own hands to be free at the moment, wanted to explore her body with them, to discover her even if it took all night.

Finally he compromised, pulling her weakly resisting arms together, pinning both of Prue’s wrists under one hand, then dropped his free one down along her face as he pushed her tongue back, pressing his own into her mouth as he began his exploration there.

Prue felt his motions, felt her wrists being bound together by Xander’s much larger hand, and wondered for a moment why he did it. He had to know that she could easily free herself without even resorting to physical force. She was certain that if she told him to let her go, he would. That was the sort of person he was, she was sure.

And she wanted to run her hands along his back, through his hair as they kissed, and down lower as well. But she didn’t ask him to free her, the vicarious sort of thrill her ‘helpless’ position gave her running through her spine and twisting her stomach.

His hand caressed her face as his lips and tongue devoured her mouth in turn. She felt his hand dip, running along her side, sending shivers up her spin as it lightly caressed her underarm, then cupped her right breast, kneading the firm flesh through her bra.

She gasped as he moved his mouth away suddenly, drawing in cool clear air into her lungs at least, then gasped again as his lips locked on a circle of shaved flesh of her underarms, applying suction as his tongue lapped at the rough skin.

“Oh God!” She let out, struggling with all her strength now against his grip on her arms. Until that moment it had been like a formality when he held her back, but now she was desperate to get free as he tortured the sensitive skin with his lips and tongue.

He held her in place easily, his strength far greater then hers on a purely physical level, and Prue was of no mind to access her telekinesis. In fact, even had she thought of it, it was unlikely that she would have been able to summon the focus, nor the emotional strength to use her active power.

So Prudence Halliwell squirmed under the ministrations of Xander Harris, twisting this way and that as he licked and sucked at the skin under her arm, then worked up along the swell of her breasts, wetting the bare skin that was unprotected by her bra. She felt the pressure of his mouth on her, drawing the blood to the surface of her skin, lightly bruising the smooth flesh as she stared down at him. His arm was held straight out, keeping her wrists pinned above her, it’s taught flesh only centimeters from her face.

“Yeow!” Xander yelped suddenly, looking up from his focus to where Prue was grinning nastily at him, her teeth bared. He glanced at his arm, where the sharp pain had begun, and stared in disbelief as he saw a well of red emerge from the wound. “You bit me!”

She smirked cheekily at him, challenging. “I know.”

“Why you little... vamp!” He grinned, shifting his position to better protect his arm as he reasserted control over her. He straddled her torso, his underwear doing a poor job of hiding the solid mass within, settling his weight down on her breasts as he slid his free hand under her chin and nudged her head up so he could look in her eyes. “You like to bite, do you?”

She just smirked back, clicking her teeth at his fingers as they came too close.

Xander pursed his lips, considering the situation with an ironic twist of his mouth. Now he was in an interesting pickle, he realized. Before, holding her wrists in place had been an amusement and little else, but now he had little down that if he let her go, she’d continue her snapping ways on sheer principal.

Which left him in an interesting situation.

A beautiful, nearly naked woman beneath him, who was certainly in a willing and playful mood, however if he tried to take advantage of that, that same woman had apparently made it her mission of the moment to drive him to distraction in anyway she could.

<Problems, problems.> Xander grinned down at Prue, course of action now firmly in mind.

******

Gil was still working on his jigsaw puzzle some time later when Greg Sanders tapped on the door. Gil looked up, “Yes?”

“Trace just came back on our bomb residue.” Greg said, coming in and handing Gil the paper with an oddly serious look.

Gil frowned, looking at the sheet. “C4?”

“Yeah.” Greg shook his head, “You were right, whoever did this was no amateur bomber.”

“Curiouser and curiouser.” Gil frowned, looking at the contradictory evidence.

Prue was past worrying about the consequences now, the game had taken up her mind and she was enjoying herself despite the position she was currently in.

The position, that is to say the fact that she had a mostly naked guy sitting solidly across her breasts while holding her arms supine above her head, wasn’t exactly something that she’d ever really contemplated before, but it wasn’t as bad as she might have thought either. The guy was good looking, and clearly intent on both enjoying himself and making certain that she enjoyed herself as well. Both good things, in her opinion.

His attempt at dominance was a bit fun too, if only for the challenge it presented, cause she wasn’t about to let him get away with it.

For the moment, though, he held the upper position and there was very little she could do about it short of using her powers or ordering him off of her.

Neither if which were going to happen any time soon, as they would be admitting defeat in one form or another.

So for the moment she just enjoyed the puzzled look in his eyes as he tried to determine what the hell to do next.

His eyes changed then, abruptly and not for the good in her opinion, and Prudence Halliwell barely had time for a slightly worried feeling to enter her before he moved.

And moved fast.

Prue gasped as Xander’s weight suddenly left her and her arms were freed, one at least. Then he tugged sharply on her right arm and she found herself rolling over in the bed, the covers flying off to the left as she was left flat on her stomach with her face pushed into the pillow before she could react.

Then his weight returned, settling in solidly across her panty covered rump as she felt him lean over her, his naked chest caressing her back as he brought his mouth to her ear and sucked gently on the lobe.

His breath was hot when he spoke, but it made her shiver.

“Can’t have biters... tsk tsk tsk...” He whispered, his voice laughing as he slid his hands up her side and along her arms, taking her hands in his and placing them around the round wooden braces that made up the bed head. “It’s not polite.”

“Polite my ass.” Prue started to say, turning her head to one side in order to breath, but her words were cut off by a long breath moan as his head pressed into the crook of her neck, lips sucking along her throat, and his hands reached under her to feel up her bra covered breasts.

“Like that?” He whispered again, catching her hands as she started to push herself up. “No no no... leave them there...”

Prue let him push her hands back to the posts, allowing him to wrap her slender fingers around the wooden poles, then shivered as he glided them back along her arms.

“I like them there,” He told her then, still whispering into her ear.

“Like I care what you like.” She told him, only groaning once when his thumb tweaked her right nipple in response.

Prue seethed for a moment when he chuckled then, but his hands went back to their firm but gently massaging and she couldn’t quite keep up the irritation she felt when he was doing that. Though she did make certain to store it safely away, in order to trot it out again at a later time. A time when his hands weren’t making her muscles feel like they were melting.

She groaned, then again as he kissed the nape of her neck and his fingers yanked the bra clip apart and let the white straps slid off her back.

It was about then that she realized that now she couldn’t even use her powers to push him off her anymore, since he was behind her and she couldn’t see what he was doing now.

<Sneaky little...> She thought for a moment, then shuddered as he pulled her bra out from under her and it scraped against the sensitive flesh of her breasts.

Xander slid down her body, his stomach resting on the curve of her ass as he pressed down, hugging her sides tight with his arms as he kissed along her spine, sending more shivers along her body, and worked lower.

That was the decision point, Prue knew it, that moment when he hooked his fingers into her panties and began the gently insistent pressure that would guide them down off her hips. If this happened, it was all over except the shouting, but she didn’t care anymore.

Prue shifted, lifting herself slightly up, pushing he ass up in the air as he pulled her panties down over her hips, and shuddered as his lips caressed both cheeks as he pushed her panties down past her knees, then off over her feet.

Naked now, Prue shivered whenever his hands or lips descended on her, her own inability to see or predict his actions compounding the problem.

Xander, for his part, was enjoying himself immensely, the ripple of Prue’s muscles and flesh when he touched her was sexy as hell, and he went out of his way to make her shudder with each touch, guiding his hands lightly along her spine, or just brushing down between her slightly spread legs. The ripples of toned flesh would spread out from his touch as she would shudder and moan again, occasionally craning her neck to look at him.

She followed the rules, though, nebulous though they were. She gripped the bed like it was a life line, and didn’t move to turn over though Xander was no longer in a position to hold her. He could tell that she wanted too, of course, from the way she would look at him when she managed to lift her head high enough to look back at him, but he didn’t say anything as he continued to play with her body in a way that he hoped she was enjoying as much as he.

He knew his way around with his hands, Xander was pretty confident in that. He’d learned in long, pleasant, hours with Cordelia. Then proven that it wasn’t a one girl fluke in that single short, heated, session with Faith.

What was making his stomach churn despite the enjoyment he was getting, was what happened next. He was considerably less confident once his hands became the sideshow, so to speak.

So Xander stretched out the preliminaries, taunting and teasing the gorgeous brunette with his fingers as he pressed her down into the bed and continued to apply his mouth and tongue to every naked patch of skin he could find.

Which, since she was quite delectably nude under him, was quite a lot.

For Prue it was nonstop build up, yet never quite enough to boil, like being in one of Piper’s pressure cookers. The force kept increasing as Xander teased at her, her frustrations building along with it, until she wanted nothing more then to flip around and shove him onto his back and finish it right then and there.

And yet she didn’t.

Part of it was pride, a sort of odd kind of deterministic self control that refused to let her break the rules they had slightly agreed upon when it all started. If she let go of the bed posts, then she was admitting that he was the stronger of them, the one with the most control. The Irony of giving up control in order to prove that she *was* in control was lost on her fevered mind by that point.

Prue’s eyes flashed open, her mouth opening in a gasp, as his fingers slid into her finally and she stared at the wall without seeing, her entire focus on what Xander was doing as he slowly continued to stoke the building pressures.

She was so damned hot that Xander couldn’t believe it, though he was feeling it through his fingers and elsewhere. Her entire body was searing him when he touched her it seemed, though in about as good a way as Xander could imagine. He couldn’t hold back much longer, and he only hoped that he wasn’t making a total ass of himself as he continued to push against her.

So damned close.

Prue’s eyes slammed shut, and she let her legs slide out as she pushed her entire weight down onto his hand, trying to release the pressure that he’d stoked, but Xander chose that moment to withdraw.

So damned close.

She slumped a little, the pressure easing off slightly in such an unsatisfying manner that she buried her head in the pillow and stifled a disappointed moan.

Xander was moving behind her, but she didn’t look back this time, so when he pressed up against her again her eyes flashed open wide as her head came up, and she gasped as he filled her with a single smooth stroke that ended only when the smooth skin of her ass was pressed against his tight stomach.

Her hands tightened around the bed posts as Prue began to shiver uncontrollably, the pressure turned back up again as Xander’s lips wrapped around her earlobe again.

“Unnnnngggg....” She groaned out, trying to speak, but unable to really think of anything to say. “Ohhhh Godddddd....”

Xander’s hands were cupping Prue’s breasts when her shivers turned into a sudden quaking that threw him of balance, his weight pushing against her as he fell across her back, slamming Prue down into the mattress.

“AAAHHHHH!” She screamed then as she came, her cry muffled only slightly by the pillow as her face was shoved down into it by Xander’s weight pushing deeper and harder into her.

Xander froze as Prue shook under him, afraid for a second that he’d hurt her, then not believing what was actually happening.

<I haven’t *done* anything yet!> He gasped as she tightened and convulsed around him, then groaned in conjunction with her as Prue continued to quake.

For a long moment Xander wondered what the hell to do next, but the only thought that came to mind was to keep going with plan A because, well, it was working so far. He lifted himself off her, resting his weight on his arms as he kept himself fully imbedded in her, then slowly drew back with the exact opposite stroke he’d entered with.

Prue rose up, drawing in a hissing breath as she held onto the posts, her sweat slick hair sticking to her skin at odd angles as he slid against her on the withdrawal. Her shuddering was lessening now, and she drew in a few quick breaths that weren’t pants, not at all, then her eyes bulged again as Xander pushed forward.

She arced her back as her head came up, fitting right along side Xander’s head as he brought it down. He finished the stroke as their cheeks rubbed against each other briefly, and she heard his moan in return and pressed hard against him in both directions, trying to draw out the contact as she felt herself shudder and quake again.

Her knuckles went white as she gripped the posts even harder, the bone in her slender fingers standing out obviously as her arms went taught. His thrusts were coming quicker now, and Prue knew that he wasn’t long for the moment either, just from the way he was breathing in her ear and pushing rapidly against her.

She tried to get her legs under hear, moving to let him slide deeper, but couldn’t gather herself as his thrusts became more and more urgent. Finally she gave up, awash in the rebuilding pressure and hoping that he’d hold on long enough for just one more.

Just one more.

Xander was sweating, his entire body covered in a sheen just as Prue was sweat slick under him. He could feel his stomach knotting with the pleasant pressure, though he desperately didn’t want to feel it yet.

Not yet.

But it was coming anyway, and he could feel every muscle in his body tightening in preparation for it. He couldn’t control himself past that point, and thrust harder, rocking Prue in the bed as she grunted and groaned under him.

Then it happened, and he groaned as his muscles stopped listening to him. He legs and ass tightened as he froze in place for an instant as he came. He slumped forward, bracing himself off her as he did.

Prue groaned as Xander froze, knowing what it meant.

<So damned close!> She groaned, pushing back against him as he convulsed inside her. As he rocked with the motion, she drew forward, then pushed back, until he got the message and began to move again. His hands moved under her, slowly and clumsily, but it was enough.

Prue closed her eyes as she rocked over the brink again and fell completely onto the bed, finally letting go of the posts as she came again, Xander’s weight slumping onto her for a long interminable moment before he rolled over, sliding out of her as she bathed in the afterglow of the moment.

******

Prue woke to the rising sun, her skin cool and dry as she lay half on her back and half curled into the warmth of the body next to her. For an interminable moment she stared at the skin of the man’s chest and forgot where she was, and then it all cam rushing back. She slowly lifted her head then, and found herself staring at Xander as he looked back at her.

“Morning.” he whispered.

“Morning.” She returned, just as softly.

They didn’t move for a time there, neither worrying about their nudity as they hung together against the rising of the day.

Finally they bowed to the inevitable and slowly fell apart.

Xander’s feet hit the floor first, bringing him to his feet. Prue looked over at his ass as he walked toward the bathroom, walking comically to keep his back to her.

<Trying to hide a morning erection, I bet.> Prue half smiled.

“I’ll just be a minute.” Xander said, closing the door to the bathroom.

Prue watched, nodding thought the door was closed between them, and thought about the night before, wondering if she had any regrets.

Oddly, she quickly realized, she didn’t.

Xander was possibly a bit young for her, but not by all that much, and he was eighteen at least. He was also funny, handsome, and lethally dangerous when threatened. All assets in her life. So Prue rolled out of bed herself, standing up and stretching in the warmth of the morning. Her skin stretched tight over her frame, her breasts drawing taught against her torso as her hands nearly touched the ceiling, and she walked over to the bathroom.

She took a breath, then walked in.

“Hey! What!?” Xander was on the toilet, and made a motion of trying to cover himself.

<Yep. Morning erection.> Prue almost giggled, though thankfully didn’t.

Outloud, she just smiled. “I need a shower... Didn’t see any reason to wait.”

Xander stared as she walked by him, giving him a full view of anything he might have missed in the dark the night before, and bent over to turn the shower taps. Behind her, she heard him groan and smiled, more of a smirk really, as she glanced back at him over her shoulder.

“Like what you see?”

Xander glared at her, face only a foot or so from her bent over backside, and suddenly reached out and grabbed her. Prue shrieked in surprise as she was pulled back, hands slipping off the tap as she clutched at it in vain. She lost her balance as he pulled, and in a moment fell solidly onto Xander’s lap.

“Still playing games?” He whispered into her ear, the heat of his breath scorching her.

Prue leaned her head back, arcing her back as his lips found the skin at her throat. “I like games.”

“You know what?” Xander bent her back, lifting her off him for a second, then dropped her back as he positioned himself. Prue groaned as he slid deep inside her at a stroke, and she heard him whispering in her ear again. “Me too.”

“Damn!”

“What’s up Boss?” Greg Sanders asked, looping a hand around a door frame and half hanging into the office.

“How did the press get wind of the 4400 connection!?” Gil demanded, throwing the morning paper to his desk.

Greg shook his head, “Don’t know. Someone’s got a leak.”

“Make sure it’s not us.” Gil ordered, then turned back to his partially constructed bomb.

“Right, boss.”

Prue groaned as she was pushed into the shower, breasts flattening up against the tiles as the water took her breath away. The water, that is, and the hard thrust from behind that filled her up. Xander had stood them up, pushing her over to the shower out of some teenage fantasy she supposed, but she wasn’t complaining because he felt so good where he was, and the shower was at least marginally better then the toilet.

The water slicked her skin as she felt his hands reach around, sliding on her wet skin and spreading the water around as he bucked into her again. She moaned, closing her eyes under the running water, and braced herself against the wall.

Xander’s other hand flailed around, flapping against the wall until he found the recessed shelf in the shower and his hand clasped itself around a bar of soap. He brought it back then, looping it around Prue as he pushed against her again, and run the soap along her tight belly. She moaned as his hands made their way along her body, rendering her soap slick as they passed, and leaving a generous lather in their wake.

Soon the water curling around their feet was full of suds, and the room was filled with the sounds of their lovemaking.

Afterwards found them sitting in the tub, the shower still beating down but the plug dropped in to let the water rise.

Prue leaned back against Xander, laying her head against his shoulder as she felt her heartbeat slow.

“That was a nice way to start the day.” She said, looking up at him as she arced her back and head to do so.

Xander lifted his hands, cupping her breasts as they stood out and nodded with a smile. “Oh yeah.”

“I think we even got clean.” She said, letting his hands work the flesh of her breasts then. “Or I did anyway.”

“I could still do your hair, if you like.” Xander offered with a half smile.

“Mmmmm...” Prue smiled languidly at the suggestion and the motions of his hands. “And exactly what position would you want me in for that I wonder?”

“I could think of a couple.” He replied in kind.

“I’ll bet you could.” Prue grinned, then lightly shook her head. “Maybe after... First though...”

She moved, pushing off him and washing the water around.

“It’s your turn.” She said, grinning at him. “Come on, shift over.”

Xander moved willingly enough, shifting around so she could move behind him in the tub. They were lucky that it was marginally larger the one might expect in a cheap hotel, but still small. So moving around was complicated by that, and the motions of the other, but eventually they figured it out and Prue slid down behind Xander and pulled him back against her.

“You’re turn now.” She whispered in his ear, one hand closing around him as the other grasped the soap and began to begin the process of lathering his body.

Xander groaned, both from her attentions below the waterline, and those above it. Her hands glided over him, working the muscles of his chest and stomach as she worked up the lather and went about cleaning his body with smooth, methodical strokes.

He felt himself harden again then, and his groans became in earnest as she worked her hand up and down the length of him while continuing to run the soap along his body. It didn’t take all that long, all considered, to soap him up but it felt like an eternity to Xander as her right hand continued it’s slow, but steady, stroking.

When she was finally done, he was groaning from any touch she gave him and moaning whenever she denied him that same touch. So he wasn’t too happy when her hand slipped off him, and her heard Prue announce, “All clean.”

Xander moaned, his head sliding back against her breasts as he looked up at her piteously.

She just laughed at him and pushed him off her, “Didn't you offer to do my hair?”

Xander groaned, but moved, smiling then as they moved again. The game was as interesting as it could be, he decided, and it seemed that Prue would be keeping it that way.

Why, then, he was mildly surprised when Prue shook her head as he sat back down against the back of the tub, he would never guess.

“Can’t do my hair down there...” She patted the lip of the tub, “Sit up here.”

Xander rose up, pushing his backside up against the lip of the tub and sat where he told her. The position placed him out of the water, his hardness moving slightly with the motion.

Prue stepped back into the tub, surprising him by kneeling in front of him and leaning in between his legs. He gasped as her mouth took him in, and groaned when her delicious green eyes looked up at him from where her lips were wrapped tightly around him.

“Oh God...” He muttered, closing his eyes for a second.

Then he opened them, remembering the innuendo earlier and his hand reached out and flailed around until it found the shampoo.

“Close your eyes.” He croaked as their eyes met again.

Prue did so as he opened the shampoo.

She could see nothing then, only feel the heat of the water in the tub and the force of it as it rained down from the shower. Only feel the searing heat of him in her mouth, the gentle pulse of his heartbeat, transferred right to her palate, and then the sudden coolness of the shampoo being poured on her skull.

His fingers were in her hair then, working it around and building up a lather. Prue let his motions guide her as she moved along his shaft, a fact that Xander soon caught on too as he began to diligently work his fingers along her scalp, pushing her faster and faster along him.

Prue loved the feeling of his fingers in her scalp, massaging the skin around as she felt the foam cling to her hair. It didn’t take long to finish, and as she continued working her tongue along his lnegth, she felt him reach for something else.

The warm cascade of water took her by surprise as it washed away the lather, then again and again as Xander’s hands pushed along her head, forcing the water out along with the soap and, incidently, pushing her down deeper on him in the process.

Shortly thereafter, Xander’s hands froze on her, his body hardening as his muscles clenched. She might have pulled back then, but he was holding her, intentionally or not, so she couldn’t. Prue could have forced the issue, of course, but didn’t. Instead she waited until he convulsed in her mouth, her throat working as she swallowed.

A few minutes later, with Xander sunk back in the hot water, Prue dabbed the remaining soap form her eyes and smiled down at the spent look on his face.

“I didn’t know guys liked washing a girls hair so much.” She smirked.

Xander just groaned as he looked up at her, then pushed himself up and forced a weary smile.

“What?”

“I think I need my hair washed too, don’t I?” He grinned.

“Mmmmm....” She ran her hands through it. “You know, maybe you do need a little bit of a scrubbing.”

Xander grasped her thighs then, pulling her butt to the edge of the tub, causing her to squeal in surprise.

A moment later he was between her thighs, and Prue was already shivering from his attentions as her hand closed around the shampoo bottle. “Xander?” She breathed huskily.

“Mmmm?”

“Close your eyes.”

Prue finished toweling off her hair, still smiling and feeling flushed as she began to get dressed. She had certainly started the day in worse ways in the past, and she didn’t think that Xander had any complaints, so all in all in was a good morning indeed.

She began to get dressed then, Xander having already dried up and gotten dressed well ahead of her, when a curse from the next room startled her.

“Xander?” Prue walked to the door, tugging it open. “Are you alright?”

There was nothing but silence from the other side then, and she began to worry.

“Xander? What is it?” She asked, stepping out into the room.

Xander was standing by the door, paper in hand. His face had lost the flushed glow they’d shared earlier, his expression now grim and sullen.

“Xander...”

“It’s here.” He said, folding the paper over and handing it to her.

Prue took it, hand surprisingly steady as she began to guess at what he was talking about. Even so, Prue gasped slightly when she read the headling.

Explosion rocks club. 4400 Angle suspected.

“Oh God.” Prue said softly. “Does it say who?”

“Yeah.” Xander nodded, “Joey Traven.”

Prue frowned, shaking her head. “I can’t...”

“He was in my group in Quarantine.” Xander said, “I didn’t talk with him much, but he seemed like a good kid. Been missing five years, could only talk about getting his old job back with his uncle.”

“Oh damn.” Prue sighed.

“Yeah...” Xander said, taking the paper. “But it’s more then that.”

“How can it be more?”

“The details they printed... this isn’t a molotov cocktail or some crappy fertilizer bomb.” Xander said, shaking his head. “Someone put a lot of thought into this.”

“How do you know that?”

Xander paused, blinking.

“I...” His eyes widened, “Damn. I don’t know. I used to know a bit about bombs... used one to kill our Mayor once...”

Prue glanced at him sharply.

“He was a demon at the time,” Xander smirked.

“I see.”

“Still... I knew how to mix some basic amfo...” Xander’s eyes darted around the room as he started thinking about bombs. “Now I seem to know a hell of a lot more. Oh man, where did THAT come from!?”

“Ok, let’s not worry about this just now, ok?” Prue said, “We’re safe, right? They can’t know about us?”

Xander took a couple breaths, then nodded. “Barring having ID’d us at Homeland Security yesterday and following us here, yeah... we’re safe.”

“Alright... so we can think for a bit.” Prue told him, then looked up. “What about others in Vegas?”

Xander paused, then shook his head. “Let’s see if we’ve got anyone else on the website.”

“Right.” Prue grabbed her laptop and plugged it into the phone jack.

A few minutes later, she found one other name.

“Cora...” Prue whispered.

“You know her?”

Prue nodded, “She was in my group. She was taken about fifteen years ago... had some family in Vegas... If it was an attack against the 4400...”

“Then she’s next.” Xander said simply.

“We have to help her.”

Xander nodded, “Right. Ok, finish getting dressed, I’ll give my bike a once over. Make sure nobody screwed with it over night.”

“Right.” Prue stood up.

“Don’t forget your camera and stuff!” Xander yelled after her as he headed for the door, and she headed for the bathroom.

“What? Why!?”

“Two things...” He said, “One, we might need an excuse to be seen around there...”

“And two??”

“If they blow shit up, you should be able to sell the photos.” Xander said grimly.

Prue shuddered, but nodded. “Alright.”

Xander was leaning over the chopper when Prue stepped out, form hugging leather accenting her every curve, and her camera bag over her shoulder.

“Is it ok?”

“Yeah.” Xander nodded, tinkering with the choke. “It’s good, I’m just making a couple adjustments.”

He straightened up, then nodded at her. “You look beautiful.”

Prue just smiled, her step faltering a bit as he complimented her, then continued towards him as Xander straddled the bike and thumbed the starter. The big chopper roared to life then, rumbling low in the morning air. She stepped up behind him, sliding one leg over the bike and letting her weight sink into the seat. The Prue looped first one leg up over Xander, then the other, and hugged tight to him as he revved the engine a bit, her heels nudging gently into his crotch.

“Ready?” She said into his ear.

Xander half turned, a smirk on his face. “God Prue, we just got finished...”

Prue laughed, smacking a hand upside his helmet. “Grow up and let’s go.”

“You got it, toots.” Xander replied, slipping into gear.

“Toots!?” Prue objected, voice irate. She would have hit him then, but decided that distracting the driver wasn’t a bright move.

Xander’s laugh was washed away in the wind as they pulled out into traffic.

Cora Corina looked out her front window hesitantly, just pulling the shade back a bit until she could see the street below.

“Please Ma’am.” The man in the suit who had called himself Eric spoke up almost instantly, “stay away from the window.”

“I can’t stay in here all day.” She said, “I have a job.”

“Ma’am, it’s not safe.”

“I don’t care.” She said firmly. “I have a job. I have a LIFE. I can’t hide like this.”

The Homeland Security Agent sighed. They’d been trying to convince the woman that it wasn’t safe in Vegas, and to let them move her back to Seattle where the main office in charge of the 4400 could take responsibility. She was, however, unthrilled with the prospect of re-entering quarantine and was also about as stubborn as his ex-wife.

Which meant that she was dressed now for work, and was preparing to go outside.

“Ma’am, please...” Eric tried again.

“I’ve made my decision.” She said firmly, opening the door to her apartment.

It was a walkup that opened out on a balcony that overlooked the street, far too much in the open for the agent’s liking, but he had little say in it. So he grabbed his partner, and the two LVPD cops stationed outside, and they formed a shield around her as they went.

On the street below there were two more vehicles, one each of Vegas PD and Homeland Security, and both of them started up as the group appeared at the top of the stairs.

They were halfway down the stairs when the bike turned down the street and cruised to a stop at the bottom of the walkway.

Eric Mansfield reached for his service pistol, drawing the .40 sig from it’s holster in a practiced motion as the biker thumbed the bike off and looked up at them with a grim face. He didn’t know who the man was, but he could almost literally smell trouble off of him.

Apparently so could the others around him. Homeland Security and Vegas PD alike pulled their weapons as the pair got off the bike and unbuckled their helmets.

“Freeze!” One of the PD guys snapped, moving forward quickly.

Eric broke from the group then, bringing his own weapon up closer, and stepped in toward the man. “Sir, please remain where you are and show us some ID.”

The man, the very young man, Eric realized, pulled his sunglasses off then and looked up. “Agent, have you ever seen what happens when a full clip cooks off due to overheating?”

Eric blinked, confused, and answered before he could think of it. “No...”

“Do you want to?” The young man’s eyes didn’t seem quite *sane* at that moment, and both Eric and the PD cop took a step back.

“I’d listen to him if I were you.” The woman said, pulling her helmet off and shaking her hair loose. “Patience isn’t his greatest virtue.”

“Prue?” Cora said softly, surprised.

Eric glanced at her in surprise, noting recognition.

“Hello Cora.” Prudence Halliwell smiled, looking up at her. “We came as soon as we heard about Joey.”

Cora smiled sadly, stepping forward, and hugged the woman in biker leather, leaving the cops and agents more then a little confused. They slowly replaced their weapons in their holsters, looking around the street for other surprises.

The boy who had spoken earlier, looked at Eric then, and the agent noted that the insanity he’d seen earlier, or whatever it was, was gone.

“Alexander Harris.” He said, extending a hand.

Eric took it numbly, noting the firm grip.

“Returnee number four three six six.” Harris told him. “I’m here...”

He jerked a finger over his shoulder to where Cora and the other woman were embracing.

“For her.”

"Tom! Diana!" Dennis Ryland snarled, "My office! Now!"

Tom Baldwin and Diana Skouris exchanged glances, more then a little worried as they put what they were doing aside and got up to follow orders. As they entered the Office, Ryland gestured to them to shut the door.

"What is it, Dennis?" Tom asked, slipping into a seat across from his boss.

"You know about the bombing in Vegas?" Ryland asked, pouring himself a glass of milk from the mini-fridge he kept in his office.

"Sure." Both Tom and Diana nodded.

The Vegas Bombing was one of the biggest things to hit the office, and Ryland knew that. Hell he'd dropped the case file in their lap. They both waited to see what else he was going to say.

"There's a wrinkle." He pursed his lips, taking a drink.

Tom raised an eyebrow silently as Diana leaned forward, "Wrinkle?"

"Harris and Halliwell turned up at the protection detail and now they won't leave." Dennis told them, "Look I know things are tight here, but I need you two to go to Vegas and get a handle on things."

"What do they think they're doing?" Diana frowned.

"They probably think that they're protecting one of the 4400." Tom said, sighing.

Dennis nodded, "Exactly. I've arranged your flight and all the accommodations. You leave in two hours."

Tom sighed, but nodded. "I guess we'd better pack."

"Yeah, I have to find a babysitter for Maia."

"I've got you covered." Ryland said seriously, "I've arranged for a couple I know to look after her for a few days if that's alright with you?"

Diana nodded, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it, just get to Vegas and figure out what the hell is going on."

Eric Mansfield stood stiffly as he watched the cops from the Vegas PD do much the same just a few feet away. Neither Vegas PD, nor Homeland Security, had been given permission to accompany Cora into the flower shop she worked at.

Prudence Halliwell, and Alexander Harris however, had.

They could see the other two returnees inside, Prudence chatting amiably with Cora while she went about her work, while Harris stood well out of the way and tried not to scare the customers. Eric supposed that he was lucky that both Cora and Prudence were attention getters themselves, and few people who entered the shop noticed the mangy looking biker reject in the corner.

Eric was trying to keep focused on the job, though, when three people approaching caused a bit of a stir through the surveillance teams. He recognized the one in the lead and subtly keyed his mic, "Relax. That's Captain Brass, Vegas PD. Let him through."

The men and women on the detail faded back into the background, their move to intercept the armed individuals aborted almost invisibly.

"Captain Brass." Eric said when the three approached.

"Agent Mansfield." Brass replied, "We're here to speak with Miss Corina."

Eric nodded his head to the door and stepped back. The three moved on past and the Homeland Security Agent smiled slightly. He may have to cooperate with the Vegas PD, but not warning them about Harris was just plain fun.

Cora looked up as the door chimed, her smile fading slightly as she recognized the trio who were walking in. "Detective."

"Miss Corrina." The man who'd called himself Jim Brass nodded with a slight smile.

Gil Grissom also nodded, smiling at her. "Miss Corrinna, I was hoping I could ask you some more questions."

Cora nodded, "I don't know what I can do to help, Mr Grissom, but I'll do anything I can."

"That'll be just fine." Grissom told her, "Actually I was hoping that you'd consent to coming down to the station to look at some files with us. If you're a target too, then there is a chance that the bomber may have already been following you. You might have seen him without knowing it."

She looked a little helpless, "I... I can't leave work..."

"Well this will wait," Grissom assured her.

Behind him, Jim Brass turned to survey the shop and found himself staring at a roughly unkept man in biker gear staring right back at him. Brass tilted his head slightly, then glanced out toward the agents outside. He knew that they'd not have let the guy pass, let alone hang around in here, if he seemed too out of place, but Brass had a different definition of out of place then them. He cleared his gun for use by pushing his coat back and hooking it behind the holster, exposing his badge at the same time, and approached the man.

"Who are you?" He asked cooly, looking the biker over.

The Biker just smirked back at him, not answering for a moment. Finally he shrugged, "Name's Xander. You?"

"Jim Brass." Brass replied, stepping closer. "Vegas PD."

"So I gathered from the piece and the shield." Xander told him, still smirking.

Jim glared at him, not liking the tone much. "What's your business here."

"Same as yours." Xander said with a shrug, "Making sure that Cora's ok."

"You know Miss Corina?"

"No. But Prue does, and Cora's 4400. Those are good enough for me." Xander told him flatly.

"And what about you?" Brass asked, an edge in his voice. "Are you 4400, or just a fanboy?"

Xander smiled, this time showing his teeth. "Me? I'm a ghost. No home, no prospects, and no way for the Homeland boys to leak my address to bombers."

"So you are one of the 4400?" Jim pressed.

"I suppose I must be. I seem to have misplaced about seven years of my life somehow." Xander replied evenly.

"Look, pal," Jim leaned in, "I know you want to help your friend here, but giving the bombers another target isn't the way to do it."

Xander snorted, shrugging without moving more then his shoulder. "*Pal*, I've had people trying to kill me since I was fifteen, and I grew up in a suburb. I'm not afraid of what some fruitcake bomber is gonna try. You want to worry about someone, you worry about the bomber if I get sight of him before you do."

Jim looked away for a moment, face tightening, then looked back as he glared at Xander, "Now you see that's not the way to talk. I might take that to mean that you intend to harm the man rather then letting us do our jobs."

Xander smiled slowly, almost lazily. "You might huh? Let me make it clear, If I see this guy first, you won't find a body. Ever."

"Alright now you listen here you little..." Jim started, slamming his hand against the wall by Xander's head. Xander didn't even flinch as Brass continued, but was cut off by one of the people he came in with.

"Jim?"

Brass glanced back, then looked back at Xander.

"I think your friend's calling you." Xander said calmly.

"You watch yourself." Brass said grimly, then pushed off the wall and turned back to the others. "Yeah, what is it Gil?"

"Everything ok?"

"Everything's fine." Brass said, glancing over his shoulder at Xander. "Just peachy."

"Alright." Gil said slowly, looking between then, then finally nodded to the door. "Come on, Jim. Cora will drop by the lab after work. Let's get back to the investigation."

"Well shit. Would you look at this?"

Mansfield eyed the group in question as they approached his position, debating what to do, if anything. He unobtrusively keyed his transmitter, "Anyone see any sign of weapons?"

"Negative. Nothing obvious, Boss."

"What do the PD boys think?"

"Local punks." A voice Mansfield recognized as belonging to one of the Vegas PD officers. "They don't fit the bill as our perps, but I wouldn't trust em."

Mansfield nodded, "Alright, let them through but stand ready. Any trouble and we'll move in on my order."

"Got it."

Xander looked up from where he was standing behind one of the large potted trees in the florist shop, his gaze following the group of young toughs as they pushed their way through the door, ringing the bell set above it.

The cops and the Homeland Security people had tipped him off as they started tightening in on the small shop, so Xander wasn't surprised when the five skin heads came into sight. Whatever else they were, they probably weren't the bombers otherwise the security would have been all over them.

<They don't look like their here for flowers though.> Xander though dryly to himself, catching Prue's eye as he appeared from behind the plant.

Prudence Halliwell had already spotted the quintet as they came in, so her eyes were seeking Xander's as he appeared and the two shared a brief moment of communication before they nodded slightly and Prue slid away from Cora as the girl turned to greet the customers.

"Can I help you?" She asked with a pleasant smile.

The leader of the group, a muscled tough about six feet two in height, pretended to ignore her at first then turned slowly to sneer at her. "You hear something speak, boys? Cause I thought I smelled some really rank breath."

The skin heads didn't speak up, didn't even laugh, only sneered sort of grimly as their leader moved toward Cora and looked down at her.

"You're one of them freaks, right?" He asked, "The 4400. We read on the web that you worked here."

Cora froze, uncertain what to say, but another voice entered the 'conversation' without hesitation.

"I find that hard to believe." Prudence said dryly.

The Leader looked over at her, taking the measure of the leather wearing brunette, "Stay out of this, babe. She really is one of those freaks."

"Not that," Prue smirked, "I find it hard to believe that any of you neanderthals know how to read, let alone use a computer."

That pretty much distracted the attentions of the skin heads away from Cora, though most people in Prue's position probably wouldn't have found the new situation an improvement.

The leader was close enough to lunge at her, and his big hand closed around her jaw in a flash, squeezing her cheeks cruelly, and puffing out her lips in a grotesque parody of a kiss.

"Bitch." He snarled, "I could snap you like a twig. You really sure you want to get involved in this?"

Xander could see the police moving in fast from the outside, and debated momentarily the wisdom of staying out of the entire situation. There was no reason to get involved, it was obvious that these were just punks, they weren't a threat to him or Prue, or even to Cora.

Somehow, though, since he'd come back he'd been feeling a little more aggressive then he used to.

Agent Mansfield was reaching for the door when he saw the Harris boy start to move. The experienced agent barely muffled a curse as the action started while he was still twenty feet away.

Xander Harris moved up behind the group while they weren't paying attention, easily grabbing the rear most member of the group, looping one arm around his neck from behind and yanking him back hard as his other hand shot out to grab the next one. As the first thug crumpled almost instantly, Harris shoved his thumb in under the jawbone of number two as his fingers wrapped themselves around the back of his skull, and then squeezed.

Mansfield winced as he opened the door and heard the scream of pain, and then the audible pop of the jaw dislocating.

Those two fell aside, one unconscious and one screaming, but Harris didn't stop. He moved forward again, one elbow snapping out to crack the ribs of the next man in line, as he reached forward and twisted number four's arm around and behind his back.

The man screamed in the sudden pain, but Harris just lifted his arm higher until the sound was more of a subsonic whine that was actually hard to hear over the commotion of the cops rushing up behind Mansfield.

It wasn't until then that Harris spoke, though he wasn't talking to either the thugs or the agents coming in behind him. He spoke almost casually to Prudence Halliwell as she stood there with the lead thug's hand clamped around her jaw, eyes blazing with anger yet not doing anything.

"You know, Prue, some guys get off on the Damsel in Distress stuff, but I'm really not one of them." Xander said with a smirk as he propped up his man with another yank on his twisted arm.

"Very funny." Prue murmured through the grip of the lead thug, sounding more then a little put off.

The thug in question had only just managed to look behind him to see what the commotion was, and stared in shock at the three of his boys who were on the ground, and the one that was currently held in a tight grip by a young man in motorcycle leathers.

"Who the fuck are you!?"

Xander rolled his eyes, "And you wondered why Prue thought you were illiterate."

"I asked you a question, muther fucker!" The thug growled again, tightening his grip on Prue's face. "You answer it or I'll pop this bitch like melon!"

"What makes you think you're going to live long enough, baldy?" Xander asked grimly, actually smiling as he shifted his grip on the guy he was holding.

"What's your problem, asshole!?" The guy challenged, "We just here to preserve the blood man! That bitch over there," He jerked his head toward Cora, who was looking shocked at the sudden violence, "Is one of them 4400 freaks!"

"Really?" Xander asked with a smile, hearing the cops spread out behind him. "Brave man."

"Huh?"

"You'd have to be, coming in here with only five guys to beat up a florist..." Xander sneered, "Afterall, you know what they say about them '4400 freaks'. They've all got powers and stuff."

The thug sneered, "No freak with freak powers is gonna scare me."

Xander's smiled grew chilly while his eyes began to flicker with an undeniable heat. "Wanna bet?"

The thug shifted nervously, seeing something in Xander that he wasn't used to seeing in his prey.

Contempt.

"Wha... what are you talking about?"

Somewhere in the background, like a thousand miles away, Xander heard Mansfield yell 'Federal Agents! Let go of the girl!', but he ignored it. Surprisingly, the thug ignored it too, like he suddenly knew that the cops were the least of his concerns.

Xander just smiled cooly again, twisting his hand slightly in preparation. "See, I'm one of those 'freaks' myself... and so's my girl."

As the import of that statement was causing the thug's eyes to widen, Xander shifted his grip on his man, letting his arm swing free, then pulled it hard in the opposite direction. The thug in his grip spun around, actually coming airborne as he tried to avoid the pain of resisting the Ju-Jitso maneuver. Xander looped a second hand into the thug's belt, and suddenly powered him right toward the door.

He flew straight and true, though not quite far enough, and landed about five feet short of the door in a tumbling roll as the cops scattered to get out of his way. He hit the door hard, but not hard enough to break it, and pushed the door open before coming to a stop and lying in a moaning heap halfway out onto the sidewalk.

As the cops stared at the man in the doorway, Xander simply stepped to one side and smiled at Prue's pinched face as she stared at him in shock. The glance communicated everything in a single moment and she suddenly understood.

The 4400 were already known for exhibiting 'powers', and the evidence was pouring in more and more every single day. Certainly, her powers weren't from that source, but no one else would ever guess that. Xander had just given her carte blanche to defend herself to the maximum extent she was able, even here in public.

The thug was still looking at Xander in shock when she struck, hitting him with enough force to lift him clear off the ground and rip his hand from her face. He had a chance to look back at her in mid flight, the expression on his face looking like she'd betrayed him somehow as he flew back toward the open door.

Unlike Xander's man, Prue's didn't fall short. He went right out the door without touching the ground even once, then slammed into the windshield of one of the cars belonging to the undercover cops outside. An alarm went off, the car rocked for a moment, and the thug groaned in pain as he lay there, embedded in the safety glass.

The cops stared at him, none of them having been looking in Prue's direction when she acted, then looked back to where Xander was calmly clapping his hands clean as he stepped between them and her.

"What the hell did you do??" Agent Mansfield demanded of Xander as he came forward.

Behind him the cops snapped free of their shock and started picking up the downed thugs, slapping cuffs on them and reading them their rights.

Xander just shrugged, looking Mansfield in the eyes, "No one lays a hand on my girl without her permission."

The Homeland Security Agent stared in shock for a moment, then looked back to the groaning skin heads that were being picked up off the ground in various states of pain and consciousness. "Ri-ght."

As the agent turned away, shaking his head, Prue jabbed her elbow into Xander's side. "*your* girl?"

Xander grinned suddenly, his face changing in that instant to a goofy overeager sort of teenager look that suddenly made Prue think that she was most definitely robbing the cradle with him. "Well, you were last night."

She pursed her lips, trying not to smile back, "Getting territorial on me, are you?"

"You know you love it." He grinned.

She shook her head, mostly in mock disgust, then looked to the groaning thugs as they were being led, or helped, out of the shop. "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"

Xander frowned, then shook his head. "It's a long story, and you know... I'm not even sure of the ending myself."

She cast him a questioning glance, but was distracted as one of the cops came over to Cora.

"Are you alright, Miss Corrina?"

Gil Grissom looked up at the odd, and rather motley, group that was walking toward his office. Miss Corrina was on the group, walking between the two people who had been at her place of business when he had visited earlier. If Brass was right, they were both members of the 4400 as well, and the young man had a bad attitude on top of it. Behind those three were, of course, an entire parade of police and federal agents.

Grissom pushed the schematics he'd drawn up for the bomb away from him and stood up, coming around his desk as the group arrived at his door.

"Miss Corrina." He said, smiling slightly as he greeted the woman. "I'm happy you could make it."

"Anything to help," The young, in a manner of speaking, woman said, sounding subdued.

"Come right in," Grissom said, gesturing to the desk. "Ah, I think that your friends could wait outside...?"

Cora looked back at Prue, who exchanged glances with Xander, and nodded. The other two nodded in return and stepped back and away from the door. Grissom eyed the exchange curiously, but didn't say anything as Cora stepped into his office and took the seat he'd offered.

Gil shut the door and walked around the desk again, taking a seat. "Miss Corrina, I have some mug shots I'd like you to take a look at... just to see if you recognize anyone in them, and after that maybe some simple questions... is that alright?"

She nodded mutely.

"Alright," he said, pulling out a large sheaf binder, filled to bulging, "take your time and look through these..."

Cora looked at the immense binder and winced, but obediently accepted it and began to flip through it.

Xander glanced at Prue as they stood apart from the cops and federal agents, who kept shooting them nervous stares.

"Funny, I fell like I'm in enemy territory."

Prue blinked, looking back and frowning. "What?"

Xander shrugged, "Just what I said... Sunnydale was the home of incompetent and crooked cops... Either they were idiots, or under the thumb of the Mayor... and he was a demon wannabe."

Prue winced, "Ouch. My sisters and I had friends on the force... good guys, helped us out."

"Lucky you." Xander said, smiling slightly at her.

"I guess."

Xander shrugged again and looked around, noting all the action going on around him. The CSI building was largely segregated by glass partitions, allowing him fairly easy viewing into several of the nearby labs.

"See something interesting?" Prue asked, edging up beside him.

Xander shrugged, "nothing I understand.... no, now wait a second... I do see something I understand."

"What...?" Prue asked, as Xander moved away. "Xander? Where are you going!?"

CSI Nick Stokes frowned as he poured over the bomb components, trying to figure out the pieces from the junk that had been picked up from the scene.

"Trouble?"

Nick glanced up as Greg Sanders leaned over the table, looking across the debris.

"Yeah," He said after a moment, leaning back and running his hands through his hair. "This thing is a real mess. I can't seem to find the timing device."

"Maybe their wasn't one." Greg shrugged, "A remote detonator?"

"Maybe," Nick replied, frowning, "But there doesn't seem to be a receiver either."

"That's cause it wasn't remote detonated."

Greg and Nick both jumped at the new voice, swinging around in shock.

"Hey, you can't be in here!" Nick growled instantly, coming up out of his chair.

The new figure ignored him as he looked over the table, then casually swept half the materials to the ground.

"HEY!" Greg yelled, "You can't do that!"

"Guards!" Nick yelled, moving around the table to grab the figure, only to suddenly find himself sliding backwards into his seat.

"What the hell?" He blinked in shock from where he had fallen into the chair, unable to comprehend what had pushed him aside.

The young man who had made such a mess of the table was now handling the evidence, without gloves mind you, and talking away as he did.

"It's a military detonator with a pressure switch tied to a remote safety." The man was saying idly as his hands began fitting pieces into each other, slapping them together with cool efficiency. "It's sometimes used by covert operations units when they want to make sure they get a specific target."

Nick shook his head, stunned, as the man tossed the assembled detonator to him, "Who are you, man?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

"Eckley!" Nick blurted, "This guy just pushed in here!"

The balding man nodded, waving a hand at Nick. "Yes yes, I'm sure you had nothing to do with it, Stokes. You, who are you and what are you doing in my lab?"

Xander ignored him, instead continuing to tinker with the detonator he'd assembled, expertly taking the pieces apart again and plucking a magnifying lense from the table.

"Hey!" Eckley yelled, "Are you listening to me!?"

"For crying out loud, what's going on in here?" Gil Grissom growled, entering into the room, "I'm trying to interview a potential witness in my office..."

"Grissom, this guy just broke in here..."

"Gil, if you can't control your labs, I'll..."

"Hey!" Grissom ignored both Eckley and Stokes, walking past both of them like they weren't there, "That's evidence you're messing with..."

"Actually it's a type nineteen soviet detonator. Military issue, manufactured in the Ukraine in eighty three."

Gil stopped like he'd hit a brick wall. "Excuse me?"

Xander flipped the piece over to Gil, handing him the magnifier. "See those markings inside?"

Gil looked at the inside of the metal casing, "Yeah. That's not writing."

"Wrong. It's Cyrillic."

"I know russian script," Gil replied cooly, "That's not Cyrillic."

"It is, it's just a Ukrainian dialect. Almost never used outside the Ukraine." Xander corrected him, "In fact, the only place you'll find it is on equipment manufactured specifically for the Spetsnaz. Russian Special Forces."

Gil froze, looking at the item. "Are you sure about this?"

Xander nodded.

"Excuse me!? Who is this man!? Why is he in my lab!?" Eckley yelled, turning red.

"Alexander, Alexander, Alexander..."

Everyone turned to see a man and a woman walk in, dressed in suits and looking slightly tired.

"Getting into trouble already?"

"Who are YOU people!?"

"Homeland Security." Both man and woman snapped, holding up their ID to Eckley.

"Homeland...." Eckley trailed off, looking around the room, then back at Xander. "And he is..."

"Our problem."

"Fine! Take him for all I care!" Eckley threw up his hands and left the room.

"Uh... Agents...?"

"Baldwin." The man replied, looking over at Gil.

"Skouris." The woman said, eyeing Xander carefully.

"We're here because these two," Tom Baldwin pointed first to Xander and then to Prue, "Are sending flags up in more computers then we knew existed."

"Tom, Diana," Xander smiled personably, "How's it going? Liking Vegas much?"

"Can it, Harris." Baldwin grumbled, "You've got some questions to answer, and we'll be starting with Sunnydale."

"Oh. That." Xander smirked.

"Sunnydale?" Nick Stokes frowned, "Hey, isn't that the town that... you know..."

Nick made a motion of the earth swallowing something up with his hands.

"That's the place." Xander nodded, his smirk fading. "It was my hometown."

Nick winced, "Ouch man."

"Tell me about it."

Tom Baldwin glared, "I'm more curious as to why it just blew up actually."

"It blew up too!?" Nick blurted, "Damn, what is that place? Cursed?"

"You don't know the half of it." Xander muttered, glancing up at Baldwin he just shrugged. "Don't know anymore than I already told you, Agent."

"Right. Ok, how about we talk about Cora then?"

"Corrina?" Gil looked up from the detonator, "What about her?"

Skouris and Baldwin ignored Grissom, staying focused on Xander. "Why did you show up at Cora's place, Harris?"

Xander shrugged, "Just call me the 4400 protection detail. No one gets killed on my watch..."

He smiled, "Not unless I'm doing the killing."

"Not FUNNY." Tom growled, glaring openly at him.

"You obviously aren't used to his sense of humor." Prue said dryly from one side.

"How did you get involved in this, Miss Halliwell?" Diana Skouris asked, turning to the other returnee.

Prudence shrugged, smirking, "He offered me a ride."

Xander choked, then began coughing into his hand.

"Sorry," He said after a moment, "Something in my throat."

Everyone looked at him, and thankfully missed the fact that Prue had stuck her tongue out at him.

"Is that a promise?" He asked her.

"Is what a promise??" Tom Baldwin looked around, confused.

Prue, her tongue back in her mouth, just smiled and focused on looking angelic.

Xander reflected that it was actually a credible performance, though his own recent experiences with the stunning brunette let him see right through it with ease.

Gil Grissom frowned, looking between all the various players in the room, "Am I missing something here?"

Nick looked around, confused as well, then caught on suddenly. His eyes widened and his mouth formed a perfect 'Oh'. "I'll tell you later, Grissom."

"Can we get back on topic here??" Baldwin growled.

"Which is?" Xander asked, attempting to mirror Prue's innocent look.

He was... marginally less successful.

"Don't you play that game with me, Harris!" Tom growled, "What the hell do you think you're doing getting in the way of the Protective detail assigned to Cora?"

"Hey, I'm in no ones way. They're outside, I'm inside." Xander smirked, "Prue and Cora are friends from Quarantine."

Diana and Tom turned on Prue and she just had time to mouth a threat or promise to get even with him before they began firing off questions at her instead.

"There," Xander smirked, turning to Gil and Stokes, "That should keep them busy for a while. About the detonator..."

Later, after having escaped the clutches of both Homeland Security and the LVPD Criminalistics department, Prue, Xander, and Cora let themselves in to Cora's apartment.

"I can't believe you sicced them on me like that!" Prue complained.

"Hey, at least you didn't have to deal with bug boy." Xander replied, "That guy actually had a fetal pig in a jar in his office!"

Cora nodded, shuddering. "He's nice though."

"In a cold fish sort of way," Xander agreed.

"Better than those two from Homeland Security." Prue muttered, "I still can't believe you left me with them!"

"Get over it," Xander grinned.

"I'll give you something to get over..." Prue muttered darkly.

Cora looked between the two of them, and smiled at the exchange. Then the moment passed, as did her smile, and she shivered.

"Do...," She began hesitantly, distracting both Prue and Xander, "Do you think someone will try to kill me too?"

Xander and Prue exchange glances, and Prue went to her friend, "Hey... it's ok. We're here to help, and there's lots of police looking out for you too."

Xander stepped back, out of the way, and began to case the apartment while Prue comforted her friend.

Gil Grissom looked over the information on the detonator, eyebrow rising as he read the translation of the Cyrillic dialect.

"Well I'll be..."

"I have no doubt," Catherine Willows said, leaning on his door frame. "What will you be this time?"

Gil looked up, a smile playing at his lips even as he looked surprised to see her, "Catherine, come in and have a look at this..."

The redhead stepped into the room and walked over to the desk, looking over Gil's shoulder at the information on the computer and the papers on the desk.

"What am I looking at?"

"This is what Mr Harris turned up for us this morning, it's a connection to the 4400 bombing." Gil explained, "The detonator was a Russian surplus, military grade, trigger..."

"Huh." She said, nodding, "Than you'll love this. Trace report came back on the explosive."

She dropped a file on his desk and Grissom leafed through it quickly. After a moment he paused, then looked closer, and finally raised an eyebrow and looked at Willows.

"Semtex?"

She nodded.

Grissom nodded, "Russian detonator, Russian plastique. One from the Ukraine, the other from Czechoslovakia. Import market?"

"Not a legal one." Catherine replied, "This isn't commercial Semtex. That's marked a bright orange and has chemical markers so sniffers can detect it."

Grissom grimaced, "Of course not. Which doesn't really narrow things down much. Alright, call up Agent Tom Baldwin. He's Homeland Security, the local office should have his number. If anyone can get information on who's importing this stuff, he'll be the man."

"Right. Anything else?"

Grissom looked at the information again, then nodded. "Hurry. I've got a feeling that this isn't going to end with Joey Traven."

"Alright, I'll get a hold of him."

"How's she doing?"

Prue looked up as Xander walked back in, glancing momentarily back toward the bathroom Cora had retreated to. "She's better... It' rough on her."

Xander nodded, "I just finished a check... The place is clean."

Prue didn't have to ask clean of what, she just nodded. "So you think they'll make a move on Cora?"

"Don't know," Xander said honestly, "If they do... well, this place isn't safe."

"Xander, there are guards everywhere... not to mention us," Prue said, eyes not quite believing him, "And you know that we're not exactly helpless."

"I know, but trust me, I've seen too many 'invincible' bad guys go down in flames to relatively 'weak' opponents to be comfortable here." Xander told her, "These guys have access to military grade explosives, and they know how to use them... That begs the question, what else have they got?"

"And how easily can they put it to use," Prue grimaced, nodding.

"Exactly."

"Semtex, Semtex, Semtex..." Tom Baldwin growled, tapping a command into his computer as he dialed out on his cell.

"Ryland."

"Dennis, it's Tom. We've got some news back from the crime lab here on the explosive. It's Semtex."

"Damn."

"Yeah, look, I'll need all available files on importers of illegal munitions. You can skip the legal sources, it's definitely military grade."

"Alright, I'll have them made available to you through the local home office... What about Harris and Halliwell?"

"They're here." Tom replied dryly.

"I KNOW that, Tom," Dennis growled, "Tell me something I don't know."

"Don't have much yet," Tom admitted, "but they've latched onto Miss Corrinna and aren't going to let go."

Dennis Ryland sighed, "Recommendation?"

"Leave them where they are." Tom said.

"To get blown up themselves?"

"If we can't protect Cora, then any of the 4400 is at risk. There's no difference to having them here, or on the road," Tom said, "Here we can keep an eye on them... and if there's something... changed about Harris, well maybe he can help."

"And give us a hint as to what it is in the process..." Dennis mused, "Alright. Not like we have a lot of choice I guess anyway."

"Not really, Sir." Tom replied, "Besides... there's something off about Harris to be sure."

"Oh? What?"

"Not sure yet... but I'll tell you one thing, he knows a lot about bombs."

"What!?"