"So, you aren't?" Conner smiled.

"Nope, I'm the possessor this time around." Xander smirked.

A light seemed to turn on in Conner's eyes, as he started to laugh. "Good one, Uncle Xan."

"You know that we should take down the sound proof spell and unlock the door, before Spike takes it all down for us, by force." Xander rolled his eyes, as a familiar twinge hit him.

"What's up with him anyway? He almost seems afraid I'm going to steal you." Conner's confused face was once again in place.

"It seems everyone he's loved has left him. I'm the only one who has come back. He doesn't want to lose me again. What he hasn't realized is that in this body, I have a better chance of not living then when I was in Alexander Harris' body." Xander looked sadly at the door. "I don't want to leave him again, but it's enviable."

"I'm sorry. I wish you two could be together forever." Conner realized that Xander truly loved the vampire outside that door. "Let's get out of here, so you can prove to Spike that I haven't molested you or anything." Xander just nodded. Conner released the spell, and opened the door to an enraged vampire.

"What in bloody hell are you two doing in there? If Peaches' brat hurt you in any way, I'll kill him." Spike gathered up Xander into his arms.

Xander sighed in Spike's neck. "He didn't hurt me in any way. We talked." Xander held on to Spike like a drowning man to water. "I love you, you know that, right?"

Spike got scared by that admission, last time Xander spoke like that Pepito had killed him the next day. He quickly glared at Conner, who took the hint. "Luv, what's with all this talk?"

"I just wanted you to know. I figured we never said it often. Mostly out of your need to keep your image. I should have said it more no matter what. I was scared you'd leave if I said it too much. We were so scared of loosing one another, we didn't really take the time to understand what we meant to each other and I'm sorry." Xander kissed Spike. It wasn't chaste, but it wasn't raunchy. It was like a slow burn.

"Xan, I'm sorry too. If you tell anyone I apologized, you will live to regret it." Spike mock threatened Xander. "You are right, we were afraid, but we aren't anymore. So no worries, right?" Spike looked at Xander with a glimmer of hope Xander would agree, but the knowledge that he wouldn't.

"Spike, I need to go after Pepito tonight. I'm ready and I don't need him to get more powerful." Xander looked deep into Spike's cerulean blue eyes.

"Promise me that you won't die on me." Spike almost begged.

"Spike."

"Promise me, Damn it!" Spike's voice cracked.

"I promise, Spike." Xander looked away. Then sealed the promise with a kiss. This kiss was a passionate as they came, and burned like the fires of hell through both of them.

As the kiss ended, Spike loosened his grip on Xander. Xander slid to the ground, and kissed Spike's clothed chest, where the heart was. "I need to find Angel." Xander looked down, as if unable to meet Spike's eyes.

Spike placed two fingers under Xander's chin and made Xander look him in the eyes. "Better find him quick before he goes into another round of brooding or we'll never get outta here." Then kissed him on the forehead.

*****
Part 14:

Xander found Angel in the study, brooding. "Hey Angel." Xander wished he could be his hyper self, but after such an emotionally draining moment with Spike, he couldn't get up the energy.

"You're going to fight, even if you know you are going to lose?" Angel looked up at Xander. Yet unlike the sadness of the truth he expected in Xander's eyes, he found hope.

"You see a losing battle. I see a chance to save everyone from him. I'd be making Buffy proud. And I know you are too." Xander watched as Angel looked up at him in surprise. "What? Don't you think I know you wonder each day if going on and taking care of Conner was what she wanted? I keep thinking, with me in the this body, would the crew be proud of me?"

"I should have died in her place." Angel looked lonely, more lonely then usual. He looked like a man broken by the world.

"You knew she wanted to go down fighting. She's proud of you, Angel. We all are." Xander placed a hand on Angel's shoulder.

"I wish I knew that for sure. I mean I couldn't protect any of you. Hell, I couldn't even protect you." Angel didn't finish his comment.

Xander laughed bitterly. "You mean you couldn't even protect the weakest of the group, didn't you."

"No, I didn't. I was going to say, my childe's heart." Angel looked away. "I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you were the weakest of us. We were stronger because of you. Something seemed to suck the oxygen out of the room when you died. It was like all hope that rested in you was gone. It couldn't be brought back." Angel looked up as if truly seeing Xander, not Alexandria, but Xander. "It was brought back when you walked in this hotel, even if we didn't know it was you before. It was like a weight was lifted."

"Angel, you know that I'm still human. I will die again eventually." Xander looked down in pity for Angel.

"I know I'll slowly lose all of you. But someday. I'll be able to see Buffy someday and spend eternity with her." Angel had an ageless look upon his face that reminded Xander that Angel had watched centuries come and go.

"It may be closer then you think." Xander smiled hopefully.

"You always looked on the positive side of everything, even now." Angel found him smiling back.

"Lets go kick some baddie butt." Xander smirked as Angel shook off the brooding stature and went into the hero everyone knew he was.

*****
Part 15:

Xander walked into the warehouse Pepito had taken over. "Why is it always a warehouse?"

"Rent's cheap." Pepito walked out into the shadows. Pepito looked almost like a copy of Viggo Mortensen's version of the devil in the Prophesy. The only exception was Xander was no Christopher Walken.

"I figured the son of Satan would want better real estate. Down sizing after your last time here?" Xander smiled evilly as Pepito glared at him.

"Little Slayer likes to make jokes. How boring. I excepted something more.exciting." Pepito smirked at Xander.

"Here's the exciting part, Peppy! Doubt you remember the vampire loving human who kicked your butt, but I remember." Xander watched Pepito's eyes widen at the nickname 'Peppy'.

"You're the daughter of that annoying, pitiful human, Alexander, wasn't it?" Pepito settled down from his shock.

"Nope. You're looking at the real deal, and the name is Xander!" Xander smirked at Angel, Spike and Conner appeared behind him.

"WHAT?!" Pepito was now confused.

"Had the same reaction, Pepito. Never thought my pet would come back to me in the body of the Slayer." Spike smirked.

No one's smirk lasted long, except for Pepito as he caught Xander by the throat. "Angel, remind you of another Slayer, like the little woman? Watch me snap this one's neck too. Because after I've killed this one, none of you will last long after that. I realized after my last time up on the surface, I don't need minions. They just get in the way."

"No happening this time." Xander smirked, though he was having trouble breathing.

"How is that going to happen?" Pepito said in a sarcastic voice to the woman he held.

"This." Xander started to chant. The chant seemed older then time itself. As the chant was uttered a rip in the time fabric appeared to the side of the group, and what looked like an African woman in strips of white fabric crawled out. The group stood in shock. Pepito's eyes widened in realization of who it was. Then one by one, women in different clothes walked out. One, Spike recognized as the Chinese Slayer he killed during the Boxer Rebellion. Another was the Slayer he had killed in New York.

Finally Buffy, Kendra and Faith walked out. Then as if a gun shot off, or a call for battle was called, Pepito was swarmed by Slayers of the past.

The battle was fierce and bloody, and in the end nothing was truly left of Pepito. As if being called home, the slayers walked back to the rip. The two slayers Spike had killed smirked at him, as if Spike having to working for the Powers That Be was revenge for their deaths.

Buffy looked over at the rip, and then walked over to Angel. "You make me proud in everything you do." She looked like she wanted to touch him, but at the last moment pulled back. "Don't want to burn you."

Angel took her hand, and placed it to his cheek. The smoke arose from where she touched him, but he seemed unaffected by the pain. "I'll always love you."

Buffy let a tear fall, as he let her hand go. A burn mark marred Angel's face, but it didn't seem to matter.

Conner looked at Buffy with awe. "Mom?" His voice was almost child-like.

Buffy turned to Conner, and hugged him tightly. "Take care of yourself and your father. Mostly your father." She kissed his cheek and let go. "I have to go back now. I love you too. You will always be my baby boy, and you make me proud too."

Faith smirked at the group, then walked over the charred pile that was Pepito, and pulled at something out from the mess. Kendra, who also stayed back, walked over to help Faith pull out a blackened thing. Then as if under a shower, the burned crust seemed to flow off his body. The body was not what anyone expected, in the place of the beautiful Alexandria, was the handsome Alexander. He shook himself off, and looked down at his hands, which seemed to glow, then looked up at Faith and Kendra. "I take it that it's time to go then?" Faith nodded sadly.

Spike looked at the group, then at Xander. "What do you mean time to go? You promised me that you wouldn't die!"

A tear streaked across Xander's cheek. "I lied."

"You aren't allowed to die! You can't leave me again. I went though that once, I don't and won't do it again." Spike yelled.

"I don't have a choice in the manner. That's why Giles wouldn't give the spell to kill Pepito to Buffy. He couldn't deal with being the cause of Buffy's final death." Xander tried to reason with him. "I knew that that was why I was given this body, to finish it off once and for all."

"Giles can't kill Buffy but he can kill you?" Spike looked desolated.

"No, Giles knew that I would be willing to give my life for you all to live. I love you too much to allow Pepito to win. Besides, even if it was a short time, I still got a second chance with you. How many people can say they loved the same person for two lifetimes?" Xander walked over to Spike, and kissed him. "I'll wait for you, forever. I'll try to come back for you again. Hopefully Buffy can requisition me a male body this time." He smiled, but the tears he tried to stop were streaming down his face.

"Xan, you know there is no coming back this time." Buffy wiped the tear streaking her face as well.

"I was afraid of that." Xander tried to joke, but it fell flat since he looked desolated.

"I promise you, luv, I will find a way to get to you." Spike pulled Xander to look him dead in the eyes. "I will find a way, if I have to storm heaven's gates myself."

Faith made a gesture to point out the slayers' time was up. "Come on B, X. Big G won't be happy if we're late. I've got a massage waiting for me too. So lets wrap it up, kids." Kendra walked into the rip, as Faith was about to pull Buffy and Xander kicking and screaming into the rip.

"I'm coming Faith. This is the last time I'll see the man I love, I wanna make it good." Xander tried to smile again. He then kissed Spike their last kiss, and walked to the rip. "I love you." Then walked into the rip. Buffy pecked Angel on the lips, and kissed Conner on the forehead. She, then, ran into the portal. Finally Faith walked into the rip, and it shrunk away.

The warehouse was empty once again; the only things proving it happened were a burn on Angel's lips, cheek, his hand and a pile of burnt Pepito.

The group of three then walked out without a sound. One regained the hope he had lost, one lost his sense of being, and one was given hope for the future.

*****
tbc