Title: The High Cost of Winning

Author: Josette Grover

E-Mail: jgrover@tm.net or josette_g98@yahoo.com

Fandoms: Buffy, the Vampire Slayer/ Hercules: TLJ & Xena: WP/ Highlander: The Series, The Sentinel

Rating: R for Angst and m/m sex among hot loving couples. MPREG

Pairing: Giles/Ethan, Strife/Cupid, Ares/Joxer, Iphicles/Iolaus, Darius/Richie/Methos/Duncan, Spike/Angelus, Blair/Jim

Synopsis: Xander graduates and gets a new job, but something bad happens to ruin the day.

AN: This is part of my 'Xander is Angelus' son' universe and follows the events of 'Will the real Xander Harris please stand up' and 'Lying to your watcher is not a good thing'. Takes place approximately two months after these two stories, somewhere around Christmas. I know Xander's too young to be working in my stories, he's not quite sixteen (officially that is) but I needed an explanation for somebody who had graduated to be hanging around the school.

AN II: This is an extremely AU Season One Buffy. Major Changes are indicated below.

1. Angel doesn't exist; the curse didn't work because he's a Bacchii, not a vampire and didn't lose his soul when he was turned. He's 2000 years old and Bacchus' High Priest. He's pretending to be the Vampire with a soul for reasons of his own.

2. Spike was in Sunnydale before he officially shows up on the show, having moved there along with Angelus and Drusilla. He's a Bacchii, not a vampire and has his soul too. Drusilla is not the insane vampire shown on the show.

3. Ethan is not a Chaos sorcerer, and is Giles' lover. He owns and operates the Magic Box.

4. Wesley moved to Sunnydale during Buffy's first year in Sunnydale. He is not her Watcher; instead he is Healer working with Ethan and Giles.

5. Joyce knows Buffy is the Slayer; she is a Slayer who was never Called, and one of a pair of twins who are the only known set of twins who are both Slayers. Her sister was Called when they were sixteen and died in Joyce's arms one day shy of their 18th birthday. Hank was her sister's Watcher, who was ordered to stay with Joyce in case she was called after her sister's death. Joyce was not called, so Hank was given another assignment. Unfortunately, he's as big a deadbeat father as he is in Canon.

6. Xander did not grow up in Sunnydale. He moved there with Angelus, Spike, Drusilla, and Darla a year or so before Giles and Buffy arrived. He does not live with Angelus, instead he lives with his 'parents', at least until he can officially move out on his own.

7. Angelus and Buffy are NOT going to be doing the Wild Thing, he is not going to be losing his Soul, and he is not going to Hell. Angelus will not become her boyfriend, he thinks of her as a daughter along with Willow, Giles, Ethan, and Wesley. He's 2000; he's allowed to think of them as his
children.


The High Cost of Winning
by Josette Grover

Xander walks into the library, dumping his books on a table before grabbing the gym's key off the wall in Giles' office. Leaving a message with his books saying he's in the gym working out in case the others arrive before he gets back from his workout, he leaves the library.

Entering the library two hours later, Giles finds Xander settled at a table reading. He groans, seeing an opened can of cola and two candy wrappers. Xander on a sugar high is something that should be avoided at all costs.

"What are you doing here so early, Xander?"

"Hiding from Willow and Buffy, they're going shopping for new school clothes."

"You could use some new clothes yourself, Xander." Giles says, eying the pile of debris on the table with distaste.

"Sorry, G-Man, let me get this stuff off the table," Xander says, picking up the wrappers and tossing them across the room towards the garbage can. "I don't need new clothes, these still fit. Besides, Principal Flutey wanted to see me for something, he said he'd meet me here in about five minutes."

"Oh good, you're here already." Principal Flutey says, entering the library. "No, don't leave, Mr. Giles, this affects you as well," He says as Giles begins to go into his office to give them some privacy.

"I got your latest test scores back, Alexander. Congratulations, you have officially passed your last class. You may consider yourself a graduate of Sunnydale High School, and I have a job proposal for you. I would like to hire you as an assistant for Mr. Giles. You help out in the library most days, now I'd like you to get paid for it."

Xander looks stunned at the folder of papers Principal Flutey hands him. "Fill these out and you can consider yourself an official employee of the school district."

"Thank you, Principal Flutey, that is most thoughtful of you."

"You've needed an assistant for a while now, Giles, you might as well have somebody who actually knows the job." Principal Flutey says, smiling as he leaves the room.

"I wasn't aware you were that far ahead of the others in your studies." Giles says as Xander opens the folder, picks up the first paper, and begins to fill it out.

"When I moved to Sunnydale, I already tested at the 12th grade level. I just needed a few more classes before I could officially graduate." Xander says as the door open and Buffy and Willow come in, loaded down with bags from the mall. Xander hides the folder among his other papers as the girls come over to the table.

"Hey Giles, Xander, look what I got for the Spring Fling." Buffy says, pulling a black dress out of her bag and holding it up to show the guys. "Mom helped me pick it out."

"Nice dress, Buffy," Xander says, leaving the library and returning with another can of pop and some more candy bars.

"Xander on a sugar high, not a good thing." Buffy mutters, going into Giles office to change into workout clothes as Willow settles behind the computer. Xander is bouncing in the stacks putting away books as Angelus enters from the tunnels.

"Hey Deadboy, 'Sup?" Xander says, grinning at the vampire.

"Harris," Angelus growls at the annoying teen.

"Hey guys, I'm taking off," Xander says, grabbing his stuff from the table. "I'll see you Monday." He grabs his stuff from the table and heads for the library door, backing up as the sight of the policeman ready to knock at the door.

"May I help you?" Giles asks.

"Yes, do you know the whereabouts of an Alexander Harris?"

"Yeah, I'm Xander Harris." Xander says, dropping his stuff back onto the table as Angelus stiffens by his side. What 's going on? "Can I help you?"

"Sir, can you tell us where you were around 5 pm today?"

"Yeah, I was here with Giles, Buffy, and Willow."

The policeman looks at the other occupants of the room, seeing their nods.

"Sir, I hate to tell you, but your parents were attacked earlier this afternoon."

"Are they badly hurt, officer?" Giles says, getting up and placing his hand on Xander's shoulder.

"I'm afraid they're dead, Mr. Harris," the officer says, not seeing the look of, could it be relief?, that crosses Xander's face at the news. "Sir, I'm afraid to ask you this, but do you know if your parents had any enemies?"

/Damn, now I know what our training officer meant when they say that 'Telling somebody that their loved one has died is one of the hardest things you will ever do. At least he's not alone; the others look like they care for him. Christ, he can't be any older than 15./

"How much time do you have, Officer Thompson?" Xander snorts, "My parents were hated by a lot of people."

"Sir, can you give us some names?" The policeman asks, wishing once again that he hadn't been pegged to go find the victims son. He isn't that much older than the boy in front of him, but as the new kid on the block he'd been ordered to go talk to him. 'Remember, he's not a suspect yet. Call him Sir or Mr. Harris, no matter what he calls you.' He remembers his older partner telling him as he'd gotten out of the car to talk to the school Principal.

"There was supposed to be a letter in my father's safe deposit box, to be opened in case something happened to him or my mother. They're dead now, so I guess I can tell somebody. My parents were part of the Witness Protection Program."

"Do you know anything about the case they were involved in?"

"No, but I have the name of our caseworker in my wallet, he should be able to help you," Xander says, pulling a card from his wallet. He hands it over to the policeman and then looks at him

"Mr. Harris, do you have somewhere you can stay tonight?"

"You can stay with Ethan and I, Xander, for as long as you need."

"Can't I stay at the house?" Xander asks the police officer plaintively.

"No sir, I'm sorry. Not until the detectives have released it. It's the scene of the crime, Mr. Harris, and it's going to need a lot of clean-up." He shudders, remembering the crime scene he'd left an hour ago. He wouldn't wish that sight on his worst enemy, let alone the young boy standing in front of him.

"Can I get my belongings, at least?"

"You'll have to talk to the detectives tomorrow, sir" the young policeman answers as his partner and Principal Flutey join them Buffy pulls Xander into a hug before she leaves for patrol, and Willow hugs Xander as well when Xander and Giles pull up in front of her house.

"It's not fair," Willow screams, leaning against the door as tears run down her face. Sheila and Ira come running into the room, and she throws herself into their arms.

"Willow, honey, what's the matter?"

"We were at the library when we found out Xander's parents were attacked earlier today, they're dead,." Willow wails, collapsing in tears again as she holds her parents.

"Honey, where's Xander now?" Ira asks after Willow's cried herself out.

"He's staying with Giles for now, he has to find out tomorrow when he can go back home. According to the police officer that broke the news, the house was really tore up,." Willow replies, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands before getting up and heading towards her room.

"Willow, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to hack into the coroner's office, I want to see if this is demon or vampire related." Willow says, pausing in the hall leading to her bedroom and the computer. Sheila nods at her daughter, and Willow enters the bedroom and gets down to work.

Ethan and Wesley look up from their books when Xander follows Giles into the house. Xander drops onto the couch like a puppet with cut strings.

"What happened?" Wesley asks as somebody begins pounding on the door.

"Xander's parents were attacked and killed today." Giles says as he opens the door.

"Angel, what is it? Is everything okay?"

"I need to see Alexander." Angelus says, walking into the house. He drops down onto the couch beside Xander, pulling him into his arms. Xander buries his face in his father's shirt and begins to cry for the first time since he found out James and Shirley Harris were dead.

"Spike's bothering Willy trying to find out whatever he can. And knowing Willow, she's already hacked into the coroner's office to find out how they were killed. Shhh, Alexander, it's okay, let it all out. I know they weren't your parents, but they were friends and they didn't deserve to die, not like that." Angelus murmurs into his son's hair, remembering the sight of the blood stained walls of the kitchen and living room.

"Angel, how do you know they weren't Xander's parents?"

"Because Alexander's my son, Wesley." Angelus says quietly, enjoying the 'fish out of water' expressions on their faces.

"Angel, I couldn't possibly had heard you right. Did you just say Xander's your son?????"

"Yes Ethan, Alexander's my son."

"For God's Sake, HOW?"

"Giles, Giles, Giles, surely you don't need a lecture about the birds and the bees."

"Dad, play nice." Xander mumbles into Angelus' shirt, his American accent vanishing "You and I are supposed to hate each other, 'member?"

"Xander, why do you suddenly sound as British as we do?" Wesley asks.

"I normally sound British," Xander says, rubbing his eyes. Giles hands him the box of Kleenex from the endtable. "Thanks, Giles. I adopted an American accent when I moved to Sunnydale to fit in better. I can't pretend to be from the Midwest if I sound like I just got off the plane from London."

"Not to mention the fact that it drives me and your brother up the wall."

"That's a fringe benefit." Xander says, settling back down on the couch. "Speaking of benefits, Principal Flutey said I passed my last test. I'm officially a graduate of Sunnydale High School and he offered me a job as Giles assistant at the library. I guess I'd better see how much I make, I'm going to need to find a new place to live."

"Liam Alexander James O'Rourke, you do not have to find yourself a new place to live, and you know it." Angelus states, "Giles said you can stay with him for as long as you want, not to mention the fact you still have your bedroom at the mansion. Besides, I don't think a 16 year old is going to be able to go out and rent an apartment."

"Y. . .Yes Xander, your . . .father is quite right. You're going to have to have a guardian until you're 18 or 21, depending on state law and your parents' will. Do you know if they had a will?"

"Already taken care of Wesley, James and Shirley left everything to each other with Alexander as the second beneficiary. And according to the will, I'm Alexander's guardian until he turns 21. We sat down and decided what would happen in case James and Shirley died before Alexander turned 18 when we moved to Sunnydale. I was not about to leave my son at the mercy of the California court system."

"Xander, we're going to have to tell Buffy and Willow that Angel's your father."

"They're going to scream."

"ANGEL'S YOUR WHAT??????????????"

"Told you they'd scream," Xander says, not opening his eyes or moving his head from where it lays against Angelus' chest.

Willow had come out of her room after downloading and printing all the reports she had been able to hack into to find her mom and dad carrying covered dishes towards the car.

"Mom, Dad, where are you going?"

"I know it's a clich," Sheila mutters, "but I want to take some food over to Giles house for Xander. We're going to pick up Joyce and Buffy on our way over."

"Give me five minutes to finish printing out everything I got from the police station and coroner's office, please? And I need to change my clothes."

Sheila nods as Willow runs back towards her bedroom and returns five minutes later dressed in a pair of jeans and light shirt, carrying a armful of papers and tucking a stake into the back of her belt.

"Ready, Willow?"

"Yes Mom." Willow answers, crawling into the back seat of the car for the ride to Buffy's house. They pass Xander's house on the way, and the sight of the house surrounded by yellow police tape reminds her that 'yes, this is real. James and Shirley Harris were murdered today.' Willow is silent when the car pulls up in front of Buffy's house, and Ira reaches into the glove box to pop the trunk for Joyce's food as Buffy crawls into the back seat, pulling Willow into her arms when she sees how pale the other girl is.

"Willow?"

"I'm sorry, Buffy, we passed Xander's house on the way and it just slapped me in the face that this is real, two people were murdered today and if Xander hadn't been at the library bouncing off the walls from all the sugar he'd been eating and generally driving everybody nuts, it could have been three."

Giles' house has lights burning in the living room when they arrive. When knocking on the door doesn't bring anybody, Buffy uses the key Giles gave her for an emergency.

"What are you doing here?" Ethan asks, getting up to help carry the food into the kitchen.

"Sheila, Joyce, and I wanted to bring you some food. I know it's a clich, but nobody really needs to be thinking about who's going to be cooking dinner at a time like this."

"And I hacked into the police department and coroner's office when I got home." Willow says, handing the folder of paper over to Giles, still staring at Xander curled up in Angelus' arms on the couch.

Up on Mount Olympus, an emergency Council meeting is happening.

"Hades, were James and Shirley able to tell you anything about their deaths?" Ares asks, holding Joxer in his arms as the God of Peace cries.

"No, Ares, to quote the old clich, 'they never knew what hit them.' I've gotten them settled in the Elysian Fields. They're sorry they couldn't tell us what happened and they're thankful that Alex wasn't home at the time; they're afraid he would have been killed too."

"So we're going to see what the police turn up?" Joxer asks, looking at the angry faces of the others. Ares has the 'so furious he could be made out of ice' look on his face and Cupid looks like a blond version of his father.

"If they can turn anything up," Ares growls, "we're talking about the Sunnydale police force here."

"Then Alex will decide to hire a 'private detective' to find out who murdered his 'parents.' We'll find out what happened, one way or the other," Joxer soothes his husband.

"Why were James and Shirley part of the Witness Protection Program? Could that be a reason why they were murdered?" Dionysus asks, pouring himself a cup of wine as Bacchus moves over, allowing the other god to join him at the table.

"It's possible, I'll tag along invisibly when Alex goes to the police department tomorrow morning. I don't want him to be left alone until we find out what happened, one way or the other," Ares growls. "Who wants to stay with him tonight?"

"I will," Janus says, "I want to talk to Ethan and Ripper anyway. Bacchus, is Angelus going to tell the others that he's your High Priest and he's not the 'tortured vampire with a soul' he's been pretending to be?"

"No, not yet. Not until after we destroy the Council; he'd be in too much danger otherwise. I'll go down with you, I need to talk with Angelus and Alex about what story they're going to tell the others to explain why Angelus is Alex's father and why Alex didn't live with him."

"Angel, do you want to spend the night here? We have plenty of room and I don't think Xander wants to be alone tonight," Giles smiles as Xander's head bends towards Angelus' chest for the third time in an hour. Buffy smiles, the look of shock that has been in her eyes ever since she found out that Xander was Angel's son finally fading. Joyce, Sheila, and Ira had seemed to take the news better; they had not been privy to some of the more vocal arguments between the vampire and teenager, instead remembering how he had seemed more protective of Xander than he had the others.

"Thank you, Giles," Angelus says, picking Xander up and following him to a spare room. "I brought a overnight bag for Alexander with a change of clothes and pajamas."

"I'll take him shopping after we get out of the police station. I don't know how long he's going to be out of his home, he'll need more clothes than two outfits."

"Thank you, Ethan, I'll give you some money for clothes before you leave," Angelus replies, undressing Xander and putting him under the covers like he used to when his son was younger.

"If Alexander wakes up while I'm gone, please tell him I'll be right back. I want to find out if Spike found out anything from Willy."

"Who's Spike? The name sounds familiar," Wesley asks, coming out of the bedroom and leaving the door open to hear Xander if he has a nightmare.

"You probably know him better as William the Bloody."

"Xander knows William the Bloody?"

"He should, he's Alexander's older brother." Angelus says, leaving the house. Turning around at the end of the driveway, he sees the magical protective shields Janus and Bacchus put on the house.

Angelus has just left the house when Janus appears in the middle of the living room.

"My Lord Janus, how may we help you?" Giles inquires, leaping up from the couch and bowing to the God, Ethan following him a second later.

"Not to me, Ripper, Ethan, never to me," Janus states, smiling at his chosen and nodding to Wesley. "I came to tell you that I put shields on your house to keep Alexander safe. Be careful, we're not sure if he's still in danger or not."

"Lord Janus, do you know. . .?"

"No Wesley, we don't know who killed Xander's parents or why either. And Ares is quite furious that he might still be in danger."

"Thank you, Lord Janus."

Angelus looks up as Bacchus appears before him and Spike outside of Willy's bar.

"Lord Bacchus, how may I help you?" Angelus questions his beloved God, leading the way into the bar and settling at a table in the darkest corner of the bar.

"I wanted to see if you had decided on a cover story to explain how Alex is your son. We can't tell them the truth, not yet anyway."

"I have an idea," Spike says, looking at his Sire and their God. "It all depends on how much of a leash the Council has over their Slayers. Suppose around sixteen years ago, a Slayer became pregnant by her Watcher? They hid until the baby could be born, but they were found out and left for dead. The Poofster found them and cut Xander out of the Slayer's dead body and kept the baby as part of his 'need to atone for my sins.'"

"Nice story, but it wouldn't work. Giles already knows that we helped raise Alex, we need an excuse to be there."

"We could always tell the truth. . ."

"No, not yet, if the Council found out that I still had a High Priest, you, Alex, and Angelus would be in danger. After the Council is destroyed, then you can tell the others Angelus is my High Priest. That would explain how we were there to help raise him."

"And besides, that still wouldn't tell the others how Alexander became my son."

"Could always tell the truth there too," Spike smirks.

"Spike, go harass Willy if you're not going to help." Angelus rolls his eyes at his Childe. Spike snickers as an evil thought comes to him.

"What?"

"Tell 'em he's one of Strife's kids. They'd believe that, especially considering everything that goes wrong around him. We're helping to raise him because his mum was killed when he was born. Then, after everything is taken care of, we can tell Giles the real truth."

"Good idea, but it wouldn't work. Strife would never leave any child of his on earth; him and Cupid would be raising him on Mount Olympus," comments Joxer as he pops into view at the table. Bacchus pulls out a chair for the younger god.

"Got that right," Strife says, popping into view, "No way in Tartarus would I leave any kid of mine here; Cupid would snatch me bald-headed, both of 'em. Still trying to come up with cover story about how Xander became your kid?"

"Yes, and we're not having much luck."

"Why don't you wait until Xander's awake to decide on a story? No use you telling a story and Xander coming up with a totally different one, they might figure out something's up."

"Good idea, Lord Strife. Were you able to get anything out of Willy, Spike?"

"Nope, nobody's claiming the attack. In fact, they're upset because they were killed, afraid the Slayer's going to go on a hunt to avenge his parents."

Xander looks up as the kitchen door opens and Buffy, Joyce, Willow, Sheila, and Ira come into the house. "Morning. I take it you guys want to hear the whole story now?" He says through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

"Xander, don't talk with your mouth full," Giles reprimands, as Willow drops into an empty chair in the kitchen. Xander had finally woke up an hour ago; nobody had been the least surprised when he'd had nightmares most of the night. Angelus had crawled into bed with him, and he had immediately quieted.

"B . . .But How????"

"Welcome to Vampire Sex Education 101." Xander smirks around a mouthful of eggs. "Let's just say Anne Rice has it wrong, and vampires can have sex. Sometimes, they can even get their partner pregnant and something called a Dhampir, or Daywalker, is the result," Xander states, telling the story he and the others had finally come up with earlier this morning.

"So, what are you, a hybrid?"

"Something like that, I suppose. I have the vampire strength and stamina, but I'm not bothered by religious symbols; I can see myself in the mirror; I eat human food, and I don't need blood. I have no problems with daylight and I have kind of a 'back off, not a victim' aura around me that allows me to be out at night without being attacked."

"What I don't understand is why you don't live with Angel, Xander?" Buffy says, dropping into the seat on his other side, "now that you two aren't sniping at each other all the time, it's obvious he cares for you."

"It's too dangerous, Buffy. Angel's got a lot of enemies out there; vampires who see him as a traitor because he's got a soul and he's working with the Slayer. If anybody knew about me, they'd kill me to get back at him. That's why I moved in with James and Shirley when we moved to the Hellmouth."

"Was Shirley really your Mom, Xander?"

"No Wills, they were descended from Angel's older brother, I suppose they'd be cousins of mine, in one way or the other."

"Xander, what happened to your mother?"

"I don't have a mother, Buffy."

"But you said that a vampire can get a woman pregnant. . . ."

"No Buffy, I said a vampire can get his partner pregnant, I didn't say anything about them being female. I don't have a mother Buffy, I have two fathers."

"Tmi, Tmi, TMI" Buffy chants in a rising voice until she's screaming the last word.

"What is TMI?" Giles asks, polishing his glasses.

"Too much information," Ethan says smirking, "I think Buffy was okay with the idea that Xander's the son of a vampire, but the idea that he doesn't have a mother and it was a man who gave birth to him is freaking her out."

Up on Olympus Strife smiles in his sleep as he gets a burst of power from Xander, rolling over and snuggling closer to Cupid without ever having opened his eyes. Ares and Joxer catch the power burst and trace it back to Xander, snickering as they watch him mess with Buffy's mind.

"Wait a second, you mean Angel's GAY?"

"Vampires really don't have sexual preferences, Buffy," Giles says, slipping into lecture mode, "They usually attack people of the opposite sex because it's easier to attract them, but that's all."

"Okay, I can't believe I'm sounding like Queen Cordelia here, but can I just say 'EEEEEWWWWWWWW."

The telephone rings and Ethan, still snickering at the look on Buffy's face, reaches over to answer it. He listens and hangs up.

"Xander, your caseworker has called back and plans of flying into Sunnydale this afternoon. Detective Stein wants us in his office this afternoon at two."

"Okay, what do we want to do this morning?"

"Angel has already asked us to take you shopping for some more clothes. We don't know how long it's going to be until you can go back home, and you're going to need more clothes. And we need to go grocery shopping."

In New York, a figure enters his office and drops the briefcase on his desk before picking up his messages. The first one has him cursing in a dialect that hasn't been heard in over five hundred years as he grabs the telephone; punching in the number he'd been given.

"Sunnydale Police Department."

"This is Agent Michael Jones of the FBI, please contact me with Detective Stein, it's about a case."

"One moment, Agent Jones."

"Detective Stein's office. How may I help you?"

"This is Agent Michael Jones of the FBI. I'm James and Shirley's caseworker. Please tell me this is a joke."

"I'm afraid not, Agent Jones. James and Shirley Harris were murdered last night around 5 pm."

"What about their son, Alexander?"

"He was not at home at the time, and had a solid alibi. He's staying with the High School's librarian for now. Alexander told us that his parents were in the Witness Protection Program and gave me your number. Could this be related?"

"It's possible, I'll be leaving for California as soon as I can get a flight. What airport would I be coming into, LAX?"

"Yes, please call me when you confirm your flight and I'll have somebody come pick you up at the airport."

One of the junior agents appears in the doorway, and Michael waves him in, writing on a notepad. He nods and rushes back out of the room as Michael hangs up and begins pulling files and shoving them into his briefcase.

"Sam, cancel any appointments I had today. If anybody calls, tell them I'm out of the office and you don't know when I'm going to be back." He says as he's handed a piece of paper with the flight information.

"Call this number, and ask for Detective Stein. Tell him when I'm arriving; I have just enough time to get to the airport to make my flight." Michael grabs the suitcase from this office, always packed for occasions like this, and heads for the elevator. Once at the airport, he checks in at the counter, getting his e-ticket and, bypassing the long line at security, makes it on the airplane just before they shut the door.

Once the plane is airborne, he reaches under the seat in front of him and grabs his briefcase. Pulling the files out, he refreshes himself with the details of the case that sent James and Shirley Bowen into the Witness Protection Program and changed their last names from Bowen to Brown, then James, Charles, Fitzgerald, Mitchell, and finally Harris.

James had owned a successful small business that had been targeted by the Russian Mafia as a supplier of electronic parts that could be used for bombs and other weapons. They hadn't expected any opposition, so they were extremely surprised when James had told them to 'go blow yourselves' and refused to deal with them, instead going to the authorities with all the information he had. The FBI hadn't taken his concerns seriously at first, but after James and Shirley had narrowly escaped death after somebody had shot at them one night while they were sleeping, they changed their minds. They'd quietly changed their names and vanished into the Witness Protection Program. He'd become their caseworker five years ago, after their old manager had retired.

James went back to school and became a doctor, while Shirley had become a technical writer, which allowed her to work at home. The FBI had arranged for new social security numbers for them and they had settled into a normal life, periodically moving and changing their names when the FBI found out the Russian Mafia were still looking for them and had ordered a hit on the couple. They had changed their names to Harris two years ago when they had moved to Sunnydale, CA. Had the Russians finally found them? And was their son, who hadn't been born yet when his parents went into the Witness Protection Program, still in danger?

He's shook out of his thoughts when the stewardess asks him to put his briefcase down; they're getting ready to land in fifteen minutes. He's the first one off, nodding at the pair of uniformed officers waiting for him at the gate.

"Agent Jones?"

He nods, showing the older cop his identification as the luggage from his flight begins to arrive. Grabbing his suitcase, he follows the pair to the Sunnydale police car idling at the curb in clear defiance of the airport's security guards who were glaring at the car. They dump the suitcase and briefcase in the trunk and start the two and a half hour trip to Sunnydale.

"What can you tell me about the Harris investigation?"

"An anonymous call was placed to 911 about somebody trying to break into a house. We were the investigating officers, and that's why we were sent to pick you up." The young officer, who looks like he's only been on the job a couple of months, turns and looks back at the FBI agent they'd been sent to pick up.

"We found the front door had been jimmied," the older cop states, getting on the freeway. "We identified ourselves, pulled our weapons, and began to investigate. We found Dr. Harris' body in the living room; he'd been shot repeatedly at close range. Mrs. Harris body was found in the kitchen, it looked like she was preparing dinner. There wasn't anybody else in the house, and a neighbor told us their son Alexander would be at school. We found him in the school's library with two classmates, the librarian, and another man. Everybody said he's been there with them for hours and the school's security cameras backed their stories up. He'd arrived around noon, dropped off his books at the library and spent two hours working out in the gym, showered and went back to the library where he was joined by the school librarian and the principal, who'd asked to see him that day around three. Two girls identified as Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenberg showed up at 3:30, dropped off by Willow's mother after doing some clothes shopping, and they were in the library for the next four hours. We informed him of his parents' deaths at 7:45 pm, and when asked if he knew of any enemies his parents might have had, he told us that his parents were part of the Witness Protection Program."

"What about Alexander, has he been in any trouble with the police? What about his schoolwork?"

"None. He's had a 4.0 grade point average since he started school. He's been taking advanced courses and Principal Flutey told us he passed his last class and they were allowing him to graduate early. He's never been in trouble with the police, not involved with any of the gangs, and generally keeps to himself."

"Detective Stein says he's staying with the school librarian, a Mr. Rupert Giles?"

"Yes, Mr. Giles was at headquarters with Alexander, he generally goes by Xander, when we left to pick you up. He's been very cooperative and helpful."

Xander looks up as Detective Stein enters the office.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Harris. Thank you for coming in. Can I get you something to drink? And you, Mr. Giles?"

"A coke would be nice. Nothing for me, thank you." Xander and Giles answer at the same time.. Xander accepts the coke brought in, thanks the young policewoman, opens it, and takes a sip.

"Detective Stein, when can I have my parent's bodies? I need to arrange for a funeral."

"We can't release the bodies right now, they're part of a homicide investigation I'm afraid to say. If you tell me what funeral home you want to use, we'll have the bodies released to them when we're done. Mr. Harris, do you know if your parents had a will?"

"The Peterson funeral home. Yes they did have a will; they updated it before we moved to Sunnydale. They left everything to each other, then me if they died at the same time. When am I going to be allowed back into my home?"

"I'm afraid that's part of the homicide investigation as well, Mr. Harris. We can't let you into the house while we're investigating."

"Can I at least get my belongings?"

"Somebody from the department will have to be with you at all times. And he'll have to take notes of what's taken out of the house."

Xander looks at Giles, "Think we can get everybody over there tomorrow morning at nine and move everything at once?"

"I believe so. With Joyce and Sheila, we'll have three vehicles. Can Xander take anything out of the house, or just the belongings in his room?" Giles asks, pulling out his cell phone and calling Joyce, asking her to tell Sheila to be at the house tomorrow morning to help Xander move his stuff and to bring empty boxes.

"Just his belongings for now. Once the house is released as a crime scene, he can take care of the rest of the house's contents."

//Lord Ares?//

//Yes, Alex?// Ares asks from the spot where he's standing invisible to mortal eyes at Xander's right shoulder.

//Can you get me into my house tonight without being seen? I need to get my weapons and books out of there without the police being aware of the secret room in the attic//

//I believe we can arrange that.// Ares says, before screaming in shock as a man he'd thought dead for two thousand years walks into the room.

//IPHICLES??????//

Up on Mount Olympus, Joxer screams at the news. Cupid flashes into the Temple of War, grabbing Joxer as he nearly falls over.

"Jox? What's going on; is something the matter?"

"Your brother's alive. Ares just found Iphicles." Joxer says, pulling his stepson into a hug.

"No way, you're kidding me. How? I thought he died 2000 years ago(exclamation point needed)." Cupid says as Joxer summons a scrying pool. Detective Stein's office appears and Joxer immediately sees Iphicles. He looks just like their father, except he's cleanshaven.

"Damn, it is Iphicles. How??? I thought Jerkules killed him. Because he didn't worship his precious Way."

//Alex, can you get Agent Jones to come with you when you leave? Alex, don't let him leave by himself.// Two voices tell Xander at the same time. Xander blinks, causing Giles to look at him wondering what's the matter.

"I'm glad to finally meet you, Alexander. Your parents spoke highly of you when I had to call them to New York."

"Thank you, Agent Smith, I'm glad to meet you, I just wish it were under better circumstances."

"Xander, did your parents ever tell you why they had entered the Witness Protection Program?"

"No, they said they didn't want to worry me. Dad just said he hadn't always been a doctor and that he'd told somebody to 'go stuff themselves' when they wanted him to do something for them."

"Your father once owned a small business that had a lot of government contracts. He was contacted by a member of the Russian Mafia, who'd wanted him to make electronic components for them. He refused, they wouldn't take no for an answer and offered him more money to work for them. He still refused, and brought a copy of all the components he had been contracted to manufacture to our attention. We didn't think anything of it, but the Russians found out your father had come to us and tried to kill him one night by shooting at his house. He and your mother weren't hurt but a family friend was killed. We realized then that your parents really were in danger and moved them into the Witness Protection Program."

"Could the Russian Mafia have been behind the attack?" Giles asks, removing his glasses and polishing them before replacing them, as they get ready to leave the office. Xander makes sure he's in front of Agent Jones as they walk out the door of the Sunnydale police department.

"We're looking into that. I have to call the others in New York when I get to my hotel room."

"Where are you staying, Agent Jones? May we offer you a ride?"

"I checked into the Sunnydale motor lodge before coming to the police station. The policemen who picked me up gave me a strange bit of advice though, something about how I shouldn't let myself get caught outside after dark. And whatever I do, don't let anybody into my hotel room who needs an invitation."

"Actually it's very sound advice. You really don't want to be out after dark. Sunnydale isn't the safest place around. And I'm afraid the police department have their collective heads up their asses and are ignoring the matter," Giles snarls as they reach the car in the empty parking lot.

Agent Jones gets into the backseat of the car, and suddenly a fourth figure appears in the car as they pull out of the parking lot.

"Lord Ares? What. . .?" Giles says as the God of War appears in the back seat, narrowly missing one of the concrete posts for the lights.

"F. . .. F. . .Father????" The man once known as Iphicles, King of Corinth look into the brown eyes of the man he's dreamed about every night for the past 2000 years as he's pulled into a bone crushing embrace.

"Care to introduce us?" Xander asks, nodding for Giles to take them to the hotel.

"Alex, Rupert, I'd like you to meet my son Iphicles, he's been missing and presumed dead for 2000 years."

"Dad, where have you been? I've been praying every night for you to come back. What happened? Is Joxer okay? What about Cupid and Strife?" Iphicles knows he's babbling, but he's too happy to be upset as he's pulled across the seat and spends the entire ride to the hotel wrapped in his father's arms.

Giles parks the car in the parking lot and they're silent until they're all in the hotel room. Ares settles down on the bed, pulling Iphicles back into his arms.

"Dad, what happened?" Iphicles buries his face in Ares vest, inhaling the familiar smell that says 'Dad, safety, security, love, trust, home' to him. Joxer appears on Iphicles other side, pulling his husband and stepson into his arms and doesn't say a word, just holds them.

Xander smiles as they leave the hotel room, checking to make sure the door is securely locked behind them. //Lord Ares, I'll ask Strife to help me get my stuff tonight. I think you'll be busy with your son.//

//Thank you, Alex.// Ares says, smiling as he and Joxer take Iphicles to Mount Olympus where Cupid and Strife are waiting for their little brother. Cupid pulls Iphicles into his arms, wraps his wings around the younger man, and kisses him on the forehead.

"Okay, we're all here, just like you ordered Ares," Janus growls from the throne room, as the five of them walk in an hour later. "Would you please tell us what the Tartarus is so damn important that. . . IPHICLES." Everybody rushes towards them, and Iphicles finds himself in the middle of a group hug. Damn, it's good to be home.

Iphicles settles down on the stairs leading up to his fathers' thrones as the others make chairs, except for Strife who's disappeared to help Xander and Iolaus who refuses to leave Iphicles side. Iphicles cuddles into the Blond Hunter's side as Iolaus whispers in his ear and Cupid snickers in the background. Iphicles is going to be walking funny for a month if Iolaus is going to do a quarter of what's he telling his lover he plans on doing to him when they get home.

"Bacchus, Dionysus??? What happened?" Iphicles asks, looking at the God of Wine and God of Debauchery, Vampires, and Slayers.

"It happened about 15 years ago, Iphicles. My High Priest Angelus, do you remember him?" Bacchus asks, going on as Iphicles nods, "became pregnant and gave birth to a son. I was holding his hands as the labor pains hit, and when they passed Dionysus and I had become separated."

Strife pops into Giles living room, startling everybody who had been sitting there except for Xander who had been expecting him.

"You ready, Xander? Judging from the vibes Iolaus and Iphicles are putting out, Cupid's going to fuck me within an inch of my life when I get back."

"And you're going to love every second of it."

"Damn straight."

"Xander? Where are you going?" Wesley asks as Xander stands up.

"I have a hidden room of weapons, books, and spell components in the attic of my house. Since even the Sunnydale Police Department is going to say something when I come out of the house with an armful of weapons, Strife volunteered to help me move everything tonight and remove all traces the room ever existed."

"Would you like some help? I'd be interesting in seeing what you have."

"Sure, you can help me pack."

"Don't wait up, you guys. Buffy's finished her patrol, and is home watching a movie with Joyce. I'll bring Wesley and Xander home when we're done."

Giles smirks as Ethan pulls him from the couch, whispering in his ear. "Lord Strife told me that he's going to keep Wesley and Xander away for a couple of hours. Let's pour some wine, and go relax," and Ethan moves his hand to Giles crotch and squeezes, "in the Jacuzzi while we've got the house to ourselves."

"Wesley h...has off...offered to find himself an apartment," Giles stutters as he watches Ethan's tight ass bobble in front of him as he strips and bends over the Jacuzzi to turn on the water.

"Oh no, I'd rather he stayed. I like looking at that cute ass of his," Ethan firmly says as he begins to unbutton Giles' long sleeved shirt, planting a kiss where each button had been before pulling the shirt out of his slacks.

"Why are you looking at Wesley's ass? Not to say that it isn't cute..." Giles voice trails off as Ethan begins to unzip his pants, using his teeth.

"My, my, my, how wicked. The prim and proper English school Librarian has been going commando?"

"I'm at home, I can dress how I bloody feel like," Giles growls, pulling Ethan up and kissing him until they both gasp for air. "Now why are you looking at Wesley's ass? The boy's probably a virgin still, and I'm not talking about being with a man either."

"Yes, but wouldn't you like to see what he's got in those loose pants. Not to mention pulling those ass cheeks apart and taking him with your tongue, your fingers, and finally bending him over the table and sticking your cock up his ass. Remember how tight it is when you're the first one who's taken him? Remember how it was for you?"

*Flashback

Ripper is staring at Ethan as he bends over the motorcycle, the jeans clinging to every curve of flesh. The jeans have been washed so many times they're almost white and worn nearly threadbare in places.

*End Flashback

Ethan smirks as Giles eyes go black with desire and he drops down to his knees, capturing the bobbing cock and deepthroating him. Giles wraps his hands around Ethan's head as Ethan quickly brings him to climax.

"That's one down, but not the only one," Ethan promises as they climb into the Jacuzzi, blinking as a plate of wine, grapes and cheese appears with a note.

"Guys, make sure you get out of the Jacuzzi before you have sex. It may seem like a good idea, but trust me, water and lube don't mix. And thanks for the rush of energy I'm getting from you. I gotta ad my respect to Bacchus', if Janus hadn't already claimed you; I'd have you for my High Priests in a heartbeat. Cupid."

Ethan wraps his arms around Giles' neck again, slipping him a little tongue. Giles tongue wraps itself around Ethan's, and they play dueling tongues as Giles' hand slips lower and lower and eases itself between Ethan's butt cheeks. Ethan moans as a finger nudges at the puckered opening.

"Bed, now."

Strife smirks as they land in Xander's hidden room. Xander walks over and flips on the lights, smiling at the shocked look on Wesley's face as he looks at his surroundings.

"Where do we want to start first?"

"How about the books first, they're what I have the most of."

"Can do, how big of a box do you need?" Strife asks, looking over the twelve bookcases and shelves of books lining the walls. "I can take the bookcases as they are, so we don't need to unload them."

"Thanks, that's one less step we have to worry about."

"Shouldn't we keep our voices down? This is a crime scene; we don't need the police being called because somebody reported hearing voices."

"We don't need to worry Wes, I made sure the walls were soundproofed when I built it," Xander declares, grabbing one of the boxes and beginning to fill it as Wesley does the same thing with the next shelf. "I didn't want anybody to hear any strange noises from the attic."

"Xander, what's these boxes?" Strife asks, pointing to the boxes in the corner of the room.

"My sex toys. I didn't want James and Shirley to find them in my room," Xander says, smirking at Wesley's raised eyebrow. "Hey, I am a teenager. No kid really wants their parents finding out they know about sex."

Strife smirks as he transports the boxes to Xander's bedroom at the Mansion before taking few boxes of books and placing them in a spare room at the mansion. A couple of hours later, the only thing that remains in the room are the built in shelves.

"Damn Xander, you do good work. It's a shame to destroy these."

"Yeah, but the walls aren't needed now and I'd like to leave the attic like it was when I moved here."

"How about I shrink them and put them in a box? When you need them, I can make them big again." And suiting actions to words, the walls are shrunk and placed in a box labeled 'room'. There's no sign of anything ever having been built there, not that Strife had expected there would be; Xander had learned carpentry from the best.

"Anything from the house that you want that isn't in your room as long as we're here?"

"I'd like too, but I don't think we should. The cops probably had everything in the house inventoried and even they aren't stupid enough to ignore stuff that's gone missing like the TV, VCR, DVD player, and all the videos, books, and DVDs. No, wait. There's a metal lockbox in their room, they told me if anything happened to them they wanted me to have it. That and the contents of their safe from the basement."

Strife nods and leaves, returning with a box and the safe in his arms.

"Is this it?"

"That's it. I don't dare take anything else, the police might become suspicious. They should be releasing the house soon, when they do, I'll have everything moved out and the house put on the market. Too many memories to ever think about living here again."

"Is it safe to go back to Giles yet?" Xander asks Strife, a knowing smirk on his face.

Strife casts his mind back to Giles house, and smirks.

"I'll take that as a no." Xander remarks with a grin, as Wesley finally realizes what they're talking about and blushes a bright red.

"I'll drop you off at the mansion; you guys can come back tomorrow morning."

Strife drops them off in Xander's bedroom and takes off, his pants growing tighter as he listens to what Cupid's got planned for him when he gets home. Xander looks at the time and drops onto the bed.

"There's a spare set of pajamas in the top drawer, Wes. They should fit you; they're a little big on me. I'm going to take a nap." And Xander's asleep as soon as the words leave his mouth. Wesley blinks, he hadn't even seen him move, but Xander's now lying under the covers in the nude.

"You always could go to sleep at the drop of a hat," Angelus reminisces fondly from the doorway. "Hello, Wesley, welcome to my home. Why did Strife drop you off here instead of taking you back to Giles?"

"Giles is getting luuucccckkkyyyyy." Xander says from the bed, rolling over and beginning to snore.

"Ahh, that explains it. I'll show you to the spare room Wesley, you and Xander can go back tomorrow morning."

Ethan and Giles tumble onto the bed, still kissing. Giles grabs for the jar of lube they keep on the nightstand, greasing his fingers before sliding them between Ethan's cheeks to play with the puckered opening. Ethan gasps into Giles mouth as a finger buries itself in his ass up to the second knuckle and begins the job of stretching him. Ethan moans as the finger leaves his ass, moaning again as two fingers are inserted. Ethan begins to hump him himself against Giles' fingers.

"Patience, love, patience."

"Bugger patience, better yet, bugger me. I want your cock buried so far in my ass I'll still be able to feel it tomorrow."

"On your hands and knees, love," Giles growls in his ear. Ethan is sobbing on his shoulder as three fingers stretch and relaxes him. He scrambles onto his hands and knees on the bed, watching Giles in the mirror behind the bed as Giles tears open a condom and rolls it onto his cock. He'd asked him once why he used a condom, since they'd been monogamous for 20 years and had grinned when Giles had informed he was setting a good example for the youngsters.

"Ripper, come on, fuck me alREADY" Ethan yelps as Giles suddenly buries himself to the root in Ethan's ass in one motion.

"Ohhhh, yes," Ethan moans as Giles lets him adjust to the sudden movement before slowly pulling out of Ethan's ass until only the tip of his cock is still in his ass, then plowing into him again in the fast paced rhythm of burying himself to the hilt then slowly pulling out before ramming home again they both enjoy.

Meanwhile, back on Olympus, Iolaus pulls Iphicles into his temple, their temple now, and begins to undress the older man, laying kisses on every inch of flesh he uncovers. It has been so long since he's been able to look at his lover, and he's going to enjoy every second of it. And judging from the look of hunger in Iphicles eyes, he feels the same way.

Iphicles begins to suckle at Iolaus left nipple as Iolaus grabs Iphicles' butt, massaging the tight cheeks and slipping his hand between them to allow a finger to nudge at the puckered opening, finding him virgin tight.

"I haven't been with anybody in 2000 years, Iolaus."

"Then it's going to be like our first time all over again," Iolaus promises, pulling Iphicles head up to kiss him again as he thinks up a pot of lubricant. Coating his fingers in it, he gently inserts one finger in Iphicles anus, smiling as Iphicles climaxes just from that simple touch. Iphicles looks down at his cock and smiles.

"I guess I'm a little quick off the trigger."

"Look at it this way, Iphicles, we got the quickie out of the way, now we can make them last. And we've got 2000 years of orgasms to catch up on," Iolaus vows, rolling Iphicles onto his back and, finger still in Iphicles ass, swallows his cock to the root. The sensation of a finger up his ass and Iolaus sucking on his cock soon bring Iphicles to his second climax.

"And that's two." Iolaus grins around Iphicles still hard cock, while Iphicles thanks everybody for Immortal stamina and endurance; Iolaus is going to fuck him to death tonight. Iphicles moans when Iolaus removes his finger, moaning again when it's joined by one more. Iolaus carefully stretching is driving him nuts when all he wants is to be bent over the nearest hard object and fucked like a dog in heat.

"Damn it, Iolaus. Just fuck me already."

"Patience lover, I told you it was going to be like the first time. I didn't hurt you then and I don't want to hurt you now." Iolaus says, adding a third finger to the pair currently driving Iphicles out of his mind by massaging his prostrate. Iphicles is keening from need when Iolaus finally looms over him and replacing his fingers with the head of his cock, slides his way home.

"Yes, yes, yes," Iphicles knows he's babbling but he's been dreaming of this moment for over 2000 years. "Fuck me raw, Iolaus, fuck me raw."

Iolaus pulls out and Iphicles bites back a cry, and then moans in pleasure as he's slowly filled again. He thinks he's going to go out of his mind from pleasure as Iolaus begins to vary his thrusts, proving once again he is Cupid's son.

Iphicles stumbles into the bathroom the next morning, and walks gingerly down the steps into the water. He'd wanted to be bent over the nearest hard object and fucked like a bitch in heat, and he had gotten his wish. There wasn't one room he hadn't been fucked in, a hard surface in the temple he hadn't been fucked on, and he loved every second of it. The only reason he wasn't still in bed either fucking or getting fucked was because he was going to meet the others at the Harris house in an hour.

Iolaus stumbles into the bathroom a minute later, aching like he's wanted to ache, but only with Iphicles, for the last 2000 years. He'd been with some of the others, he'd confessed to Iphicles last night with tears in his eyes, but only on the top and only to give the others the children they wanted. Iphicles is going to be meeting his stepsons and stepdaughters later today. Iphicles rubs a hand over his stomach, remembering what Iolaus had told him last night and wondering if he was already pregnant with their child.

"What are you thinking about, Iphicles?"

"Wondering if I was pregnant yet? Is it too soon for Apollo or Asclepius to tell for sure?"

"Nope, we'll ask them over when we get back. And if you are pregnant, I'm going to go before Ares and ask for your hand in marriage."

"Babe, if I am pregnant, you won't need to ask for my hand in marriage. Dad and Joxer are going to be demanding you make an honest man out of me."

"Don't you mean an honest god out of you? If you are pregnant, Ares is going to demand you take up your godhood."

"I'm ready for it. These past 2000 years have taught me patience and serenity. I'm ready to be a god now."

"I am glad to hear that," Ares says, popping into the bathroom. "We'll make the formal announcement later today." Iphicles grins, catching the sight of a hickey just barely peeking out from the collar of the shirt Ares is wearing. Ares rolls his eyes at their matching smirks, silently pointing at the mirror at their own passion marks from last night.

Ares leaves, stopping at the Temple of Knowledge to tell the others where they were going. He leaves without a word, seeing Richie bent over the breakfast table with Darius cock buried in his ass as Methos fucks Duncan on the other side of the table. The two men being fucked are kissing as first Methos, then Darius come in their asses, and without a word change partners.

/Looks like Iphicles might not be the only one ending up pregnant. From the vibes Iphicles and Iolaus were putting out last night, I'm be surprised if anybody went to bed alone last night./ Ares thinks, smiling as Joxer grabs his hand and they transport to earth, followed minutes later by Iphicles and Iolaus, Strife and Cupid. They wait outside the Harris home, and five minutes later Giles car, filled with Giles, Ethan, Wesley, and Xander, Joyce's SUV, and the Rosenberg's station wagon park on the street. Joyce and Sheila pull flattened boxes out of their vehicles as a police car pulls up and the policemen who had picked up Iphicles from the airport emerge. They follow Xander to the front door and he swallows hard, seeing the gouges on the wood where the lock had been forced.

He pulls his keys from his pocket, unlocking the door and blocking it open with a glass brick the police had thought was a knick-knack from the table by the door. Giles walks across the house to the sliding glass door and opens it to air out the house.

"Officer Reed?" he asks the older policeman, "Can I take anything of mine or just what's in my room?"

"As long as you can prove that it's yours."

"Xander, why don't we start in your bedroom?" Giles says, leading the way into the room. He goes to the closet and begins bringing out clothes still on their hangers and lying them on the bed. Sheila and Joyce fold the clothes, put them in boxes, and Ares, Joxer, Iphicles, and Strife take them downstairs.

"Can we move the dressers without emptying them?" Wesley asks, looking at the heavy furniture.

"Nope, they're too heavy," Joxer informs them, pulling out a drawer and heading for the stairs. "But we can take the drawers out and wrap them in sheets so nothing gets lost."

"Will they fit in the station wagon? They're huge," Iolaus says, grunting as he takes one side of the dresser as Ares takes the other, "not to mention heavy."

Joxer puts the first drawer down on the table so Officer Reed can look through it and make a note of its contents before he heads out to Joyce's SUV, the only car currently there. Joyce looks at the heavy drawer and Joxer grins as he puts it in the back of the vehicle. "There's eleven more drawers, we figured it would be easier to move this way. Those dressers are huge."

"How much more furniture is there to move?"

"There's a TV stand, two dressers, and the bed still in Xander's room, as well as boxes of books, DVDs, and comics from the den. There's Xander's computer system and computer desk, six or eight bookcases, and all Xander's woodworking equipment from the basement."

"Maybe I'd better go rent a truck for the rest of it."

"Yeah, I'll go with you."

//Ares, I'm taking Joyce to rent a truck to haul the rest of this stuff. It's not going to fit in the cars.//

//Good thinking, Jox//

"Joyce and Joxer are going to rent a truck for the bigger stuff." Ares lets everyone know, looking at the others. Xander is in the den downstairs; boxing up his books while Ethan takes apart the computer system.

An hour later, Joyce and Joxer return with a large U-haul truck, which is rapidly filled with the woodworking equipment. Joyce comes in to tell the others her SUV is filled and she's going to leave for the mansion when she finds Xander leaning against the door staring at the bloodstained living room.

"Oh baby, you didn't need to see that." Joyce croons, turning him around and letting him cry on her shoulder.

"We nearly done, guys?"

"Yeah, I'm going to run the truck over to the mansion, empty it quickly and bring it back. One more trip should take care of it. Give Agent Jones your keys, he'll take your SUV to the mansion to be emptied, you stay here with him." Ares orders, watching Xander quietly cry on Joyce. "Dammit, what a time for a clear day. Why couldn't it be overcast so Angelus and Spike could be here for him?"

Ares eyes narrow as the light from the window catches on something silver in the corner of the room. Turning invisible he goes into the room and picks up a ring with a familiar symbol.

//Teraka.//Ares snarls.

//What?// the others ask.

//This wasn't a random hit. James and Shirley were killed by members of the order of Teraka.//

Ares turns visible out of sight of Officer Reed and heads for the rental truck, Iphicles following him with Joyce's SUV.

//Dad, what's the order of Teraka?// Iphicles asks on the way to the mansion.

//They're a sect of assassins, it doesn't matter if one is killed, another one will just show up to complete the contract. They've got both human and demon members, and their only identifying mark is the ring everybody wears. Once they take an assignment, they never give up until it's completed. Even if the person who ordered the hit is killed, the hit still goes through. They're paid ahead of time, so their client's death doesn't matter.//

//What now?//

//We get everything to the mansion and I place a protection on everybody. Then I go to the leader of the Order, and see if I can find out if the hit was something to do with James and Shirley and the Russian Mafia or if it has something to do with the Slayer. Either way, I need to find out if Alex is still in danger. If he is, I'm getting him the Tartarus out of Sunnydale; he's coming back to Mount Olympus.//

Ares pulls up at the mansion, and Wesley, Ethan, and Giles immediately begin to unload the trucks.

"Leave that for now, I've got something to tell you." Ares orders, leading the way into the house. Angelus and Spike look up as everybody enters the den.

"I've found out who killed James and Shirley, but not why," he announces.

"Who?"

"I found this in the living room," he announces, tossing the ring across the room to Angelus. "The ring is the symbol of the Order of Teraka, a sect of assassins." he tells Ethan, Wesley, and Giles who are slowly backing away from the suddenly cursing vampires. "Once they take a contract, it doesn't matter if you kill them, another one will just take their place. It doesn't matter how much time has passed either, I know of an assassination that took place ten years after the contract was first taken out. It doesn't matter if their client is killed either, the hit still happens. They're a mixed group, both demon and human. The ring is their only identifying symbol."

"Is Xander still in danger" Wesley asks, standing up to go back outside to start unloading the truck again.

"I'm not sure, Wesley. I'm going to put protections on everybody before I go find out, and if he is, he's coming back to Mount Olympus."

"Xander has been to Mount Olympus?" Giles questions, stunned. How many secrets had Xander been keeping from everybody?

"Of course he has, Giles. Alex was born and raised there."

"But, if he's Angel's son. . ." Wesley says, stranding in the doorway, looking from Angel to Ares and back again.

"Yes, Wesley," Angelus says, nodding his head, "We lived on Mount Olympus before Lord Ares asked us to move to Sunnydale to help protect the Slayer until Lord Bacchus can implement his plan."

"Where do you want Alex's woodworking equipment?" Ares asks.

"Down in the basement. We built a room down there for it when we moved here." Ares nods and concentrates, and the truck is suddenly empty. Iphicles rolls his eyes at his father's theatrics and watches as Joyce's SUV is emptied next.

"Iphicles, take the truck back and get the last load of furniture," Ares says, tossing the truck keys to his son, "I'll be right back with Joyce's SUV. I want Alex under the protections here or at Giles house as soon as possible."

Iphicles heads back to the Harris house, honking the horn to let them know he's back. Joxer nods from the door as the heavy furniture is loaded onto the truck. Xander looks around the house, ignoring the living room and kitchen, checking to make sure all his belongings have been taken away. Joyce leaves the house, one last box of food in her arms. The police had allowed them to take all the food because they didn't know how long it would be before they were allowed back in the house. Joyce had volunteered to do it for him, but Iolaus had picked up an armful of boxes and began to unload the refrigerator and large freezer, carefully skirting the large patch of dried blood where Shirley Harris had died.

Joyce pulls up in front of the mansion as Buffy squeaks. "Angel lives here?"

"Angel, Xander, and Spike live here." Wesley dryly says; opening the back of the SUV and beginning to unload the boxes of food as Ares touches first Joyce, then Buffy on the shoulder placing his protections on them.

"Who's Spike?"

"Xander's older brother, you haven't met him yet," Giles says, /and hopefully you never will. Because if half the stories about William the Bloody are true, you wouldn't survive your first meeting./

"You mean like a college-aged older brother?"

"No Buffy, I mean like 200 year old vampire older brother," Giles says, taking the last box out of the SUV. "Now I want you both to go straight home. You still have Patrol tonight."

Buffy nods, gets back into the SUV, and they leave, leaving Giles to wonder once again just what Lord Bacchus had done to her to effect such a miraculous turnaround in her attitude. Ah well, no use looking gift horses in the mouth, or some other such nonsense he muses as he heads inside.

Iolaus had conjured a large freezer and refrigerator for the food in the kitchen and everything is soon unpacked. The sun had set while they were unpacking and Angelus walks everybody to the car, following them on his motorcycle to make sure they get inside the house safely before going to check on Buffy's patrol.

"I didn't know Angel had a motorcycle."

"Yeah, Dad uses it to follow Buffy on Patrol. He says it's quicker than a car, less noticeable, and he can get places a car can't travel."

"I wonder if he would be willing to go on a ride with us one night?" Ethan says, looking over at Giles. Giles smiles, remembering a few midnight rides together before they had moved to the hellmouth.

"Sure, it's been a while since we were able to just go out for a moonlight ride without having to be working."

"You can ride a motorcycle, Xander?"

"Yep, Dad taught me when I was around ten. I rode in Spike's sidecar for a couple of years until they decided I was big enough for my own bike."

"What about you, Wesley, do you know how to ride?"

"Actually I do, as a matter of fact. That was the one rebellion I had against the Council. They didn't like the idea of one of their Watchers riding a motorcycle."

"Good for you. The Council is a bunch of power-hungry assholes," Ethan says, opening the refrigerator for dinner preparations when a meal suddenly appears on the table. Ethan and Giles stare at the table while Wesley and Xander just smile.

"Thank you, Lady Hestia." Xander responds, looking up at the ceiling.

//You're welcome Child.// A female voice says in their minds. //You all put in a hard days work, the least I could do is fix you something to eat.//

Ares looks around the warehouse that is the current headquarters of the Order of Teraka, confirming that only one person is there, and it's the man he wants to see.

"Jett, get your ass out here," Ares bellows as he becomes visible. The door across the room opens and the man who looks exactly like his beloved husband stalks into the room.

"What do you want Ares?" the Immortal self-styled 'King of the Assassins' asks the God of War.

"Who ordered the hit on one James and Shirley Harris of Sunnydale, CA and is their son, Alexander, still a target?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because Alex is under my protection. He's got a mischief streak a mile wide and he's currently feeding power to all of Olympus. He's also the reason I was able to give you all those assignments even though I don't have any worshippers yet."

"When were they killed?" Jett says, walking over to the computer.

"Two days ago."

"Then the report should still be in the most recent files," Jett says, pulling up the file.

"The order was put out two weeks ago," he mutters, looking at the information on the screen. "Ordered by the Master of Sunnydale. According to this, he wants everybody associated with the Slayer wiped out to demoralize her before he kills her. The Harrises' were on the list, and reported killed. Willow, Sheila, and Ira Rosenberg, Joyce Summers, Ethan Rayne, Rupert Giles, and Wesley Wyndham-Pryce as still listed as targets, as is one Alexander Harris."

"That's it, I'm taking Alex back to Mount Olympus until this blows over. Thank you for telling me who ordered the hit, Jett, and come up to Olympus in a couple of days. I'm going to be making a couple of formal announcements, one of which affects you."

"Give Joxer my love and tell him to be good to you." Jett calls to Ares disappearing back, /I can't purge the hit from the system, but I can put a 'do not touch, run from sight' order on the file./ Jett thinks, his fingers flying over the keyboard.

Ares pops into Giles house just as they've finished eating.

"Are you finished?"

Everybody nods.

"Good," and suddenly everybody is standing in the middle of a grassy field.

"Welcome to Mount Olympus."

"Lord Ares, may I ask why you have brought us to Mount Olympus?" Giles asks, following the War God towards the Temples they see in the distance. Xander makes sure the others are in front of him as he begins to pull off his shirt.

"Xander, whatever are you doing?" Wesley asks, turning around to see Xander pulling his t-shirt over his head. Straps of some kind were hidden under the t-shirt, and Xander removes these next. He stands still for a second, his head down and Giles takes one step towards him to ask what he matter is when two huge wings suddenly appear out of nowhere. They extend to their full sixteen feet wingspread before moving straight back, up, and forward alongside his extended arms.

"Ohhhh, that feels sooooooo good." Xander sighs, nearly purring from the feeling of finally being able to release his wings from the straps he'd been using to hide them. He looks over at the expressions on Giles', Ethan's, and Wesley's faces, and laughs for the first time since he'd learned James and Shirley Harris had been murdered. Ares smiles, for a while there he had wondered if Xander would ever smile again.

"Why did you bring us to Mount Olympus, Ares? I know it wasn't just so I could tell Wesley, Ethan, and Giles 'oh yeah, something else you didn't know about me, I have wings."

"Wesley." A voice calls from the distance. Wesley turns; he's suddenly engulfed in a pair of tanned arms.

"Father? What are you doing here?" he asks, looking up at the smiling face of the man he knows as Dr. James Fitzgerald.

"There's something you need to know Wesley, I didn't want to tell you just yet, but Ares has asked me to make an announcement. My name isn't James Fitzgerald. I'm Apollo, God of Medicine, Music, and the Sun." Apollo informs his youngest child, wrapping an arm around his son's shoulders, catching him as the younger man faints.

"You couldn't have broken it to him gently?" Ares demands, rolling his eyes as Apollo lifts Wesley into his arms, heading for his temple.

"Wesley always was a little high-strung. Asclepius, get out here." Apollo yells. Asclepius, dressed in blue jeans and a white t-shirt, comes running out the door. "I can't leave Wesley right now, will you go pick up your brother Blair and his Sentinel? Ares plans on making an announcement tomorrow and he wants them here." Asclepius nods and vanishes as Apollo lays Wesley on a lounge.

"Ethan, Giles. Would you like to look around Mount Olympus while we wait for Wesley to wake up?" Ares asks, motioning them back out of Apollo's temple as Apollo begins making a potion for Wesley to drink when he wakes up.

Xander stands in the middle of the courtyard, his head tilted back until it's nearly between his wings, closes his eyes, and takes deep breaths of the smell that had always meant home to him. Opening his eyes, he smiles at Ethan and Giles, and ten years seems to fall from his face, making him look like the fifteen-year-old boy he actually is.

"Where to now?" Xander asks, sticking his cupped hands under the water and bringing them up to his mouth to drink.

"Since Giles is a Watcher, I thought we'd stop at the Halls of Knowledge first," Ares leads the way towards the biggest Temple on Mount Olympus. They walk into the largest library Giles has ever seen; books, scrolls, and tablets line the shelves that seem to go on forever. Ares motions for them to have a seat in one of the informal seating areas that are scattered among the shelves.

"How much have you heard about the Twilight, Giles?" he asks as Xander drops onto a backless stool after grabbing drinks for everybody. One of the number of cats scattered around the temple immediately leaps into his lap.

"According to everything I have read, the Twilight was caused by the emergence of what is commonly called Christianity and all the other 'One God, not many' religions that are out there. Unfortunately, most of our problems seem to stem from this religious viewpoint, a lot of the minor wars have been caused because of religious fanaticism. Is this correct?"

"Yes, but what you don't know is that a couple of the more vigilant members of the fight for the One God religion called the Way were my younger half-brother Hercules and an Amazon Queen who once traveled with my daughter, Xena. Alone, they would only have been annoying thorns in our sides, but they were able to call more and more people to their cause because they were 'heroes'" Ares complains, his voice dripping with sarcasm by the last word.

"Behave Ares," Joxer says, popping into the Temple. "Gabby and Hercules have admitted they were wrong, haven't they? They're currently working to help us solidify our power base before we announce our reappearance to the world."

"Lord Ares, how do you plan on announcing your presence to the world?"

"My first act is to destroy all nuclear and chemical weapons," Ares says, grabbing Joxer's hand and holding it tightly. "Then I plan on eliminating all motorized vehicles used in war such as tanks, jet planes, submarines, and aircraft carriers. All the armed forces are going to be under my direct control, and war isn't going to be faceless anymore. If you want to start a war, you're going to have to go out on the battlefield and fight personally, no more lifting a telephone and ordering it."

"All religious battles are going to stop as well. No more 'I must kill the infidels' because they are not of my religion nonsense," Ares snarls, his eyes turning black. "You may choose to worship who you will, but I will not allow fanatics to kill others for their religious beliefs."

"I've been working on the energy shortage and pollution problems. Everything is gradually going to switch to solar or wind power over the course of ten years," Joxer announces, picking up a piece of fruit from the plate that appears on the table. "I will allow cars to still be driven, but they're going to run on something other than gasoline. Mass transit is going to be the rule, not the exception. One vehicle per family, not one vehicle per person, and they won't be available for purchase everywhere. They will have to be specially built. Bikes, walking, and in more rural areas horse and buggy are going to become more common."

"My Lord Joxer, what about the overpopulation problems?"

"We've been taking care of that over the past few years and sometimes the old ways are still the best. Ares has been creating a few guerrilla wars in areas where there isn't enough crops to feed all the inhabitants. Most of the inhabitants end up being killed; a few women and children survive. In the old days, a warlord would have taken over, Ares would have brought in somebody who knew how to work the land, they would have taken over, and the soldiers would have taken wives from the widows. Nowadays, we would have an aid worker come in, bring enough food to tide them over until the next crop was ready to be harvested, and show them how to best use the land they have."

"Will that be enough to solve the world's overpopulation problem, Lord Joxer?" Ethan asks.

"I'm afraid not, but Bacchus is working on that as well. You may have noticed a sudden increase in the number of deaths from vampire attacks?" Giles and Ethan nod, looking up as Wesley comes into the Temple, Apollo at his elbow to make sure his son doesn't fall over. They're followed by a long-haired young man dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved flannel shirt and a older man who mannerisms scream 'soldier.' Apollo settles Wesley in a chair, presses a drink in his hands, and smiles indulgently as the longhaired man heads immediately for the shelves of books. The other man grabs him by the shirttail, pushing him down onto a bench and sitting next to him.

"Sit down, Chief. We have plenty of time for you to lose yourself in here and I want to hear why Apollo had us come here?"

"You knew who our father was?" Wesley asks his half-brother accusingly, or as accusingly as the younger man can. To Giles he looks like he's pouting, and he resists the urge to reach over and wipe that pout off the younger man's face with a kiss that would curl both their toes.

"I found out a couple months ago." Blair replies, hurrying to soothe his brother. "Jim got shot in a hostage situation at the precinct. I was holding pressure on the wound, begging him not to die when suddenly my hands began to glow and the wound healed in front of my eyes. Next thing I know, we're at the loft, Jim's trying to shake me out of a zone-out and Dad grabs both of us and brings us here. I think I spent about a week just mumbling to myself, so I know what you're going through. It's a little bit daunting, finding out your father is a God, isn't it?"

"Rather," Wesley comments dryly, looking around the Temple for the first time. He blinks at the amount of books on the shelves. The look of hunger to touch just one of the books in his eyes is echoed by Giles and Blair.

"You may spend some time here if you want to," Joxer assures the younger men. "I'm sure Darius would love to speak with somebody who actually wants to learn." He smirks at Xander.

"Give me a break, Joxer, I was five years old. No kid that age wants to be stuck in a stuffy room with a bunch of boring books when they can be outside playing," Xander says, laughing.

"My Lord Ares, you were going to tell us why you had brought us to Mount Olympus?"

"Yes, Giles, I found out why James and Shirley Harris were killed," Ares responds, getting up to pace around the room. He's not looking forward to telling Xander and Giles this piece of news.

"According to Jett," He says, looking over at Joxer, the calm face of his husband encouraging him to finish telling the story, "The hit was placed two weeks ago by the Master of Sunnydale in an effort to demoralize the Slayer. He figures that if her support network is taken from her, she'll be easier to deal with. James and Shirley were on the list, as are Willow and her parents, Joyce, Alex, you, Ethan, and Wesley."

"Shit."

"My thoughts exactly," Ares says, his voice as dry as the Sahara Desert.

"What do you suggest we do now, Lord Ares?" Giles asks, one arm wrapped around Xander as the younger man cries on his shoulder.

"Do we tell your Slayer that she is the cause of her friend's parents deaths?"

"Oh hell, I hadn't thought of that," Ethan says, looking over at the quietly sobbing boy. "That would kill her."

"Or it might make her stronger," Joxer muses, getting up and pulling Ares back into his chair. "Sit down Ares, pacing isn't helping any."

"It might work as an object lesson," Giles says, thinking out loud as Xander's sobs trail off. "Buffy knows that the forces of evil are going to be out to get her any way they can, and attacking her friends and their family would prove that point admirably."

"Do we tell her, and can we tell her without revealing the existence of the Gods until you're ready to let the world know you're still around?" Blair asks, entering the discussion for the first time. "Since the Slayer isn't here, I assume you don't want her knowing about the Gods for the time being."

"Correct, Blair, I'm afraid Buffy is still too unstable to know about the existence of the Gods for now. She reminds me too much of Gabrielle. Gabrielle was one of my sister Artemis' Amazons, until she became enthralled with the Way. She turned her back on the Gods and began preaching that we were evil, trying to force people to do things against their will, and only her religion allowed free will. She got a major surprise when she died and was sent to Tartarus instead of being reunited with her precious prophet Eli like she'd been expecting. Two thousand years of continually seeing the deaths of all the innocents killed in the name of her God was her punishment. She's now on Earth working to institute recycling centers and cleaning up pollution sites."

"The Watchers Council should have let me know something like this had been ordered. They're supposed to keep track of anything that affects the Slayer, after all."

"Especially since they're so concerned about the Prophecy. If Buffy falls, a new Slayer won't be Called."

"I wonder if that wasn't their plan in the first place?" Wesley mutters under his breath. Realizing all eyes are on him, he blushes but speaks anyway. "The Council has to have placed me in Sunnydale for a reason. If my name wasn't on the hit list, I'd say they had placed me here to take over as Buffy's Watcher when the Order killed you and Ethan."

"That makes perfect sense, and it's just what the Council would do. They've probably got somebody lined up appear in Sunnydale the minute we were killed to take Buffy to the Council. It would get her under their control and rid themselves of a few annoying loose ends."

"Knowing the Council, I shall be receiving a letter demanding to know what my Slayer has been up to that would have her targeted for assassination by the Council. If she were under their control, she wouldn't be in this mess."

"Take it as a compliment, Giles," Ares says, grinning. "It means the vampires are taking her seriously as a threat. If the Council were running her, she'd be so damn useless of course she wouldn't be a target for assassination."

"And I will be most certain to tell them that," Giles says with a grin. "I'm not above rubbing the Council's nose in that fact. They may complain that she has a hit ordered on her, but that means she's doing her job, and the Master is worried."

"Giles, Ethan, Wesley, Blair, Jim, there was another reason I brought you up to Mount Olympus. I am the King of the Gods since my parent's deaths, and I am going to be making a formal announcement tomorrow acknowledging Iphicles as my heir after Cupid, announcing his marriage to Iolaus, and offering him his Godhood. Wesley, you and Blair are also demigods, I would like you to think about accepting your own Godhoods. Wesley, you'd be part of the House of Healing. Blair, you could join the house of Healing, or the House of Knowledge. Giles, Ethan, I would like to make a formal announcement offering you positions as Janus' High Priests."

"Jim, I would like you to join the House of War. You'd be offered Immortality, as will Giles and Ethan." Jim looks at his lover, knowing Blair is going to accept his Godhood, even if he has to sit on him to do it. Maybe this might keep him out of trouble. Ares, seeing the look on Jim's face, snickers softly. He'd been keeping an eye on Blair for Apollo ever since he'd met Jim and had been amazed at how much trouble one person could get into without even trying. Strife had bitched long and loud about not being allowed to offer Blair a position under him, until Ares had reassured him that, like Alexander, the younger God would be able to work with whoever he wanted doing whatever he wanted.

Xander stifling a yawn behind his hand brings Ares back to more mundane matters.

"I'll let you think about it for now. Alex, will you take Giles and Ethan to your temple for the night? Apollo, do you mind Wesley, Jim, and Blair staying with you? Hermes will be around tomorrow midday to telling everybody to gather outside my temple for the announcement."

Ares motions everybody out of the room, grinning at Blair, Giles, and Wesley's pleading glances at the books. "You can come back tomorrow once you've gotten some sleep."

Xander follows Giles and Ethan out of the Halls of Knowledge, pointing the way towards his Temple, knowing the Cherubim will already have created a bedroom and clothing for their use while they're staying at his Temple. Once Giles and Ethan officially become Janus' High Priests, Janus will either create a room for them in his Temple or commission a Temple of their own for them.

Xander opens the door, smiling at the effect the hidden lights create in the main room. Everything seems to be glowing with a soft light and Giles and Ethan look around trying to find the source of light.

Xander drops onto a comfortable couch as a plate of fruit and cheese appear beside him.

"Xander, are you a God?" Giles asks, sitting on another couch, pulling Ethan down to sit beside him when the younger man looks like he'd rather go explore the Temple.

"No, Giles; I'm a demigod like Iphicles, Blair, and Wesley. Ares has been after me to take my Godhood, but I didn't feel like I was ready yet for that sort of power. Now though, I'm not so sure."

"Xander, if you don't mind my asking, what House do you belong to?"

"I don't belong to any House Giles, at least not yet. Technically, I suppose I'd be part of the House of Humanity."

"Xander, is this your Temple?"

"No, this is the Temple of Bacchus' High Priest."

"Who is Bacchus' High Priest, I wasn't aware he had any."

"I am Giles," a deep voice says from the shadows. Angelus steps into the room, reaching over to teasingly cuff Xander on the back of the head. Xander doesn't even bother to duck, "You might have told me you were coming to Mount Olympus, brat. I came back to Giles' after making sure Buffy had gotten home all right and thought something had happened when I found everybody missing. Thankfully, Lord Strife came to collect me for the announcement tomorrow and told me you were all up here."

"I wasn't planning on coming; Ares popped in after we had eaten, asked us if we were done, and immediately brought us to Mount Olympus."

"Angel, you are Bacchus' High Priest? How?"

"It's a long, long story, Giles, one that I can't tell you yet."

"Where's Spike?"

"Lord Ares asked him to stay in Sunnydale and keep an eye on the Slayer."

"Uh-huh, you sure he just doesn't want Spike and Strife to get their heads together and make the announcement a little more 'interesting'?" Xander asks, grinning as he remembers the last time Ares had made a formal announcement. The Temple of War had sported hot pink walls for the month it had taken Spike and Strife to repaint them.

"That too."

"Angel, are you a God?"

Angelus rolls his eyes as Xander collapses onto the floor of the temple, pounding the floor with his fist as he laughs hysterically.

"To paraphrase Spike, 'The Poofster, A God? That's a good one!'" Xander chortles from the floor.

"I am going to strangle Spike for coming up with that damn nickname," Angelus snarls.

"What about Deadboy?" Xander asks with a grin.

"For that one, I'm going to slowly roast Spike over an open fire, complete with an apple in his mouth."

"I had wondered about that nickname," Giles snickers, removing his glasses to polish.

"Spike and I had to come up with that nickname so I could call him Dad without worrying about anybody hearing me. So, you guys want a tour before getting a bath and some sleep. The Cherubim have made up a room and put out clean clothes for you."

"Yes, please," Giles says, getting up and following Angel out of the room.

"Xander, Angel, if I may ask a question?"

"Of course, Giles."

"Angel, you asked Xander if he had brought us up. If neither you nor Xander are Gods, how are you able to travel back and forth to Mount Olympus?"

"Using these, Giles," Angelus shows Giles and Ethan a metal bracelet that covers half his lower arm. "With these we can travel back and forth from Mount Olympus. We can also carry up to five people with us if we're touching each other. Once you and Ethan become Janus' High Priests, Hephaestus will give you a pair of your own. They're keyed to our auras; we're the only people who can use them."

"Fascinating. Can you only travel back and forth from Mount Olympus with them, or can you use them to go elsewhere?"

"You can travel anywhere you've been with them." Xander says, grinning as he remembers a few times he's used his to go to sightseeing before moving to Sunnydale.

The Temple Library is a hit, as is the Armory, but Xander sees that Giles and Ethan are moving stiffly from all the furniture moving they did that day, and leads them to the bathroom. Giles stares at the sunken tub, easily as large as his entire bathroom, in disbelief. Ethan chuckles at the look on his lover's face, already stripping off his clothes, walking to the nearest set of steps leading down and sinking neck deep into the steaming hot water.

"Ohh, that feels good," he moans, sliding under the water before taking a handful of the soap Xander points out to him. "Turn around Ripper, and let me get your back." he says, rubbing soapy hands over the older man's back. Everybody looks up as a man comes into the room with a padded table.

"Mikhael, what are you doing here?"

"Lady Aphrodite sent me over. She says you all have been moving furniture all day and thought you might want a massage." the man comments, setting up his table and putting bottles of scented massage oils, which also double as lube, he is one of Aphrodite's Priests after all, in water to warm.

"You and Ethan go first," Xander offers, standing under the water flowing from the dolphin to rinse the soap from his hair. "I'm going to soak in the Jacuzzi first." Angelus agrees with a nod, getting out of the sunken tub and walking over to the modern Jacuzzi sitting in the corner of the bathroom.

Giles slides off the padded table after his massage, walking over to the Jacuzzi. He slides into the water and realizes just how different it is from a normal Jacuzzi as the water temperature adjusts for him, the bench conforms itself to his body, and jets appear in the Jacuzzi right where he wants them to be. He looks at Xander and Angelus, silently asking the question.

"Apollo's the ultimate hedonist," Xander says fondly, "He spelled the Jacuzzi so it adjusts itself to each person, no matter how many people are in it." Ethan gets slides into the water, blinking as the Jacuzzi changes shape as Xander gets out. He pauses outside the Jacuzzi while a burst of hot air blow-dries his wings before sliding onto the massage table. Spreading his wings so they're over his head, he purrs under Mikhael's hands. Turning onto his stomach, he's nearly asleep on the table until the slap on his ass makes him open one eye enough to slide off the table. Standing up, he laces his fingers together and stands up on his toes before bending over forwards and backwards. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he pulls his wings forward and begins to preen his feathers.

"Xander, go to bed," Giles orders fondly as the boy nearly swallows his wing during a yawn for the third time in five minutes. "Angel can show us to our bedroom."

"Night Giles, Ethan, Night Dad," Xander mumbles around another jaw splitting yawn and heads out of the bathroom towards his bedroom. Throwing the towel in a corner, he slides under the sheet and is asleep between one breath and the next.

Giles and Ethan stare in shock at the room Angel takes them to. Their clothes are folded on a bench in the corner of the room, but the first thing they see is the huge round bed. Angel rolls his eyes, seeing Aphrodite's influence on the room.

"That looks like. . ."

"The Honeymoon suite at a Las Vegas Hotel room. Yes, I know. Aphrodite had a ball creating those. And Cupid gets a lot of energy from all the chapels there."

Angel leaves them to the room, checks on Xander who is snoring away, and heads for his room. Wishing Spike was there, he pulls Spike's pillow into his arms and goes to sleep.

Eleven hour later, according to Giles' watch anyway, he wakes up in Ethan's arms. One look at the room tells him that last night hadn't been a dream. He looks up at Ethan's smiling face as both their stomachs growl.

"Good morning, love," Ethan sighs, planting a kiss on Giles' forehead. "Hungry?" Their stomachs growl again.

"I'd say that was a yes," Angel comments from the doorway. "Are you ready to get up? The Cherubim have laid out special outfits for the announcement." He gestures to two identical outfits in gray, black, and silver sitting on the bench. A plateful of pastries appears on the table. "Eat and get dressed. Xander and I will be in the library when you're ready."

"Angel? Would it be possible to use the baths again?"

"Of course, Giles," Angel says, "Do you remember the way? Alexander and I have already bathed, otherwise we would join you."

An hour later, though the sun is just beginning to peer over the horizon, Ethan and Giles walk into the Temple's library to find Xander dressed in a pair of black slacks tucked into a pair of silver boots reading a Laurel K. Hamilton book, looking up as Ethan groans theatrically.

"I hate those books. All the damn wannabe witches, vampires, and necromancers came out of the woodwork when she first started writing them."

"What about the Harry Potter books?" Xander says with a grin.

Ethan rolls his eyes. "You do not want to know what I think about that blasted series. It just got worse when the movie came out."

"You and Dad have the same taste. You should hear him get started on Harry Potter, Anita Blake, and the Anne Rice books."

"Anne Rice is a hack," Angelus says from the corner of the room, his nose buried in a book. Ethan and Giles look on in amazement as the vampire calmly yanks the shade up next to him, allowing the sunlight to wash over him.

"Of course, sunlight doesn't bother you while you're on Mount Olympus. Is it just because you're Bacchus' High Priest?"

"No, Giles, the sun doesn't burn any Bacchii up here." Angel comments, standing up as the gong for the announcement begins to sound. Angelus leads them to the Temple of War, finding a table for them. Apollo, Wesley, Blair, and Jim join them five minutes later, dressed in the colors of the House of Healing, Knowledge, and War respectively.

"Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Attention all Olympians and our honored guests. Our King, Ares God of War, and his Consort, Joxer, God of Peace demand your attention," Hermes announces from his position in front of Ares and Joxer's thrones

"Hermes, put a sock in it," Ares growls as he appears in the doorway from his private chambers. "I don't need a Herald today."

"Never let me have any fun..." Hermes mutters as he takes a seat at a nearby table as the Muses begin to record everything Ares says.

"Everybody, I have called you to make an announcement. Today we are honored to have four," Joxer grabs Ares by the elbow and whispers in his ear while pointing at Xander, "Make that three Demigods accept their Godhoods today. Please come forward Iphicles, Second Heir to the Throne of Olympus and accept your Godhood." Iphicles comes forward and accepts the bowl of Ambrosia. Eating it, he begins to glow. "We are also pleased to announce that Iolaus, God of Lust has taken Iphicles as his Consort."

"About damn time," Aphrodite yells from the back of the crowd. "Iolaus has been in love with you like forever, Iphicles. It's nice to see Sweetcheeks smiling again."

"Give me a break, Aphrodite," Iphicles says chuckling, "I've been gone for a while." Iolaus grabs Iphicles and pulls him to his side, wrapping one hand around Iphicles neck, pulling the taller man's head down for a kiss.

"Come forward, Blair Jacob Sandburg, son of Apollo God of Healing, Music, and the Sun and accept your Godhood." Ares says, "Iolaus, can't you wait until we're done?" he asks, rolling his eyes, as Iolaus and Iphicles finally come up for air. Blair accepts the Ambrosia, looks at it carefully for a second, and begins to eat. He begins to glow subtly and looks worried until Apollo whispers in his ear.

"Come forward, Wesley, Son of Apollo, God of Healing, Music, and the Sun and accept your Godhood." Wesley comes forward hesitantly and accepts the bowl of Ambrosia. He begins to glow, standing straighter and walks confidently to where his brother and father are waiting.

"Ares, what are their Godhoods?" one of the Muses asks from the table where they're writing.

"That is one of the announcements I plan on making today. I plan on letting them decide what House they want to work with, as well as what Position they wish to hold. I feel it is not my position to tell anybody what position they must hold. Let them choose which job they want to do."

"We also have three mortals here who have been offered Immortality. James Ellison, Rupert Giles, Ethan Rayne, please step forward."

Ethan, Giles, and Jim come forward. Joxer hands them the golden apples with a smile as Ares announces their new positions as Janus' High Priests and Jim's new position in the House of War as Blair's Protector.

"Now that all the formal announcements are out of the way, let the feast begin," Ares orders as food appears on the tables in front of everybody. A goblet of bloodwine appears in front of Angelus, who begins to drink as Xander is grabbed from behind by an older god wearing a white robe.

"Dionysus!" Xander cries, throwing his arms around the God. Dionysus returns the hug and, winking at Angelus, pulls Xander to another table where Bacchus is waiting. Giles and Ethan blink, seeing how much the other two Gods resemble Xander.

Angelus grins, seeing the look on their faces. "It's a long story, but yes, Lords Dionysus and Bacchus are Alexander's other fathers."

Five days later--Sunnydale High School library.

Xander looks up from the books he's shelving and counting off the seconds until the day is over. The three of them are going to Mount Olympus the minute he gets out of work for the Solstice celebration. Xander has already dropped off the gifts he brought the others for Christmas and Hanukah, surprised to find the others had gotten him gifts as well.

Buffy enters the library, holding a manila envelope with two fingers as far away from her as possible.

"Giles, some creep named Travers grabbed me on the way here. He told me to 'Give this to your Watcher, Slayer Summers,'" she says, tossing the envelope onto the table in front of Giles, Wesley, and Ethan. She doesn't know where they had gone last weekend, but when she had arrived at the Library Monday morning, she'd seen subtle changes in all three men.

Wesley was much more confident now, his stutter had vanished completely. Giles and Ethan were more at ease with themselves and their surroundings. The ancient Citroen was nowhere to be seen, he'd arrived at the Library on a motorcycle. A cigarette is currently hanging from the side of his mouth, and he'd changed from tweed to a pair of jeans and t-shirt the second the last bell had rung.

Giles stares at the envelope, the seal of the Watcher's Council glaring at him from the back of it. He rips the envelope open with the knife he pulls from his boot, twirling it absently once or twice before laying it within reach on the table.

"Those fucking assholes; if they knew what was going on a month ago, why the hell didn't they say something before now?"

Buffy grabs the piece of paper from the table, her eyes growing hard as she reads the terse message.

'Watcher Giles, what the hell are you doing? It came to our attention a month ago that a hit has been placed with the Order of Teraka on the following people associated with your Slayer by the Master of Sunnydale.

James Harris, Shirley Harris, Alexander Harris, Joyce Summers, Willow Rosenberg, Ira Rosenberg, Sheila Rosenberg, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, Ethan Rayne, and Rupert Giles.

You are hereby ordered to report to the Watchers Council in one week's time to explain yourself. Slayer Summers would not be a target of the Order if she were under the Control of the Watchers, which is where she belongs.'

"Go bugger yourselves, you bloody pillocks. I'll be damned if I'm going to report to you," Giles snarls, picking up the phone and punching in a series of numbers. "And you sure as hell aren't getting your hands on Buffy."

"This is Watcher Giles; connect me with the Assholes on the Council." He snarls into the phone.

"Yes, I know what bloody fucking time it is, connect me," he orders, interrupting the bleating on the other end.

"Well then, wake the fucking wankers up, I'll be damned if I'm going to sit here waiting for them to get off their asses and contact me."

"Yes, I'll leave them a damn message. You tell the Arseholes that Ripper Giles tells them to go bugger themselves. My Slayer is under my control, not theirs. She's one of the most competent we've ever had, and the only reason she wouldn't be a target if she was under the direct control of the Council is because they haven't got off their fat arses in years and anybody working under their control would be too damn incompetent to do their job. That's why every Slayer they've controlled for the past 20 years has lasted less than three months.

You can also tell the Arseholes on the Council that if anything happens to my Slayer, according to that damn prophecy you find so frigging interesting there won't be another Slayer called. So shut the fuck up, and let me work. Oh, and if that twit Travers ever shows up in Sunnydale again, bitching about how I'm not a 'proper Watcher' I'm going to feed him to something nasty that owes me a favor."

Ripper slams the phone down as Buffy picks up a stake and throws it across the room.

"Can they take me away from you, Giles?"

"No, they can't. They would let me know they were coming and I would immediately get you out of Sunnydale with Ethan until they left. I am not letting my Slayer out of my control."

"Thank you, Giles. Giles, if they knew about this a month ago, why didn't they say anything? Xander's parents might still be alive if we'd known."

"They didn't want us to know, Buffy," Ethan explains softly, "You see that Wesley, Giles, and my names are on the list too? They were probably hoping we would be the first ones killed, this way they could swoop in and get you under their control."

Xander pushes the empty cart towards the check-in desk.

"I'm off G-man; see you in a couple of weeks."

"Xander, where are you going?" Buffy asks, looking up from the computer where she'd been hunting for any information on 'The order of Teraka' with Wesley. If these assholes are going to have a hit out on her, she wants to find out everything she can about them.

"Dad, Spike, and I have a standing invitation to celebrate Solstice with some friends. Two weeks of fun in the sun, exchanging gifts, and catching up on the news."

"Xander, have you decided where you're going to live when you get back?" Ethan asks.

"Dad and I have agreed. If you, Giles, and Wesley can put up with me, it will be safer for me to stay with you until I'm old enough to get my own apartment. Dad would love for me to move back home, but it's too dangerous. I'm going to spend the weekends with him, but live with you guys during the week."

"That is more than fine with us, Xander," Giles says, "There is enough room and I feel better knowing you're nearby."

Giles, Wesley, and Ethan arrive home two hours later. They're surprised to find Ares sitting in an armchair waiting for them.

"Good, you're finally here. Don't bother bringing any clothes, you won't need them."

"Where are we going, Lord Ares?"

"You're coming to Mount Olympus to spend the Solstice with the rest of us," Ares demands, bringing everybody to Mount Olympus with a thought. "Hephaestus has your armbands ready, so you and Ethan will be able to come and go as you please."

Epilogue--About 10 months later, Mount Olympus time

Ares looks up as the door across the room opens and bounces off the wall. Iphicles comes into the meeting room in the Main Hall, one hand on his back and the other supporting his gravid stomach. Iolaus follows him into the room, leading Iphicles to a chair. Ever since Iphicles has entered his last month of pregnancy Iolaus has been treating him like he was made of spun sugar.

"What's up, Dad? Why the meeting?"

"I wanted to know how things were going," Ares orders, putting down the scroll he was reading as Darius and Methos come into the room.

"It's a boy," Darius announces, dropping into a seat across the table from Iphicles and Iolaus.

"How's Duncan?"

"He says if either of us even thinks about looking at him for a year, he's going to, and I quote, 'get my sword out and cut it off. Let's see how long it will take to grow back!'" Methos snickers. "Richie's about ready to climb the walls, he's so horny. Fortunately for us, he's also too huge to do anything about it."

"Iphicles, have you decided on an official Title?" Hermes asks, dropping into a seat.

"Not yet," Iphicles says, rubbing his stomach as the baby gives one good kick. "Of course, I have been a little preoccupied."

"Be thankful I didn't inherit the family tendency toward Wings, Babe," Iolaus says, as he rubs the spot the baby had been kicking. "Angelus was miserable while he was pregnant with Alexander, claims the wings tickled."

"They do," Strife spoke up from the doorway, waddling into the room. Cupid lowers his husband into a chair before dropping into the next chair.

"Can we please get this meeting over with soon?" Cupid asks, rubbing his itching eyes with the back of his hands. "The baby was kicking all night and neither of us got much sleep."

"We have a new God on Mount Olympus."

"Alexander finally decided to accept his Godhood?" Joxer asks, staring at Ares in shock.

"Noooooooo," Ares says dryly, pinching his nose to fight off the headache he knows he's going to have. "The Fates have decided that one God working with the Slayer isn't enough and took matters into their own hands." The door across the room opens and a figure drops into the empty chair.

"May I present Spike, the God of Sarcasm."



The End