SquidgeWorld Archive

Pairing: Xander/Wes mentioned, Xander/Andrew
Spoilers: Up to S7, but no major spoilers
Warnings: Angst, slash and mpreg
AN: Angel's last few seasons are non-existent, as is Connor.

Summary: Xander comes to visit the Scoobies after Buffy calls to ask him for help with a new apocalypse. He doesn't come alone and a shocking truth comes out.

Thanks to Edi for the beta.

Xander's New Life
By Caliadragon
Xander lifted the small bundle out of the car and put the bag over his other shoulder. Turning, he looked up at the hotel. It had been six months since he had been there or seen any of the people inside. Two years and eleven months since Spike turned up alive after everyone thought him dead in Sunnydale.

He had left after Buffy had screamed at him and told him he was trying to ruin her life. He had left because the man he had been foolish enough to trust turned out to be using him.

Now Buffy had called and needed him to help avert the end of the world once again. Surprising what a little distance can do to a Slayer's attitude. Shifting his burdens carefully, Xander took a deep breath and walked into the hotel.

As he walked inside he saw a mass of people, standing in small groups or lounging alone. One of the men standing to the side looked up at him and smiled in welcome. "Can I help you?" he called.

Dawn turned and squealed with delight. They were all surprised when the bundle of cloth in his arms shifted and began to cry. Walking quickly into the room, Xander set the diaper bag down and eased the blanket down. Dawn gasped at the sight before her. It was a baby. A baby that had Xander's dark hair.

"Who's the kid?" Faith drawled from the stairwell. Xander looked at her briefly, before gently calming his daughter.

"Her name is Anya Harris, she's my daughter," Xander answered calmly.

"Daughter?" Willow and Buffy echoed in a shout.

Looking over at the pair he scowled as Anya began to cry again. Jiggling her slightly, Xander reached into the diaper bag and pulled out a bottle. Uncapping it quickly, Xander popped the nipple into her mouth and the baby stopped crying.

Dawn walked closer and peered down at the blue eyed cherub. "How old is she?" Dawn asked. There was something about those eyes that was familiar.

"Three months," Xander answered as he settled down to feed his daughter.

"She's beautiful," Dawn told him happily.

Xander smiled down at Anya and looked at Dawn with a happy expression on his face. "I think so."

"So who's the mommy?" a voice growled from behind them. Xander stiffened and looked over at the person he had trusted and who used him for his own gain.

"None of your fucking business. Come near us and I'll kill you." Xander was dead serious. He would never allow Wes near Anya. Wes scowled and resisted the urge to try Xander.

"Xander, there's no need to be that way. Obviously you were cheating on Wes if you have a baby. Besides, he didn't want to betray you. It was for the greater good," Cordy told him angrily.

"I never cheated or betrayed Wes in anyway. I was faithful to him," Xander spat at her. Furious at the accusation.

Cordy sneered, "Then were did the kid come from?"

"Like I told Wes, it's none of your damn business. I came here to build you a weapon. After that my daughter and I are out of here. I'll do the work, but you had all better stay the fuck away from us both. The only ones welcome near her are Dawn, Faith, Andrew, Giles, Deadboy and Spike. If it wasn't for them and the danger this demon represents to Anya, I'd let you all die." Xander's voice held pure hatred. Standing, he propped the bottle against him while he picked up the diaper bag and the rest of the things he had brought with him.

"Where's my room?" he asked Dawn, completely ignoring the people he used to consider family and friends.

"Gunn, will you toss me Xander's room key?" Dawn asked the big black man.

Gunn nodded and tossed the key to Dawn. She turned and took several of the bags away from Xander and together they walked up the stairs to the elevator.

Faith blocked Willow from getting any closer to her former best friend and followed the pair to the elevator. Once they were inside Xander leaned against the wall and took several deep breaths before looking back down at Anya.

"She's beautiful, boy toy," Faith told him as she got a closer look at the infant.

Xander gave her a weary smile and looked down at the child that was his life." Where are the others?" Xander asked them.

"They're out running around, Cheek bones and hair gel should be back anytime," Faith answered.

Xander laughed in true amusement at Faith's nicknames for the two vampires. Both women grinned happily at the sound.

"So, will you tell us where the baby came from?" Dawn asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, Anya came from me," Xander told her. Both women looked at him for several minutes.

"As in, you're the Daddy?" Dawn asked.

"No."

"As in, you're the Mommy?" Faith asked carefully.

"Yes. I woke up one morning huge and pregnant. The next day I gave birth. It was strange and more than a little frightening. Thankfully I was with a friend of Giles' at the time and he helped me deliver her and he kept my secret," Xander answered truthfully.

"Anya is Wes' daughter, isn't she?" Dawn asked quietly.

"No. She will never be Wes' child. She's mine and mine alone," Xander answered back harshly.

"I understand. Wes used you to make Gunn jealous and then dumped you when he got Gunn into his life. Of course, tricking you into being bait for that demon wasn't any better. I thought you were dead when they brought you in," Dawn said. She could remember all of the blood on him. If it weren't for Spike and Angel using their saliva to help him heal, he would have bled to death or died from the infection that had already begun to spread through his wounds.

"So how did this happen? You getting pregnant, I mean," Faith asked.

"I have no idea. Ethan thinks it's because of a spell, but there were so many on me that he couldn't separate them all or even guess where it came from ," Xander told her.

"Did it hurt a lot?" Dawn asked in a small voice.

"No, Ethan cast a pain blocking spell on me, then he cut Anya out of my stomach. I was down for several weeks afterwards, but I'm doing better and I have Anya. So it was worth it," Xander told her as he looked down at his daughter, the love shining from his dark eyes.

"I'm glad for you, boy toy, you deserve happiness," Faith said sincerely. She and Robin had called it quits after she found out about his part in Xander being used as bait. She had never approved of using Xander for such things. She knew that he could defend himself, but she was a Slayer and Slayers were supposed to protect people like Xander. It may have taken prison to teach her that, but she learned it and she would be damned again before she allowed anyone else to hurt Xander or his daughter.

The rest of the trip up to Xander's room was made in silence as they each thought about what had brought them to this point. Dawn was also trying tore member if there was a crib anywhere in the hotel. She doubted it, but she figured they could get one somewhere.

"Dawn, do you think you could stay with Anya while I go and finish getting our things? I need to bring up her crib and swing. There's also several more bags," Xander asked her as they were walking into the suite that had been assigned to Xander.

"Sure, Faith'll help you. Won't you, Faith?" Dawn said with a grin.

Faith rolled her eyes and laughed. "Give they kid to Dawnie and come on, boy toy."

Xander laughed and did as the dark Slayer ordered. After pressing a kiss to his daughter's cheek he walked out the door. Both Faith and Xander ignored the people in the lobby as they went to unload the car.

They had just reached Xander's car when Giles and Andrew pulled up. Andrew yelled his name and ran over to him, hugging him tightly. "Xander, you've lost alot of weight," Andrew said worriedly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but there's someone I want you to meet upstairs. You too, Giles," Xander told his friends as he gently pulled away and unlocked the car. Faith grinned and started pulling things out of the car. Giles and Andrew shared a look when they saw some of the things coming out of the car. Each of them began to grab things as well and they had nearly unloaded completely when Spike and Angel pulled in.

"Whelp! How the hell are ya?" Spike asked as he jumped out of the car.

Xander laughed and raised a hand in greeting. "I'm fine."

"You got here just in time, vamp boys. Grab some gear. This way Xanman won't have to be away from his girl for too long and he won't have to pass the idiot brigade in the lobby," Faith ordered and started loading the pair up.

The vampires just shrugged and took the things they were being handed. After a few minutes they all headed inside. Buffy and Willow tried to stop them, but were ignored as the small group went up to Xander's suite.

When they got inside the four men were stunned to see Dawn holding a baby. The two vampires looked at one another in shock. It was the Whelp's kid. "Xander?" Andrew asked, stunned.

Xander put his things down and went over and took Anya from Dawn. Turning back to them he smiled. "Guys, I'd like you to meet my daughter, Anya Jessica Harris."

Andrew put the things he was holding down and hurried over to the pair. His smile was blinding when he looked up at Xander. "She's so beautiful. Can I hold her?" Xander answered by placing Anya in his arms.

Holding her gently against him he sank down onto the floor and cooed to her. The others watched as Anya wrapped Andrew around her finger. Xander felt a pain in his heart and wished that Anya's father were there, but that would never happen. He took a deep breath and told himself to remember his plan. Try not to kill Wes, build a box to contain the demon and reconnect with his real friends. Piece of cake, he hoped.

The next few days were spent working and catching up with his friends, as well as reconnecting with everyone. Xander had been content the last six months, but true happiness had eluded him. Part of it had been his need to recover from the numerous betrayals he had suffered. Then he had found out he was pregnant with Anya. Her first few days had been rough. Both for him and for Ethan.

The chaos mage had become a true friend. He had given Xander a place to stay and had taken care of him while he was pregnant. He had kept him safe and had cast a spell to keep anyone from finding him until he was ready to be found. Xander owed Ethan a great deal. It was one of the reasons he had pushed Giles back into the man's life.

Xander thought it was sad that the two denied who and what they were out of fear of what Buffy and Willow would say. Xander had long ago stopped caring about what the two thought. If he had listened to the two of them, he would never have dated Anya or fallen in love with her. Xander knew he had made mistakes in their relationship, but he had loved her.

Sitting in the kitchen of the hotel, feeding his daughter, Xander smiled slightly as he remembered her namesake and once again hoped that she was happy, wherever she was.

"Xander," a soft voice called from behind him.

Xander tensed and turned to look at the woman in the doorway. At one time in his life he had loved her. She was beautiful, of that there was no denying. Cordelia was another woman that he had made mistakes with. He had thought they were getting past those mistakes when he found out that she had helped set up the spell and betray him.

"Cordelia," he said coolly.

Cordelia sighed. She had hoped this would go better than it was. Xander had every reason to be angry at them, but she had no idea that he would resent them this much. Looking at the child in his arms, she wondered yet again who the other parent was.

"I was just getting something to drink. Is everything okay?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Anya's just hungry," he answered with cool politeness.

Cordelia flinched at the tone and felt her heart break just a little. She desperately wanted to make up for what they had done, but Xander wasn't giving any of them a chance to do so. He would get up and leave the room if any but one of the small group he approved of came in to it. No one but those he had named the first day were even allowed near Anya.

They had all gotten passing glances at the child, but so far that was it. Faith and Dawn refused to even disguise Anya with them and Andrew spent all of his time with the baby girl and her father. He would threaten to hex anyone who tried to get close to the child.

Both Buffy and Willow had tried forcing the issue, but all that had gotten them was nearly beaten down or thrown out of the hotel. Angel, Spike and Giles had made it very clear that there would be swift punishment for anyone caught trying to force information or attention from Xander and his friends.

Gunn seemed to be the only one who tried to stay as far away from Xander as possible. Cordy knew that it was due to guilt. He and Wes had broken up not long after Xander had left the hotel the first time.

"Xander, you might want to give Gunn a second chance. He really does care for you and he had no idea what Wes and the rest of us were up to with the spell. He broke things off with Wes when he found out the truth," Cordy told him quietly as she left the room.

Xander watched as Cordy left the room and thought about what she had said. Looking down at his daughter, he wondered if he was doing the right thing by denying her the chance to know someone as loyal as Gunn. He had considered the other man a friend until he found out what was really happening between himself and Wes.

There were so many signs that Xander chose to ignore. It was like dating Cordy all over again. The only difference was that they did more than grope in closets. Wes had been Xander's first and only male lover.

Wes had never been cruel, not even when he broke things off between them. He had been remorseful, but days later they had placed that spell on him and used him as bait, even though he had told them he wasn't up to playing bait.

Dawn told him later that Willow had convinced them that he was just saying it to avoid Wes. It wasn't until he was wounded by the demon and nearly died that they realized that he really hadn't felt well.

Late the night after Buffy and Willow had come to him, but instead of apologizing they had begun to berate him for trying to gain pity and turn the few people not a part of the plan against them. It was then that Buffy had screamed that Xander was trying to ruin her life, because she was trying to get back on Spike and Angel's good sides.

The next day Xander said goodbye to the people that he had come to realize were all he really had, and had let Giles take him away from the hotel. In a strange twist he had ended up in Oxnard, with Ethan Rayne. He never seemed to get any further than Oxnard and LA.

Ethan had settled there so that he could monitor the Hellmouth crater for several weeks before heading back to LA. Xander spent that time under Ethan's care. Within a month of going to live with Ethan, Anya had been born.

Now here she was, 4 months old, and he was back at the hotel and back where he had started. A part of him wanted to continue hating them all, but another part longed for his friends and worried about what it would cost his little girl not to know her real father.

____________________________________________________________________

Xander looked at the box and sighed in relief. He was glad that it was done. Now he just had to go and tell everyone that it was ready. First, though, he was going to take a shower and check on Anya. She had seemed a little feverish to him when he had come upstairs.

When he reached his room he could hear an argument going on and the sound of Anya crying. Running into the room he saw Willow and Wes squaring off. Andrew was holding Anya and glaring at the two.

"What the hell is going on in here?" he snarled as he hurried over to his daughter and Andrew.

"Willow came in and tried to make me let her hold Anya. I was just going to bring her to you. She started crying and I think her fever is worse. Wes was trying to make Willow leave," Andrew said anxiously as he handed Anya to Xander.

"Xander, there's something wrong with her, I can feel it and you would too, Wes, if you just stopped screaming at me!" Willow screamed. She was pale and staring at Anya wit h something akin to fear.

"ETHAN!" Xander screamed as he looked down at his daughter.

The doors to his room burst open as the others on their floor heard his scream. Just as they were about to demand to know what was going on Ethan appeared. Willow and Wes both started to chant a spell, but stopped when Xander handed Anya to the chaos mage.

Ethan frowned as he looked Anya over. "She's been poisoned."

Xander began to sag, but was caught before he hit the floor. "Please help her?" he begged.

"Ripper, I need an antidote for Tradner demon poison," Ethan told his mate quickly.

"What did you say?" Buffy asked sharply. She and Willow looked at one another, before turning to Kennedy.

The other Slayer turned and started to run, but was stopped by Spike and Angel." What did you do to our Anya?" Willow snarled, her eyes turning black.

"I think that's obvious," Kennedy said with a sneer.

"Why?" Xander asked, he had never done anything to her.

"You deserve to be punished," Kennedy said with a growl.

"For what?" Wes asked, confused.

"Anya," she answered.

Xander looked at her, confused. "What about Anya? You hardly knew her. The two of you barely said two words to one another."

"That's where you're wrong, human," Kennedy said as her visage changed and her true nature was revealed.

"Who are you?" Willow asked angrily. "Where is Kennedy?"

"She's dead, she has been since before the fall of Sunnydale. I took her place. It was really rather perfect. I got you all to turn on your best friend. Unfortunately I could not turn you all. The spells I cast kept being overturned. Then I learned about Anya. I knew if I brought a Vertul here Buffy would call him back and I would have a chance to destroy him once and for all. It took longer than I had hoped. I hadn't counted on him keeping everyone at bay. Anyanka was a beautiful demon, but she gave it, and any chance I had at winning her back, up to be human. Because of you! It came back to you. She stayed and fought the First because of you. Her soul is in paradise. I didn't even get her after her death!" the demon woman snarled.

She was about to say something else, when Willow suddenly lashed out with magic. The demon was headless within seconds. A few seconds later her body disappeared in a cone of fire. As she died the spells she had placed on the others died as well.

"Please, get the antidote?" Xander begged, his attention back on Anya. Wes disappeared and reappeared a few minutes later with the antidote in his hand. He gave it to Ethan and they all watched as he fed it to the infant.

The little girl had continued to cry throughout the confrontation with the Kennedy demon, but was now calming down. Ethan handed her back to Xander as she drifted off to sleep. Xander sat down and hugged her to his chest. "Will she be all right?" he asked hoarsely.

"Yes, our daughter will be fine. The antidote counteracts any effects of the poison she ingested," Wes told him softly.

Xander looked up at him, while the others gaped in astonishment. The only ones not surprised were Dawn, Andrew, Ethan and Faith. They were the only ones he had told the truth to.

"Wes-"

"Don't, I understand why you didn't tell me. I'm confused how it is that we have a daughter, but I do understand. I have no idea why I started something with you. You are a wonderful young man and I count myself lucky that I was with you, but I love Gunn," Wes told him gently.

Xander looked down at his daughter then back up at Wes. "Would you like to hold our daughter?"

Wes closed his eyes, then opened them and nodded. Xander carefully placed the sleeping baby into her father's arms and watched as Wes melted. "She's beautiful," he whispered, awed by the tiny creature in his arms.

Gunn hesitantly made his way over to Wes and the baby. Looking at Xander, he was stunned to see a smile on his face. Gunn leaned over and ran a fingertip gently down Anya's cheek. "She looks like her Daddies," he said softly.

Xander stood and turned his attention to Willow, Buffy and Cordelia. The three girls were looking at him with pain-filled gazes. "So, you three want to babysit sometime?"

Xander laughed breathlessly as he was suddenly tackled by the three girls. "Xander, I'm so sorry," Willow said tearfully. Cordy and Buffy nodded also.

"It's okay, it was a spell. I should have known something was up, but I was so hurt that I just didn't pay attention," Xander said softly. He turned his attention back to his daughter, unable to look away from where Wes and Gunn sat holding her.

Ethan looked at Giles and felt himself start as his lover came to him and enveloped him into his arms. "Thank you for coming to help, love," Giles said as he placed a kiss on Ethan's cheek.

Ethan merely smiled, "I had to come, my son called me. Can't let anything happen to my grand-daughter now, can I?"

Willow, Buffy and Cordy giggled and leaned back against each other and Xander. "So how did this happen? Anya, I mean," Willow asked.

"I'm not sure, but there are several spells on Xander. There were four that I traced back to you, but they were all protective spells. I left them on him. Now that I think of it, it could be why the Kennedy demon's spells didn't work," Ethan mused.

"More than likely. I placed a magical gies on him. No harmful magic can be used on him, it dissolves. There's also a health spell on him. If he gets any severe trauma it heals him. That's the one that made his eye grow back last year. It just took a little while. It's also why he didn't die when Olaf hit him with the hammer. The third one I placed on him happened after the last female demon tried to kill him. It wards off evil," Willow explained.

Her friends all looked at her in surprise. Willow had done very complex spells to protect Xander. "What about the last spell?" Buffy asked.

"It's a spell that will automatically return his soul if he's turned or possessed again. No demon or spirit will be able to control him. I placed these spells on every one of our group, right after you were brought back. I cast several spells when I was possessed by my magic, but I can't remember most of them and I don't think they were good spells," Willow confessed. "Most of them were on Xander. I used him as a guinea pig for every new spell. I'm really sorry about that, Xander."

Xander just hugged her in response. "Warren had Jonathon and me cast several spells when we were working for him, but I removed them all after I came to live with Buffy. Well, I removed all of my spells. I can't remove Jon's cause his magic was better than mine," Andrew said.

Ethan frowned. "I removed all but six spells. Four of them were Willow's, one was Ripper's, it was the spell used to contain the Hyena spirit and I think I speak for us all when I say we don't want her loose. The sixth is the spell I believe is Wesley's."

"Wait, the Hyena didn't go away?" Buffy asked. She turned to look at Xander and her eyes narrowed at the look on his face. "You remember the possession, don't you?"

"Yeah, I didn't want to upset you and Willow by telling the truth. Giles hasher completely controlled and I'll die before I do anything to let her out again," Xander told her sheepishly.

Buffy turned to look at Willow and smirked at the pout on her friend's face. "I told you! You owe me one carton of rocky road ice cream."

Willow stuck her tongue out at Buffy making them all laugh. "So what spell did you put on Xander, Wes?" Dawn asked.

"Protection, I wanted to make sure he attracted no more demon women," Wes said blandly, not taking his eyes off his sleeping child.

Xander surprised them by laughing at Wes' bland comment. "So I have two spells that stop me from being able to attract demon women and several protective spells, but we still don't know what caused me to get pregnant."

"Are you upset that you were pregnant?" Andrew asked. This was something he had never asked before.

"Nah, I was at first, but then I had Anya and that all went away. She's a miracle to me. You don't regret a miracle, you embrace it," Xander answered happily. He truly loved his little girl and he knew that he wouldn't be leaving LA again. Wes was absorbed in their daughter and in Gunn. Xander had every intention of remaining where Wes could have a place in Anya's life.

Thanks to the Kennedy demon he had lost six months with his family, but at the same time he had gained a father and a new friend. That was something he would never give up. "So, now that you know the truth. What are you going to do? Are you going to leave?" Buffy asked.

"No, I'm staying. I need to find a place to live, but I'm staying here," Xander answered. He noticed that Wes relaxed again.

"You'll live here, there's plenty of room and you'll have live-in babysitters. Not to mention the fact that Wes already lives here," Cordy said. Angel nodded in agreement.

"I guess that settles that," Xander said with amusement. He looked over at Wes and smiled as the older man looked up at him. In Wes' eyes he could see relief and love for their little girl.

Xander had no doubt that he and Wes would be able to give their daughter everything that neither of them had ever had from their families. Both Wes and Xander had been badly abused by their families. Xander knew that Anya would never go through anything like that. There were far too many people who would kill to protect her.

"Oh, hey, I almost forgot, the weapon is ready," Xander told them.

Willow and the others started guiltily. They had forgotten that the demon was still out there and needed to be taken care of. Wes cleared his throat and looked at Gunn. "I'll let the boys know, they'll want to be in on it."

They all nodded. The demon was attacking the people who lived in Gunn's old neighborhood. So far it had killed 15 people. Now that they had a weapon they would be able to destroy it.

Wes sighed regretfully. He was fairly certain that he should put Anya to bed, but he was loathe to release his hold on her. In just a short time he had gone from being bitterly unhappy to having a chance at happiness. "I should lay her down." They could hear the wistfulness in his voice.

"Why? She's asleep. I don't think it will be a problem. Unless you want to lay her down?" Xander asked.

"No, I am quite content to hold her," Wes said quickly.

Gunn grinned and put an arm around Wes and Anya. Wes looked over at him and was surprised by Gunn's kiss. The others were relieved to see the pair together. Even Xander could admit that they were right for one another.

_____________________________________________________________________

Andrew walked into the hotel carrying Anya and talking to Xander. Dawn grinned and wondered when the two were going to come out to the rest of them. Everyone figured that they were a couple. It had been nearly a month since Xander and Anya had come to the hotel. Xander and Wes had come to an agreement over Anya and were getting along very well.

Gunn and Wes had gotten back together, and Willow and Buffy had shocked everyone by going out on a date with one another. They were now a couple. Dawn had nearly fallen out of her chair laughing when Faith had muttered that it was about time.

Now everyone was placing bets on how long it was going to be before Xander and Andrew admitted that they were together. Neither seemed to realize that the group was focused on them.

In fact, Xander and Andrew would have been shocked by their friends' speculation. Neither of them was trying to hide their relationship. After all, Andrew had moved his things into Xander's suite and slept in Xander's bed. They were with one another all the time and Andrew was Anya's father in all but blood.

Dawn nearly squealed when Xander leaned down and gave Andrew a casual kiss before the two went their separate ways. Andrew went to lay Anya down and Xander went to put away the baby formula. As he walked past Dawn, Xander gave her a smile and wondered at the mirth he could see in the girl's eyes.

Shrugging it off, Xander went to finish his chore. He and Andrew had a date on the town tonight and he needed to get ready. A small smile played on his lips. He had thought he would live in seclusion and only talk to a select few when he returned to the hotel. Instead, his life was enriched and he had regained his family. All in all, Xander was pleased with his new life.

The End