Dom/Xander fic, part 26
Previous parts are here.
***
It's long after sunset by the time they get to Wolfram and Hart, parking across the street from the big lighted sign. Xander wakes with a start as soon as the engine shuts off, his eyes snapping open and his body jerking upright.
"Hey," Dom says, turning and smiling reassuringly.
Xander is staring at the sign. He looks wide awake now, awake and wary.
"What are we doing *here*?" Xander asks. His eyes are flicking back and forth, as though looking for danger.
"Hey, we're just... we just want to know what happened," Dom says, keeping his voice calm and level, soothing. Hannah twists around in her seat to look back at Xander too.
"What do you mean, what happened?" Xander says. "What happened when?" He sounds confused, and is still scanning the streets, muscles tense and body alert.
"Xander...," Dom says, feeling a little at a loss. "Don't you...? You've been gone three days, man. Remember? You disappeared. We thought you were dead."
Xander turns to look at him finally, forehead furrowed. "I'm not dead," he says.
"Well... yeah," Dom says. "Obviously. But... where were you, then? Do you remember anything?"
Xander shakes his head dismissively, like this is a stupid question. "Remember what? There wasn't... I don't even know what you're talking about."
"Xander," Dom says. "I'm talking about... well, your eye, for one thing."
"What about my eye?"
"Well... you have it," Dom says. "Them. Both of them."
"Of course I do," Xander says, sounding like he's beginning to get frustrated. "Why wouldn't I have both...." He breaks off abruptly, his face changing as he is hit by a sudden realization. He blinks rapidly as if the world is realigning around him, and his hand goes up slowly to touch the skin beside his eye, like he is just remembering that it shouldn't be there.
"Yeah," Dom says. "Exactly."
Xander breathes deeply, his head down, his hand still at his temple. Finally, he says, in a low voice, "What happened to me?"
Dom and Hannah look at each other. After a second, Dom shrugs. "That's why we're here," he says. "Your friend Willow might know what's going on. Or Angel or whoever."
Xander looks up at him, his eyes dark and confused. "Willow's here?" he asks.
"She... yeah," Dom says. "I called her."
"Does she think I'm dead?" Xander asks.
Dom nods helplessly. Xander worries at his lower lip. Hannah is watching both of them carefully.
Xander finally looks up at Hannah, still with that dark air of worry and preoccupation. "Who're you?"
Hannah looks taken aback. "I'm... Hannah. Um, Wood." She stumbles over her words a little bit.
"Oh," Xander says.
"I'm a Slayer," Hannah blurts out. "I just found out."
"Oh?" Xander says distractedly. "I'm sorry."
Hannah looks at him, perturbed.
"I mean, um, congratulations," Xander says, catching her look.
"You're a Watcher, right?" Hannah asks.
"Oh," Xander says. "Yeah. Sort of."
Dom opens his door and gets out of the car, figuring that this is not really a good time for Hannah to ask Xander to be her Watcher. "C'mon," he says to them, "let's go."
Xander is very subdued as they get out of the car and walk towards the building. He keeps reaching up to feel his eye.
As they walk into Wolfram and Hart's lobby, Dom in front with Hannah and Xander trailing behind him, Dom immediately sees Willow walking excitedly towards the door. Wesley, Angel and a few other people Dom doesn't know are behind her, and when she sees Dom she looks like she might explode from happiness. Beaming from ear to ear, she hurries toward him.
"Dom!" she says. "You'll never believe it! We just did a spell and it says Xander's alive!"
Dom gestures behind him as Xander comes into the lobby, looking around suspiciously at his surroundings.
An expression of complete shock floods Willow's face, and she stops walking so abruptly that Angel walks right into her. As he apologizes awkwardly, he too catches sight of Xander and stops talking, his face going still with surprise. There is a moment of complete silence as everyone stares at Xander and he stares back at them.
Then Willow bursts into tears and throws herself at him, Xander opening his arms to catch her at the last minute. Looking bewildered at first, he pats her back, then finally closes his eyes as she hugs him. Dom can hear her sniffling as Xander murmurs to her.
Dom looks away, feeling that he's intruding on a private moment, and leans back against the large reception desk behind him. Hannah comes to stand next to him, and Angel and Wesley talk agitatedly in lowered voices a few yards away.
Dom's thoughts are quickly interrupted by a gasp from behind him. "Ohmygod," a woman's voice says. "You are totally one of those hobbits from that geek movie!"
He turns slowly to see a blond woman, wearing a pink suit with a matching pink headband, standing behind the desk. "Um... yeah, I am," he says.
"Wow, that is *so* *cool*," she gushes. "You worked with Orlando Bloom!" She lowers her voice. "So what's he really like?"
Dom blinks at her. "Oh, he's a nice guy," he finally says vaguely. "It's a shame about all the warts."
The woman stares at him for a minute, then apparently decides he's joking and bursts into nervous giggles.
"I'm serious," Dom says, straight-faced.
She stops laughing and looks confused. "Oh," she says. Dom fights to keep from smiling. "Well, anyway, don't worry," she says. "We get *tons* of celebrities in here, so no one's going to bother you by acting all weird or anything." It is only through a massive effort of will that Dom keeps himself from glancing at Hannah, who he can see smirking out of the corner of his eye. "You know, it's funny, actually, you're the second hobbit I've seen here today," the woman continues thoughtfully.
Dom stares at her, then looks over at Hannah, who has dropped the smirk and is looking as confused as he is. "Did you bring Elijah down here earlier?" he asks her, even though it is clear from her expression that she did not.
"No, no, not Frodo," the blond woman interrupts.
"Sean Astin?" Dom asks.
"No, not him. It was the other one that's not famous," she says. "Oh, what's his name? It's um... oh! Dominic Monaghan."
Dom crosses his arms across his chest. "*I'm* Dom Monaghan," he says, annoyed. But then the implications of what she's just said hit him like a punch to the stomach. "Wait, Billy was here?" he asks, his voice strangled. "Billy Boyd?"
The blond woman nods enthusiastically. "Yes! That's the one! He was here just a little bit ago."
"What the hell was Billy doing here?" Dom asks. His voice sounds strained even to himself, cracking on the last word. Hannah is watching him.
"Oh, well, we have containment cells here that he's using," the woman explains. Dom and Hannah stare at her blankly. "It's the night before the full moon?" she prompts, like this is a relevant fact that they must've forgotten.
Hannah gets it first. "Billy's a werewolf?" she blurts out, eyes wide. Dom suddenly chokes on his own spit and starts coughing.
The blond woman's eyes widen and she claps a hand over her mouth. "Ohmygod," she says, alarmed. "You didn't know? I just outed him? Ohmygod, Angel will *kill* me." Dom and Hannah stare at her. "You didn't hear it from me, okay? Promise you won't tell anyone?"
Dom and Hannah continue to stare at her, mouths hanging open, until she throws up her hands and gives an aggravated moan. "Fine! Whatever. I'll just get fired, that's fine." She continues to mutter to herself as she picks up some files and wanders away.
"I need to sit down," Dom says faintly when she's gone.
Hannah's staring after the woman. "How many vampires do you think they have working here?" she asks finally, frowning. "I thought they were all evil. Does she have a soul too?"
Dom rubs his forehead, trying to get himself together. "Why is my life so fucking weird?" he asks the general vicinity.
Just then Angel and another guy come walking over to Dom and Hannah. "Hey, Hannah," Angel says. "We just got a report of a bunch of zombies in Beverly Hills. Gunn and I are going to go check it out, but we could use some help in case things get violent. What do you think, you want to join us?"
"It'll be a damn good fight," Gunn says. "And it's always good to get more experience in the field."
Hannah's face has lit up. "Yeah, definitely!" Angel beams at her.
Willow, wiping her eyes with one hand and with the other arm around Xander, comes over with Wesley and a thin, brown-haired woman. "Wesley and Fred and I are going to run some tests on Xander, see if we can figure out what happened to him, okay?"
"Great," Angel says. Then the two groups with missions turn and walk away in opposite directions, leaving Dom standing by himself in the middle of the lobby.
"Hey!" he calls. "What should I do?"
Angel turns around and walks backwards for a bit. "Um... just... make yourself at home!" he calls back. Hannah turns and gives Dom a little happy wave as they go out one door. Xander and company have already disappeared out another, and Dom turns, alone in the empty lobby.
"Okay, I'll just... stay here, then," he says lamely, to the empty room.
***
TBC...
***
It's long after sunset by the time they get to Wolfram and Hart, parking across the street from the big lighted sign. Xander wakes with a start as soon as the engine shuts off, his eyes snapping open and his body jerking upright.
"Hey," Dom says, turning and smiling reassuringly.
Xander is staring at the sign. He looks wide awake now, awake and wary.
"What are we doing *here*?" Xander asks. His eyes are flicking back and forth, as though looking for danger.
"Hey, we're just... we just want to know what happened," Dom says, keeping his voice calm and level, soothing. Hannah twists around in her seat to look back at Xander too.
"What do you mean, what happened?" Xander says. "What happened when?" He sounds confused, and is still scanning the streets, muscles tense and body alert.
"Xander...," Dom says, feeling a little at a loss. "Don't you...? You've been gone three days, man. Remember? You disappeared. We thought you were dead."
Xander turns to look at him finally, forehead furrowed. "I'm not dead," he says.
"Well... yeah," Dom says. "Obviously. But... where were you, then? Do you remember anything?"
Xander shakes his head dismissively, like this is a stupid question. "Remember what? There wasn't... I don't even know what you're talking about."
"Xander," Dom says. "I'm talking about... well, your eye, for one thing."
"What about my eye?"
"Well... you have it," Dom says. "Them. Both of them."
"Of course I do," Xander says, sounding like he's beginning to get frustrated. "Why wouldn't I have both...." He breaks off abruptly, his face changing as he is hit by a sudden realization. He blinks rapidly as if the world is realigning around him, and his hand goes up slowly to touch the skin beside his eye, like he is just remembering that it shouldn't be there.
"Yeah," Dom says. "Exactly."
Xander breathes deeply, his head down, his hand still at his temple. Finally, he says, in a low voice, "What happened to me?"
Dom and Hannah look at each other. After a second, Dom shrugs. "That's why we're here," he says. "Your friend Willow might know what's going on. Or Angel or whoever."
Xander looks up at him, his eyes dark and confused. "Willow's here?" he asks.
"She... yeah," Dom says. "I called her."
"Does she think I'm dead?" Xander asks.
Dom nods helplessly. Xander worries at his lower lip. Hannah is watching both of them carefully.
Xander finally looks up at Hannah, still with that dark air of worry and preoccupation. "Who're you?"
Hannah looks taken aback. "I'm... Hannah. Um, Wood." She stumbles over her words a little bit.
"Oh," Xander says.
"I'm a Slayer," Hannah blurts out. "I just found out."
"Oh?" Xander says distractedly. "I'm sorry."
Hannah looks at him, perturbed.
"I mean, um, congratulations," Xander says, catching her look.
"You're a Watcher, right?" Hannah asks.
"Oh," Xander says. "Yeah. Sort of."
Dom opens his door and gets out of the car, figuring that this is not really a good time for Hannah to ask Xander to be her Watcher. "C'mon," he says to them, "let's go."
Xander is very subdued as they get out of the car and walk towards the building. He keeps reaching up to feel his eye.
As they walk into Wolfram and Hart's lobby, Dom in front with Hannah and Xander trailing behind him, Dom immediately sees Willow walking excitedly towards the door. Wesley, Angel and a few other people Dom doesn't know are behind her, and when she sees Dom she looks like she might explode from happiness. Beaming from ear to ear, she hurries toward him.
"Dom!" she says. "You'll never believe it! We just did a spell and it says Xander's alive!"
Dom gestures behind him as Xander comes into the lobby, looking around suspiciously at his surroundings.
An expression of complete shock floods Willow's face, and she stops walking so abruptly that Angel walks right into her. As he apologizes awkwardly, he too catches sight of Xander and stops talking, his face going still with surprise. There is a moment of complete silence as everyone stares at Xander and he stares back at them.
Then Willow bursts into tears and throws herself at him, Xander opening his arms to catch her at the last minute. Looking bewildered at first, he pats her back, then finally closes his eyes as she hugs him. Dom can hear her sniffling as Xander murmurs to her.
Dom looks away, feeling that he's intruding on a private moment, and leans back against the large reception desk behind him. Hannah comes to stand next to him, and Angel and Wesley talk agitatedly in lowered voices a few yards away.
Dom's thoughts are quickly interrupted by a gasp from behind him. "Ohmygod," a woman's voice says. "You are totally one of those hobbits from that geek movie!"
He turns slowly to see a blond woman, wearing a pink suit with a matching pink headband, standing behind the desk. "Um... yeah, I am," he says.
"Wow, that is *so* *cool*," she gushes. "You worked with Orlando Bloom!" She lowers her voice. "So what's he really like?"
Dom blinks at her. "Oh, he's a nice guy," he finally says vaguely. "It's a shame about all the warts."
The woman stares at him for a minute, then apparently decides he's joking and bursts into nervous giggles.
"I'm serious," Dom says, straight-faced.
She stops laughing and looks confused. "Oh," she says. Dom fights to keep from smiling. "Well, anyway, don't worry," she says. "We get *tons* of celebrities in here, so no one's going to bother you by acting all weird or anything." It is only through a massive effort of will that Dom keeps himself from glancing at Hannah, who he can see smirking out of the corner of his eye. "You know, it's funny, actually, you're the second hobbit I've seen here today," the woman continues thoughtfully.
Dom stares at her, then looks over at Hannah, who has dropped the smirk and is looking as confused as he is. "Did you bring Elijah down here earlier?" he asks her, even though it is clear from her expression that she did not.
"No, no, not Frodo," the blond woman interrupts.
"Sean Astin?" Dom asks.
"No, not him. It was the other one that's not famous," she says. "Oh, what's his name? It's um... oh! Dominic Monaghan."
Dom crosses his arms across his chest. "*I'm* Dom Monaghan," he says, annoyed. But then the implications of what she's just said hit him like a punch to the stomach. "Wait, Billy was here?" he asks, his voice strangled. "Billy Boyd?"
The blond woman nods enthusiastically. "Yes! That's the one! He was here just a little bit ago."
"What the hell was Billy doing here?" Dom asks. His voice sounds strained even to himself, cracking on the last word. Hannah is watching him.
"Oh, well, we have containment cells here that he's using," the woman explains. Dom and Hannah stare at her blankly. "It's the night before the full moon?" she prompts, like this is a relevant fact that they must've forgotten.
Hannah gets it first. "Billy's a werewolf?" she blurts out, eyes wide. Dom suddenly chokes on his own spit and starts coughing.
The blond woman's eyes widen and she claps a hand over her mouth. "Ohmygod," she says, alarmed. "You didn't know? I just outed him? Ohmygod, Angel will *kill* me." Dom and Hannah stare at her. "You didn't hear it from me, okay? Promise you won't tell anyone?"
Dom and Hannah continue to stare at her, mouths hanging open, until she throws up her hands and gives an aggravated moan. "Fine! Whatever. I'll just get fired, that's fine." She continues to mutter to herself as she picks up some files and wanders away.
"I need to sit down," Dom says faintly when she's gone.
Hannah's staring after the woman. "How many vampires do you think they have working here?" she asks finally, frowning. "I thought they were all evil. Does she have a soul too?"
Dom rubs his forehead, trying to get himself together. "Why is my life so fucking weird?" he asks the general vicinity.
Just then Angel and another guy come walking over to Dom and Hannah. "Hey, Hannah," Angel says. "We just got a report of a bunch of zombies in Beverly Hills. Gunn and I are going to go check it out, but we could use some help in case things get violent. What do you think, you want to join us?"
"It'll be a damn good fight," Gunn says. "And it's always good to get more experience in the field."
Hannah's face has lit up. "Yeah, definitely!" Angel beams at her.
Willow, wiping her eyes with one hand and with the other arm around Xander, comes over with Wesley and a thin, brown-haired woman. "Wesley and Fred and I are going to run some tests on Xander, see if we can figure out what happened to him, okay?"
"Great," Angel says. Then the two groups with missions turn and walk away in opposite directions, leaving Dom standing by himself in the middle of the lobby.
"Hey!" he calls. "What should I do?"
Angel turns around and walks backwards for a bit. "Um... just... make yourself at home!" he calls back. Hannah turns and gives Dom a little happy wave as they go out one door. Xander and company have already disappeared out another, and Dom turns, alone in the empty lobby.
"Okay, I'll just... stay here, then," he says lamely, to the empty room.
***
TBC...