…br>Xander preemptively envelops Faith in a hug, cringing mentally when Anya looks at them, but she doesn't say anything. Buffy unceremoniously pulls Spike away from Faith, and Xander can't help but notice that her hands linger on Spike's arm.

When the spell is done, everybody relaxes. Buffy does a test - she tries to punch Spike and her fist sticks in the air an inch from Spike's cheekbone. Spike smirks and offers Buffy a ride to the hospital. Much to Xander's frustration, Buffy asks Willow to come with them. No doubt she wants to grill her about him and Faith.

Damn. He has to talk to Willow.

Leaving Faith in the bedroom, Xander sees Buffy and Willow to Spike's car. "Will, there is something I have to tell you..." He looks at her pleadingly, trying to convey that "something" is for her ears only. Willow stops, concerned, but Buffy also stops and grabs Willow's hand posessively. Xander suppresses an exasperated sigh. "I just... I want to thank you, Will... and you too, Buffy - for what you're doing. I owe you."

He follows them with his eyes. Tomorrow. He'll tell Willow tomorrow.

As he returns to his apartment, he hears Anya's voice from his living-room. "You tell him, Rupie".

Xander stops cold in his tracks. Rupie? What the hell?

"No, Anya, I think it would be better if you tell him yourself."

Xander's heart sinks. Anya's voice is urgent and insistent; Giles replies wearily and morosely. They sound like people who don't like what they are about to do. Of course, they don't want to kill Faith - but, somehow they figured out something about her baby and... There must be a stepladder downstairs. Maybe he could sneak into the bedroom without them noticing. He'd climb up the balcony from the outside, grab Faith, put her in his car and drive far, far away from Sunnydale...

"As a matter of fact I'm not sure if we should do it now when he goes through such difficult time," Giles continues.

"Rubbish - it's the best opportunity! We have to tell him now when his baby hasn't been born yet. In a month he may change his mind. He'll get tired of sleepless nights and baby cries. Even a sexy girlfriend won't be able to make up for it. He will want to stay with me."

What the hell is Anya talking about? Xander sighs. Okay, sneaking into a bedroom and escaping with Faith can wait. He pastes a fake smile on his face and enters his apartment.

"What's up, guys?"

No Faith in sight, both Giles and Anya look guilty. His heart sinks.

"Where is she?"

"Xander, I have to tell you something important," Anya declares solemnly.

"Where is Faith, Anya?" he yells.

Anya sulks. "In her bedroom. I mean - your bedroom. She must be knackered - is that the word, Rupie? It must be very tiresome, to have such a huge... a very nice belly."

He sighs with relief. "So, what is it that you have to tell me?"

"Delicately, remember?" Giles murmurs.

"Sure, sweetie." She flashes them a megawatt smile. "I have wonderful news for you, Xander. You won big time."

What? He must have misheard her. What is she talking about?

Anya goes on, unperturbed. "Just think of it, sweetie. Instead of a thousand-years-old demon with a rich history of murders and disasters all around the world you get a young slayer with an almost spotless reputation of killing only several humans. She is sexy and can give you a lot of orgasms. She is strong and can protect you if somebody tries to hurt you. She is beautiful and hot, so all your male friends will be envious of you. And soon she will give birth to a wonderful baby and you will become a proud father. While poor Giles will have to cope with me and my horrible demon ways."

"Woe is me," Giles adds dryly.

Their faces reel before Xander's eyes. "Guys, you mean you're... together?"

"Just don't get violent," Anya warns. "Violence is the resort of the weak-willed."

He is at a loss. "Why would I use violence?"

"You were constantly telling me about your father's hot tempers."

"So?"

She shrugs. "Men often refer to their friends and relatives when they want to talk about things they do but are ashamed of revealing. They say, "a friend of mine is into Internet porn." Or, "My big brother beats his girlfriend when she cheats on him."

He is taken aback. "You mean every time I was complaining about my old man you thought I was making threats in disguise?"

She lowers her eyes. "Sorry, honey. I haven't got used to human ways yet. You speak in unfathomable codes."

Giles shakes his head, embarrassed. "Every time I suggested we should tell you, she stalled me. But today, when I called her to the Magic Box and told about you and Faith, she decided it was the right time to break the news."

"Because you don't have the right to get angry at me, Xander," Anya says. "Judging by your girlfriend's size, you cheated on me nine months ago. And I started doing it five months later."

Baffled, Xander tries to change the subject before Anya decides he deserves a vengeance wish put upon him. "Uh, Giles, so, you were uneasy around me recently because of - this?"

Anya looks at Giles with reproach. "I always said you were a terrible liar."

Giles smiles painfully. "It was too obvious, wasn't it? When did you guess about us?"

Xander grins. He is so exhilarated he wants to hug them both.

"Actually, you've caught me completely unawares. At first I was sure you were fidgeting because you knew about me and Faith. Then I thought you were sneaky around me because you wanted to kill her."

Giles is shocked. "What an absurd idea!"

"I thought you were planning her grisly death too, honey," Anya puts in brightly. "Recently you've been  talking so much about doing the duty and taking the responsibility."

Giles is genuinely baffled. "Anya, responsibility doesn't necessarily mean murder!"

She snorts. "You humans use so many funny euphemisms for killing and death. A demon can easily get confused by them. Anyways, I'm happy to be wrong about your motivations. I don't want Xander to grieve. Are we still friends, Xander? It's the best way to cease a relationship - to stay on friendly terms and visit each other's families on Christmas and Thanksgiving, bringing presents and good cheer."

He stifles hysterical laughter. Good cheer. Small talk at the Christmas table - Anya and Spike arguing who caused more mayhem, Faith and Buffy debating if axes are better for beheading than swords, Giles and Willow discussing the prospects of the next apocalypse. And the funniest thing? It feels normal. Well, almost.

Anya interprets his silence the wrong way. "I realize it's too sudden. I expected you to be confused so I brought - this." She hands him a sachet made of black cloth. "I ordered five ounces of the powder of Nagarjuna. Specially for you. It reveals the inner essence of a person. Sprinkle the powder on you and you will see..."

Giles frowns. "The last time I checked the powder of Nagarjuna was used to reveal a person's weakness."

Anya smiles a bit guiltily. "It's a matter of definition. Are his feelings to this girl a weakness or his true essence? I'd say both. He only needs to stop resisting it and embrace himself as her lover."

"Thank you, Anya," Xander says with difficulty. "I appreciate your efforts. I... I'll make sure I do that. Later, okay?" He takes the sachet she's still holding in her hands and puts it in his pocket. "And - I congratulate you and Giles on finding each other."

She beams. "Thank you, dear. And - don't count on Giles' feelings of guilt to derive benefit from his difficult situation. Him being a current lover of your ex-lover doesn't give you the right to ask for money, or for your new Slayer girlfriend's employment in Magic Box..."

"Don't worry, Anya, I won't be asking anything. Except one thing." He turns to Giles. "The Council has to leave Faith alone. If she doesn't want to cooperate with them - it's her right. If it was the Council who sent these killers, they will regret the day they did it. Because they can't win in a war against the Slayer. Or, rather, two Slayers."

"I can assure you, the Council isn't involved in these assaults," Giles retorts. "Also, I can assure you that Buffy will never side with Faith against the Council."

"Really? Two years ago the Council sent a crazy vampire after her and he almost killed her mother. And now they're after another Slayer."

Giles looks at him with grim determination. "Do you really think Buffy can forgive her for everything she did to her and Angel?"

"Oh, she can!" Anya says briskly. "Former enemies do become the best of friends and allies. Do you remember that funny movie we watched? About a robot with a horrible foreign accent? In the first film he tries to kill the girl, until she kills him, and in the second he protects her and her child."

"Also, the X-men and Magneto's clan united against a common enemy," Xander adds. "Wait... Giles - you watched both "Terminators"?

Giles winces. "It's... irrelevant."

"Anyway, Buffy's got her closure," Anya continues, imperturbable. "When she wounded Faith in the womb, she metaphorically castrated her enemy and took away her woman power. Since Buffy's all about woman power, she felt bad about it. And now it turns out that the above-mentioned enemy retained her ability to procreate. Buffy hasn't destroyed her womanhood. To keep her role of a big shiny hero Buffy has to help her former enemy. Humans always feel affection for those they're helping. They love neighbors for the good they do to the neighbors. Because humans constantly need to prove to themselves they're good guys... what?"

Giles closes his mouth with a snap. "You never cease to amaze me, Anya."

"But of course, sweetie! That's why you love me so much!"

Giles smiles ruefully, as he hugs Anya's shoulders. "Sure, dear – but we digress. Xander, you have to believe me. The Council is not Faith's enemy. They are ready to discuss terms of future cooperation. Talk to her."

Xander nods wearily. "Okay. We'll talk about it. Tomorrow." He looks at the clock pointedly.

"Will you ask me to be a godmother of your child?" Anya asks. "Rupert and I ..."

"Anya, dear," Giles interrupts. "I think this matter can wait. Today was a hectic day. Let's not outstay our welcome."

She pouts but obediently follows him to the door. "I'll call tomorrow morning," Giles says.

Xander nods. Tomorrow. Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow.

He looks at the clock. It's ten to midnight.

Tomorrow is imminent.

***14 IN WHICH XANDER FINDS OUT SOMETHING ABOUT FAITH
In the bedroom Faith is sleepy and relaxed. She gives him a welcome grin and unceremoniously drags him down and he plops on the bed next to her.  She smiles briefly and, for a while, the illusion of normalcy is almost complete.

"So, what now?" she murmurs.

He nuzzles her hair. "Sleeping. Resting."

"And then?"

"Then we'll buy a crib. Consider a baby shower?"

"You're way into this baby stuff, aren't you?" she says with a little chuckle.

"I'm way into this baby stuff. And this baby's mother stuff. What about turning my spare room into a small gym? That is, as soon as I throw the lumber out of there. You'll need a gym to get back into a good shape. Also, I plan to talk to my construction boss. He promised me a promotion, and it's time to remind him. The pay will be better and we'll start looking for a bigger apartment..."

"Whoa, Xander." She laughs, incredulous. "You're serious."

"Dead serious."

She stares at him with an unreadable expression, and he tenses. "What?"

"Sounds good. Especially about the gym. I'm disgustingly swollen." Her tone clearly implies "worship my cute pregnant tummy."

He smiles. "You know, male superheroes have huge dicks. A female superhero should have a huge womb."

She snorts. "You know how to compliment a girl."

"Seriously. You're the biggest female superhero ever."

"Thanks." She rubs her belly, smiles reluctantly. Her eyes are sad. "Playing house is wicked sweet."

"Playing?.."

"Now tell me the truth." Bedroom eyes gone, she speaks quietly and urgently. "Stop fidgeting. I know you're lying. When you came out of that room after the spell, you couldn't look me in the eye. What is it that you saw?"

He tries to quell the rising panic. She looks at him and softens a bit. "Don't be afraid, tell me. I'll die? Me and death - we're such close friends."

"Faith, I don't know what's gotten into you..." Bad choice of words. Very bad. "I mean, your fears are totally unfounded....  And - it's not what you think it is."

"Oh, really?" She gives him a hard look. "That's what Cyvus Vail told me before I killed him. The thing inside me isn't what I think it is."

"He was messing with your head!"

She chuckles bitterly and looks away. "You're messing with my head too."

He slumps against the mattress. There must be an easy, non-threatening explanation of whatever happens to them. Except there isn't. "But it's really not what you... It's just... I remembered what really happened that night."

She looks at him askew. "And?"

"Nothing. No, really. Nothing. It's just a false memory."

"False?"

"In reality, we didn't meet. That night I was looking for you, but you disappeared. I guess the father of your baby, whoever he is, doesn't want you to remember him, so he changed our memories."

She lies, motionless, staring at the ceiling.

"Faith, listen, it doesn't mean..."

"Well, it's... good. Isn't it? I didn't try to stab myself. I didn't try to kill you... again."

He is relieved. Apparently, she was bracing herself for worse. She even smiles but her smile is forced.

"And it's good for you - the baby isn't your responsibility."

"Faith..."

"Don't worry, toots. It's just for a few days. As soon as I drop the kid, I'll be out of your way."

He knows her bravado is a cover-up, but he can't restrain himself. He didn't know words could sting so much.

"Screw your pride, Faith! I know a lot of bad things happened to you, but it doesn't mean it should always be like that! Accepting help isn't shameful! No matter how hard it is, people can share, trust each other, and they can..."

They can love. Desperately, hopelessly, against all odds.

But he can't bring himself to say it.

She still doesn't look at him, but her hand finds his among the sheets and squeezes it - lightly, tentatively.

"You know, I - I know it didn't happen but that's how I remember it - that night I only wanted to die. To have a bit of fun and then die. I remember why I couldn't bring myself to do it. Not because I was afraid, but... I suddenly imagined you holding my guts, trying to stop the bleeding, calling 911, telling them it was your fault and getting arrested, all bloodied and... I just couldn't."

He steals a look at her. Her eyes are closed, her face impenetrable. "When my bump started showing, I was about to escape to Mexico to have my baby there. But my source tipped me off about Vail's lair and I decided to quit in style. My bad. You know, I didn't believe Vail when he said my baby wasn't what I think, but I got scared. There are so many urban legends about demonic pregnancies, brainwashing and memory spells in Los-Angeles. So I went to the police. I decided whatever was inside me would be less dangerous in a prison. But I didn't tell them I was pregnant. My bump wasn't showing much yet, so I kept my mouth shut. Maybe Wesley noticed - after all, he had been my Watcher. But once I was in the prison, settled life and all, I ballooned instantly. They sent me to the hospital ward, did the ultrasound, showed me the pic of my baby. When I realized it was human, I cried all night. I decided it was your baby, after all..."

She trails off. Apparently, she is embarrassed about sharing so much.

He doesn't dare to ask what she was thinking about these nights in her cell - alone, lost, afraid that a demon was growing inside her.

"I read about your arrest. I borrowed Willow's laptop and read all I could find. Three little articles in criminal chronicles. Since that day I've had dreams. About visiting you in prison. About helping you to escape. About turning into a brilliant lawyer and winning your case. About the Earth being destroyed and the two of us escaping in a comfy space ship..."

She smiles mirthlessly. "I guess our encounter was their oversight."

He is at loss. "Their?"

"Powers That Be. Or whoever deals with my fate. They made a stupid mistake when they let us meet each other. And now they're doing - I don't know... damage control. It wasn't supposed to happen, you know?" She crinkles her brow. "How much of our past do you think they changed?"

He thinks it over.

"A lot. It's not only us. That night, when we met Spike, he was our enemy. He said he wanted to watch you kill us. But in my current memories he has helped Buffy since he got the chip."

She snickers. "Maybe in reality I was the good slayer and Buffy was the bad slayer?" She raises herself on the elbow and looks him in the eye. "Do you think our first time, when I popped your cherry, was a mind trick too?"

"No way!" He hopes he sounds confident enough. "No, it was for real. I remember thinking about it in the previous - real - reality."

Faith smirks. "Liked it, didn't you?"

"The aftermath kinda ruined it for me," he says honestly.

She purses her lips, and shrugs. "Guess it would."

"But, I think… I think I loved you even in that reality. Maybe not as desperately as I love you now, but I - I felt for you."

"Yet you were on Buffy's team." Faith looks at him, grim and determined. "Xander, you have to understand. If you're with me, you have to take my side."

"What do you mean - side?"

"Are you planning to tell them?" The implication is too clear.

"I have to tell Willow. She is helping us. She'll find the guys who are trying to kill you."

"Not me. My baby." She nurses her stomach. "I knew from the start that those bastards were after my daughter."

"Are you sure? How do you..."

"Because they tried to gut me." She turns away. "Your friends will do the same when they find out it's not your baby."

He shakes his head, horrified. "How can you say that? It's paranoid to think that..."

"I won't let them kill my daughter. "What if they try to drug me, or bind me with magic? Are you with them or with me?"

"They? You mean The Council?"

"The Council. Giles. Buffy and her vampire. Why do you think she brought him here and made you invite him to your apartment? As soon as they find out  the baby isn't yours..."

"That's ridicul... No. You're overreacting. You know what they say - eyes of fear see danger everywhere."

"Exactly. They read those apocalyptic scrolls, they believe them and they're scared witless."

He tries to smile. "Given my predisposition to demonic relationships, an apocalyptic baby is the logical next step." Off her hurt look he amends hastily, "Shit, sorry - nasty habit of talking before I think can't be stopped sometimes. And - and you should have ripped out my tongue that night - except that night didn't happen, so..."

She sighs. "And on with the lame-ass jokes."

"I'm a moron."

She smiles reluctantly, and, encouraged, he adds, "And you're a paranoiac. A pair of lemons."

"I'm not a paranoiac. The Council doesn't give a damn if it's a human baby or not. They see a potential threat - they deal with it."

"Faith, I just want you to survive..."

In a quick sweeping movement she straddles him. He realizes that her weakness and vulnerability was a show and she is much stronger than he thought. She talks slowly, imprinting every word in his brain.

"Xander. A child - any child - is born innocent. I'm a killer, but I was innocent when I was born. If a mother brings up her child in love, he won't become a monster. He might be different, is all. Different doesn't necessarily means evil..."

She tenses.

"What?"

"Nothing." She feels her belly. "Just... heaviness. Like a pile of bricks inside. Hurts a bit."

Xander tentatively presses his hand to her taut bulge. It's as hard as stone. "Maybe it's a contraction?"

Faith looks at him with frightened eyes. "Oh, no." She shakes her head vigorously. "No, it can't be a contraction. Contractions means real pain and I only feel a bit of discomfort..." She gasps. "Oh, shit!"

***15 - LIGHTS! CAMERA! AAAAND - ACTION!
He hardly remembers how they got to the hospital, where he parked his car. What the hell is the receptionist talking about? Water? What water?

"My water broke half an hour ago," Faith says impatiently to the receptionist. She looks around. "Mind if I sit down? I think I've got another one..." She lowers herself into a wheelchair, moaning and cursing.

The receptionist says something about documents. Xander starts to explain about Faith's medical insurance and suddenly he notices that the receptionist isn't listening. She's staring in disbelief at something behind his back.

"A green ball of energy!" a patient in a straight-jacket shrieks hysterically, pointing at Faith. "She has a green ball of energy inside her!"

Distracted by the cries, Xander doesn't see them at first. Them. Three little demons in monks' robes, with black eyes and wrinkled faces. As they approach, he can see that they have knives in their hands.

Thankfully, Xander brought a small axe - just in case. He barely manages to stop the first demon's attack and then the second one comes at him from the right, and the knife is aimed at his chest and he realizes that he doesn't have time to counter his strike...

A well-aimed lamp hits the demon in the head and he falls sprawling on the floor. Stunned, Xander sees Buffy storming towards them. Behind her, Spike matter-of-factly twists the neck of the third demon.

"Buffy? What are you doing here?"

"Visiting Mom. Willow and Giles are also here, with me, and Spike - I don't know - he might be stealing blood or something..." She looks with concern at Faith who is writhing in pain in her chair. "What happened? Is she wounded?"

"She's in labor."

"Oh." Buffy looks slightly awed. "Um, Faith? Everything will be okay, they won't bother you anymore. We slayed them."

That's when it happens.

A woman appears.

A beautiful woman in a red dress, on high heels and with a shock of curly hair. Grotesque and ridiculous among the white frocks and hospital equipment, she looks like she arrived at Sunnydale hospital straight from a fashion show in Milan or Paris - not that he has attended fashion shows in Milan or Paris...

"Glorificus, most beauteous and supremely magnificent one," the demon wails. "These contemptible humans and despicable half-breed impertinently refuse to return the Key they purloined from Your Elaborate Marvelousness! They even dare to kill your worthless servants!"

The woman brushes him away like an annoying fly as she makes her way to Faith. Xander resolutely blocks her way.

"Hey, lady, I don't know who you are or what you want, but..."

She moves him aside like he is a balloon; he staggers from her light touch and realizes that she might be as strong as Buffy.

Maybe even stronger.

The next moment Spike, who's trying to stop her, flies across the hall, bouncing from the wall with a distinct thud. Buffy hits the woman in the chest, but her punches don't affect the woman at all. She looks slightly annoyed and squeamish as she grabs Buffy with both hands and hurls her at Spike, right into his arms.

"Glorificus, the Most Shiny Special One," the demon squeals as he hands her his knife. "Your Creamy Coolness is honoring me with an opportunity to assist you during the extraction of the Divine Key from a worthless human body..."

They are after the baby. Furious, Xander jumps at the demon and knocks him out before the Most Shiny Special Bitch backhands him viciously and he goes down, down, down, and it hurts like hell, but he doesn't close his eyes, because this is a sight to die for...

...Faith slowly rises from the chair and, before the Most Shiny Special Bitch has time to react, hits her right in the face with a force of a freight train.

"You know what, skank? I'm tired of people thrusting knives in my gut!"

Obviously, the Most Shiny Special Bitch has never been hit by a freight train before. She crashes into the wall, leaving a big dent, slides down and lands on her back, unconscious. Dazed, Xander feasts his eyes upon Faith, formidable in her fury. Maternal instinct, my ass.

The Most Shiny Special Bitch convulses, tries to raise herself onto her elbow and falls again, right at the feet of Giles and Willow who happen to come out of the elevator at that moment.

"What the hell is happening here?" Giles looks around, anxious and confused, until his gaze falls on Faith, who's still standing in a fighting pose. "Faith - who is that woman?"

"I was about to ask you the same question."

"Listen, Watcher," Spike growls. "I don't know what kind of demon the bloody skank is, but we'd better scarper as soon as possible. Because this blasted thing is incredibly strong."

Five minutes later they pass the "You're leaving Sunnydale. Come back soon" sign at the outskirts of the town. Spike hotwired an ambulance car and now he's driving it like a madman or like an NFS addict, or whatever. The brakes screech as the car skids at every turn. Xander holds Faith who half-sits, half-lies on the stretcher, propped against him. She tenses again, pants, squeezes his hand and lies to him that she's okay. He knows her pain should be growing stronger with each contraction. These last few days he has read everything he could find about pregnancy and childbirth and he knows it should be painful. But it's normal, isn't it? It's not like some beast is devouring her from inside and nobody had realized it until it's too late...

"They called your baby a Divine Key," Buffy says.

Xander averts his eyes. Could they have an apocalypse, pronto, so that he could fight demons or stake vampires, or get hit on the head and drop in a corner unconscious and inconspicuous? Getting hit on the head and dropping in a corner is seriously underrated.

Giles watches him closely. "You're sure? A Divine Key?" He talks to Buffy without taking his eyes offXander's face.

Buffy nods. "Uh-huh. And I thought Xander specialized in demons."

Xander squirms under Giles' scrutiny. "Giles, the thing is..." No. He can't.

"You knew," Giles says, slowly and ferociously. "You saw it when you were under the spell."

Xander hides his face in Faith's hair.

"What is it?" Giles asks sharply. "Who is that woman in red?"

Xander shakes his head. "I don't know," he whispers. "I only know that the night we spent together we actually didn't. Spend together, I mean."

Faith snorts. "Somebody wanted us to believe that the baby was Xander's," she says gloomily.

"Somebody?"

"My baby is human," she says defensively. "My guess is I did - I dunno - some wizard? A human wizard not particularly popular among the demon population. He wanted to protect his kid by giving us false memories."

"But why did they call it a Divine Key?" Willow asks, concerned.

Faith gasps and hunches, nursing her belly. She doesn't say she's okay anymore. Xander squeezes her hand, tense with the spasms of pain, whispers stupid words of comfort and tentatively strokes her abdomen. He has read that massage relaxes stomach muscles and alleviates labor pangs. But his efforts don't help much, because Faith pants and groans, her face contorted with suffering.

Buffy watches them with the mixture of sympathy and embarrassment. And guilt. Xander still isn't aware of the details of their ill-fated fight - but, apparently, watching her ex-enemy clutching at her gut, moaning and wriggling in pain is waking up a lot of memories Buffy would love to forget.

He looks at his watch. The contraction only lasts a minute but it feels like an hour. Faith arches in Xander's arms and cries out through clenched teeth.

Buffy flinches involuntarily and hugs herself. "Hey, Will," she says nervously. "Could you inject her with a magic painkiller?"

Willow hesitates. "I'm afraid I can't do anything there," she points at Faith's belly. "My magic only hurts her."

"Come on, Will, you're - you know - clever! You can figure out something!"

Faith moans with pain again and Willow winces in sympathy. "I could try to block the signals in the brain. If Faith's okay with it."

"Yes, please," Faith grunts and Willow gently massages her temples. Xander sighs with relief when Faith slowly relaxes.

"You have a magic touch, witch," she says, grinning weakly. Willow grins back, removes a strand of hair from Faith's cheek and Xander briefly ponders if he should get jealous, after all.

But Buffy doesn't give him time to think it over. As soon as she sees that Faith is okay, she switches to Xander. He discovers that guilt and embarrassment make her doubly aggressive.

"Why didn't you tell us as soon as you found out? Why did you lie to us?"

He is too tired and scared about Faith to play games. He can be aggressive too. "Because I was terrified! Why are you pretending that Spike isn't your boyfriend?"

Buffy is mortified. "You know? How do you know?"

"Spike is your boyfriend?" Willow exclaims, flabbergasted. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Buffy, I'm stunned by your recklessness," Giles murmurs. "After everything that happened between you and Angel you should have been more prudent, learning the hard way about possible consequences..."

"What consequences?" Buffy snaps. "He doesn't have a soul to lose."

Faith barks a laugh. "Somebody pass me popcorn, please. And, by the way, where are we going?"

"I'll go ask Spike." Giles stands up. "Does anybody have any other shocking confessions to make?"

"I studed the Lambersart codex," Willow says in a small voice. Giles glares and she ducks her head. But he leaves without a word.

Buffy looks at Xander guiltily. "Does it upset you?"

"What?"

"Me and Spike."

The absurdity of the situation strikes him. "We're about to get killed and that's what you worry about?"

Faith laughs hoarsely. "And you're shocked?  We're about to get killed on a daily basis, but a boyfriend is wicked serious business."

Their car jerks, stops, then starts off more smoothly. Spike joins them a few moments later. Speak of the devil.

"The Watcher drives like a 90-year-old granny," he grumbles. "Actually, a 90-year-old granny drives better. Why the hell did I get involved with your bunch of losers?"

"'Cause you got it bad for our little B," Faith says and winks. Willow grins and Buffy blushes profusely.

"Yeah, right.  I'm here because she pays me!"

Buffy rolls her eyes. "Don't, Spike. You're only making things worse."

"Worse? What could be worse than this bleeding running away from nobody knows what..."

Thunk! Something breaks the window. Stunned, Xander stares at an arrow-head stuck in the wall inches from his head.

"Dammit, Spike!" Buffy hisses. "You shouldn't say any words! At all!"

***16 IN WHICH HEROES DISCOVER SOME SECRETS READERS ALREADY FIGURED OUT

Blackness. He is cold and numb and weightless. Bodyless. Aimless. Alone in the whole world.

No. Not alone. Somebody groans and cries in pain. A girl. Distant voices. "Breathe, Faith. They say it helps." Loud wail. "It doesn't help, B! Oh, shit... your knife in my gut wasn't a nearly this painful..."

Faith is alive. Buffy is alive. Thank God. Where are the rest?

"How are they?" Buffy's voice.

"Harris is okay, but Red's pulse is still low."

A cold hand slaps him on the cheeks. Everything in him protests against this intrusion in his bubble of pleasant numbness. "Don't," he murmurs. Why has his tongue turned into stone?

"Wake up, Harris!" Spike snarls as he shakes him roughly. "You'll sleep when you're dead."

He nods drowsily. Bits and pieces rush into his mind. Now he remembers knights attacking their van, Buffy fighting a man who leapt on the roof, Spike's chip firing when he tried to help her...

Willow, black-eyed, veiny-faced, sending balls of fire at their attackers...

Faith writhing on the floor, him trying to protect her from the arrows with his body...

Spike snatching an arrow out of the air an inch from his throat. "Angelus taught me a couple of tricks!"

An abandoned gas station in the desert, with boarded up windows and weak doors and broken soda machine - Fort Alamo for dummies - knights bursting inside, Buffy knocking out their leader...

Willow making a protection spell, crackling with dark energy... her eyes, full of fear and desperation... "Oh, God, I'm slipping, I'm slipping! Giles! Xander - anchor me!" Him, grabbing her hands and instantly turning into sand under his feet, stucco on the walls, invisible stars eons away from Earth - becoming everything and nothing...

"Xander?" The unmistakable worry in Faith's voice warms his heart.

"I'm okay, Faith." He struggles to sit up. He can't see her well - the room is dark, she's lying in the corner, wiping beads of sweat from her face with dirty hands, leaving black trails on her forehead.

"We thought you were dying," Buffy says, concern so clear on her face. "Willow was draining your energy to perform her spell."

"Willow? Is she..."

Buffy nods to the corner where Willow is lying like a rag doll, her head on Giles's lap. "She's restoring, hopefully. She finished the protection spell and dropped like she was dead."

He staggers to his feet and approaches them slowly. The floor rocks dangerously under his feet. Willow looks calm and peaceful, but Giles' face is creased up with worry.

"How long will the protection hold?"

Giles shrugs. "Several hours, maybe half a day."

Faith groans, arches her back and bites her lip, trying to stifle cries. He rushes to her, despite the dangerously rocking floor.

"Don't hold back," he murmurs, trying to shift her into a more comfortable position. "The books say that crying helps with the pain". He hugs her and rocks back and forth to the accompaniment of her colorful profanities. When the contraction is over, she slowly relaxes, leaned against him.

He watches with detachment as Buffy and Spike tie up their prisoner - a knight in armor with a tattoo on his forehead - to a pillar in the middle of the hall.

"I wonder if Scarface here can habla the English," Spike spits.

"Who are you?" the prisoner says scornfully.

"I'm the bad cop." Spike smirks. "Except it's not a role-playing game anymore, and I really am bad. Very bad. And you will find it out very soon." He vamps out and growls menacingly. Buffy watches him with detached amusement and doesn't interfere.

"You can't stop us," the knight says grimly. "I'm just a soldier in a vast army. If it takes a hundred men, we will send a hundred. And if it takes a thousand, we will send them too. So long as you protect the Key, our brotherhood will never stop until we destroy it."

Buffy frowns. "Great, another crazy. I thought Sunnydale Hospital collected all of them..."

"The instrument of apocalypse must be destroyed at any cost," the prisoner proclaims.

"Gimme something to gag him," Spike says. Buffy casts a nervous glance in Faith's direction and hands him a handkerchief.

"No, wait!" Faith levers herself out of Xander's arms.

"Faith, in your condition..."

"Shut up, Xander." She stands up clumsily, holding her belly. "Slayer, remember? I'm okay - till the next bout, at least. And I have a right to know what's wrong with my kid."

"You don't know, child?" the prisoner says solemnly. "They brainwashed you before they made you the container of the ultimate destruction of humanity. The Key. Thanks to its power Glorificus will unleash chaos on Earth."

Spike snorts. "The wanker is either lying or delusional."

Faith is pale as a ghost but she stays relatively calm. "Try another one, creep. I know my daughter is a normal human baby. And I want to know who her father is."

The knight looks at her with open pity. "You have no idea what you're dealing with."

She clocks him in the jaw.

"Why don't you enlighten me."

"Poor child." He spits blood, coughing. "The Key doesn't have a father. Nobody knows where the Key came from. It's almost as old as the ancient gods. It was created to open the gates that separate dimensions. Its power is overwhelming. Countless generations of my people have sacrificed their lives in search of it, to destroy it before its wrath could be unleashed. But the monks hid it with their magicks. They thought they could harness its power for the forces of light. They were wrong and they paid with their blood..."

"Blah-blah-blah..." Buffy says impatiently. "This baby was created exactly nine months ago."

"The Key was transformed. Given breath. Life. The monks decided to send it to the Slayer in the form of her unborn child to keep it safe. They even sent someone in advance to look after her. Unfortunately, she was killed."

"Ms. Dormer," Faith whispers. She looks shaken. But it's all lies, isn't it? It has to be a lie.

"You're lying," Xander says hoarsely. "You're just making it up. How could you know about it? The Levantine order is a secret society."

The prisoner shakes his head. "I'm also a member of the Levantine order. The clerics, the Byzantium Knights, the magicians - we have different modus operandi, but we all serve humanity. Except a couple of traitors who defected to the Beast."

"The Beast?"

"Glorificus. She, Jasmine and Illyria were a triumvirate of Ancient Gods until Glorificus' lust for power grew beyond her limits. She imprisoned Illyria into the Deeper Well, but Jasmine seized on that moment and stabbed her in the back. Glorificus was cast out, banished to this lower plane of existence, forced to live and ultimately die trapped within the body of a mortal, a newborn male, created as her prison."

"Male?" Giles asks, bewildered. "I assumed that Glorificus was the woman we saw in the hospital."

The prisoner nods. "Yes, that's her. She's found a way to escape her mortal prison for brief periods before her energies are exhausted and she's forced back. Glory's mortal coil is her only weakness. Kill the man, and the god dies."

Xander snorts involuntarily. "And the only thing that keeps you from killing him is your high moral principes - so killing an innocent baby is a much better option."

The knight glares. "The identity of the human vessel has never been discovered. Thankfully, the Beast is almost powerless without the Key. Glorificus rampages and sucks out the coherence from people's minds, but she is not a global threat. Not until she has the Key. The Beast wants to use the Key's power to perform a ritual, open a portal, return to the higher plane and seize the power Jasmine took from her."

"Good riddance," Buffy murmurs.

"You say "use the Key's power," Faith says darkly. "What exactly she wants to do to my daughter?"

"She will bleed her."

"How much blood does she need to open her bloody portal?" Spike asks suddenly, ignoring Buffy's glare. "Believe the expert, Slayer - it's easy to bleed a person without killing him. Or her. If a few drops of the sprog's blood are that skank's ticket to Hell, why don't we provide her with it to get rid of her forever?"

The prisoner sighs. "You don't understand. When the Key is activated, it won't just open a gate to the Beast's dimension. It's going to open all the gates. The walls separating realities will crumble. Dimensions will bleed into one another. Order will be overthrown and the universe will tumble into chaos. We have to prevent it. At any cost. We can't destroy Glory, we have to destroy the Key."

Faith hugs her belly protectively. "Lay a finger on my daughter, and you're dead."

"But..."

"You heard me. You're only still alive because I swore off killing humans."

"I appreciate it," the knight says softly. "And I apologize for the pain and grief we subjected you to. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. In case of a threat Ms. Dormer should have extracted the Key from your body and destroyed it. You wouldn't have even noticed. But Ms. Dormer was killed and, before we could send another one, you were in a coma. As soon as you woke up, the monks passed you the Key and changed your memories accordingly..."

Faith clocks him again, hard. "You raped me. You raped my body and impregnated me. You raped my mind and turned me into your puppet..."

"No!" the prisoner shrieks hysterically. Apparently, these accusations frighten him more than death. "It didn't happen like that! Nobody touched you physically! Passing the Key is a sacred process!"

"Oh, really? Was there praying? Incense burning? Were you shoving your mojo into my belly?"

The knight shakes his head. "It doesn't work like that. The monks started with exploring your memories. The hardest trick is to change as little as possible and to keep the integrity of the person. The Key should be somebody you'd protect with your life. They pondered upon giving you a brother, a sister, a son - and, finally, decided that the Key should be presented to you in the form of your daughter. They picked the easiest man to be the father. Then they imbued your daughter with the Keyness and magically transferred the fetus into your body."

Faith touches her belly. "You mean this is Xander's kid, too?"

The prisoner nods.

"And you'd never have told us the truth unless this mess happened?"

"We tried to provide you with a guardian. We have contacts in the Council. But you refused to cooperate with them. We were about to send a man who would tell you the truth - but you gave up to the police and ended up in jail. We thought you were safe there. But Glorificus somehow found out about you."

"It was her who killed that monk a week ago?" Buffy asks sharply. "He tried to tell me something before he died."

The knight nods. "The monk was sent to warn you about the Key. They finally realized how dangerous it is and decided it has to be destroyed. When Glorificus killed our brother, the order sent us. To do what has to be done."

"You guys are scum," Buffy says with disgust. "Brain-washers, manipulators and liars."

"It was a white lie," the prisoner counters. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. I'm sorry for putting you through this - but the Key is the link that must be severed. The Key is too dangerous to be allowed to exist - no matter what form it has been pressed into."

"You're lying," Faith whispers. "She isn't..." She gasps and doubles over in pain. Xander and Buffy catch her just in time when her knees buckle and she slides on the floor, curling around her belly.

"Faith!"

She wriggles, mouth open in an extreme of agony that cannot even scream. Buffy clasps her hand. "Hang on, Faith. We'll extract this Key thingy out of you and you will be okay, I promise."

Xander's heart clenches. He knows it won't be okay - and he isn't wrong.

Once the contraction is over, Faith stares at Buffy with open hostility. "You think I will just watch you killing her? Think again."

***17 DOLLHOUSE MUCH?
"You're good guys. We're also good guys. We must be able to find a solution that doesn't involve killing anybody."

Xander tries not to sound like he is cornered, but it's obvious. Buffy's talking like she has already made her decision. Of course she doesn't think about it as killing. She's thinking about destroying a threat and avoiding the apocalypse. And, of course, Spike is on her side. And Giles is silent. And Willow is unconscious. And Faith's contractions are coming closer and becoming more intense and painful; she grows weaker with every bout, she can't protect herself and their baby anymore.

So it's up to him now.

"What's your name?" he asks the prisoner.

"Gregor."

"You're not just a regular soldier."

"General."

"Okay, General Gregor. You're a clever man. You know the compromise is the best way to deal with extreme situations. We keep you alive - you let us go. You let us go - we find a way to destroy the Beast. We destroy the Beast..."

Giles winces. "Stop clowning around." He turns to Gregor. "I know about magic and I know that a ritual usually includes many crucial ingredients necessary to perform it."

Gregor gives Giles a once-over and, apparently, acknowledges him as a leader. "This is not the case, alas. At a certain day and hour the Key's blood will become active. If it's not contained by the Key's shell, it will transform the matter and open gates to other worlds."

Xander's heart leaps. A certain day and hour?

"How long does the Key stay active?" he asks.

"Several hours." The general still doesn't look at him. "The Beast needs only a second or two to bleed the baby. If Glorificus gets her, we are all doomed." He stares at Giles. "Time to decide. Are you ready to bear the responsibility of impending apocalypse?"

They lock eyes in a brief, silent contest and, after a few moments, something changes in Giles' face.

"What do you suggest?" Giles asks slowly.

"My broadsword - it's somewhere on the floor, in the back room. As soon as the child arrives..."

Faith struggles to get up but another violent contraction tears through her and she howls in pain. "Screw you!" she shrieks, writhing in Xander's arms. "You hurt her - I'll find you no matter where you hide and make you eat your dick!" Once the contraction is over, she sags against Xander's chest and sobs helplessly. "I... told you," she murmurs. "I knew they'd kill us..."

"No, Faith!" He looks around desperately. "You'll be okay, you'll see!"

"Liar." She sniffles. "Why does it hurt so much?... Xander... I can't see you..."

Panic sweeps over him. What if she can't deliver the baby naturally? What if Buffy damaged something inside when she stabbed her - something that wasn't dangerous until the childbirth?

What if Buffy's attack is killing Faith now?

"She needs a doctor!"

"Yes, good idea," Giles says wryly.

"Actually, the phone in the back room is working," Spike says. "I'd call the police. As much as I hate cops..."

"No, Spike," Buffy interrupts harshly. "The police can't be involved."

Spike eager to call the police and Buffy forbidding him? This is so not good.

Faith looks between them, wild-eyed.  "What will you do, B?"

"I'll call a friend of mine. A doctor who works at Sunnydale hospital."

"Total wanker," Spike puts in.

Buffy ignores him. "Ben treated Mom. He's a good doctor. And he told me I could call him in case of emergency. He will help you."

Faith is about to say something but another contraction hits her and she wails and clings to Xander. He vaguely hears Buffy talking into the phone.  "Painkillers," he barks. "Tell him to bring painkillers!"

When Buffy returns from the back room, she brings Gregor's broadsword with her. Giles reaches out a hand for the weapon but Buffy pointedly ignores his gesture. "The doctor will be here soon," she says to Xander matter-of-factly. "He'll bring painkillers."

"Um, guys? Maybe I could help?"

Willow's voice is music to Xander's ears. Willow looks pale and exhausted, but she assures them she's okay and, of course, she could help Faith. Grateful, he helps Faith to make herself comfortable, her head on Willow's lap. Faith slowly relaxes - but Willow visibly tenses as Xander quickly recounts the events she missed. When he finishes filling Willow in, he notices that Faith has gone limp, her eyes glazed over.

"I switched her off," Willow says off his look. "It will be better for her if she doesn't feel anything."

"Wake her up, Will - now!"

"Willow is right," Giles says coldly. "We have to make a decision. A very hard decision. We can't get distracted by sentiment."

He feels betrayed. "You've already made the decision, haven't you?"

"Chill out, Xander," Buffy says calmly. At least she sounds calm. "We'll save Faith. I swear."

Their eyes meet.

"And then you'll kill our baby."

Buffy gives him a long unblinking stare. He's never seen her like this before.

"I'll do what I have to do," she says softly.

"You don't want to do that, Buff. You don't want to do it!"

She nods, pale and resolute. "I don't. But I'm the Slayer."

"Oh, sure. What if it was your kid? Or your mother? What if somebody said that your mother's murder was necessary to save the world?"

"Stop it, Xander!" Giles barks. "Don't make it harder than it has to be. Get real. After all, what you are feeling is not real. They programmed you to feel this way."

"Programmed? We're all programmed! You wear tweed but you don't wear jeans. Buffy wears jeans and high heels because glossy magazines and TV ads brainwash her 24/7, and she patrols in high heels instead of gym-shoes, and risks her life, and..."

"Stop the demagogy, Xander," Giles says grimly. "Fashion and morality are different things."

"The hell they are. Morality is programming too. The Council brainwashes Watchers and they, in turn, brainwash their slayers. About evil vampires. Except that one of them is covering your sorry ass right now! Tell me you didn't know that vampires and humans can cooperate. Tell me you don't know about vampire brothels!"

"Vampire brothels?" Buffy asks, incredulous.

Spike grunts. "You really don't want to know, Slayer."

"Xander, stop it," Giles warns.

But he can't. All he sees is the big shiny broadsword in Buffy's hands. If playing devil's advocate can tip the scales, he will play. "They programmed you to kill vampires, Buff. And you killed them until you fell in love with Angel..."

"Because he has a soul..."

"Spike doesn't. Yet he follows you around, like your dog, doing nothing but what you ask him to…"

Spike lets out a low threatening growl.

"For some odd reason, he seems to like you a lot. He doesn't even have a soul."

"Spike has a chip!" Buffy shouts.

"Yes, exactly. Jesse could have had a chip too. And lived with it! But I dusted him. I dusted my best friend because I was told that vampires are evil, period. If I hadn't believed it, Jesse'd be here with us."

"You're cheating, Xander, and you know it," Buffy says bitterly. "This is not what Giles was talking about. He means that your love isn't real. They raped your mind. They made you believe that you love her. Because otherwise you would never have any feelings for her..."

He looks at unconscious Faith, and a wave of tenderness sweeps over him. He loves her so much - loves this exhausted face, stained with tears and grime, this rumpled hair, these small strong hands with abrasions and broken nails, this defiantly protruding belly - a beginning of a new life, a pledge of the future...

Buffy's lips tremble. "I can't believe we're having a fight over something that's not even real."

"Are your feelings for Spike real? Don't answer, I can see they are. But - you know what? - they're programmed too. Because after the spell I remember the real thing. Do you know what really happened that night when you thought Spike was helping you to track Faith? We met him and he mocked us. He wanted to side with Faith to see her killing you. He was our enemy. They changed him and turned him into your lover. Your situation with Spike is exactly like mine with Faith."

He has hit a sore spot. No wonder that Buffy is furious. "You know what's real?" she hisses. "That she's manipulating you to protect her spawn. Do you really think she will be able to fall in love with you when you earn enough points in your "let's-save-poor-Faith-from-evil-Buffy" game? Newsflash, Xan - she doesn't give a damn about you and never will. In any reality!"

Something snaps in him. Suddenly he is beyond anger and hurt. Strange calmness descends upon him.

"Maybe. Maybe she doesn't. But I do."

Out of arguments, Buffy hesitates, anger and confusion on her face.

"Time to prove that you're the Slayer," Gregor says encouragingly. "You falter and unimaginable legions will perish, including everyone here. You can stop this. You can save all
their lives... by ending one. The Key. Destroy it, and the will of the Beast will be broken. She will fade, a distant memory... and this madness will end. Untie me and I will help you..."

"Shut up," Buffy barks. She looks at Xander guiltily.

"I'm really very sorry, Xander," she whispers.

Her hands clasp the hilt of her broadsword tightly. That's it. He hoped to avoid it, till the last moment - but, apparently, no such luck.

"No, Buff. Not yet. You will be sorry when you kill me."

Buffy smiles a wretched smile. "What?"

"You want to kill my daughter? You have to kill me first."

"You're bluffing." Buffy's voice is tinged with shock and denial.

"Try me."

Suddenly everything around him seems smaller. Things and people are distant and unreal. An invisible bubble separates him from the rest of the world. Inside it, only two people exist. Him and Buffy.

Her lips quiver. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"I don't want to, Buffy. But you leave me no choice. I can't protect my kid in a fair fight. All I can do is to gamble my life and hope that you can't bring yourself to kill me."

***18 IN WHICH "THE" LIE IS FINALLY SET AT REST

"Get off your big shiny cross," Buffy spits. "It's easy to die for someone you love. What about killing the one you love to save the world? I killed Angel - and I loved him more than anything I will ever love in this life. I sent him to hell because I had to - and you were cheering me on. Do you remember giving me Willow's message - "Kick his ass?"

He feels like he's been thrown into cold water. Cold and dirty water.

Willow looks at him, confused. "I never said..."

"Because I made it up." He has nothing to lose anymore - hasn't he? He has burned all his bridges.

"Why, Xander?" Willow asks, incredulous.

"Because I was scared. Because Buffy had failed to kill him once, and it cost us dearly. Because I didn't want her dead."

He makes himself look Buffy in the face. It's the face of a small child who has been slapped viciously. "Do you understand what you did?" she whispers. "Angel wouldn't have died. I could've..."

"There was nothing you could've done, pet," Spike says, unexpectedly gentle. He's the last person Xander expects support from - but, apparently, they can proudly share the chairmanship of the "We Hate Angel" club.

Buffy shakes her head. "I could've…"

"I was there, Slayer. I saw it. You were surrounded by Angel's minions when he grabbed the bleeding sword. There was no way back after that moment. You would have died."

"I'd gladly have died instead of him!" Buffy is almost crying. "At least, if I died, I wouldn't have to be here, choosing between killing my friend and facing the end of the world."

Spike winces. "Slayer - if you died instead of him, the world would have ended three years ago! The wanker would have turned it into another Hell, Inc. Don't torture yourself, pet. You did all you could do."

"Don't talk to me like I'm a five-year old! I thought you were on my side."

"Always am. No matter what you do. I just don't want to lose you. I know you, Slayer. If you kill the tyke there won't be a way back for you."

"If we don't kill it, hell will be unleashed," Giles retorts. "Millions of people would die. The civilization would descend into chaos. The world would end. Are you suggesting that Buffy should assume responsibility for of the end of the world?"

Spike sighs, defeated. Giles is right.

Yet he is wrong. Utterly wrong.

"I tell you this," Xander says hoarsely. "You kill an innocent baby and that is the beginning of the end of the world."

He feels a hand on his shoulder. Willow. She stands by him - small, fragile and resolute.

"Xander is right," she says firmly. "There are other ways and we will find them."

Buffy stares at her, wide-eyed. "You don't understand, Will. Don't you remember what I told you about Cordelia and her seven demonic babies? She tried to protect them when she got possessed, but when her ordeal was over she was grateful for them being killed and for being saved."

Willow shakes her head. "There is nothing demonic about Xander's baby, Buffy. I swear. I feel the aura."

Buffy visibly squirms at the words "Xander's baby", but she nods reluctantly.

"Okay," Willow goes on calmly. "Xander's daughter becomes a threat only once and only for a short period of time in the future. Right?" She looks at Gregor questioningly.

He glares. "You're playing with fire, child..."

"Just yes or no."

"Yes," he says, resigned.

"So, we have a lot of time to destroy the Beast."

"You can't destroy Glorificus," says Gregor. "She is a God. She is indestructible."

The challenge makes Willow's eyes sparkle. "I will find a way."

"No, Willow, you won't," Giles interrupts sharply. "You can't defy a God! There will be grave consequences."

"Screw consequences when my best friend's life is in danger!"

Giles frowns. "Magic is already corrupting your soul, Willow. Don't you see it? You almost killed your best friend when you slipped during the protection spell."

"I did what I had to do!" She sounds hurt and angry. "I saved you all!"

"The magic you're channeling is more dangerous and ferocious than you can cope with. You're an amateur, Willow. You're lucky you haven't killed Xander and yourself!"

Willow breathes heavily, her hand clenching Xander's shoulder painfully.

"Hey, I'm not complaining!" he says reassuringly. But she isn't paying attention to him. She stares at Giles, furious.

"You're right, Giles" she says slowly. "The magic I use is incredibly powerful. I'm incredibly powerful. And maybe it's not such a good idea for you to piss me off."

As they lock eyes silently, Xander can physically… Продолжение »