Chapter One

Disclaimer: Universal owns the Mummy, Joss owns Buffy
Title: The Adopted Brother (the title sucks, any ideas from any of my readers?)
Author: Kate R.
Fandom: BtVS/The Mummy/Mummy Returns
Pairings: N/A
Rating: Teen to Adult
Warnings: None really, not yet, just updated the mummy to modern times is all I did.
Summary: The Harrises adopted a white boy from Egypt who left after awhile. He cared about Xander but he had to leave to save his sanity and ti find what was left behind (Ardeth in this case). When they hurt Xander and get reported for it, he's called. And Xander's Adopted brother comes and gets him.

Notes: This is post season one of Buffy. She and Willow aren't home in the beginning which is why Angel and Giles saved him and not them. Do not expect them to be portrayed nicely in this fic when they show up in it. Xander will have changed because he left the Hellmouth, they will have not. And he changed without Willow.


Rick was coming

While he was eating the first decent meal he'd had in his life, all Xander Harris could think was 'Rick is coming for me'.

All his life he'd thought his big brother with the charming good looks and the natural people skills didn't care, but that hadn't been true. He'd found out, when the police who'd saved his life had come and searched the house, that there were three boxes of letters from Rick to him as well as trinkets from all over the place like in each place Rick had stopped he'd sent him something from. And then there was the money. The letters each mentioned a check that was for him that he'd never gotten. The money wasn't so important compared to everything else they'd stolen from him but it still hurt that they'd stolen it. He would have given it to them. Honest.

Of course, since the money was gone, he was wondering who'd sprung for a private hospital room for him. Not that he wasn't grateful, because it allowed him to look at each thing Rick had sent in private and to read each letter, but he was still curious about who was paying. Because Rick wasn't here yet so that meant it had to be someone else. But who? No one had come to see him. Buffy he didn't expect but at least Willow could have come.

The doctors had told him two men had brought him in and reported his parents for abuse, an older British man and a tall man dressed in black slacks and a white shirt. He knew who the older British guy was and he knew who the other one was, too, even if he wanted to deny it.

Angel had helped save his life.

Angel had been carrying him according to the doctors, and apparently Angel knew some rich people because the name on his bill was Liam O'Rourke. He had no idea who that was but he owed the man a lot. Mr. O'Rourke had even sprung for a long distance call to Egypt to Rick. As soon as he heard Rick's voice he'd started to cry, babbling out everything that had happened since he'd left. Rick had gone deadly quiet and then said, in a 'very' calm voice: "I will be there as soon as I can, kiddo. And I will take you away from that hell pit."

He'd been reassured by the controlled fury in Rick's voice because he knew it wasn't aimed at him.

And coming to take him away. Away to a new life. Rick was coming to take him away to a new life. With him. Away from here. That made him so happy that he thought his chest would explode with joy. Rick wanted him. Rick wanted him with him in Egypt, in his big, important life. Rick wanted him. Someone wanted him.

"How's the food, kiddo," a strangely familiar voice asked.

"Rick!" He exclaimed as he saw his brother in the doorway.

Rick was big and broad shouldered, as always. And his hair still had that careless flip over his face that had driven Tony to no end of distraction when Rick was little. His eyes still sparkled with mischief as he made his way into the room, dressed like he was on his way to some grand adventure.

And Xander was excited that he would get to go with him on this one.

Rick was adopted but that was okay, Rick had always been the best friend in the world to him, and he'd looked after him until the day when the pull in his soul to go back to Egypt had become too great to ignore. Xander had hugged him hard, that day, and watched him board the plane. And then, Tony had gotten mean because Rick was supposed to be the bread-winner for him and his wife. Xander never thought of them as his parents but it was true, they had wanted it to all land on Rick. And that was why Xander had hugged him good bye and wished him luck ten years ago. And now Rick had come back for him. Back to take him away, just like he'd promised he would.

"Food's better than most of what I've had," Xander told him, "Mom never cooked for me. But it doesn't taste like standard hospital stuff."

"Because it's not," Rick told him, "I made arrangements to have that brought in for you since you aren't on a diet or anything. You're just waiting for me to come."

"Thanks, Rick," Xander told him, "Can I . . . I mean, where will we stay until you're ready for us to go?"

"Your friend Mr. Giles offered us a place at his apartment," Rick told him, "The second thing he's done that I owe him a debt for."

"What was the first?" Xander asked, wanting confirmation.

"He and a Mr. Angel took care of you, saved you, reported mom and dad, and made sure you had a good place to stay until I could get here," Rick told him, "And we'll be staying until I get you outfitted for Egypt. Polyester sucks in the desert."

"I'd like that, Rick," Xander remarked, looking at the way his brother dressed and being impressed by it.

"Good, because in this you don't get an option. Ready to go?"

"Yeah," Xander told him, "I am."

"Good," Rick said, cuffing his head lightly as he tossed him a bag of clothes, "Get dressed, kiddo, then we have a man to see about a crash pad while we go shopping."

Xander laughed, got dressed and followed his brother. Somehow, he could not wait for this new adventure to begin.