Chapter 3

A/N: I am still debating on whether or not to include a male pregnancy in this fic, though I have allowed for the eventuality. Let me know if it's something you want and whether the pregnant one is Xander, Harry, or both.

Betaed by Sonya

Chapter 3

Buffy, seeing her chance now that Angel wasn't hovering over Xander, sauntered up to the vampire with what she thought was a sexy swagger. “Angel, aren’t you glad to see me?” asked Buffy softly, running her finger up Angel’s chest. She knew the relationship was officially over, but she just couldn't quite let him go yet.

Angel grabbed her hand and pulled it away from his chest. “Buffy, we’ve discussed this. You and I are no longer together, and I am leaving Sunnydale in just a few days. Don’t try to start something now. You know the soul problem prevents us from doing anything, anyway,” he said firmly, stepping away from the Slayer.

“So you’re really leaving me?” asked Buffy sadly, tears welling in her wide blue eyes. 'Angel always has been a sucker for a woman in tears,' she thought gleefully. Her inner glee quickly turned to a frown when her tears seemed to have no effect on the vampire. In fact, Angel looked a little disgusted with the whole situation.

“We both agreed that it’s for the best. You're going to college, and I am going to find my redemption. We have to move on,” said Angel quietly. He would always care for Buffy, but he’d finally come to the realization that he had been more infatuated with the Slayer rather than being in love with her. He’d been enamoured with the idea of a pure love, seeing Buffy as part of his redemption. He now knew that he would find his redemption elsewhere.

“Fine,” pouted Buffy, angry at Angel's rebuff. 'I don't need him anyway,' she thought viciously. She stalked to the couch across from Willow, who hadn’t said a word since they’d arrived, and flounced down in a huff.

Harry moved over to Angel now that the barracuda, as he'd dubbed Buffy, had stormed off. He was curious about the redhead. She hadn't said a word since she'd arrived. “What’s up with her?” Harry whispered to Angel, nodding his head towards Willow. He felt a little sorry for the girl because she looked absolutely miserable. The bedroom door opened, drawing his attention away from Angel.

*****

“I want you to come to England with me. Now that your powers are unbound, you’ll need the training that Hogwarts can provide,” said Severus calmly.

“Are you serious?” asked Xander incredulously. He hadn’t really expected his newly discovered father to actually want him. But not only did the man want him to go with him, Severus also wanted him to learn how to use his magic properly.

“Yes, Hogwarts is well protected, and the teachers are very knowledgeable,” said Severus.

“I guess you’re right,” said Xander softly. “It’s not like anyone will miss me around here. My parent’s hate me, and my friends aren’t even talking to me. Besides, untrained magic can be dangerous. So, when do we leave?”

“Xander, are you sure about this?” asked Giles quietly. “It’s a big decision.”

“Like you really care,” snapped Xander, suddenly angry at Giles’ recent behaviour towards him. “You couldn’t even stand to be around me long enough to make sure I got home safely.” He'd thought of Giles like a father, and Giles' actions over the past few weeks had hurt far more than he let on. Only Willow's betrayal had hurt more. She was supposed to be his best friend, but she'd treated him just as badly as Buffy and Giles had.

“Xander, I am truly sorry about that,” said Giles remorsefully. “I’m afraid that I took Willow’s version of things to heart and didn’t even consider your account. I’m ashamed to say that Angel was the one to open my eyes to my actions and to take me to task for them. I really should have known better.”

“What do you mean ‘Willow’s version?’” asked Xander suspiciously. As far as he knew, there should only be one version of that night. He and Willow had kissed, and Oz and Cordelia had caught them. What other version was there?

“She told us that you practically forced her,” said Giles simply. “We were angry that you would do that to your best friend.”

“Oh,” said Xander quietly. “I didn’t understand why I was getting treated so much worse than Willow when she was equally responsible for the kiss, but I guess now I know. She really said that?” Xander couldn’t believe that his best friend since kindergarten had betrayed him like that. This betrayal was so much worse than her treatment of him. It was a wonder Buffy had refrained from beating the shit out of him after Willow had told her that.

“Yes, Xander, she did,” said Giles apologetically.

“I see,” said Xander. Xander made his decision. He needed to get away from Sunnydale for a while, especially Willow and Buffy, and this was the perfect excuse. Besides, he really did need to learn how to use and control his magic. “Giles, this is something I need to do. I’ve always been the ‘normal’ one, and now I find out that I’m not even fully human. I need to this so I can learn about my real family and learn to use my magic. I’ll be sure to keep in touch, though.”

“You’d better,” said Giles softly, hurting that one of his ‘children’ would be leaving him. “I expect you to write at least once a week.”

“Sure, G-man, I can do that,” said Xander, flashing Giles a genuine smile.

“Well, now that that’s settled,” said Severus abruptly. “You need to go pack your things while I arrange for a portkey.”

Xander followed Giles out of the room and froze when he saw the expectant faces turned towards him. "Uh, what's up, guys?"

"Are you leaving us?"asked Buffy bluntly.

"Yes," said Xander, wincing slightly as Willow immediately started crying and whispering apologies. "Wills, I'm not leaving because of you. I'm angry with you right now, furious in fact. You betrayed me in the worst possible way, lying about something you started and placing the blame fully on my shoulders. You truly hurt me with this, but that's not the only reason I'm leaving. I'm also going because I need to learn how to use my magic and get to know my family."

"I wouldn't blame you if that was the only reason you were leaving," mumbled Willow, wiping her tears away. "I've been a horrible friend, and you should hate me."

"You sure have," muttered Buffy quietly, backing up quickly when Xander glared at her.

"Don't even go there, Buffy. You haven't been such a great friend yourself. You didn't even try to listen to my side of the story before you blamed me for everything. Even knowing how much I care for my friends, how protective I am of all of you, you didn't even once question the truth of her claims," snapped Xander angrily.

"You're right," said Buffy, lowering her head in shame. Xander constantly put himself on the line to protect his friends, and they had just thrown it all back in his face.

"I still love you guys, and that will never change," said Xander softly, softening slightly at the total misery on their faces. "I even promise to write every week that I'm gone."

"You'd better," said Buffy, looking like she was about to join Willow with the water works. "It's just not going to be the same here with out our Xander-shaped friend."

"Look on the bright side, though. When I get back, I'll be your new and improved Xander-shaped friend," said Xander teasingly. "I've gotta go pack my bags. You wanna walk with?"

"Yeah," said Buffy and Willow.

*****

"Snape?" asked Harry hesitantly. Severus cocked his eyebrow in question. "Why didn't you ever tell me that you were my uncle?"

"I didn't know," said Severus. "I met Kaelyn right after I graduated from Hogwarts. The first time we met, I thought it was Lily trying to play a prank on me, but then she showed me her true form. Of course, I didn't know that Lily was also hiding an elvin heritage. Kaelyn was an impudent little wench, too. She said, 'I'm Kaelyn Winterstorm, and you're my mate. We're going to have lovely children together.' To say I was completely shocked is putting it mildly."

"How did she know you were her mate?" asked Harry curiously.

"That's what I asked. She said that I was the only one to ever make her feel safe, and that I smelled right to her," said Severus.

"That's it?" asked Harry, disappointed at the lack of information. "That's rather vague, isn't it?"

"Well, from what I could gather, this only applies to the submissive partner. The dominant partner, whether he is an elf or not, will be very protective of their mate and will attack those who try to hurt them, physically or emotionally," said Severus quietly. "I almost killed Lucius once because he insulted Kaelyn in front of me. I don't know who was more surprised, him or me. Kaelyn, of course, was ecstatic. To her, that just proved that I was her mate."

"Is the dominant partner always male?" asked Harry.

"If the female is an elf, then yes. No elven female has ever had a female mate of any race. On the other hand, an elven male may have a male mate because all male elves are hermaphroditic. That means they have the external sex organs of a male, but they also have a womb and ovaries, so they can viably bear children," said Severus calmly.

Angel, who had overheard the entire conversation, groaned softly as he realised that he was displaying all the characteristics of being a submissive elf's mate. As soon as he had that thought, a picture of Xander on his hands and knees with Angel behind him, thrusting his cock into that tight little ass, flashed across his mind. Xander was not going to be happy with this. Then he heard Harry ask, "I thought that vampires and elves were traditional enemies, so why is Angel so protective of Xander?"

Severus narrowed his eyes and turned to glare at Angel. "Yes, I would like to know that myself," said Severus dangerously. He was hoping that it didn't mean what he thought it did. Although it was extremely rare, the occasional elf did have a vampire as mate. Of course, the vampire was always a male because female vampires could not carry young. The idea that vampire males couldn't produce offspring was false. They could have children, but their sperm count was so low that only a very fertile partner could possibly become pregnant. Elves were probably the most fertile beings on Earth.

Giles had listened to the conversation in fascination. He remembered when Severus had almost killed Lucius. The blonde man had called Kaelyn a 'two bit whore trying to steal his best friend.' Severus had almost strangled the man before Giles had managed to pull him off of Lucius. One year later, Giles had to keep Severus from killing himself because his wife had just died. Kaelyn had gone to visit her friend, Jessica, in the States. She had stayed for four months to help Jessica prepare for her wedding and had died in a car accident. Giles suddenly jumped to his feet. "Jessica! That's it."

"What are you talking about, Rupert?" asked Severus.

"Kaelyn died in the States when she came to visit her friend Jessica," said Rupert excitedly.

"And Xander's mother's name is Jessica," finished Angel.

"So you think that Kaelyn gave birth to Xander before she died, and Jessica raised him?" asked Severus quietly.

"Yes," said Rupert quickly.

*****

Xander opened the door to his basement room and ushered Buffy and Willow inside. The entire house was silent for once, and Xander sighed in relief, glad that he wouldn't have to see Tony Harris at all. He directed Buffy and Willow on what he wanted packed and threw his clothes in his duffle bag. They were almost done when the front door opened and closed upstairs. Xander gestured for Buffy and Willow to hurry and stay as silent as possible.

"Alexander, are you down there? I need to talk to you," his mother called downstairs.

Xander frowned slightly at the request because his mother hardly ever wanted to talk to him. He was curious despite himself. "I'll be right up, mom," he called back. "Just wait outside for me, okay?" he asked Willow and Buffy. They just nodded and took his bags outside. Xander quickly climbed the stairs to meet his mother. "What is it, mom?"

Jessica turned to face her adopted son and gasped when she saw him, tears springing to her eyes at his new appearance. 'He knows,' she thought wearily. "I guess you know that I'm not your mother then," she said regretfully. "Sit down and I'll tell you what I know." Xander warily sat down and listened to Jessica's story. "I was born in Boston, as you already know. Well, when I was fifteen, I met this girl named Kaelyn Winterstorm. She and her parents were visiting the States because they were looking for someone they had thought dead. They stayed for two months, and Kaelyn and I became best friends, spending every available moment together. Two weeks before she left, I discovered her secret. She was an elf."

"I, of course, promised to keep Kaelyn's secret, and we remained friends. When she went back home, Kaelyn and I kept in contact, writing numerous letters to each other over the years. I moved to Sunnydale when I was seventeen and met Tony that same summer. After dating for only four months, Tony proposed and I accepted. I found out that Kaelyn had also found her mate, a man named Severus Snape, and was expecting a child. I told her that I was getting married and begged for her to come help me prepare for the wedding. She agreed and stayed for four months, helping me prepare the wedding ceremony and pack my things to move into this house."

"I had been married for two weeks when Kaelyn went into labour. I drove her to the hospital, but on the way there, we were hit by a drunk driver. Kaelyn had a piece of metal sticking out of her chest. The ambulance got Kaelyn to the hospital, and they performed an emergency C-section. Kaelyn died ten minutes after you were born, so I took you and raised you as my own. I imagine she managed to bind your powers right before she died," finished Jessica somberly.

"Why did she bind my powers?" asked Xander curiously.

"Because we live on a Hellmouth, and demons of all kinds would hunt for you if she didn't," said Jessica calmly. "Besides, according to Kaelyn, your father was a wizard and you would more than likely inherit his magic, as well."

"Okay, if Kaelyn was your best friend, how could you treat her child the way you have for the last eighteen years?" demanded Xander. He was stunned to find out that his mother knew all about the dangers of Sunnydale and had never once tried to really protect him from those dangers. "Some best friend you turned out to be, letting your husband beat me at every opportunity. You never even warned me about staying out at night when you knew what was out there."

"I know that I failed Kaelyn and you," said Jessica quietly, blinking back the tears that sprang to her eyes. "I was too weak to protect you from Anthony. I was a complete coward in the face of his anger, and I am so sorry for that. I never told you about Sunnydale's nightlife because I wanted you to have a somewhat normal childhood." She broke down into sobs then.

Xander watched the woman he'd called mother for the last eighteen years and realised just how hard this had been on her, as well. She'd had to watch her best friend die and take in that friend's newborn son. Her new husband hadn't liked the new addition to the family and had quickly turned to alcohol, turning abusive towards the cause of his decline- in his opinion, anyway. Anthony had probably threatened to beat Jessica if she interfered with Xander's beatings, so she had been forced to watch her best friend's son get beat on a regular basis, guilt at her failures eating her up inside.

"My biological father is in Sunnydale," said Xander softly. "He wants me to go to England with him so that I can learn to control my magic. I've already agreed to go."

"I'm happy for you," said Jessica, smiling gently as she brushed her tears away. Her Alexander had always been quick to forgive his loved ones. He was such an amazing person, and she was glad that he was taking this chance to find true happiness. She suddenly stood and pulled Xander into a hug. "I really did love you like a son, Alexander. You reminded me so much of Kaelyn, always smiling and quick with a retort. I'm going to miss you dreadfully when you leave. You better write and tell me about your stay in England."

"I will, mom," said Xander, kissing Jessica on the cheek and stepping back. "Willow and Buffy are outside waiting, so I'll see you later." With one last smile and wave, Xander left the Harris household for good.