LadyRHood@aol.com

TITLE:  Not Going Anywhere
AUTHOR: Rebecca Carefoot
E-MAIL: LadyRHood@aol.com
RATING: PG, mild kissing
SPOILERS:  Becoming 1& 2.
SUMMARY: Two days after Buffy disappears, Cordelia takes it upon herself to
cheer Xander up.
DISCLAIMER: UPN, Joss, WB, Fox, who even knows who owns this show anymore?
Although we can all agree it's not me.


Xander opened the door to see his girlfriend, Cordelia Chase, standing on the
porch, her
arms overloaded with several of bags of various sizes.

"Well?" she said.  "Are you going to let me in?"

Xander shrugged and stepped away from the door.  She threw him a quick
worried glance as she passed him.  "What're you doing here?" Xander asked
dully, returning to the couch where he'd been sitting all day.  He propped
his broken arm up on a stack of pillows and ran his good hand through his
hair.

"I thought you needed someone to come take care of you," she said.  "Like an
invalid."

"I only have a broken arm, Cordy," he pointed out. 

"Yeah, well, you're injured," she said.  "And you're moping.  And I'm tired
of it."

"Buffy's been missing for two days with no word," Xander said.  "I'm not
moping.  I'm waiting here in case she calls."

"Cause she'd call you instead of her mom, or Giles," Cordelia said
sarcastically.  She sighed when Xander only looked at her unsmiling.  "Well,
you can wait for her to call with me here just as easily."

"Fine," Xander said.  "Entertain me."

"I'm going to refrain from saying something about not being a wind-up toy for
your amusement, because I'm assuming you're in a lot of pain."  She sat down
on the coffee table in front of him, crossed her long legs, and picked up one
of the bags.  "I brought board games.  Monopoly.  Scrabble.  That one's
probably a little out of your league."  She fished out a box.  "Pictionary's
more your style."

"Board games?" Xander said.  "I'm surprised you even had any."

"Well, I just bought them," Cordelia admitted.  "The only one I had was the
Baby-Sitters Club game, and I didn't think you'd be interested."

"What?  I love those wacky sitters."

"Yeah.  Okay, Xander."  She opened another bag.  "I brought videos."

"No horror," he said. 

"Of course not.  I brought Top Gun, planes and explosions for you.  Val
Kilmer for me."

"What about Tom Cruise?"

"You can have him too," she said with a grin.

"Thanks for the generosity."

"No problem.  I've also got Princess Bride, something with Bruce Lee in it,
and the first Superman movie.  Oh, and Goonies."

"Goonies?"

"What?" she said.

"Nothing," he answered, stifling a confused smile.

"Goonies is a fun movie," she said. 

"I'm not saying it isn't."

She looked at him warily, then shrugged.  "And I brought snacks."

"Now you're talking," Xander said, cracking a small grin.

"Doughnuts," she said, pulling a box of twelve out of the bag.  "Snickers. 
Pixiesticks.  Cheesy chips.  And..."  She fished around at the bottom of the
bag.  "Twinkies."

"You know me too well," Xander said, reaching for the twinkies.  Cordelia
opened one of the packages before handing it to him.  "I can do that myself,"
he said.

"But it'll take you forever," she pointed out, holding out the snack cake
until he finally took it from her hand.  "Anyway, how can you eat those
things?  They aren't even baked.  They're made to look like cake, but who
knows what's actually in them.  They're like some chemical product extruded
from a mach-"  She stopped as Xander stuffed one whole into his mouth.  She
shook her head.  He grinned at her through a mouthful of Twinkie bits mashed
between his teeth.  She held up her hand in front of her face with a groan. 
"My boyfriend, ladies and gentlemen."  She opened a third bag and pulled out
a deluxe set of markers. 

"Whaas at fo?" Xander mumbled through his Twinkie.

"Your cast is pretty tame," she said.  "I thought I could decorate it."  He
took a second to swallow the rest of the Twinkie.

"You mean, draw little hearts and flowers all over it?  I'll pass."

"Not necessarily hearts," she said.  "But draw, yes."

"Cordy, you're really sweet," he said.  She smiled and cocked her head
expectantly.  "But you're not an artist."

"Oh come on!" she said, rolling her eyes.  "It's a cast.  It's not supposed
to be a work of art.  They're going to cut it off and throw it in the garbage
in a couple weeks."

"And yet, that's a couple weeks of shame I'd rather not experience."

"I'm not going to draw anything embarrassing!" she snapped.  "I'm just going
to make it more colorful.  I can draw cloth patterns on it, like paisley or
something."

"I'm not sure what paisley is," Xander said.  "But it sounds unmanly to me."

"I'll make it like a quilt, just blocks of colors and patterns," she said,
trying to grab his arm.  He jerked it away.  "Or shapes.  Like triangles and
stuff.  Maybe I can even draw a 'manly' plane or a motorcyle.  Or a stake,
you'd like that."

"Get your own cast!" he said.

"Xander, they're washable markers!" she said.  "You can wash it off if you
don't like it."

He paused, and raised his eyebrow.  "Okay, then."

"Yay," she said, smiling.  She moved from the coffee table to the couch and
sat beside him.  She put his pile of pillows in her lap, then gently laid his
arm on top of the stack.  With a smile, she pulled a red marker from the box
and started to color.  She glanced over at Xander and saw that he was staring
at her.  "What?" she said.

He shook his head.  "Nothing."

"It's something," she said. 

"Not really.  I was just thinking it was nice of you to do this."  He smiled
at her.  "I mean it, Cordy.  Thanks."

She blushed uncomfortably.  "No big."

"But it's not going to work," he said seriously.

"What're you talking about?"  She busied herself with a black marker.

"I'm not going to stop thinking about Buffy, or stop worrying, or just be
happy, or whatever it is you think I'm going to do."

"I'm not trying to make you stop thinking about her," she said.  "I just
don't want you to  sit here by yourself and spend the entire weekend worrying
without any breaks."

"All this stuff," he said, waving his good hand.  "Isn't going to distract
me."  He met her eyes.  "I'm really scared.  And the only thing that will
stop that is Buffy coming home."

"She will," Cordelia said.  "She's coming back.  But you can't spend the rest
of your life waiting.  She'll get here when she's ready."  Xander lowered his
gaze thoughtfully.  "And you know what they say about a watched phone..."

"It never rings," Xander finished.  He looked at the cast.  "I think it needs
some yellow."

Cordelia shook her head.  "No way.  I'm thinking purple."

"Okay, even *I* know that's an ugly combo."  He grinned, and Cordelia lightly
touched his temple.  Then she drew his head closer to her and lightly kissed
him.  He pressed his cast against her back, cradlin her against his body and
slowly deepened the kiss.  When she broke away, he was panting slightly.

"Distracted now?" she said with a teasing smile.

"No, I was thinking of Buffy the whole time," he said with a grin.  She
opened her mouth in playful horror.

"Then I guess I'll have to try again." 

"Guess so," he said, leaning closer.

"I'm not going anywhere, you know," she said, touching his chin with her
fingertips.

He smiled.  "Me neither."

"I mean, not that you would care if I did..."

He chuckled.  "Not a bit."

"Because you're--"  He stopped her by pressing his lips to hers.  She relaxed
against him, and twined her fingers in his hair, settling close.  Not going
anywhere, indeed.

end