Chapter 1: One Spell, One Wish

“Willow!” Dawn stared in horror at the pile of clothes on the floor. “What did you do? Where’s Xander?”

“Uh, We were doing this spell and he uh . . . he was uhm. . .” Willow said nervously. “There.”

She nodded over to where Buffy was crouched down next to the mysterious pile of clothes that seemed to include a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt, a white undershirt, black jeans and a pair of boots.

“Can you imagine how embarrassed Xander must be without his clothes? You must have done some sort of telly-porty thingy, Willow,” Buffy mused. She gingerly poked at the pile with her stake. Suddenly, the clothes let out a loud wail. Startled, Buffy fell back in surprise, her hands slapping hard against the floor as she barely managed to remain sitting upright. “What the . . .?”

Cautiously, Buffy picked up the shirt and tossed it to the side. The girls stared in shock at the crying baby, who was trying to do his best to show the world what a good set of lungs he had.

“Xander???” Willow squeaked.

“You shrunk him, Willow. Fix it,” Buffy said, her voice rising to be heard over Xander’s screams. Turning to the baby, she continued, “Stop screaming Xander! Willow will reverse the spell!”

Willow nodded her head, wincing as the wail increased in volume. She grabbed the big book lying beside her and started to frantically flip through the pages. Dawn muttered under her breath about idiot older sisters and overachiever friends as she reached over and bundled Xander in the t-shirt before cuddling him. The baby quieted down, now that he was warm and getting some nice hugs.

“She didn’t shrink him, Buffy. She de-aged him. What were you doing anyway?” Dawn glared.

“It was only this simple little spell I read about,” Willow babbled, [[“We’ve been drifting apart. I’ve been spending more time with Tara and Buffy has been struggling with everything that’s happened and we’ve been leaving Xander alone so he could have a normal life, only Anya left him and he was going all depressy. And I found this neat little spell that would let us remember happier times when we were still innocent little kids and I thought it would bring us closer together, like we used to be so I started with Xander and . . . . . it’s not supposed to do that”]]

Dawn stared at her. “And you had Tara or Giles look over this spell, right?”

“Of course she did,” Buffy said as Willow chewed on her bottom lip and looked away. Buffy looked at Willow. “Willow?”

“Not . . . . exactly.”

“What do you mean, not exactly?”

Willow turned to look at Buffy. “Well. . . It was such an easy spell with the changes and I knew I could do it and it would have been a waste of their time to look it over. I checked it three times.”

Buffy glared. “You changed the spell. Not only did you not get Giles to check it over, but you changed it?”

“It was an acceptable alteration. The book said so. I don’t know what went wrong,” Willow defended.

“Willow. . .”

“Call them,” a firm voice spoke up. The two arguing girls turned to stare at the young teenager. Dawn held, a now sleeping, Xander in her arms. She stared at the two older girls. “Call them, now Willow. Or I will.”

-----------------

A few hours later Giles tiredly rubbed the bridge of his nose before wiping off his glasses.

“Uh oh. He’s wiping his glasses. That’s not good. Hard to find ingredients or something? Need me to go gather yucky slime or something? Cuz I’m sure some demon around town that can help me find them,” Buffy offered.

Giles looked over at the sleeping Xander, nestled safely in Tara’s arms. Tara had been ignoring her pouting girlfriend, instead focusing on the now diapered infant. Giles sighed. “No Buffy. I’m afraid it’s not that simple. Willow was correct that particular spell had an alternate form. However, unlike the basic memory spell, the one Willow used actually takes the target back to the last time they were truly happy and innocent. It’s a type of renewal spell. It allows them to relive their lives. . . .and it’s irreversible.”

“But. . .” Willow squeaked.

“Sit down, you foolish little girl.” Giles glared at her. Willow meeped and quickly fell down into the chair behind her. “I have warned you numerous times, not to perform witchcraft without absolute certainty of the results. And no, you do not have the necessary knowledge to be certain of any new spell you learn. You refused to share this spell with either Tara or myself and you deliberately altered it without knowing the full ramifications of your actions. So sit there and be quiet while we deal with your mess.”

“What are we going to do?” Dawn asked. “I’m too young to take care of him.”

Buffy shrugged when her sister looked at her. “I can’t keep him. I’m looking after you. Maybe we could give him to his parents.”

Willow bit her lip, but slowly nodded her head. Dawn leapt up and looked at Buffy in shock. “What?!”

Xander stirred slightly, but quickly fell back asleep. “Dawnie, I can’t look after a baby. What with slaying and work. Tara and Willow have school. It’s the best option.”

“It is not and you know it. You want to put Xander with his drunk, abusive parents and hope that he grows up?”

“Now Dawn, Xander’s parents may drink a little, but they didn’t abuse him,” Buffy spoke up. “I would have seen it.”

Willow nodded in agreement.

Dawn snorted. “Yeah, right. You two didn’t see much about what really went on with Xander. You never saw the scars or the bruises. I saw more than either of you ever did.”

“Dawnie, Xander’s just clumsy. He finds vamps by falling in empty graves. You know tha. . .”

“You don’t get hand shaped bruises from falling into a six foot deep hole, Buffy. And that one was two months before you graduated. Remember, you went into overprotective mode. You made sure every night that Willow and Xander got home safe. There’s no way he could’ve run into some demon without you knowing about it.”

Giles replaced his glasses. “Regardless of what may or may not have happened before, none of us is capable of taking care of an infant. Nor does our lifestyle lend itself to raising a young child. If what Dawn says is true, then there is only one option available to us. Perhaps the best thing would be to hand him over to foster care.”

“But Giles!”

“Xander has to stay near us, Giles. Where we can keep him safe. I did this. I have to take responsibility.”

“No!” Giles slammed his hands down on the table, quieting both girls. “Look at yourself, Buffy. You’ve already died twice. What do you think would happen to Xander if his caretaker died suddenly? Xander cannot stay. Foster care is truly the only option.”

Buffy and Willow looked at each other before nodding reluctantly. Dawn seemed to be the only one willing to protest. “You can’t seriously be thinking about turning Xander over to the state? In this town, that’s almost as bad as giving him back to those drunks. They’d probably hand him back to them anyways.”

And the arguing began again.



As the others fought, one person remained silent. She stared at the content babe in her arms, listening to all the arguments about the future of the baby. She thought about her terrible childhood and what Dawn had hinted at. She thought about what Giles had said about the spell sending the target to the age they last felt happy and innocent and what it meant that Xander was now less than two years old. Finally, as the voices quieted down, she thought out the words in her head and made her decision.

Softly, Tara’s voice spoke, “I wish Xander could grow up in a safe place, where he would have a family to protect him and love him for who he is.”

There was a frozen silence as everyone in the room realized the true weight of those words. The others turned to stare at the quiet witch in horror. They all knew the dangers of the words “I wish”, especially in Sunnydale. They looked down at the baby, sleeping in Tara’s arms. Maybe no one had heard the wish. But just as Buffy was about to sigh in relief, they heard those dreaded words.

“Wish granted.” In a flash, Xander disappeared.

-----------------

The wish demon sent him toward the east coast. There was a criminalist there who could use a little Xander. He was perfect for the role of father. He may not have had much of a real family, but he had a support system with his friends and coworkers. Not to mention being the head of his lab, he could afford a small child and his people would love the boy. Xander would be well protected.

Not staying to watch Xander arrive, the demon hurried off to grant the next wish. Unfortunately, Buffy and Willow were not the only ones who wanted to keep Xander there. And unlike the girls, this being could do something about the wish.

Not many people realized it, but hellmouths weren’t just openings between dimensions, they were also semi sentient beings, stuck in one place. Now, a hellmouth couldn’t think or reason like a human, it only had the mental capacity of a dog. But it could form likes and dislikes. And the Sunnydale hellmouth liked Xander.

After all, the boy had spent nearly his whole life growing up over it. From being born on top of the hellmouth to hiding out in the library’s hallways. Even as a young boy, when not spending time with his friends, the hellmouth would feel Xander creeping around near its opening. The child never touched any of the books, but seemed to enjoy spending time there. It was easy to hide in the high school’s big library and no one ever noticed him there. That was why demons always found Xander irresistible and why the hellmouth had always protected him.

That was why, when the hellmouth felt its favorite human being wished away, it tried to pull him back. Unfortunately, the wish was too strong. The hellmouth pulled as hard as it could on the magical wave its Xander was in and tried to pull him back to Sunnydale, but Xander didn’t quite make it.

-----------------

Las Vegas, Sundown

A grey haired gentleman was almost ready for work. He grabbed his kit, checking his small pets before heading toward the door. He checked his house over before grabbing his keys. He had shut and locked his door, heading for his car before he noticed the baby carrier sitting innocently on his front porch. He glanced around, but couldn’t see any signs of how the baby had gotten there. The baby appeared to be sleeping soundly with a note stuck in the side of the carrier. Taking out some gloves, he quickly reached for the note sticking out of the seat, being careful to not waken the sleeping infant.

“Dear Sir,
You won’t remember me. But what I tell you is the truth. Xander is your son. I can’t keep him. He needs you. Please protect Alexander and give him a happy childhood.”


It was funny how things worked out. Unable to go to the parent that had been originally chosen, the magic had to settle for someone who was as close to the original as possible. Luckily for the parentless infant, he had landed in the best possible place to meet all the requirements of the wish.

Gil Grissom put the note down and stared at his supposed son. “Now what?”


Tbc.

Chapter 2: Sara meet Xander, Xander meet Sara

Sara walked into the break room, her head bent as she focused on the folder she was holding. She was a few hours early for her shift, but she had planned to come in to review a big case she had worked on. She was set to testify next week and she wanted to have everything fresh in her head.

“Sara!” Sara looked up startled as Grissom rushed in holding a small box of evidence in one hand and some bulky thing that couldn’t be what she thought it looked like in the other. “Good. You’re here.”

“Yeah. I was just going over the Stevens Ca. . . .” She trailed off as Grissom placed what was definitely a baby carrier, one of those ones that also worked as a car seat, on the table. What was Grissom doing with a baby carrier? She peered at the carrier. And with a baby in it too!

“Can you watch him? These samples need to be processed.” With that, he walked briskly out the door, a determined look on his face.

“Ah . . . I. …guess.”

Sara stared at the baby. The baby was sitting up in its carrier, its head resting against the back as it slept peacefully. It was dressed in a silvery blue onesie that looked expensive and a blanket of the same material covering its legs. Glancing over the baby, she noticed it had a tiny band-aid on the crook of his arm. She wondered if the baby had had blood drawn. Why would Grissom do that? Was the baby involved in some sort of case? She shook her head. Well it didn’t concern her, she decided.

Finishing her perusal of the infant, she frowned thoughtfully as she considered Grissom’s order. What was she supposed to do with it? She had no idea how to handle a little kid, let alone a helpless baby. It was sleeping. That was good. She could go over her notes for the upcoming trial. Grissom would be back soon to explain. And he’d better explain.

After three hours, Sarah sighed. She’d gone over the whole case and was ready for next week. Rubbing the back of her neck, she looked at the clock she realized how long it had been. It was almost time for her shift to begin. She glanced at the door. Where was Grissom? Lucky for her the baby was still sleeping.

Sara glanced at the baby and froze. The infant’s eyes blinked open. It looked at her. She looked at it. The baby’s eyes darted around the room before he let out a small whimper.

Sara stood up, placing her folder on the table. She frantically looked out the door, hoping to see Grissom coming. Unfortunately, the hallway was unusually empty. It was almost time for shift change. The corridor should be full of both night and swing shift people as they switched over. . . Where was everyone?

The baby’s eyes scrunched up as it whimpered. Sara walked over to the baby. “Hey,” she said not sure what to do, “It’s okay. Don’t cry.”

The baby’s eyes darted around the room again before crying softly. Sara also quickly looked around the empty room. What was wrong with the baby? Grissom hadn’t left any supplies. No bottles, no diapers, no toy. Sara looked the infant over. Maybe it was hungry or thirsty or . . . Sara made a face. She didn’t have any diapers, but she should probably check. Grimacing, she reached down to check its diaper. The baby quieted down to sniffles and looked at Sara curiously. Sara stepped back with a sigh of relief. The boy was dry and quiet.

“Waaaaaaaaa.” Sara winced. It seemed she had relaxed too soon. She looked around the room and noticed the vending machines. Maybe it was thirsty. She grabbed some change and went to get some water. She didn’t have a baby bottle for the baby, but it looked big enough to sip from a water bottle with help.

Twisting off the cap, she tipped the bottle toward the baby’s mouth. But the baby turned its head. It screamed louder and flailed its arms. His arm struck her wrist. She jerked back in surprise, splashing water all over the baby’s front. “Shit.”

The baby, who was now not only unhappy but also wet, cried even louder. Sara felt like screaming herself. She didn’t know what was wrong with the baby. She just wished someone would help her.

“Hey Sara, my main girl.” Greg poked his head in. He glanced around the room and grinned as he walked in, one hand held a piece of paper. “You cheating on me with a younger guy? What seems to be the problem?”

She snorted. “Hardly. Grissom asked me to watch him. I don’t know what’s wrong. He’s not thirsty. He’s not wet.” Greg glanced at the baby’s front. “The diaper isn’t Greg. Why is he crying?”

“Well,” Greg said, placing the paper to the side as he started to unbutton the baby’s clothes. “Being in wet clothes can’t be too comfortable. Right, kiddo? Let’s get you changed.” He smiled at the crying baby. The baby stared at the new person. He hadn’t stopped crying, but his cries were softer.

“And how am I supposed to change him? He doesn’t have any other clothing and the blankets wet too. You want to just leave him in his diaper?”

“Nope. Then we’d be cold. Wouldn’t we squirt? They keep the AC up around here.” Greg finished getting the infant undressed. He handed the baby over to Sara who held the infant awkwardly. Gripping the front of his shirt, he took it off. He took the infant back from Sara and proceeded to expertly bundle the crying infant in his shirt. He then held the baby against his chest.

“You used your shirt!”

“It’s clean. I just changed.” Greg bounced slightly as he walked around the room. Amazingly, the infant quieted down.

Sara shook her head. “What are you doing here anyway? I thought you had the night off.” She glanced at the baby who was smiling. “And how did you do that?”

Greg grinned. “I was helping out swing shift DNA. Was just finishing up. As for this little guy . . . you just gotta know what they want.”

“What’s that?”

“What does every guy want? To be held, Sara. To be held. Preferably in warm loving arms of a lady that’s just. . . “

Sara held up her hand. “I get the picture.”

Greg grinned. “You wanna hold him?”

She held up her hands and backed away. “Ah . . . no.”

“Where’s your shirt, Greg?”

Sara gasped and whirled around.

“Oh. Hey Gris. This little guy needed it.” Greg bounced the baby up making him giggle.

Greg continued to play with the now happy baby as Grissom and Sara stared. He could feel their eyes on him. Actually, it felt like even more eyes were on him. It felt like a more heated gaze, one that seemed to be staring right through him. He decided to ignore it in favor of keeping the infant entertained.

“Greg?”

“Yeah, Sara?”

“How’d you know what to do? You’re an only child. So were your parents.”

“Oh, that’s easy. In college, I had this roommate. He had three kids. His wife was constantly leaving them with him. The youngest was two years old.”

“So you watched this roommate with his kids.”

“Daniel? No way. He didn’t want to watch them either. They were good kids, but Daniel couldn’t be bothered to take care of them. He paid me to watch them. I made good money too. Paid for my books my first year as a post grad at NYU.”

Throughout the conversation, Grissom continued to stare at Greg patiently. Finally, tired of waiting, Grissom prompted. “You have something for me?”

Greg looked up. “Huh? Oh yeah. Over there.” He nodded over to the piece of paper he had put down earlier. Grissom moved to read the paper. “I compared the samples. They had seven alleles in common. Both male. Definitely father and son.”

Grissom's head jerked up. Noticing the sudden movement, Sara looked at Grissom, who had a stunned look on his face. He was staring at the baby happily grabbing at Greg’s mouth and nose. “You okay, Grissom?”

Grissom blinked at Sara. “Hmm. . . Yes.”

“Hey Nick, you wanna move. I’d like to put my lunch in the fridge and you’re in the way,” Warrick’s voice came from the doorway where Nick had been standing. Greg looked up startled. How long had Nick been there? Why was he just standing there? What was he staring at?

Grissom slowly approached Greg. “May I?” He indicated the baby. Greg turned back to Grissom and quickly handed him over. Grissom stared down at the baby in his arms, an amazed look on his face.

Warrick nudged Nick’s back, prompting to again move. Nick tore his eyes away from his topless coworker, blushing lightly as he entered the room.

Warrick put his lunch away and then turned around. He noticed the baby in Grissom’s arms. “Cute kid. Who is he?”

Grissom looked up, his eyes wide. “Apparently, my son.”

Tbc.

Chapter 3: Grissom, where have you been?

"What?!?"

"The samples I gave you were from Xander and myself. Doc Robbins extracted our blood when we came in," Grissom said, nodding his head at first the band-aid on his arm and then the one on Xander.

The group stared in shock at Grissom. It was during that stunned silence that Catherine walked in, her head down as she rummaged through her purse. Noticing the rest of the team, she stopped and raised her head, her hand still in the purse.

"Hey guys, are we having a team meeting?" She stilled as she realized the unnatural silence around her. Looking up, she blinked at all the quiet faces turned toward her. She quickly took in the scene, blinking at the infant in Grissom's arms. "What's going on?"

"Grissom," Sara spoke, "Was just about to explain how he has a son."

Now every head turned to Grissom. Ignoring their looks, Grissom walked over to the carrier and gently placed the sleeping Xander back in it. He turned around to face his people.

"When I was leaving for work, I found him on my doorstep."

"Any trace?" asked Sara, already treating it like a crime scene.

"None. No fingerprints. No footprints. No transfer. Just what was on the baby and a note saying he was mine."

Catherine looked thoughtful. "So, you brought him in to test paternity?"

"Yes."

"Which Greg confirmed?"

"Yes."

"So you waited in DNA for three hours?" Sara spoke up slightly irritated by being left with the baby for so long.

Grissom blinked and looked over. "I dropped off other evidence." Explaining further, "The baby, Xander, was covered in this glittery residue. It was all over the car seat."

The others turned to look. Sure enough, there was some sort of glittery substance on the car seat. Nick reached over and ran his finger through the substance. Rubbing his fingers together, he looked at the tip of his finger. "I can see the glitter, but I don't feel anything."

"And the baby doesn't have any of it on him?" Greg spoke up, frowning. He looked at the car seat and then at the baby.

Grissom nodded. "I know. It seems to have evaporated."

"So what did trace say about the glitter?" Greg asked chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully.

"Nothing. No one was in; I left the sample for Hodges."

"Was that all?" Nick spoke up, finally focusing on the facts.

"No. I took the note to QD. They couldn't tell me much. The paper was standard printer paper. The pen, ballpoint. Both you can find at any office store. And the writing was too general for them to say anything about it. "

"That's why you were gone so long?" Sara asked.

"Yes. Oh and I had to explain why I missed the supervisor meeting and fill out the forms for Catherine's temporary control of the lab."

"What?!?" Grissom winced. That cry had seemed even louder than the
one before. Everyone in the room had participated, except for Catherine. Instead, she had a thoughtful look on her face.

Catherine glanced at Xander and then looked at Grissom. "You're taking leave to take care of him?"

"Yes. I live in a house suitable for a bachelor, not a child. I don't have the things I need to take care of an infant. I need to focus on Xander, not work. Once things are settled, I'll be back."

Catherine nodded in understanding. "I'll give you the name of the nanny service I've used in the past."

"Thank you, Catherine. Tonight's scenes are on my desk. Greg, can you tell me anything about the mother?"

"Wait a minute," Nick piped up, "Wouldn't you know who you slept with? Not to be rude, Grissom. But I never thought of you as the one night stand sort."

Grissom raised his eyebrow. "I'm not. I also haven't been with a lady in over five years."

Nick's eyes widened and he mouthed `five years'. Grissom ignored Nick and turned back to Greg.

"Huh? Oh, well determining paternity for you and the baby was simple, especially with the big reference sample you gave me." Greg frowned as he explained, "But, as you know, full analysis, even of pristine samples, will take a few days."

Grissom frowned at Greg's words. "Pristine sample? Was there something wrong with the blood I gave you?"

Greg shook his head reluctantly. "No. . . Your blood was perfectly normal."

"But Xander's?" Grissom asked fearfully.

Greg bit his lip. "Well there seemed to be something warping the DNA on the other side. It looked like some form of radiation and it seemed to be distorting the results."

Catherine gasped.

Grissom took a deep breath. "Dangerous?"

Greg shook his head. "No I don't think so. It just might take a little longer to decode his DNA."

Grissom took a deep breath in relief. "Good. Let me know the results the minute you have them Greg. My cell will be on. I will see you all in a couple weeks."

With that, Grissom picked up the carrier and walked out already thinking about what supplies he and Xander would need for the night. The rest of the group glanced at each other in silence. Then Greg clapped his hands together. The others turned to stare at him.

"Well, guess this means I'm off to the locker for another shirt," Greg said as he walked out the door. Catherine followed to talk with Greg about his hours. Sara sighed and gathered the file she had been reading.

Warrick glanced at Nick and noticed how Nick seemed to be staring at the doorway in thought, his cheeks a light pink. Warrick grinned and nudged his best friend. Nick jumped startled and turned toward Warrick.

"You ready for a fun night?" Warrick joked.

Nick blinked in surprise and then grinned. "If it's anything like the start, it's going to be a blast."

Tbc.