FIC: Terra Australis Incognito 9/?

[CDRERamius@xxxxxxx]

TITLE: Terra Australis Incognito 9/?
AUTHOR: Tony McD
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to Joss Whendon, Mutant Enemy, WB and 
others. This is for fun, not profit.
SUMMARY: A stranger with many connections to the Scooby Gang arrives and 
changes their lives forever.
SPOILERS: Genal Season 4. Follows it for a bit then it's an AU.
DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere is fine, just email me first.
RATING: M (Australian system), PG 13. Language, adult contents, nudity (yeah 
baby!)
AUTHORS NOTES: * * thoughts


Buffy lazily ran her fingers over the pale skin of Willow's stomach as 
the two lay together after their love making. Both were lost in thought and 
they were both thinking the same thing.
*There is something really important that is missing here.*
"Buff, can I tell you something? Something really important without 
you freaking?"
"Uh, sure Will. What?"
"I, um, I really love being with you. I mean you are the world to me 
and, well, I love you. I feel so comfortable with you and you make me feel so 
alive, but..."
"But what? What's wrong?" Buffy asked with some fear.
"But I have this feeling. Something is missing. Something inside of 
me. It's like a jig saw puzzle with a piece missing." Willow told her lover. 
She saw the look come over her Slayer's face.
"Buffy, please don't be upset! I'm just trying to explain how I 
feel..." Buffy cut her babble off.
"No! No! I'm not mad Will. I know what you mean. I feel it too. There 
is a hole, somewhere deep inside, where something should be. Like, without 
it, you can't be complete or happy; really happy."
"Yeah." Willow said. She paused. "What? You feel it too?" she asked, 
somewhat shocked. Buffy nodded. There was an uncomfortable silence between 
them. Buffy decided to change the subject.
"You got any idea how much I hate that fucking David? He comes here 
like some kind of comando Crocodile Dundee and starts messing things up just 
when it starts to get better. I've had enough of soldier types fucking my 
life around." Buffy spouted.
"Xander and David seem to get along well enough." Willow said.
"Don't get me started on Xander. Try hard loser." Buffy grumbled. 
Willow's kiss silenced her anger and the two melted into each others arms.

Giles watched as David trained Xander in hand to hand combat. Almost 
two months had passed since David arrived. Seeing the two joke and fool 
around as they trained he felt happy that David and Xander had become almost 
like brothers. David, his flesh and blood son. Xander, the boy who had become 
like a son to Giles. He still had not told Buffy, Willow and Xander about 
David being his son. Buffy and Willow's dislike for David meant that they 
would not accept him.
Giles had become concerned about Xander. His friendship with David had 
broken the already strained friendship with Buffy and Willow. Although Xander 
tried not to show it, there was times that the pain of lossing the friendship 
came to the surface. Xander locked his emotions away and that was not good. 
Like a pressure cooker, it would build and build until it exploded.
"Good. I think we'll call it quits for now." David said when he saw 
Giles. Giles had stayed overnight going through David's library and this 
morning David would drop Giles home and pick up some of the Watchers Diaries.
"I'll be with you in a sec." David said to Giles. He turned to Xander. 
"When I get back we can go down to the armoury and do some target practice."
"Cool." Xander said. "Hey, you know that black shirt you borrowed? Can 
I have it back 'cause I'm planing on wearing it to the Bronze tonight."
"OK. Why you going to the Bronze?" David asked.
"Well, with all this training you've been making me do lately I'm all 
buffed up. Women won't be able to resist me." Xander told him with a laugh.
"Yeah, sure. It's in my wardrobe, you can grab it while I'm gone, but 
it ain't going to do you any good."
"Why?" Xander asked.
"Mate, you couldn't get laid in a whore house with a fist full of 
fifties." David joked. They had a good laugh and David and Giles left.
Xander had a quick shower and wandered up to David's room to get the 
shirt. He opened the wardrobe and had a look. He noticed a uniform hanging 
up. It was dark green with gold buttons. On the epaulette was a gold crown 
and below that was the letters SASR also in gold. At the top of the sleave 
was the word AUSTRALIA and below that as a winged parachute.
Two things that struck Xander were the medals. The first was how few 
David had. Having seen the movies where the soldiers had a chest full of 
medals, the four that hung there seemed strange.
The second thing was one medal in particular. It had a blood red 
ribbon with a bronze cross. In the centre was a lion with the words 'For 
Valour' beneath the lion.
"You found your shirt yet?" David said, startling Xander. Xander spun 
round.
"Dude! Scare me to death why don't ya. I was just looking at your 
uniform."
"Oh, OK." David said.
"Hey, I got a couple of questions though about it." Xander said.
"Like what?"David asked.
"First off, how come you have only four medals? I mean all the army 
guy I've seen have heaps."
"We run medals like the English do. You have to have been in combat to 
get medals, not like the US were you also get them for passing courses." 
David informed him.
"OK then, what about this one?" Xander asked pointing at the medal 
with the red ribbon. David looked uncomfortable.
"It's the Victoria Cross. Look could you just grab your shirt." David 
grumped. Deflated, Xander found his shirt.
"Look I'm sorry that I snapped at you. It's just that I got that medal 
during the war in East Timor. I lost alot of close friends and it wasn't real 
nice and I don't like to talk about what happened too much."
"I'm sorry too. I should just mind my own business."
"Don't worry about it mate. Anyway, Giles wants you to go to his place 
for a chat tomorrow morning." informed David.
"What's it about?" asked Xander.
"Don't know. You can tell me tomorrow after I get back from the 
Initiative."
"What's going on there?"
"I've got to go over some of the electronic detectors they use with 
that boof head Riely Finn. I'll be glad when I don't have to see him any 
more. Anyway let's go and shoot some targets" David said as he headed for the 
door.