Disclaimers: Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar Television, Twentieth Century Fox Productions, and UPN. Highlander belongs to Gaumont Television, Rysher Entertainment, and Davis/Panzer Productions. No copyright infringement was intended. This story was written for entertainment and no money was exchanged.

Spoilers and Timing: In Buffy, this takes place after "Earshot" with spoilers for "Lover's Walk" and "Bad Girls." In Highlander: The Series, this takes place a few months after "Archangel" and a few months before "Avatar," with spoilers from "Archangel." Yep, the timing is messed up.

Author's Notes: This story is the immediate sequel to "Too Late." I hadn't intended to write a sequel, but because of the wonderful reviews I received, I knew I just had to give them what they wanted. This is the second story in my "An Immortal Life" Series. I hope everyone enjoys it as much as they enjoyed reading "Too Late." Be sure to send me plenty of feedback at sword_girl@lycos.com, or if you're at fanfiction.net, be sure to write a review, and I'll feel as happy as ever when I get either one.

Summary: The biggest secret Xander has kept from his friends is finally out. His friends try to deal with it while they track down Mary's informant.

On our way to Giles' apartment, no one said anything. I could feel Buffy's and Willow's stares on me, but I didn't look at them. Instead, I looked out the window of Oz's van at scenery I hardly noticed. I was afraid to tell them what I was, and they were afraid to hear it.

Peter Lionhardt, my teacher and friend, had told me mortals would take the news of my Immortality in ways that may ruin my hopes. My friends, however, were experienced with this sort of thing. They faced vampires, which were Immortal beings, and other supernatural things pretty much every week. However, with Faith's committed murder not that long ago, I was afraid they'd think I was just as bad as she was.

Perhaps they'd be right. I didn't have to kill Mary back in the library. I could have just stabbed her and left her body somewhere.

No, I told myself. As much as I hated doing the killing, Mary would have been back. She had been that obsessed. If I had gotten a chance to talk to her, maybe that wouldn't have happened…no. I can't dwell on the what-ifs. They'll just make me feel guiltier than I do already.

I wish I had spared her, anyway. She'd had such a hard life that she deserved the chance to make it better, but it was too late to change that now.

I can still see her thoughts in the back of my own mind. Her memories would fade away in an hour or two, but for now, I could still remember most of her life.

One event stood out above the others. It hadn't before, when I had just received the Quickening. The memory was of our fight. I'd been right when I assumed she'd done some research on me. She'd watched me for several days, always staying out of range of the 'buzz..' A man was helping her get information about me, but I couldn't see how. Too many other memories overrode those that I couldn't really think about it. She knew that I helped people everyday by fighting vampires and demons with the rest of my friends. She supported that, but her hatred for Bryan Costello had won in the end. If she had taken my Quickening along with Bryan's, she would have realized that he wasn't as bad as she thought. Of course, it would have been too late to change anything if it had happened that way.

When we arrived at Giles' apartment, I forced myself to focus on the present. If I wanted my friends to know what I was and still be friends with me, I had to do my best. Having my thoughts concentrated on memories I'd received in a Quickening would not help. That was kind of hard when those thoughts from the Quickening were related to the present situation, but I had to try.

We remained silent as we walked through the courtyard. Buffy seemed shocked and a little distrustful, and so did Wesley. Giles had this wary expression in his eyes. Oz kept gazing between Willow and me, and every so often, he would lead Willow a little farther away from me. Willow gazed at me with confusion and love and a little bit of fear. I'd never seen fear in her eyes before, at least not directed at me. I didn’t want her to be afraid. I was still Xander Harris, the class clown, the nobody who dated a cool girl like Cordelia then had an affair. There was no reason for her to be afraid of me. I'd never hurt her or any of my friends, not even Wesley. Of course, it would be hard to convince them of that after what they witnessed earlier that night.

It was that hint of fear in her eyes that made me realize I didn't want to loose any of them. They cared about me, and I cared about them. I didn't want them to grow distant from me now. I needed them to understand. They're the closest thing to a family I've ever had, and if I lost them, all I'd have was Peter Lionhardt. Peter's a great friend, but he hasn't lived the life I've had for the last three years. The people surrounding me know what it's like. I may have told myself before that I'd get over it if they didn't understand, but that isn't the case.

As soon as Giles opened his apartment door, we walked inside and took up positions around the room. Willow, Oz, and Buffy sat on the couch, leaving no room for me. I was a little hurt, but I expected that.

Giles sat down in one of the chairs, took off his glasses, and rubbed his eyes. He was the only one besides me who knew about Immortals, and from the looks of it, his experience with Immortality was not something he enjoyed. Either that or he was enjoying the present situation as much as I was. It could have been both for all I knew.

After a long, awkward silence, Buffy said, "Okay, Xander. Spill. Who was that woman? Why did you behead her? And what was up with the light show after it?"

"Yes, Xander, do share," Wesley said, trying his best to turn the words into a threat. I've never really taken him very seriously, so it was hard for me to do so now. I guess I should regard him with a little more respect. He didn't have a nervous breakdown yet although he'd faced more vampires and demons in the only a few months in Sunnydale than he did the rest of his life, and tonight must have shaken him up a bit further.

I sighed and sank down into the remaining armchair. I didn't know where to begin. What if they would be mad at me for not telling them about the vampire attack that triggered my Immortality? What if they would be angry at me for not saying a word about it after that?

Giles cleared his throat and straightened in his chair. "Perhaps you should start at the beginning," he suggested.

I nodded and took a deep breath before beginning my story.

I told them everything, from the moment I left the Bronze before the attack that killed me to when I met Peter. Then I explained the whole Immortality bit. I told them about the Game, the Rules, and the ups and downs to having abilities like mine. I wrapped up the story by telling them what had transpired tonight and what I experienced during Mary's Quickening.

When I was finished, everyone was silent. I don't think I've ever been so open before, and what I said shocked pretty much everyone present. Everyone stared at me in disbelief, fear, and a little pity. Everyone, even Oz, looked like they wanted to throw up. I hadn't exactly been vague on the gruesome details.

Giles ended up breaking the silence. "Well," he said, and cleared his throat. "I'd heard about Immortals, but my information is very vague compared to what you have learned."

"You don't die?" Oz clarified. "And you won't age another day?"

I nodded. My heart was thumping in my chest and I licked my lips. I hoped the rest of this conversation would not end badly.

"Cool," was all Oz said.

I shook my head. "It's not cool. I'll live longer than any of you, and who knows how long I'll be around after that. I don't think that's cool. Who knows how many wars I'll fight in or how many loved ones I'll loose. Peter's at least three hundred years old. He's done all of this, and from what he's told me, it doesn’t sound cool."

Everyone was silent for a moment, then Willow spoke. "Oh, Xander."

I looked up at her. The fear was gone, and what were left behind were only concern and hurt feelings.

"Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" she asked.

"You guys seemed to be so worried about the Ascension and everything…" I said, looking down. I didn't really want to say my other reason, but I did anyway. "I didn't want you to hate me."

"Why would we hate you?" Buffy asked. There was an edge in her voice. "After all, you did kill that woman in the library. Sure, she was Immortal, but that didn't mean you had to play the 'Game,' as you call it! You could have let her go, but you didn't. Please, give me a reason not to hate you."

"Buffy, that's not fair!" Willow exclaimed. "Xander was defending himself. H-he had no choice. He…"

"It's okay, Will," I said, although inside I was relieved that at least one person was on my side. "I can handle it."

I looked at Buffy. "Other Immortals have tried to stay out of the Game, but the headhunters keep coming. If I don't fight even then, I'll die. Is that what you'd prefer?"

"You can fight, but that doesn't mean you have to kill them," Buffy argued.

"Some headhunters will just keep coming. If I don't take advantage of an opportunity, I may not make it the next time. I don't like to kill, Buffy, but I have to."

"You don't like it?" Buffy asked. "You could have fooled me."

"Shut up!" Willow yelled. She was very distraught. She looked at Buffy. "Look, Buffy, I don't think this is the time to argue. I mean, Xander's going to live longer than us and he has to kill people if he wants to do that, and sure, eww, but I'm not at all comfortable with the thought of Xander losing because I don't want him to die 'cause it's clear he doesn't enjoy killing people and it's all a little hard to take in right now and I don't think arguing will help."

Everyone was silent until Buffy said, "You're right. I'm sorry, Xander. I…I just-"

"It's okay, Buffy," I said, smiling a little, trying to be reassuring. She was just being her usual Slayer self. No reason to feel bad because she didn't trust me…right?

I looked at the others. "Okay, now that I've told you what I really am, I just want to know if everyone here can live with it. Cause if you can't, I'll go."

Wesley seemed the least likely to trust me. Everyone else shared a determined look before turning back to me. Completely ignoring Wesley, Oz spoke for the others, "Although everyone here is still a little stunned, I think we all agree that you're still on the good side."

"Now just wait a minute-" Wesley said, indignant.

"Yeah," Willow spoke, ignoring and interrupting the Watcher. "So don't even think about leaving, Xander, because we won't let you go."

I let out a sigh of relief. I don't know what I would have done if they kicked me out.

Giles cleared his throat. He cleaned his glasses then slid the spectacles back into place. "Quite right. Now, let's just try to figure out how that woman knew Xander had Bryan Costello's Quickening. Xander, do you know?"

I tried to remember anything from Mary's Quickening that might give me a clue, but most of her memories were starting to get fuzzy. The only part that was still clear were her feelings as I held my sword to her throat-acceptance and resignation.

I shook my head. "No, I can't think of anything. All of her memories have pretty much faded by now. Someone was helping her, but I don't know who."

Willow perked up. "Well, I could check the hotels and see if she stayed there. Then I'll move onto private residences."

"Good idea." Giles nodded. "Go research on your computer."

She and Oz left, ignoring Wesley's protests. He turned to the Buffy and Giles, bewildered. "You're going to trust him? He killed a woman, or did you all just forget that?"

"Oh, shut up," Giles said. "We'd better call Cordelia and Angel. They should know what is going on, so they won't learn about Xander's Immortality the hard way." He gave me a patronizing look, and I looked away, ashamed and a little embarrassed. Then I took a deep breath and forced the thoughts away. Like I'd said earlier, what's done is done.

"I'll call them," Buffy volunteered, reaching for the phone.

*****

"You're a what?" Cordelia exclaimed, staring at me. I'd just given her the whole spiel, threw in some brooding comments that would make Angel jealous, and cut my hand to prove my point. The last one hurt a lot, but that was nothing compared to how my ex-girlfriend's indignant question seemed to make my eardrums ring unbearably.

It didn't compare to the stunned, fearful look that appeared on her face, either. I could tell she felt betrayed all over again.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked me, shoving me away. She was angry now.

I was confused, to say the least. She wasn't afraid of me at all, just mad.

Before I could get a word out, she barreled on. "Did you think I'd want to kill you like Buffy would have? To think, all those times when we went patrolling and I was so afraid you'd-" she stopped and took a breath. My heart fluttered in my chest. She still liked me! Then any hope we'd get back together got crushed again when she said, "Well, now I do want to kill you. I am going to beat you to death. Then when you revive I am going to shoot you in a few sensitive places, and while you're still dead from that I will remove your worthless head from your body!"

"Woah, Cordy, slow down," Buffy said, restraining her. "Look, I don't agree with everything Xander has to do to survive either, but he didn't tell us anything before now for some reason. Now, we have to figure out who told Mary about Xander."

Cordelia sighed and flopped down on the other end of the couch, as far away from me as she could manage without leaving the room.

Relieved, I flopped back onto my chair and let out a deep breath. Nope, she hadn't forgiven me for kissing Willow yet. This had just fueled the fire, too. I sighed. Not even my love life was getting any better. This was just a really, really bad day. Sure, it had some good points. At least Willow, Oz, Buffy, Giles, and even Wesley were still speaking to me, and Cordelia had stopped threatening my life, if only for a few seconds. That had to count for something.

The door opened. "We found her!" Willow exclaimed triumphantly, holding a printer handout up like a banner. Behind her, Oz smiled at her excitement.

Giles and Wesley hurried down the stairs. They'd retreated to the privacy of Giles' bedroom before discussing my Immortality, although Buffy and I had heard lots of shouting before Cordelia showed up. Now, as they made their appearance, Giles looked angry but victorious. Wesley looked like a scolded puppy dog. Even though he kept giving me distrustful glances, it was clear I wouldn't have any problems with the Watcher's Council from then on.

Wesley took a position at the bottom of the stairs and Cordelia stayed seated on the couch. Everyone else, however, gathered around Willow. "She has a room at the Sunnydale Motor Inn under the alias Marguerite Damon. She's been renting it for a month now."

"Ever since I killed Bryan Costello," I noted with regret. This whole Immortality thing really could be a pain, couldn't it?

"Nice work, Wills," I said, giving her one of my infamous smiles.

"I suggest that we check out her room tomorrow afternoon," Giles said. "After all, it is getting late and we've already had enough excitement for one night."

"Quite right," Wesley said, trying to regain some of his dignity. "All of you have school tomorrow and you should get enough sleep to be prepared for that. Buffy will patrol before she retires, of course."

Buffy sighed. I could tell she wasn't looking forward to it. "Of course." She grabbed her bag of slayer supplies. "I guess it's off to the graveyard. If Angel shows up, tell him to come find me and I'll explain everything to him."

She went out the door. Willow, Oz, Cordy, and Wesley left next. "Xander, a word," Giles said.

I stayed. When the door closed behind Wesley, I turned to him, suddenly uneasy again. "So what's up, G-man? What did you want to talk to me about?"

Giles let out a long sigh and sat down on a chair. He gestured at the couch, and I sat down.

"Xander, how much do you know about your Immorality?"

"Everything Peter's told me," I answered. I didn't know what he was getting at, and waiting wasn't doing wonders for my nerves.

Giles took off his glasses and cleaned them on his shirt, the infamous signal of Giles' worry. This wasn't going to be pretty.

"I lied when I said I'd only vaguely heard about Immortals," the ex-Watcher admitted. "A good friend of mine was one, actually. I grew up with him in London. He was one of my closest friends."

I noticed all too well that he talked in the past tense.

"So what happened?" I asked, although I had a pretty good idea already.

"I went to the Watcher's Council Headquarters for training. I didn't see him for three years. When I did, I found him fighting with another Immortal behind a pub."

"He won, and then he saw me. He explained what he'd become and we became close friends again."

"More Immortals came over the next few years, but my friend was always better than them and won every time. Then, one day, we were on our way to his flat when he felt the Buzz. They fought in an empty parking lot while I watched."

"Nathan, my friend, won, but after the Quickening, he wasn't the same. He was…evil."

"Evil?" I asked, confused.

"The Quickening did something to him. He'd taken too many Quickenings already, and that one managed to take control of him. It changed his mannerisms and attitude." Quietly, he added, "He tried to kill me."

I sank back into the couch, shocked. Peter never mentioned anything like this. Too many Quickenings? Was it true? Giles' friend was Immortal for only a few more years than Xander. How many Quickenings did it take before you couldn't control them anymore?

"Can that happen to me?" I asked. I had to know.

"I don't know," Giles said.

"Is there a cure? How did Nathan get through it?"

"He didn't. I had to take his head before he could harm anyone else."

I sat for a minute, absorbing this. Then I met his eyes with resolve. "Giles, if that happens to me…"

Giles nodded. "I won't let you harm them."

I nodded my thanks, said goodnight, and left. The Quickening left me wired, but even if it hadn't, I didn't think I would get any sleep that night.

*****

I rolled onto my side for the fiftieth time and checked my clock. 3:00 am, and I didn't even feel sleepy. Note to self: have Quickenings in the mornings, when you aren't planning on sleeping for the next two days. Sigh. Yeah, that's an exaggeration. But if I can't avoid them, I might as well have them when I can work off all the energy before I try to get a decent night's sleep.

That wasn't the only reason why I was still up. I was still happy that Buffy hadn't tried to take my head. Sure, it looked like she would for a minute there, but it hadn't happened, and now we're buds again. And I can be a very useful member of our gang now. I didn't have to hide my skills anymore, and I didn't have to lie to them anymore, either. That made me really, really happy. I was so afraid they'd think I was like Faith, and then suddenly, my secret was out, but everything turned out okay.

I also kept thinking about what Giles told me. As much as I hated killing people, I knew there was no way around the Game unless I wanted to live on Holy Ground, which I didn't. So sooner or later, I could be the recipient of more Quickenings than my body could handle. It's a really scary thought. I didn't want any of them to get hurt if I got a Dark Quickening. I decided to tell the gang about it tomorrow, so they'd be ready for it.

I finally gave up trying to catch some sleep. I changed my clothes, slid my sword into my jacket, crept down the stairs and out the door. Maybe a short patrol would help work off some Quickening energy.

As I walked down my street, I thought about Mary. I could remember what her life had been like, but not in as much detail as before. If she hadn't been so obsessed with getting Bryan Costello's Quickening, we could have been friends, although I have this impression that she would have waited until I was a few decades older. Now that she was dead, I hoped she didn't have any friends. I didn't want to kill them, either.

That brought my thoughts back to the Dark Quickening. How much would it affect me? Would I do what Angel did after he turned evil? I hate not having the answers. I guess I should ask Giles, but I don't think it was a subject he felt comfortable talking about.

"Xander."

Instinctively, I pivoted and got ready for an attack. Angel stood only a few feet away.

"Angel." I dropped my guard, but only a little. We'd never gotten along even before I became Immortal, so it was almost second nature.

"Buffy filled me in. So you're Immortal now."

"Yep," I said and started walking again. He fell into step beside me. "Ever run into any of my kind before?"

"No, but I've heard of you," he replied.

"So?"

"So I think it's really scary that you're going to live forever."

"Well, I'm certainly not looking forward to seeing your face after a few hundred years. Make that somewhere over a thousand."

Angel smirked. "What are you still doing up? It's after three in the morning."

"Too wired," I answered. The walk was doing nothing. I needed some action. "I'm gonna head over to the Sunnydale Cemetery to try to work off some of this Quickening energy."

"I'll come with you." The offer was unexpected, since we weren't friends. When I gave him a look, he shrugged. "I've got nothing else to do."

We started walking again, and soon I realized he kept giving me guarded looks. "I don't have a Dark Quickening, Angel."

He blinked and looked away, embarrassed. "So Giles told you that too, huh?"

I nodded. "It's not a pleasant thought," I admitted. "I keep wondering if it'll be like when you became soulless."

"Look, Xander-" Angel said and stopped. I stopped and looked up at him. "I know what it's like to have evil inside, and how hard it is to maintain control. If that happens to you and you can't get control over it, I will do everything in my power to make sure you don't hurt anyone."

"Do whatever it takes," I told him. I ran a hand through my hair. "Now that that's covered, did Buffy tell you about Mary and what we plan to do tomorrow?"

He nodded. "Just don't loose your head. I'd hate to let anyone else take it but me." He started walking again.

I glared at his back, but started walking again, too.

*****

Buffy, Willow, and I entered Mary Damon's hotel room cautiously. I got the door opened easily using tricks Peter taught me. Buffy and Willow were surprised that my mentor hadn't just taught me swordplay.

"I'll look through her stuff," Willow volunteered. She went to the closet and started going through Mary's luggage. Buffy starting checking everywhere else for weapons or anything that would help them.

I walked over to the nightstand. "There's an answering machine," I announced.

Buffy walked over. "Play it."

I did. "Damon, this is Jerry. I just wanted to say that I'll be late tonight. Harris and his friends have decided to spend all night researching another demon, and I have to stay and record it all because the battle always comes next. Both you and the Watchers want to know what his skills are, although they'd never believe me if I said he was fighting demons and vampires and not Immortals. Anyway, see you later. I'll tell you everything that happens."

"The Watchers are helping her?" I asked, surprised.

"Sounds like it. But why would he say that they don't believe in demons?"

"I've found something!" Willow announced. She got up and walked over to them, holding a few papers. She showed us the first one. It was a printout of a profile. "Jerry Damon. This profile was taken from some sort of database. Look, here it says he's been a Watcher for five years. He's assigned to you, Xander, whatever that means."

"Go on," Buffy said.

Willow showed them the second paper. It had the same layout that the other printout had, but this one was about me. It said when my first death was, who my first head was, and who my mentor was. This was really unsettling. Someone had been watching me, and I didn't have a clue.

The last printout had a picture of an older man. His name was Joe Dawson. "He's been a Watcher since he got discharged from military service in Vietnam. He's been assigned to an Immortal named Duncan MacLeod. MacLeod disappeared a few months ago. Joe currently lives in Seacouver, but he's requesting an immediate transfer to Paris because he believes MacLeod will show up there."

"Giles never mentioned anything like this," Buffy said, worried. "I think it's time to have a talk with him and Wesley."

*****

"So, neither of you have ever heard of all this?" Buffy asked Giles. They, Willow, Oz, and I stood in Giles' living room. We'd opted to meet there because the window repairmen were in the library today, and we didn't want them to overhear our conversation.

Giles frowned and shook his head. "I admit that I don't know everything about the Council's hidden agendas, but I don't believe these people have anything to do with the Watcher's Council. The only thing we have in common, as far as I can tell, is our name."

"Willow, do you think you can find their database?" I asked, turning to her and Oz. They were hooking up her laptop on the table.

She shook her head. "It's very unlikely. I think we'd have better luck looking up Mr. Dawson."

"Giles?" Buffy asked, turning to her Watcher.

He took a seat on an armchair. "I think we should try to find where he lives in Seacouver. Then, if we need to, we can find him."

"You know what I think?" I asked them. "These guys have been keeping an eye on me ever since I became Immortal. They may watch other Immortals, too. I'd like to know why, and I'd like to know if we can trust them, and I want to do it on our turf."

"What, you mean, lure them to us?" Buffy asked. "Will that even work? They've already got a Watcher on you. Wouldn't he know we're pulling something?"

"What if we make them think he's done something wrong?" Oz suggested. "If they're a private organization, wouldn't they send one of their own to investigate that sort of thing?"

"He's falsifying his reports!" Willow said. "Remember that message? He said he couldn't tell the Watchers that Xander fought demons and vampires 'cause they'd never believe him. Who knows what else he's lied about?"

"So if we send a message to Dawson..." Buffy began.

"...we could hint that we know that he's done something wrong," I continued, "without letting them know who we are. Maybe we could record that message on Mary's answering machine and send it to him. Then they'll send someone down here. And since that printout says Dawson is the head of the North American branch of Watchers, they'll probably send him."