Xander's Workshop, MCA Roof, Early Sunday Evening

[needsaparrot]

It'd been one of those weekends. If by that you mean "those weekends you dream about and then wake up promising yourself never to touch runny cheese at a college mixer ever, ever again."

Still, he had a guest, of sorts, and he might as well show her that he did something besides Apartment Managing, without showing her the other thing he did besides Apartment Managing. Which was why they were currently in the elevator heading for the roof of the building.
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[OOC: for the parental unit! B-word-person also welcome laterwards, if desired.]

Comments

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"Awwwww." Jessica patted his cheek-- the one without the eyepatch, of course, and smiled at him through the sniffling. "That's good. That's really good." She sighed, nodding. "I hope you're right. I really do."

[needsaparrot]

Xander sort of felt like he should bristle at the doubt there, but he didn't really have the energy, and the fact that it seemed like she meant it, and not in a backhanded way, threw him enough to keep his reaction to a simple, "Thanks." Well, no, not simple at all. Just short.

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

Jessica bit her lip, then said, "There's just one-- naah, forget it. You're happy. You don't have to be anything else, right? You have a good job. You have something you like to do. And Bridge, who's a good kid. Nothing else matters, right?" She's saying it to remind herself of that. If she's got any other disappointments with Xander, that's not something he has to fix.

[needsaparrot]

He was something else, but again with the not getting into the whole Scooby-Watcher-Slayerhelper thing. Not today, anyway. So there's this girl and she kills vampires and by the way so does Buffy and yesterday when we were out slaying weeds I got to watch Dawn turn Mel's brother to dust so he wouldn't eat her...

"What else is supposed to matter, Ma?"

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

Jessica twisted her hands together, not wanting to push, and he's got the eye-thing, and... but if there's even a little chance....

"You think, maybe, in a few years, Willow would be okay with doing that surrogate thing for you guys?" she blurted out. "Maybe? I mean, I don't want grandkids now, I'm only forty-four--" Forty-eight. "--but, I kinda hoped, and maybe Tony, maybe he wouldn't mind so much, if..."

[needsaparrot]

"I don't really give a flying frak what he minds," Xander answered, this time not cutting off the bristle, though it wasn't directly at her.

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"Don't be like that. He's your father." Jessica frowned, then looked down at her hands, trying not to cry again. And muttered very quietly, "Even if he is an asshole."

[needsaparrot]

"Don't need reminding, trust me." Of either. Xander sighed and ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it down over the eyepatch strap.

"I don't know about Willow," he said finally. And... there were pictures. He'd even shown them to Bridge's parents, but Bridge's parents got the time-travel thing and were, well. Bridge's parents. There were a million reasons not to mention Bronwyn to his mom, enough so that he didn't have to look too close at which one was steering his answer. "But yeah. We've talked about it."

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

"Yeah?" Wiping the last tears from her eyes with her fingers, Jessica gave him a hopeful look. "Really? That's good! Yeah." She sniffed back a few more tears, looking around the workshop. "This is all really good." Except for his eye, no, don't think about that again, not 'til later, right. She bit her lower lip hard to keep herself from crying again, and gave Xander a shaky smile. "You've done real well for yourself. Better than T-- some people."

[needsaparrot]

If he believed more than half of what she was saying wasn't about taking something home to needle his dad over, Xander would... what? Stop acting like he was trying to prove just exactly how different from Tony he wasn't, when it came to being an ass?

"Thanks," he said again, but this time he reached out to hug her. "It means a lot that you think so."

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

Surprised, Jessica hugged him back, thrilled but hoping it didn't show. Ages since he'd done that. She hugged as hard as she could, maybe to make up for all the stuff about her kid that she Just Didn't Get. Maybe never would. When it finally broke, she smiled at Xander, and said, her voice only a little shaky, "You're a good kid. You know that?"

[needsaparrot]

He did. Sometimes. Xander couldn't remember the last time he'd heard either of his parents say so, though. "You only say that because I haven't sent you my therapy bill yet," he answered breezily, pretending his throat wasn't unexpectedly tight.

[takemyfamilyplz.livejournal.com]

Jessica laughed and rubbed at her eyes, then patted him on the shoulder again, before saying, "And don't forget the haircut. You'd look so professional. Match your job, and all this stuff." The smile didn't dim, though. Somebody might think she was proud of him, if they were looking for it.