Title: Solid Ground – Part 1 - Hurt

Author: Xanfan

Rating: NC-17

Pairing: eventually, X/A

Summary: SLASH - Xander is assaulted by his secret boyfriend and needs to get out of Sunnydale to heal. He and Tara go to L.A. to recover from their screwed up lives.

Spoilers: Up through most of season six of BtVS, goes AU at end of Entropy. Through season 4 of Angel, Okay, just pretty much anything from all seasons of both shows is fair game.

Warnings: SLASH M/M, violence, description of non-con.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

A/N: Anya broke up with Xander after "Once More with Feeling" He began another relationship not long after that. Buffy never told Tara why she wanted to know if she 'came back wrong', so Tara doesn't know about her and Spike. Tara doesn't die, because she isn't there to get back together with Willow. This takes place right after Xander & Buffy see Anya and Spike on video, courtesy of spy cams.

RING RING RING

Tara rolled over and blindly reached for her cell phone.

"Hello?" she said muzzily.

"Tara?" A familiar voice gasped quietly from the phone.

"Xander? What's wrong?" Tara asked worriedly. The pain and vagueness of Xander's voice waking her fully.

"T-T-T-Tara……I don't feel good……I think I'm bleeding."

"Xander? Are you hurt? What happened? Where are you bleeding from?" Tara asked, trying to keep Xander talking while she hurriedly pulled on her clothes with one arm.

"It hurts, Tara," Xander whispered vaguely.

Tara took a deep breath, and tried again.

"Xander, honey, where is the blood coming from?"

Tara heard a whimper of pain come through the phone and what sounded like a sob. She grabbed her bag and keys as she headed out of her dorm room. The room she had moved into when she left Willow.

"He hurt me," Xander whispered into the phone in disbelief.

"Who hurt you? How did he hurt you?" Tara whispered back as she made her way out of the dorm. She hoped he didn't mean who she thought he meant had hurt him and how she thought he had been 'hurt'.

Another sob and whimper came through the phone.

"I-I-I-I didn't w-want it. I-I-I-I said no. I screamed no," Xander struggled to say.

Tara's throat tightened, as did her grip on the phone.

"Xander? Are you at home? I'm coming to get you, okay?"

"Yeah, I'm at home. Thank you," Xander said before he hung up the phone.

As soon as Tara heard the phone disconnect she took a deep breath and forced the tears back. She would cry for Xander later, now she just needed to get to him.

Not long after Willow had introduced her to the Scooby Gang, Xander had made it a point to befriend her. Their Willow-based friendship had developed into a separate strong friendship that had continued to grow even after she had broken up with the red-haired witch.

Xander had always been gentle and non-threatening with her. He seemed to innately sense that she had issues with men, and took great care to show her nothing but kindness and love.

They had become very close. He was probably the closest friend she had ever had. Not even Willow had managed to get past her defenses like Xander could. They discovered that they had both had similar experiences growing up, and each hid themselves from the world in their own ways. Tara hid literally, peeking out from behind her extreme shyness and the curtain of her hair. Xander hid in plain sight, so to speak. His mask was a laughing-boy, goofy persona to hide his real self.

They had shared secrets and truths with each other that they had never shared with anyone else, not even Willow. They had come to love each other deeply. Not romantically, it just wasn't that way between them. Tara had come to realize that the people she shared a last name with knew nothing about what being a family was. Xander knew. For her, he had redefined the word. She believed that whatever happened, he would always be family to her.

She was the only one who knew that Xander had started seeing someone new not long after Anya had dumped him following the musical-inducing-demon fiasco. The relationship was kept secret from everyone but her. She knew that the relationship was with another guy, she didn't think this other man knew that she knew. She also knew who he was.

She'd known that he loved this individual with all his heart. She was pretty sure the feeling wasn't returned as enthusiastically as it was given.

She'd suspected that Xander's 'boyfriend' wasn't being honest with him and was possibly even cheating on him, but she hadn't had proof. She'd also wondered if the man even considered what he and Xander shared to be a relationship.

She had feared that Xander would end up hurt, but she hadn't imagined that the hurt would be physical as well as emotional.

Tara parked her car in front of Xander's apartment building and was out of the car and racing up to Xander's door in moments.

She knocked, then used the key Xander had given her in case of emergency to let herself into Xander's home.

She called his name, but received no response.

She followed the sound of running water to Xander's bathroom and found her best friend sitting on his shower floor, with his arms wrapped around his knees, which were pulled tightly to his chest. He was almost covered in scratches and hand shaped bruises. There were abrasions on his shoulders, where they had scraped repeatedly against something and his wrists were ringed with bruises, like he had been held down. The water flowing toward the drain only slightly diluted the blood that flowed with it. She knew that the obvious injuries were nowhere near the worst of what he'd suffered.

"Oh Xander," Tara exclaimed softly.

Xander lifted his head from its resting place on his knees and looked at her blearily.

"I hurt," Xander whispered, his voice barely audible above the sound of the shower.

"I know sweetie, let's get out of the shower, okay? We need to get you to the hospital; we need to make sure nothing's been ruptured," Tara said softly.

"I don't like hospitals," Xander said with a half-hearted pout.

"I know, but this is one of those times when you have to go, it can't be avoided. That nice doctor who usually treats us all is probably on shift right now, he knows better than to ask what happened. You have to get checked out, especially since you're still bleeding" Tara said, giving Xander her own version of 'resolve face'.

Xander sighed and nodded. He allowed Tara to help him stand and step out of the shower. She dried him off and found a pair of loose sweat pants, a t-shirt, and socks for him to put on. She took a blanket too, since he couldn't seem to stop shaking and she was afraid he might be in shock.

Xander managed, with Tara's help, to get himself dressed and out the door of his apartment and into her car. She tucked the blanket she had grabbed around him after making sure he was buckled in. She was driving towards the hospital before Xander spoke again.

"They're gonna ask me what happened," Xander whispered.

Tara nodded, "Maybe we can say something about people with bumpy foreheads, that usually makes people forget to ask anymore questions."

Xander smiled a bit through his shock, but the smile quickly faltered, "It's not like I can exactly tell them that the man I l-love r-r-r…."

Tara reached over and gently squeezed his hand, "You don't have to tell them anything if you don't want to. You don't have to tell them who or what did this to you."

Xander bowed his head and whispered, "You know who…..hurt me, don't you?"

"I have my suspicions," Tara said quietly.

Xander couldn't meet her eyes.

"Xander, was it Spike?"

Xander looked at her, the first time he'd made real eye contact since the phone call. The brown eyes that she was used to seeing glow with laughter and love were dulled by pain and fear.

"I t-told h-him no," he whispered.