This can be taken as a continuation from Hurt. Or as a standalone. I could really care less.

Grateful

Xander sees Andrew being dragged out of the falling rubble ahead of him, but Anya isn't in sight. He has to stop, he has to find her. Had it not been for Dawn dragging him out, he probably would have stayed there, looking for her, and let the building collapse, burying them together.

He's grateful that she made him leave.

As Robin drives the bus away from the collapsing Hellmouth, Xander is vaguely aware that Anya isn't on the bus. Neither is Buffy. Neither are most of the girls they'd arrived with, most of who's names he couldn't remember.

He was grateful some had survived.

Faith tells Robin to ease off, cause they've cleared the blast wave. Once he stops, Xander can hear Dawn's voice screech 'Buffy!' and it isn't the screech of a girl who's just lost her sister, its that of a girl who's just found her. Buffy is standing just outside the back of the bus.

Xander is grateful she's alive.

Xander files off the bus with the girls, not think about whether or not he can remember their names if he tries hard enough. He waits at the doors for everyone to get off, because there's a face he needs to see.

He's grateful when Andrew steps off the bus, relatively unharmed.

He asks Andrew what he saw, if he saw what happened. Andrew is scared and tries to back out of Xander's touch, but Xander just holds on to him tighter. He needs to hear this.

He's grateful she died fighting.

Andrew doesn't understand how he lived, how so many others died and he was spared, when they deserved to live, and he didn't.

Xander's grateful that he's alive.

He pulls Andrew into a slow kiss. Andrew pulls away and says something about the girls and people seeing. There are tears in his eyes and he can't look and Xander. Xander tells him it doesn't matter, he doesn't care, then kisses him again.

He is grateful for the feeling he has when Andrew practically melts into his arms.

Oh my god! Something with an ending that can almost be considered happy! You never thought this day would come!

Don't worry, I'll probably be back to my standard angst soon.