Merely a Possession

by
T J Goldstein

Part 4
Road to Recovery 2

Wolfram and Hart

     The agonised screaming filled the small office. Brilliant sprays of blood flew in every direction. The victim, twitching and jerking as much as his ravaged body would allow him. A snapping and snarling demon paused to survey its handiwork. Obviously pleased, it worked on the finishing touches to the abused body. Finally it was over, the demon sated and content, left the scene of his desicration. The dead boys image lit up the small screen for a minute more until Angel turned off the video.

     Swivelling his chair so that he faced away from the fuzzy tv screen, Angel now knew just why Kate had been sick. The detective had one of the strongest stomachs for a human that he had ever come across, something that helped with her job but even he was feeling a little queasy after watching the video. The brunette vampire found himself wanting to hunt down and kill the demon responsible. He was going to get Wesley to identify the culprit, he was sure there would have been a bragging session after such a torture. There was no way the younger human was going to see the whole thing, just enough so that he could get a good view of the demon.

     The main problem was getting Cordelia to identify the dead boy. There were a good few minutes footage that concentrated mainly on his face, unfortunately he was screaming and begging at the time. With a shake of his head, Angel was thankful the video had been shot almost a year before Xander had disappeared. The boy, David, was obviously from Sunnydale. The silver jewellry was a certain give away. What it was with males from Sunnydale, no one really knew just yet. He briefly wondered if there were any females from the town in the same situation as Xander and the rest of the boys had been found in. With a snort, he scowled when he realised that of course, there would be females in the same situation.

     With all the unexplained disappearances in Sunnydale, when ever anyone went missing, it was almost always taken in ones stride. It happened, life goes on, would you like fries with that? Xander had been damned lucky that he belonged to the Slayer´s group of friends. One of the few reasons none of them had given up looking for him, was that if he had been killed or hurt by a demon, there would have been an immediate bragging session to all and sundry. Who would be able to resist taunting the blonde dynamo with news of one of her friends being killed. Evil humans just hadn't come into the equation. Who would have thought that with all the demon and supernatural activity on the Hellmouth, that it had taken a group of humans to throw a spanner in the works.

     Angel sighed at the thought of just how much 'trauma' pay he was going to have to dole out to his favourite secretary. Maybe he should offer to babysit Christopher while he sent both Doyle and Cordelia out for a night alone together. Dinner, a movie and stroll through the park. Actually, he wouldn't mind doing it with Wesley. God, anything for a holiday. The brooding male wanted to spend some time with Wesley, not having sex but just sitting close enough to brush hands or have his thigh bask in the heat Wesley usually threw off without having to worry about how their closeness might upset one of the former prostitutes.

     Chair turned around again, he leant over and turned off the tv. Angel turned his attention from his lover back to the tape labled 'David'. It had been a horrifying way to die. What the tapes purpose was, he had no idea but suspected that it might have been used as some sort of threat to keep the boys soft and pliable. He really didn't want to ask Xander if he had seen the tape but David´s promises of he would smile more was probably the reason all the prostitutes always had a smile plastered over their faces. Would pretty much convince him too thought Angel.

     Rubbing one hand across his eyes, he was unsure of what to do. A groan saw him realise that there was very likely no demon in L.A. who would remember the torture being bragged about. Fuck! Another lead dead. Angel was frustrated beyond belief. The Scooby gang and the L.A. team had been pleased when it was found out that there were kidnappings twice a year in Sunnydale. However, it soon turned sour when it had been discovered that it occured on two of the loudest nights of the year. New Years Eve and the Fourth of July. Both nights every where in America were usually filled with parties and drunken hooligans, who was going to notice someone getting kidnapped? Even if someone did see it happen, they would probably put it down to some stupid pranks being played by teenagers. It also meant that the auctions each boy had mentioned, were held at least twice a year as well.

     As much as the boys had been able to tell the vampire, all participants in the auction had been human. Wesley suspected that demons of any kind weren't allowed to attend and had already offered to go to one, posing as a buyer, if one was able to be found on time. The brunette wanted Wesley as far away from such things as possible, knowing that the ex-watcher could very likely become a sale item himself. Doyle's attempts at trying to go along with the idea of backing Wesley up at an auction had been shot down before even two sentences had been finished. Cordelia had been almost feral in getting the point across that he would fetch a pretty price himself with the Seer abilities. Angel had never seen the half demon fall so silent as the full truth of the statement came crashing into him.

     The best idea so far, was to glamour Gunn, Wesley, Angel, Giles and even Riley and Graham into attractive teenagers in the hopes of gaining the kidnappers attention on the next expedition. Unfortunately the friends had missed the last due date, the fourth of July by only a few days. The next date would be on New Years Eve. They had everything pretty much planned. The glamoured men would have a tracker placed on their bodies, Riley and Graham actually suggesting an implanted one. Hopefully the kidnappers would take one as bait, the others being picked up once the bait was taken. The one who had been taken would be tracked by remote survellance. That meant Buffy and everyone else could descend upon the resting place like a ton of bricks, hopefully getting to kick some arse while breaking up the whore ring for good.

     Another idea was something that was a bit more difficult. Doyle had compromised his wanting to help with the baiting by coming up with a suggestion of trying to get accepted into an auction. When that idea had been shot down by a clearly upset Cordelia, he had offered to put the word out on the street that he wanted a human for pleasure purposes only. The rumour had been started a few weeks ago and so far no takers with it but the L.A. group were hoping that one of the bidders from the auctions would come forward with the offer to act as an agent for the half demon, leading to the bigger players.

     Unable to help himself, Angel felt another brood slip into place as he wondered just what the right thing to do was. Should he risk upsetting Xander by mentioning the video? How much screeching ex-cheerleader would he be able to cope with for an afternoon? How expensive was a suite at the Royal Haven Hotel for one night? He wanted Wesley to get some proper sleep, the high strung man was letting Christopher´s crying and screaming get to him at night. Angel himself really didn't hear anything once he was out for the night, he had always been a heavy sleeper, pretty much unable to wake in the middle of an earthquake or cyclone. Neither of them knew how Cordelia and Doyle had lasted this long with the erratic sleeping habits of the small boy. Damn, he was a man, not a small boy.

     The brunette vampire had just about given up trying to talk to the boy like he was 30 years old, it was just easier to go with the flow. Less crying and not much cheek was given if they all went with the denial, Spike being the only one unwilling to do so. His head lifted out of his hands at the sound of his name being called, he absently reminded himself to talk to his Childe about what Barbara Neal had offered the blond. A sigh at yet another screech from Cordelia and the vampire knew a hard day was just about to begin.

     Cursing Barbara Neals name, Randall wanted her blood on his hands. How dare she tell Scott and Christopher that they were now allowed to express their emotions. He had been content to let the old woman continue to talk to them but after that little pearl from the withered lips of the therapist, something was going to have to be done.

     Randall didn't want for his boys to become too free with their emotions again, it would just make retraining them all the harder. God only knew just how long it was going to take him to get them readjusted back into their jobs, and he didn't want stupid ideas to make it all the harder. The therapist in Sunnydale was just as bad, telling Mathew and Andrew that they were now free from any obligations to please their former captor.

     Captor. It was a word that made Randall seethe, he wasn't their fucking captor, he was their rightful owner. The one who was worse than them both put together was the Slayer´s Watcher, whatever that was, Rupert Giles. If the former brothel owner had his way, the store keeper would be the first to go, and painfully at that. The moron was actually trying to get both Mathew and Andrew to feel fear whenever a demon approached them. The only good thing was that their training was strong and they were holding out nicely. Thankfully, the renovations had already started on the shell of what would soon become Sanity. Lindsey had already promised him that things would be taken care of and so far it was going along nicely.

     The two therapists and the other older man were going to have to go before the new place was even half finished. In a snap decision, Randall wanted to get the boys out of their places as soon as possible so that the re-training could begin. He wondered if he could put the word out so that he could start to recoup on his losses by getting a few regulars to visit the new holding cells while Sanity was being built, prices lowered of course.

     With a firm grip around the telephone receiver, he dialed Wolfram and Hart, reminding himself to thank Tomas for teaching him the spell that enabled him to see and hear any of the boys whenever he wanted. Hearing the line connect, he decided to play with the big boys and asked to be put through to Holland.

     August 5, 2004

     She rolled over onto her right side, deep into a dream of a far-away land. Billowing white clouds slowly drifted across a deep blue sky, gently masking the tops of snow covered mountains. Rich fertile land was covered with lush vegetation, providing both cover and nourishment for the numerous species that relied upon the forest for survival. Smiling at the beautiful sight, Barbara Neal snuggled further into her bedcovers, unconciously trying to get away from the crisp cool air that dominated her dreams.

     Such a lovely idea, a holiday. Bushwalking, canoeing, even just wandering around aimlessly would be nice. Be good to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Just forget about everyone else´s troubles for a few weeks. Somewhere in the country, another state would be better, no one could disturb her if she was a few days drive away. With a snort and a half snuffle, the greying woman moved her legs into a more pleasing position as she dreamt of climbing one of the snowcapped peaks. God, if only to stand still for just one moment, nothing to harrass her for even a second. Another snort and the therapist started to wave goodbye to the quiet countryside as she left the world of R.E.M.

     BEEP, BEEP, BEEP, BE....

     A moan drifted through the messy bedroom as Barbara wearily lifted a hand to turn off the persistant alarm beside her bed. Momentarily stunned that it was already time to wake up, she double checked with her watch that it really was 8.30am. For the last 2 weeks, she had been sleeping more and more but it seemed like it was never enough. Maybe she was just getting burnt out and needed some rest. All her dreams lately were of exotic locations far away from L.A. Her dream last night had been filled with crumbling stone temples and long balmy nights. The lure of Bali and evenings filled with outlandish cocktails was beginning to wear her down although going rockclimbing in New Zealand was equally appealing.

     Bed covers thrown back, she sat up and swung her feet down onto the polished floor boards. An dry hand ran through knotted hair as the older woman contemplated a week of nothing but massages, spas and facials. A holiday, hmmmm? Yes..yes. She was going to do it. Where though? No matter, she would just have to go out during lunch and pick up some brochures. Something overseas was sounding really good, maybe a cruise around Fiji, The Isle of Pines and Tonga would do the trick?

     Thankfully it wouldn't be that hard to re-shuffle her patients. She had taken no one new since Christopher and Xander so it wouldn't be like she was angsting out anyone just starting therapy. She would send Xander down to Father Scheider for the time she was going to be away, that way he could still receive some sort of therapy. The change of scenery would be good for him as well. Christopher might as well just stay at the Hyperion for all the good her sessions were doing. The man was hellbent on ignoring his years at the brothel and just enjoying his time morphed as a child, not that Barbara could blame him.

     Stretching and popping her tired body, she scratched at her backside, pulling out the wedgie her pajama bottoms had decided to grace her with. Actually, she should get all the boys to visit the Christian order. Robin might still be a problem but knowing that all the other boys were going as well might just be the incentive the youth needed to step out into open air again. She would have to talk with Father Scheider, Mr Giles and the other therapist, Mr Hunt. Barbara was sure that they would agree to it, even if they didn't, she would still send Xander to the order with his support person. How a vampire was going to cope being in holy grounds, she didn't really know but something would be figured out. It would have to be, she was going to go on holidays for 21 days in just over 2 weeks.

     She just wanted to run away from everything right now but she knew that everything had to be sorted out in L.A. before she could do that. Where she was going to go was really the most important question at the moment. Taking a few steps towards the bedroom door, the still sleepy woman didn't notice the dissipating mauve vapour swirling around underneath her bed. The same mist that had visited her each night for the last two weeks.

     25 August 2004.

     It was the bloody silence that first warned me that something was wrong. None of that bloody bints screeching, Wankley wasn't wafting around trying to impress Broody Bastard with his knowledge, I couldn't hear him prattling on. My Sire was in a mood, that went without even saying. I could feel the intense brood all the way up to the recently renovated library on the first floor. The itch started right around in my nape, and slowly crept its way down my spine, welling in the space just above my arse. Something was really wrong, and I wanted to know right there and then.

     So, with a quick glance at the sleeping whelp, I carefully got up from the edge of the sofa he had fallen asleep on, hoping that he would be alright for a few minutes. I figured that he would be right for about ten minutes in between nightmares. Enough time to find out what was causing this itch and to grab a beer and mug of blood. Down the steps I went, into the deep silence of the lobby. I could smell salt tainting the air, the closer I got to the foyer. Tears and unhappiness reigned the darkness.

     It didn't feel right to holler out a question of what was going on. I can't explain it, it just wasn't right. The itch was getting worse and with a hand shoved down the back of my pants for once, I both scratched and walked to the counter. Peering over the edge, I saw the Mincing Poof, Screams Like Woman and Slag sitting in complete silence. Nothing, no fuck off Spike or why did you leave Xander alone, nothing. Where the half breed was, I had no idea. With a another scratch and a few sniffs of the air, I could smell that the bint was crying. Why? I just had to ask, so I did. The answer I got was a surprise.

     Car accident.

     Drink driving.

     Dead on arrival at the hospital.

     Giles.

     Fuck! The last person I ever expected to go out with a bang, literally. I always thought that he would be the last of the Scraggy Gang to go. Him just huddled over immense piles of mouldy books until he withered away into dust. How Cunty was going to cope with her lifeline gone, I don't know. Didn't even feel a smile come up with that thought. Just started worrying about how I was going to tell the boy that his 'father figure' was gone. Hell only knows that he didn't have another one to lean on. His birth father had carked it only about a year after he had disappeared, his dumb fuck of a mother had followed about six months after. Both useless alcoholics. Whelp´s better off without them anyway.

     He hasn't even asked about where they are, I think he knows somehow. Probably been expecting it for years now. Never heard of them mistreating the boy but who the hell gives a shit now? Never liked the Watcher. Always in my way and a right fucking prude. No fun to be around except for the time at Eternal. Gives a great handjob, shame I never really took the chance to get up his arse about it. They say that whenever someone dies, you always have one regret that leaps out at you. Well, that is mine, not ragging on him for his 'handy' skills.

     What doesn't surprise me though is the drink-driving. Everyone knew that he liked more than the odd tipple, more like a quarter bottle of whatever was handy each night. Grew to more than a half bottle when the boy disappeared. Wow, he really is gone! Stupid prick, didn't even bother to come and visit Harris since the other boys went back to Sunnyhell. Too fucking ashamed of the way he acted all woman like in the sodding brothel. Moron. Too late for regrets now, just have to wait until the whelp dons his own pair of white wings and goes upstairs for that son/father bonding chat they never got to have. After all that boy has been through, there is no fucking way he isn't going upstairs, all the sodding Scooby gang is going to meet up there.

     Me? Straight into the depths of hell, might just have to mix it up a little and have a bit of fun. Angel? Who the hell cares? Probably get marooned on an island with Benny Hill and the old bald guy he was always slapping on the head. Hope he gets to listen to the fucking theme for all eternity. Only thing that put me off the show was that effing theme music, used to watch it without sound. Good bloody show too.

     Just turned around, didn't comment, didn't say a word. No one was in form for a slanging match anyway. Would rather leave the barbs until either Skank or Prickface are able to answer back, more fun that way. Climbed the stairs again and sat back down on the new dark blue sofa that had arrived that morning. Whelp was still asleep, dark hair flopping across his eyes in a tangled mess. Gonna be a hard blow for the boy, Fat Barb is away on a sodding holiday. Burnt out apparantly. Too much fucking money, I reckon. Bloody cow is on a cruise around the Fiji Islands. How the hell are we supposed to contact her when the kid has a mental?

     So, here I am. Sitting on the couch, itching my arms while I try to work out a way of how to tell Xander that one of the most important people in his life is gone. I think that I will get Francis to tell him while I'm nearby to help if needed. I don't know whether he is going to cry or just shrug it off like he did with the other kids dying, Theo. It's gonna hit him one day and bloody hard. It was easier looking after Dru. Hard fuck, few slaps and/or torture, new hairstyle or doll and it was alright again until the next time something set her off. Whelp is still trying it on with me. Crafty little bugger too. Jumped into the shower with me one morning, told me it was an apology for punching at me the day after his big crying fit. He told me all this as he slid down to his knees, all ready to take me into his mouth.

     Would have let him do it too if the smile had reached his eyes. Poor bastard was scared shitless that he had displeased me. Had me stumped for a minute. Got him to promise me that he would start wearing splippers around the hotel instead of barefeet. First slippers, going on to runners and then soft ankled boots and finally, Doc Martins. Boy was a bit confused about the promise but at least it got him out of thinking that he had to make it up to me. I had to hold my laughter until he left the bathroom, boy has to get used to shoes if we are going to a mall or the supermarket. Gotta get the whelp into a decent pair of Docs before the useless actress that plays at secretary tries to improve his wardrobe again. She's never going to know this but some of the stuff she has gotten Harris is actually pretty good. There is this one long sleeved v-neck light knit jumper that Xander is yet to wear and I have to admit that I really want it myself. If the boy wasn't a few sizes bigger than me, I would bloody steal it, be buggered if I ask her Bitchiness where she got it.

     Damn! Now the inside of my elbows are getting itchy. Jesus, is that a sodding rash? What the hell have I got? Wonder if there is any calamine lotion in the Ballerinas medicine chest? Looks like the boy is stirring, might just put him to bed and get the half breed to tell him tomorrow morning. Still have to ask him about that tape of David. Poof got me to watch it and if I'm right and the whelp has seen it, then that explains a hell of a lot of his problems. Actually it isn't David, it´s some kid called Jonathan. Bint cried all night when she identified him, turns out all the Scoobies had gone to school with him. Nasty way to go and that thing with the jaw, sheer brilliance. Loved it all. Mr 'I have no personality' Angelus got all shirty with me for liking it. I'm a bloody demon, of course I'm going to like it.

     Boy's awake now, still a bit sleepy. I don't know what to say. I suppose honesty is the best way to go. Haven't lied to him since the day I saw him again in the brothel and I don't think that I will again. Don't know why, just doesn't feel right.

     28 August 2004,

     With a glance at the brunette seated beside him, Spike drew the car up to the kerb, throwing the gear stick into park. Sitting quietly for a few minutes, the vampire waited for the youth to make some sort of sign that he recognised he was back in Sunnydale. It had take almost seven hours to drive the usual three hour distance from L.A. to Sunnydale and the blond was exhausted. Twice he had turned around and had been almost back at the Hyperion and both times he had given in to the screams of frustration from Xander. It was actually upsetting the vampire that the youth wanted to go to the funeral but the closer he got to Sunnydale, the more terrified he became.

     Spike had steeled himself completly the third time the youth had gotten hysterical, ignoring the shuddering gasps and streaming tears, continuing to drive to Sunnydale for the ex-watchers funeral the next afternoon. Once past the welcoming sign to the town, Xander had stopped crying, just gasping and shaking while staring straight ahead. They were parked outside Joyce's house, the slayers mother had indicated that she would more than welcome them both. Spike really didn't mind the older woman, she had been about the only one who had listened to him about Drusilla and it wouldn't hurt the whelp to stay with a friend rather than in a motel.

     Another minute of sitting in a car that reeked of cigarette smoke and terror, Spike wound up the window and opened the door. Back door open, he got out both his and the youth's bags, walking to the passenger door, he opened the door. Taking a good look at the brunette, the vampire gently prodded at the still shaking form.

     "Come on pet, time to get out and get some sleep. You did good, we're here."

     Xander blinked furiously, turning his head to look at the vampire crouched down beside him. With a hard swallow, the youth hesitantly got out of the car and followed the blond to the front door. A few raps on the door saw a sleepy Joyce let them into the quiet house.

     "Good to see you again Xander, Spike. Are you two alright? Do you want anything to eat or drink? I made sure that I have some of your usual Spike, just help yourself and that goes for you too Xander, ok?"

     Answering the questions, Spike was slightly amazed that his invitation into the house had never been removed. He asked Joyce which rooms they were in, Spike in Buffy's old room and Xander just next door in the guest bedroom. Unable to supress a snicker of amusment at how the Slayer would chuck a hissy fit to know that he was sleeping in her old room, the vampire made a decision to wank off in the room just to spite the bitch. Thankfully the human woman was occupied trying to get an answer out of Xander of if he would like some hot chocolate. The vampire quickly shook his head at Joyce, the kid hated chocolate and sweet things since being rescued from the brothel. A nudge to a still silent Xander and they both climbed the stairs into their allocated bedrooms for the night.

     "Right Xan, your room, your bag. Go to sleep and I'll see you in the morning."

     Hopefully the whelp would be too emotionally drained to have any nightmares, which had gotten worse since he had been told about Giles. The boy had started to scream in his nightmares, not unlike Christopher. Seeing Xander disappear into his room, Spike waited just outside the doorway until he felt the heartbeat calm down and the smell of fear dissipate. Spike dumped his bag on the bed in his own room and thumped back down the stairs, glancing in at the whelp before continuing to the kitchen. Xander might not want a chocolate but he did, Joyce had made him a few while he had prattled on about Drusilla and he had loved each one. He figured he had about an hour tops before Xander started to twitch in his sleep, indicating a beginning nightmare, providing he went to sleep straightaway. The woman was probably already making him one. Bloody better have those mini marshmellows was the thought as he clumped into the kitchen. Sure enough, Joyce was just adding a handful of green, pink and white fluffy sugar balls to the divine smelling liquid.

     "Here you go Spike. I knew that you would want one. How's Xander?"

     "Don't know actually. Cried for about two hours after the half breed told him about Crusty. I don't think he has really made the connection though, I mean, he cried but he sort of shrugged it off like he did when that Theo whelp carked it."

     Taking a sip from the steaming mug, Spike followed Joyce back into the dimly lit living room, listening as she told him that Xander's room had a small lamp that could be left on all night and that she had stocked up on fruit and had placed a pitcher of water to cool in the fridge. With a nod, Spike reminded himself to take a glass of water up to Xander's room before going to sleep himself, Xander tending to get angsty if there wasn't a glass of water anywhere near him at all times.

     "I didn't think you were coming, the others arrived hours ago, I was getting a bit worried."

     "Boy got anxious about coming back to Sunnyhell. Had to turn back twice. Stupid fucking therapist is away, whelp was meant to go for a visit to that Christian thing for a few days. Was meant to go yesterday but the funeral sort of took care of that, you know?"

     A nod saw Joyce agree with the vampire. Despite what Buffy had always said about Spike, she saw things in the male that a lot of other people would miss. Him talking to her, albeit drunkenly, about Drusilla had made her see that he would lay down his unlife without question for whoever had his full attention at that particular point in time. It obviously took a lot to get his attention but she thought that Xander was blessed to have the vampire looking out for him. Her daughter had ranted and raved for days about what Cordelia had told her about Spike being appointed Xander's 'transition back to society support person' but even after listening to Buffy, she couldn't agree that the vampire would end up hurting Xander. Buffy had never listened to an almost weeping drunk blond in the middle of the night but Joyce had and had sympathised over his situation.

     He could be a right arsehole sometimes, the meetings about Xander had proved that and she had been just about to stake him herself at one point. How ironic that he was now taking care of someone he had repeatedly ridiculed.

     "Generally though, I mean, how is he? The nightmares still going on?"

     "Yep. Regular like clockwork, every night without fail. Gotten worse since the watcher died too. Screams a bit."

     "Oh god! The poor boy. How are you coping with it all? Can't be easy on you?"

     Spike shrugged at Joyce. She was right, it wasn't easy with the nightmares but who the hell else was going to do it? In some ways the boy was easier to look after than Drusilla, at least he didn't have to worry about Xander dusting himself in an effort to see if there really was a smiley face in the sun like all the children's books indicated or trying to christin dolls with real holy water. It was harder to get the whelp to socialise and some days it was damn near impossible to get a sentence out of him. The vampire was more worried about leaving the boy alone in the presence of other males, he had caught Xander sidling up to both Doyle and Angel on more than one occasion in the past few weeks and if the blond hadn't interrupted straight away, he was sure that the brunette would have been undressed in about two minutes flat. He wished he could at least talk to Fat Barb about it, the boy wasn't getting aggressive, he was getting slutty.

     Xander hadn't gotten too far with Angel, the older vampire pretty much frozen in horror at the boy's crude suggestions, leaving the library immediately as he saw Spike come in. The broody vampire was now not letting himself get caught alone in a room with the boy, not wanting to give him any type of encouragement at all. The half Bracchen was another story, he was pretty naive when it came to male come-ones and Spike had stumbled upon them in the middle of a hug. Totally innocent until he noticed Xander's hand slowly going to cup Doyles crotch. A loud cough and snarl had broken that one up, the blond not saying anything about Doyle explaining that Xander had been feeling a little upset and had wanted a hug. He hadn't needed to, the half demon had gone pretty quiet when he realised just what he had said. Doyle was now taking Angel's lead and trying not to be alone with the youth. Xander was yet to acknowledge what the two other men were doing. Wesley was the only one who was yet to be hit on but Spike didn't think he would be due to the fact the other man was a full human.

     The vampire was brushing off numerous suggestions and touches himself. He had hoped that the scene in the shower would be the last but unfortunately it wasn't. It was annoying the blond immensly, Spike was hard the instant the boy looked at him shyly before ducking his head and the light brushings against his crotch and backside were driving him to masturbate more than often. Normally he would just take advantage of the situation and shag the brat senseless but he knew that it wouldn't be the best thing for Xander in the long run. It was weird, he finding himself almost following the brunette around the Hyperion, something he had only done with Drusilla. He just *had* to be near the youth, not neccessarily in the same room but close enough to hear and smell the whelp whenever he wanted. More recently his dreams of Drusilla had slowed down, being replaced by ones that featured Xander doing ordinary everyday things.

     Spike was jerked out of his thoughts by the Slayer's mother taking his empty mug from his hand, Joyce telling him to go to bed himself. Nodding at the suggestion, he turned an ear towards the stairs, listening for any noise that indicated a nightmare for the youth. Maybe Xander would sleep all the way through that night. The funeral was in the late afternoon, Buffy making all the arrangements. Anya and Gunn were hosting the wake in the Magic Box after the funeral. In the kitchen, he poured a large glass of water to place in the spare bedroom. During the first weeks of being freed from the brothel, all the boys had downed water like it was going out of fashion. Xander had hinted at being thirsty while at Eternal, sometimes carrying a glass of water with him wherever he went in the hotel. Something that he would probably never grow out of, pretty much like the body lotion ritual after each shower the boy had going.

     Making sure all the lights were off downstairs, the blond climbed the stairs. Just outside the whelp's bedroom, he listened at the steady heartbeat, waiting to see if there were any signs of a nightmare before entering the softly lit bedroom and placing the glass on the dresser that held the lamp. The boy wasn't asleep but he wasn't far from it either.

     "S.s..spike?"

     "Yeah, what?"

     "I'm s.sorry about b.b.b.before."

     "Don't worry Pet. We're here and that's the main thing. You want anything?"

     "N.no th.thanks."

     Seeing the blond turn to leave, Xander called the vampire back before he disappeared from view and into his own room.

     "S.spike?"

     "What now?"

     "Giles, he..he really is g.g.gone isn't he?"

     With a sniff, Spike could smell the tears that were threatening to emerge. Sighing, he sat himself down on the comfy bed and looked down at the sleepy eyed brunette. Honesty, that was the only way to go. It was a good sign, he hoped, that the youth was asking about the deceased man.

"Yeah Whelp, he really is gone."

     A pale hand reached out to stroke at the thick dark mass of hair. Slowly, Spike smoothed the silky strands from the forehead, hoping that the youth wouldn't use this as an opportunity to start something. Another sniff and he smelt that doing anything like that was probably the last thing on the boys mind, unhappiness tainting the air of the room. He watched as the first of the tears slid their way down the tanned cheeks, the male's breath starting hitch.

     "Are y.y.you going to th.the funeral?"

     "Funerals are more for family and friends. Lets face it, I'm bloody well neither. I'll be going to the party afterwards though, you know at Prune Faces shop."

     A snort and sniffle later, Xander asked what the vampire had thought of the older watcher. Looking intently at the suprised blue eyes, he was comforted by the almost rhythmic pattern of the cool hand on his brow. It was nice, he couldn't ever remember anyone but his mother doing it.

     "Well, I didn't like the prudey sod. Hated him, always in my way and telling Bunney how to kill perfectly reasonable demons. Doesn't mean that I didn't respect the man for being able to do a job that most people would crumble under. Actually, probably a good thing he was Cunty's watcher. Can you imagine what a complete fuckwit the bint would have turned out like if Old Dusty hadn't been around with his stiff upper lip?"

     Seeing the boy choke a bit on his few chuckles, the vampire allowed a smirk to adorn his face while he continued with his thoughts of the dead man. Whelp didn't laugh often, nice to see and hear. Still he stroked at the thick hair, pleased that he was allowed to do it even while feeling slightly bitter that it wasn't Dru lying in the bed allowing only him to soothe her fears and provide her with the comfort she was needing.

     "Girl would have had to have been classed as retarded if Giles hadn't gotten her past the 'see Dick run' books. Too smart for his own good at times, he was."

     "It was him that got everything organised to find you. Put up the flyers, got the notices in the paper. Annoyed the cops each month to see if you had been located. He never stopped looking for you Xander. You were very important to him'

     Spike had no idea why he was telling the crying youth that but he was. So far, no one had broached the subject of how he had been found or what the Scooby gang had done when they had found out he was missing, all prefering to wait until Barbara Neal indicated that it was time to tell all. Xander's tears were at full force, the chuckling gone to be replaced by heaving sobs.

     "R..really? He l..looked for m.m.me?"

     "For fucks sake! Of course he bloody did. What, did you honestly think that no one was looking for you?"

     "Yes"

     Skin crawling, Spike halted his petting at the barely whispered word. Bloody hell, the whelp was serious. The pain radiating out of the dark eyes was amazing, the youth was almost screaming the emotion of misery into the softly lit room. With quick shake of his head, the vampire resumed the stroking of Xander's hair. He asked the youth why.

     "No one c..c.came for s.so long. I p.prayed at first l.like I was taught in S.s.sunday School b..but it g.got to be just w.w.words after a while. I..I stopped believing that someone w.was going to c.c.come."

     "Yeah, but we found you, didn't we?"

     Nodding, Xander hiccuped while he tried to gather his thoughts. He was tired but he felt unable to go to sleep although the stroking was soothing to him. Silence set in, the brunette staring at the open doorway, his mind on things other than the funeral that afternoon. Spike waited for the boy to say more, he was sure that even with all the visits to the therapist, Xander had just let loose with more information than he had probably given Fat Barb.

     "Was h.he ashamed of m.m.me?"

     "No! No, he fucking well wasn't. He was upset at you being at Eternal but Xander, no-one is ashamed of you. What those bastards did was not your fault, so you can stop that nasty little thought right now mate"

     "I'm s.scared that i.it will happen a..a.again. T.that everything will be g..g.good and then one d.d.day I will w.wake up in a.a.a dark room, not able to s.s.see anything."

     Well, that might just explain the fear of the dark then, thought the vampire. He kept stroking as the tired youth told him of how he had woken up in a pitch black room, unable to see or hear anything bar his own breathing. Spike felt himself get angry when Xander told of the lack of water, the drugged food he had been given in the small room. A few gibberish sentences followed as the boy gave into sheer mental exhaustion. The anger rolled around in his stomach but what suprised him was the his other feeling of pride that Xander had confided in him. That the whelp felt comfortable enough with him to tell him a tiny sliver of what had helped to reduce the youth into a mere shell of his former self.

     Content to sit by Xander for a few minutes more, Spike felt his own eyelids begining to droop. A glance at the guest room clock and he saw that it was almost four in the morning. God, no wonder he felt tired, especially after the torturous drive to the small town. Making a descion, he decided to get his mattress and sleep next to the boy on the floor, an idea he gave up as he remembered that Buffy's old bed was a double and there wasn't enough room on the floor for it. With a swift movement, he gently lifted the slumbering boy into his arms, thankfull for his vampire strength. There was no way he would have been able to lift the larger and heavier male if he had still been a human. He quickly transfered the boy into Buffy's bed, making sure that he was tucked under the blankets comfortably. Another trip back saw him dragging the guest rooms single mattress into the Slayers room, dumping it at the end of the larger bed.

     Blankets retrieved from the smaller room, Spike laid out the bed after making sure that he wouldn't be dusted in the morning. Thankfully Joyce had installed some thick curtains on the windows, obviously well aware of how flammable his species was. Checking the whelp again, he was reassured by the soft snoring. He honestly hoped that he would get at least a few hours undisturbed sleep. Spike knew that he wasn't the only one suffering from a lack of sleep. Woosley, Scrag Hag and Prickly Arse were all looking worse for wear with Christopher's screaming at night. The only one who ever looked well rested was the Great Poof. A snort at what it would take for his Sire to wake up at night, the blond had a sudden image of an atomic bomb going off, leaving the world full of cockroaches and one sleeping vampire that had not only slumbered all the way through, but had been protected by his hair.

     Yawning, the vampire snuggled under the thick blankets once undressed and with a few tosses and turns, he felt himself drift off.

     Rubbing at her temple with one hand, Joyce took another sip of her extra strong coffee. She knew why she had a headache. She was busy keeping her eye on Buffy, making sure that her headstrong daughter didn't attempt to stake the bleached blond vampire. Joyce was eyeing off Buffy who was watching Spike who had Xander permanently attached to him via the brunettes hand clinging to the back of the vampire’s shirt. Spike was watching Angel who was staring at the two males, Angel being eyed off himself by his partner Wesley who was being elbowed by Cordelia who was holding hands with Doyle. Riley was attempting to hold hands with a fidgety Slayer who was arguing with Willow who was being placated by a barely smiling Tara. Both Gunn and Anya were surveying the scene while trying to soothe two whiney children. Christopher was hanging onto Cordelia's hand, looking at everybody in the room.

     The only one not taking any notice of the pointed looks, stares, heated arguing and whispers was Graham. He was too busy picking and eating at the large spread of finger food Anya and Joyce had produced for the little gathering. This was sooo not of the good thought Joyce, mentally slapping at herself for sounding like a spoilt teenager. She had no idea of what to do. The funeral had been fine. Short and quite sweet really. Buffy had known exactly what type of service her mentor had wanted. Unbeknown to Joyce, they had actually discussed the possibility of Giles dying before Buffy on a few occasions. Both Buffy and Giles had ended up telling each other just what type of funeral they had wanted. Buffy wanted to be cremated and spread over a rose bush while the Watcher had wanted a traditional burial with a simple headstone. A few lovely songs from Simon and Garfunkle as well as a humorous version of 'Stairway to heaven' by Rolf Harris. Tears had flowed openly in the private room. Joyce was sure that she had seen Angel wipe at his eyes.

     Buffy had arranged for the funeral to be the last on the list at the largest funeral directors in Sunnydale. Willy who owned the demon bar had showed up as well as a few occult suppliers, Anya making them leave the wake only ten minutes ago. As they had left, Spike had entered the room and that was when the trouble had begun. Xander had taken one look towards the door and had practically run to the vampire and had clutched at the black shirt covering the usual black t-shirt. The youth was yet to let go, following the vampire around the room before they had settled for standing in a corner, only to be subjected to stares. Since then the rooms temperature had dropped. Nudged out of her thoughts by Graham, she was startled to hear what the taller man told her.

     "So, let me get this right. Buffy is trying to get Willow to agree to her staking Spike but Tara is telling her girlfriend no while Riley is sitting on the sidelines. Damned if he agrees and damned if he doesn’t. Angel is convinced that even though the therapist has okayed Spike taking care of Xander, his Childe is using this as an attempt to get down Xander's pants while Angel's boyfriend is ready to leap in front of a vampire who suddenly decides he hasn't had his ration of guilt for the day. Wesley is trying to ignore Cordelia's bitching about his boyfriends’ brooding while her fiancé is staying silent because he knows his life just wouldn't be worth living if he opened his mouth. Anya is pissed that no-one else but me has been eating the food she has obviously put so much time into while her husband is just wishing their kids would put a sock in it for once and Christopher is plain confused"

     "What about Xander and Spike?"

     "Oh, them? Well, Xander is clinging to his support person like his therapist probably doesn't want him to because he is terrified that he will be kidnapped again while Spike is aware of what is going on but is getting frustrated keeping his mouth shut because if he opens it, he will more than likely get himself staked and Xander gets more traumatised than everyone has thought possible"

     "Well. You have everything down pat don't you?"

     "Nah, just overhead everyone’s arguments while at the food table, guessed the rest. Lets face it, that really isn’t too hard to do either"

     Shaking her head, she made the ex-soldier grimace at the thought of two more days of this type of behaviour. The will was being read the next day which meant they would all probably stay again tomorrow night, leaving the next morning/night. The L.A. team, original Scooby Gang, Riley and Anya had been told to attend the reading. A shout from Buffy saw Willow stalk over to Xander and the vampire, standing next to them with arms crossed, glaring at the petite blonde as if just daring her to try and stake Spike. A few more quite words with her daughter’s boyfriend’s best friend and Joyce went to placate her daughter.

     It was a soft stuttering voice that had them all quiet and looking in the one direction. Standing on a chair, a handful of Spikes shirt bunched into his white knuckled hand, he stared straight ahead.

     "I..I.I teased G-man a.a.about his g.guitar p.playing, I.I remember s.s.s.springing h.him singing in a.a.a cafe when t.that party g.got pos.s.ssessed b.by the l.lust poltergeist"

     A pause and Xander was prompted to continue by seeing everyone smile at him. His free hand rubbed through his hair while he gathered a breathe for the next words.

     "H.he was o.o.one of my b.best friends. H.he saved m.m.my life"

     Helped down off the chair by Spike, Xander hoped he wouldn't be sick. He felt like he was going to vomit up his breakfast. Xander knew that everybody had been staring at both him and the vampire. The brunette hadn't been able to stop himself from going straight to Spike, it just felt better and safer when he was close to the blond. It had been Willow reminding him of Giles' first appearance at Sunnydale High that had prompted his little speech. The older librarian had been horrified when he had been sprung by his three younger friends in the cafe so long ago, it had taken weeks for Xander to stop making references to the embarrassing episode.

     "You should have seen his face when he finally figured out that Tara was my girlfriend. I don't think I had ever seen Giles so flustered and embarrassed. He made all these little 'Ahh' noises and of course the polished glasses ritual went on for day's afterwards"

     Leaning against Spike’s cool body, Xander lifted his hand to touch at the redhead standing on the chair he had so recently vacated. He gently grasped at the smaller hand, giving the openly crying girl a little smile. The brunette allowed the witch to tighten her grasp almost painfully around his hand. Although Spike could feel the youths trembling, he was surprised at how much courage it had taken Xander to get up in front of everybody. The boy had made a huge step forward just over night and the vampire had to admit that he was proud to share in it. He was a little embarrassed about being clutched at, but he wasn't going to try and shake off the whelp at such an emotionally charged gathering. The vampire was just going to have to stop the over needy grabbing in another situation if and when it arose again.

     With a snort, he watched as the whelps’ smile got bigger when Willow confessed to having had a crush on the older human for some years before she had met her first boyfriend. A round of snickers went around the room at Cordelia's loud statement of "Well, who didn't!” prompting a few odd looks her way. The next one to get up was Anya, telling the room that she had never worked for such a kind boss as Giles. A few more laughs went around at Gunn's comment that his wife didn't work, she dictated to everyone. Husband silenced with a glare, she went on to say that she was glad that all her attempts to get her powers back had failed. If she had been successful, she would never had gotten the chance to find out what a good friend the storeowner had turned out to be.

     The reminiscing went on into the early hours of the following morning. Some were sad, a few stories had been almost too painful to hear but most were full of humour. Laughter had rung out in the shop, only a few times had various people lapsed into a crying fit. Xander had still clung to the vampire all through the night. Buffy had eventually come over to tell her story, bursting into tears when the brunette had grasped at her hand while she stood on the chair. Once again Spike had been truly shocked at how far the boy had progressed. After a nudge from the youth, he had reluctantly gotten up on the chair himself after Buffy, telling the room the same thing he had told Xander when asked what he had thought of the Watcher. A few gasps had gone around the room at his first words, only to have a Slayer give him a watery smile at his confession that he had ultimately respected the older human.

     For once he played with tact, leaving out the insults to Buffy and only calling the deceased man the pretty tame Crusty. The last person to speak had been Joyce, horrified when her daughter had interrupted the clean version of the bewitched candy incident to tell the real story, including the boffing on the police car. The room had erupted into laughter at the older humans spluttering and vows of revenge.

     Various yawns echoed around the shop, Buffy and Graham handing their bundles of sleeping girl back to their parents. Joyce waved her car keys in front of Spike and Xander, telling them that she would drive them back to the house in a few minutes. Angel and Wesley made their good byes first, Spike just knew that he would be getting a talking to about the clutching from Xander in the next day or so. With a snort, he decided that he really didn't give a toss what his Sire thought. Cordelia and Doyle were searching the shop for Christopher, the boy having wandered off behind a bookshelf halfway into Riley’s story about Giles organisation of Gunn's bucks party. A question of if the vampire would be sleeping on the floor again prompted the blond to think back to that morning.

     Spike had told Xander why he had woken up in a bed he hadn't gone to sleep in. He had had to. The brunette had woken up, taken one look around the strange room and had almost had a heart attack. The vampire was sure that if the human had been twenty years older, he would be residing in a morgue by now. He hadn't realised that he couldn't be seen from the double bed when lying on the floor. The blond had just assumed the youth would take a look around, see Spike on the mattress on the floor and be ok with everything. Once calmed down, the brunette had been fine with it. So fine in fact, the vampire had had to duck an unwanted kissing attempt from the boy.

     Xander was disappointed when Spike shook his head. It would make things so much harder. He had hoped that with them both being away from the Hyperion, the vampire would lower his resolve to keep Xander away just a little. Angel and Doyle didn't want him either, that didn't really bother him as much as Spikes constant rejection did. It wasn't right. The vampire was only taking the time to look out for Xander because Spike was attracted to him, which confused the boy each time he was pushed away. Spike may be being paid but Xander knew the real reason.

     Turning to say goodbye to Cordelia and Doyle as they came back into the main shop, he felt his knees go weak as Cordelia shrieked that she couldn't find Christopher.

     Gently running a finger down the soft cheeks, the digit ending up between warm lips, Angel bent his head down to suck at Wesley's adams apple. The humans pulse rate soared as he tugged on the cuffs holding his wrists close to the solid bedhead.

     "Jesus Angel! Please?"

     "Please what?"

     With a gasp, the lean man arced up into the hard twist of his erect nipple, bottom lip caught between his lips as the waves of pain rolled through his body. A small slap across the face made the male moan with sheer pleasure.

     "Please what?"

     The strong white fingers clenched around the smaller man's jaw in a grip that was firm but carefully applied as to not leave bruises. There never was bruising that showed, just applied pressure in certain points most times. Wesley wanted bruises tonight, a souvenir from Sunnydale.

     "Please Master, fuck me hard"

     "Silly little bitch, you aren't in the position to make demands"

     Fingers stroking the throbbing vien in his lovers neck, Angel felt himself get harder as Wesley moaned out the magic word. Master, it was a word that worked a treat each time. The word was power in itself. Who would have guessed that the shy ex-librarian would be such a slut in the bedroom, certainly not Angel. The vampire had been shocked when Wes had cum without being touched sexually the very instant Angel had gripped both wrists in a hard grasp one night. Two long legs had clenched themselves around his waist only seconds after Wes had cum, coarse swearing and taunts filling the quietness of Angels bedroom. From that night on, they had both dived into consensual bondage with a passion.

     Wesley had been ecstatic when Angel had accepted his preference for being submissive. He had honestly thought that the vampire would be too guilt filled to partcipate in the bedroom games, no matter how consensual it might be. Angel, however, had leaped into the role playing with as much gusto as the formerly virginial ex-watcher had.

     "Master, I want a bruise, please?"

     "Ahhh, my darling little whore, you ask for such lovely deeds"

     A harder twist to the right nipple and Wesley panted in pain/pleasure, begging his Master not to stop until he was in tears. Leaving the just reddening flesh for a moment, the larger male reached down beside the bed, grappling with the two tubes lying on the floor. Finally, Angel held up the items, prompting Wes to choose one.

     "Left or right Whore?"

     "Oh Master, left please?"

     With a smile, the tube held in the left hand was tossed to the floor. Squirming as much as he could with Angel straddling his hips, Wes was sure he was about to cum from sheer anticipation of what was about to happen. Slowly the brunette vampire pulled a latex glove from the box residing on the bedside table, making sure to snap the glove a few times as he pulled it on, encouraging the lovely squirming going on underneath him. Once done, he waved the tube of cream underneath his lovers nose, delighting in the muttered curses emerging from the usually timid man.

     "Ready slut?"

     "Yes Master. Oh god yes please!"

     Slowly unscrewing the cap, Angel squeezed a small amount onto his gloved fingers, being careful not to get any of the cream onto his unprotected skin. Wes bucked his hips up as hard as he could in an attempt to get Angel to hurry. He wanted the cream right away and not a second later.

     A slap echoed through the room, Angel hitting hard enough with his ungloved hand to cause discomfort but not enough to produce a lasting mark. The red handprint would be gone in an hour. If Wes pleaded some more, he might just slap him a few more times.

     "Thank you Master!"

     "I think I'm too soft on you"

     Eyes rolled in delight at just what that statement promised, Wes started to pant as the cream was applied to his left nipple. Only a few seconds later, the Sunnydale Motel room was playing host to whimpers of pain intermingled with curses and a human begging for the pain not to stop.

     "Good Bitch?"

     "Mmmm. Ooohh, ahhhh. Yes Master"

     Angel watched as the normally light beige nipple burned into a bright red shade, the heat from the abused flesh radiating through the latex glove on the hand hovering only centimetres above. The older male had no idea where Wesley had gotten the craving for pain but Angel was sure as hell happy about it. He was glad that Wes had chosen the Deep Heat tube and not the pain relieving cream tonight. They both needed something fairly quick to take their mind off the generally upsetting day. Neither of them were really in the mood to take it slowly tonight. If Wes had chosen the numbing cream, they would both be waiting for the cream to take effect on the ex-watchers firm buttocks before Angel belted Wesleys arse into a shade of red that only fire engines were allowed to display. Both men waiting for the cream to slowly allow the pain to begin as it wore off. The only advantage of that was that Wesley was forced to remain standing for almost the whole following day, Angel taking a quiet delight in his handiwork while watching the younger human walk carefully around the office.

     Whenever they decided to take it slowly, Angel made sure that he pinched and slapped at Wesleys sore buttocks as much as possible the next day, getting hard with each moan and almost hidden sob of pain that Wes managed to choke out.

     "Ready for a sore arse Whore?"

     "Hssss, y..yes Maaaster?"

     The vampire stared down at the vision of painful beauty below him. It was obvious that Wesley was having difficulty talking as the heat in his sensitive nipple threatened to blister the skin. Licking at the beginning tears in his lovers eyes, Angel carefully peeled off the latex glove, throwing it onto the floor. Large hand wrapped around his drooling cock, he pumped his hand a few times as he ground himself down onto the other mans rock hard penis. Delighting in the moans of pain intermingled with pleasure, Angel slid off his lover's abdomen, only just avoiding a foot in the face as Wesley threw his legs open in readiness for the vampire.

     "Wider, open them wider, you Slut!"

     "Sorry Master"

     "You will be if you're not careful"

     SLAP.....SLAP

     The cracks of flesh on flesh echoed around the rented room as did Wesley's cry of delight/pain as Angel slapped hard at each pale inner thigh. Placing himself inbetween, cock still being slowly pumped with his left hand. Once in a steady kneeling position, Angel shrieked in sudden fright as his cell phone rang on the bedside table.

     "Jesus..Fuck!!"

     "No, no. Don't answer it, just fuck me till I cry"

     "Shut up Wesley...Oh, god! It's Cordelia"

     Phone snatched from the table by an angry vampire, Wesley struggled with the cuffs around his wrists. He usually came from only a few minutes of feeling the metal tight around his wrists, the more he pulled and tugged at them, the more erotic it became. Something that Angel really appreciated watching at times. Wes was pissed off that his one time object of affection was harassing her boss at such an inconvenient time. Taking no notice of the conversation between Angel and Cordelia, he could feel himself just about ready to come when he was startled by Angel roaring down the phone at the agencys secretary, something that had never happened before.

     "WHAT? What do you mean you can't find Christopher?"

     Standing in the middle of the room, cock still grasped in his free hand, Angel felt small chills creep up his spine. Christopher would never just go missing, the boy was clingy with both Cordelia and Doyle. If they were out, then he clung to Wesley and Xander, both vampires coming in at last place. Spike being the last choice out of them all.

     "Cordelia, please. I'm sorry for yelling, just calm down, ok? Now tell me where you have looked"

     A glance at Wesley still handcuffed to the bed and then down at his shrivelling cock grasped in his left hand, he mouthed apologies at his disgruntled lover. He could feel the large vein in his forehead start to throb. God, why now of all times? Angel prayed that Cordelia had a huge baby when she finally fell pregnant, just a little karma for disturbing her employer at a critical moment. Maybe twins the size of a double decker bus each? Grinning slightly as he listened to the former cheerleader reel off each place they had looked, his smile quickly disappeared as it was revealed that there was no place left to look.

     "Ok, ok. Cordelia, please just take a breath and calm down. You're starting to babble like Willow. Yes. No really, you are! Wes and I will be there soon ok?"

     With a sigh, Angel disconnected from the distressed girl. Unlocking Wesley from the handcuffs, quickly filling in the former watcher about the situation as they both got dressed.

     "Everybody is still at the Magic Box, apparantly Christopher wandered off during Riley's little speech about Gunn's bucks party"

     "I know that, didn't he go to sleep behind a book shelf?"

     "Well, thats what everybody thought but they have looked all through the shop. Every cupboard and behind everything, even checked out the surrounding streets but he isn't there"

     "What? Are you sure, I mean Cordel...aahhh, ooohhh!"

     "Wes? Bit much?"

     Eyes half closed as his abused nipple sent waves of pain through his chest, Wesley shook his head at his lovers question, just enjoying the friction of a coarse cotton singlet on his overheated flesh. Snapping his eyes open, he licked his lips, waggling his eyebrows at the older vampire.

     "Mmmmm. No, not enough actually"

     "Oh, really? Well, we'll just have to fix that won't we?"

     "Promises, promises"

     "Jesus Wes, one day I'm sticking a finger full of Deep Heat right up you, just to see your reaction"

     Slightly horrified from the wave of arousal flooding off the still dressing male, Angel snapped open his cell phone as it rang again.

     "Yes Cordelia, what now? Oh shit! Are you sure?"

     "No..no. hold on, just stay there and I'll call from the shop. Don't worry, we will be there soon"

     Curious as to what could make the vampire look paler than he already was, Wesley enquired to what Cordelia had wanted this time.

     "Wes, I think were in trouble. Actually Xander is really"

     "Angel, whats wrong?"

     "Cordelia just got a phone call from Robin's sister to say that her brother is missing again. Apparently Todd's mother thought that Todd was visiting Robin for dinner when he didn't come home. She called Robins house to get Todd sent home before it got too dark. She was told that Robin had just been discovered missing only a few minutes before hand and that Taylor, Robin's sister was just about to call Todd's place to see if Robin had gone over for a visit. It doesn't make sense because Robin is still house bound with the agoraphobia"

     "What the hell is going on. Christ Angel, If they are all gone then its really only Xander and Jason that are left"

     Both men pushed and shoved their way through the Motel door at the same time, a little embarassed at being caught during such an arousing playtime. Car thrown into drive without waiting for it to warm up for once, the classic car thundered down the road towards the Magic Box and Sunnydales main shopping strip.

     Raiding the coffee tin for what must have been the hundreth time that early morning, Joyce could hear Angel snarling down the phone at some unfortunate person. Who it was, she didn't know and nothing would have made her change places with them. Coffee hurridly spooned into a few cracked mugs, she couldn't remember who had sugar and who didn't. Caution thrown to the wind, she gave all five mugs a heaped teaspoon each.

     "Damn! No sodding milk left"

     "Careful Mom, you sound like Spike"

     With a gasp, the older woman turned to face her puffy eyed daughter. A sad smile on her face, she opened her arms wide and gathered Buffy into a motherly embrace. One designed to soothe whatever fears her child might be having. It was a fairly useless gesture but they both basked in the meagre comfort it offered.

     "Who's Angel snapping at?"

     "Kate, the detective in L.A. You know, the blonde one who raided Eternal just after we got everybody out"

     A few pats on her petite daughters back and Joyce handed a steaming mug of black coffee to the tired girl. Her daughter may be the Boogey Monster for all demons but she was still a young woman who was going through a tough emotional time, one that wasn't looking any better by the minute.

     Sipping at the sweet liquid, Buffy wondered if it was too dangerous to venture back out for some milk. Both women jumped at the sound of breaking glass only to give a few tense giggles at Wesley's loud apology.

     "Mmmm, only Wes. Wondered when Mr Accident Prone would make an appearance?"

     "Buffy! Thats not very nice, not matter how true it is"

     Another few giggles from them both and they each gathered two mugs in their hands, Buffy's empty mug left in the sink. A sheepish Wesley held the curtain aside for them as they passed through the doorway from the little kitchenette just behind the large counter and into the main shop. Joyce handed her mugs to Doyle and Cordelia before sitting herself down next to Anya. The ex-demon was impatiently waiting for her husband to confirm that their girls were asleep after being placed in their cribs in the little play area Anya had convinced Giles to set up once she had learned she was pregnant. Buffy walked the length of the shop, stopping just infront of a yawning pair of witches, handing one of her mugs to Tara. A smile at them both and she asked how Xander was doing.

     "H..he. Well, Spike w.won't let anyone close to h.him so it's a bit hard to tell really"

     "Mmm. Spike has been total 'grrr' face since that call from Robin's sister"

     Head shaken at just why the other boy's were missing, Buffy sighed. She had just only walked back inside from another round of scouring the nearby streets for Christopher, leaving Riley and Graham to sit with Spike and Xander in her exercise room that was located at the back of the shop. Willow and Tara had placed themselves on either side of the doorway, informing everybody that they were ready to blast anything and anyone that tried to get past them. To hear that the younger vampire was still in game face was not a good thing. It meant that Spike had kept his ridges for more than four hours now and according to Angel, it was something that was painful to do for such a length of time without the tempter of blood or sex anywhere around. She had hoped that the vampire would have calmed down some while she had been looking for the small boy.

     Walking past the two women, door pushed open, the blonde entered the brightly lit room. A glance at her boyfriend and his best friend standing at the back of the room, her attention was focused almost immediately on Xander and Spike. They were seated in the middle of the windowless room on a few of her exercise mats. The vampire was growling, face turned in her direction. His gaze was completely upon the slumbering brunette on the mat beside him. Xander's hand was still clenched tightly around the bleached blond's black shirt.

     Buffy stepped slowly towards the two males, careful not to make any sudden movements that would increase the volume of the growling. She knew that it wasn't specifically directed at her though it was still upsetting to hear. Angel had told her quite quickly once he had arrived at the shop as to why Spike had gone mental when Cordelia had informed everybody to the nature of the phonecall she had recieved. Everyone had been curious as to who was calling at almost 1.30 in the morning. As soon as the ex-cheerleader had told Spike, the vampire had dragged the brunette boy into the training room, snapping and snarling at anyone who had approached them.

     Buffy had been in the process of trying to get Spike to release his hold on the crying boy until Angel had arrived and yelled at her to leave them alone. The older vampire had quickly taken control of the situation. A firm order for both the former soldiers to stay close to the distressed males, Angel had left them trying to at least get in the room without Spike dragging Xander from corner to corner as soon as it looked like anyone was getting too close. Buffy had in turn yelled at Angel for interfering until she had started to listen to her former lovers quietly spoken words. She had been horrified to learn the true nature of Spike's turning. With a promise not to tell anyone of what she had learned, she had thought back to all the times she had seen Spike with Drusilla.

     She had honestly thought that the two demons were deeply entwined with one of the most twisted display's of love she had ever seen. The Slayer had felt a pang of pity for Spike at learning of the Twilight Instructions. According to Angel, the blond vampire had no idea of what had occured while he had been in his Twilight slumber and that he would never know of it. Spike was to be left thinking that he had been deep in love with Drusilla all the time they had been together. It was these instructions that were prompting the display of protectiveness towards Xander and for once, Buffy was thankful that the vampire was with her friend. From what Angel had indicated, Spike would stop at nothing to keep Xander safe once his full protectivness had been aroused. If the vampire had to chance getting dusted in the process, then Angel said that it wouldn't even be a concern for the blond.

     "Spike?"

     "Grrrr, snort. Grrrrr"

     "Spike, it's Buffy. I have a coffee for you. I'm going to place it on the floor just here ok?"

     "Grrrrr, snarl. Riiigggght"

     A small smile on her face as the vampire stopped snarling for just a moment in an effort to answer her, the Slayer asked if there was anything else that Spike wanted. At the shaken head, she backed slowly out of the room while asking if Riley and Graham needed anything. Riley hefted his large axe into his other hand, shaking his numb fingers as he asked for a coffee when a mug became available. A glance at Graham and he upped it to two coffees. The tall ex-soldier had no idea of why the vampire was growling at everyone but if it helped keep the sleeping man safe, then he wasn't going to argue. Graham been on his way home when Christopher had gone missing, Riley phoning him to come back and help look when it was discovered that the shop was clean.

     Sighing at the sight on the floor, Graham Miller allowed a tiny smile to crack through his normally serious face as Spike tried to continue growling while drinking the coffee. The result was splattered coffee over both himself and Xander. The brunette male had only just fallen into a deep sleep after crying from the moment Christopher had gone missing. Graham had felt his heart twist at the thought of anyone causing more trouble for the already lifelong scarred men, it just wasn't right. He wasn't really their friend but he hated that they were once again probably on their way to becoming victims of something nasty again. It had taken almost an hour for Spike to stop crushing Xander into a corner, the vampire pushing back against the boy in full gameface whenever Riley or himself attempted to enter the room. But, bit by bit, the blond had responded to his Sires soothing words to let the men inside the room and close to them.

     Graham had watched as Spike had placed the boy on the piled up exercise mats and stroked the boy's hair until Xander had cried himself to sleep. It was something that was going to spook him for life. He had never witnessed Spike's tenderness with the infamous Drusilla, only heard stories about how devoted Spike had been to her, something that he had often laughed at. After seeing how the demon treated the distressed boy, he wondered if the stories had truly captured the nature of the blond correctly.

     Buffy went back past Willow and Tara who were discussing various spells, the blond enthusiastically telling her lover about one that caused the body to melt from the feet upwards while keeping the head alive until everything below the neck was gone. Grimacing at the thoughts running through her head, the Slayer walked past Angel who had just successfully crushed his cell phone into a small lump of plastic.

     "I can't believe you just did that! Angel, that's the third one in two months. We should bloody well start buying shares in the company"

     Still upset at being disturbed while 'playing' and Christopher's disappearance, Wesley admonished the vampire for being so careless with the agency's property, quickly closing his mouth at the black look shot towards him by his lover.

     "That was Kate. A man was killed last night and they needed dental records to identify him, unfortunately one of the listed dental clinic's had been the victim of an arson attack two weeks ago that left no records intact"

     "Yes, so what does that have to do with the price of fish?"

     "Kate called the owner of the clinic in an attempt to see if the records had been stored in another place. Guess who's missing?"

     Wesley was puzzled, what the hell did this have to do with what was happening in Sunnydale. With a bad feeling settling in his stomach, he gestured for his employer to continue telling the gathered group about the detectives phonecall.

     "Guy Andrews. The man who did the identification on Randall Hargraves. All records had been burnt with the office and when Kate went into the evidence room to follow a hunch, guess who's dental records are missing from the evidence room?"

     A collective gasp went around the room at the shocking news. Everyone had been relieved when Randall had been found dead but angry at the same time for the man escaping justice and for recieving a quick death. When the five men had been told that their captor had been killed, all apart from Christopher had taken a few days to fully accept it.

     "Kate seems to think that it isn't really Randall in the ground and that it is some other poor prick whose teeth had been doctored to look like Randall's, either that or Guy Andrews faked the identification"

     "You mean that bastard might still be alive out there somewhere?"

     "Looks that way Cordy, I truly thought the nightmare was over for Xander and the others."

     Silence descended on the shop as everyone took in just what it meant for the five men. Angel looked around at the gathered people, knowing that they would be looking to him for descions now that the undisputed leader Giles was gone. Never in the whole time he had known the older watcher did he wish for the other mans guidence.

     "I think we should place the tracker on Xander. The sooner, the better. We still have no idea of how they are getting the boys but I think magic had something to do with it"

     Agreeing with Angel, Buffy left to send both Riley and Graham to their house to get the neccessary supplies. Wesley walked with her to inform the witches of the update and to get their ideas on what type of spells would be handy for the situation. With Giles being gone, if they had to work any magic, the other mans skill would be sorely missed and Wes prayed that it wouldn't be a problem when it came to the crunch.

     Everything was going so well.

     All according to plan, when things were going to stuff up, Lindsey really didn't want to know or be around if Holland hit the roof.

     But so far, so good.

     Fingering the list of people that were holed up in the Sunnydale store, the lawyer smiled as he thought of the numerous bonuses he would recieve if it all panned out. He shook his head when he caught himself feeling torn between getting a silver BMW or a one of the new edition Land Rovers in racing green. Stupid really, the BMW would always win out in the end.

     "Everything all right Mr. Mc Donald?"

     "Yeah, fine. Everything ready to rock and roll?"

     As the army green clad man nodded, Lindsey couldn't help the broad smile that appeared on his face. Hands rubbed together, he knew it was only going to be a matter of minutes before the shit hit the fan. Total payback for his hand and the numerous other humiliations Angel had put him through over the years. His hand was no longer a problem thanks to the firms warlock, Tomas. How he had managed to find the lawyer another hand so like his real one, Lindsey had no idea but he wasn't going to complain about the small tattoo on the inside of the wrist.

     Little over 3 weeks ago, Lindsey had woken up from an intense dream that him shaking and shivering in a cold sweat. One that had seen him go through the whole experience of having another hand grafted onto his stump, he hadn't felt any pain but he had been awake through the whole ordeal. It wasn't until he had run the fingers of his hand through his hair that he had realised just what had happened. It had still been a habit to try and finger his hair with the hand that had been cut off, normally he was able to stop himself just before he raised his arm too much. Unfortunately some mornings, he was just too tired to realise what he was doing, resulting in him rubbing his stump through his hair. Quite a horrible sensation. Three weeks ago, the dream had proved real. He had his hand back and he had found Tomas sitting in the kitchen, drinking Lindsey's expensive imported coffee from Africa. A few spluttered questions directed at the warlock and Tomas had ignored them all to instead tell Lindsey the price for the new hand.

     Only seconds later, Lindsey had agreed to the price. Afterall, he didn't give a shit about the vampire. What Tomas did to the demon once it had been delivered into the dark haired mans living quarters was his own business. The one point they had agreed on was that the vampire was to be exterminated if it proved to be too much trouble.

     Too much trouble?

     Snorting to himself, Lindsey knew he could count on the demon being a right pain in the arse. He felt slightly sorry for the vampire, Tomas was one creepy arse man. He wasn't even the firms original choice of warlock but Tomas was proving to be most useful and if the man wanted a reward for all his good service then Lindsey knew his boss Holland would approve of one. Their original choice had been caught by some top secret military operation called the Iniative. Ethan Rayne hadn't been seen or heard of since the day he had been caught, the firm's head honchos had been most unpleasant in dealing with the two lawyers who had been entrusted to get Rayne to work for Wolfram and Hart.

     Caroline Finzern had saved herself from being terminated by informing Holland that Ethan had a younger brother. Tomas was a fully fledged worshiper of the dark arts. The firm had known this but had decided to go with the older Rayne who had been a follower of the Lords of Chaos, someone whom the senior partners had deemed more accessable and easier to control than the younger one. Caroline had ulitmately gotten Tomas to work for Wolfram and Hart, a coup on her part. She had enjoyed the bonuses until she had disappeared only a few day's later.

     Lindsey shuddered as he tried not to think of the numerous rumours that abounded about Tomas. Since the day the warlock had started, there had been a quite revolting rumour floating around the upper floors that Tomas used numerous body parts for his incantations. Body parts taken from a living human host. Another prevalent rumour was that Caroline had never come back from a meeting with Tomas. If that was true, Lindsey thought her partner had gotten off with the better deal. All Gerald Winter had received as punishment for his part in the failure to procure Ethan Rayne had been two bullets in his right temple.

     Snapping back to reality, the lawyer felt himself get hard as he thought of just how much tonights actions were going to piss off Angel. A few shifts in an attempt to hide his raging hard on, Lindsey gave the go ahead for the action to start. He was seated on a creaky double bed in a rundown motel just on the outskirts of Sunnydale. Only two miles from the one the L.A. team was staying at. Never had he been so close yet so far away and it was frustrating the man. In the room next to him was Tomas, recovering from the extertions of aquiring one of Randall's possessions. Randall had been made to stay in L.A. while his stolen items were being recovered. The two that had returned to Sunnydale had been easy to recover, Tomas just implanting a suggestion for them to go outside and wait. The same thing they had done for the one staying at the Christian Hostel, five hours past L.A. in the opposite direction.

     All boys had gone outside quietly and had proved no trouble for the hired soldiers to collect. The boys were now on their way to the new holding cells along with the child whore. Tomas had had to pull out all the stops with the last one. It seemed that the older watcher had enhanced the buildings immunity to outside magic until it was nearly impossible to penetrate. It had taken the warlock from the time the wake started at quarter to 7 until around half past 11 to break down the barriers. Tomas had admitted that it had been easier to do now that the person who built them was deceased.

     Once the barriers were down, Tomas had 'told' the child that he was tired and to find somewhere quiet to go to sleep. In only a few minutes, the small boy had been curled up alseep behind one of the bookshelves in the far end of the shop. Only then had Tomas displayed just how powerful he really was. The warlock had slowly deconstructed the boys molacules into a barely seen dust cloud. The cloud had floated along the wooden floor and underneath the back door, into the nearby park. A few minutes later, the boy had been standing by himself looking very confused as to what had just happened. The whole effort had knocked the warlock unconcious for a good ten minutes.

     Tomas had informed the lawyer that he wasn't able to do it again for at least 48 hours and by then it would be too late. That had ultimately led to what was about to happen. Seeing the group of hired goons strap on the extra clips for their handguns, Lindsey felt a knot start to clench deep down in his stomach. If anything went wrong, he was sure that his next meeting with Tomas wouldn't be going too well. Tomas might be still young and only with the firm for just under six years but he had one of the most fearsome reputations already.

     With a nod at the leader, he watched as the ex-navy SEAL soldiers pull down their balaclavas and run through the plan once again. A glance at the list still in his hand, Lindsey smiled as he read who was going where.

     "Hold still. Xander, please just calm down."

     "Spikehomes.s.spikehom.mespik.k.kehomes.s.s.pike."

     In between the breathy pants, Xander was reciting his personal mantra, not realising he was elevating the stress levels of everyone surrounding him. Riley and Graham had beaten all speed records in getting the trackers from their hiding place in the cast iron bed frame of Graham's bed and back to the shop again. While the two former soldiers were trying to implant the tracker, the brunette boy was making things more difficult by shaking continually. The distressing mantra was occasionally overridden by the various snarls and growls by the game faced blonde being held back by Buffy and Angel.

     "There! Done, it’s alright Xander. We'll find you *anywhere*."

     "S..s.s.pikehomespikeh.h.h.omespikeh.h..h.....Spike?"

     On the count of three, Buffy and Angel let go of the vampire they had wrestled onto the ground and kept there while riding out his struggling. Tara shoved out of the way, Spike grabbed at both his head and the shivering male, dragging him back into the training room all the while snapping and lunging at anyone who looked at them.

     "No-one will be a.a.able to tell t.that there w.was a cut. It's a.all healed up now."

     Thanking Riley and Graham, Buffy ran a hand through her hair as she also thanked the blonde witch for the healing spell cast over the spot in Xander's chest. They had chosen that spot after asking Xander where he had previously been hit the least. Silence and a few quiet swears had echoed around the room when the brunette had stuttered out a reply of that he had been hit everywhere and that different demons had their own favourite spots. The implant had originally been destined to go in either Xander's upper arm or just inside his groin, the crying boy stunning everyone by telling them that it would most likely get damaged in a few hours if placed in such spots, leading to the youth telling the room that he had been punched and hit by various demons on an almost daily basis.

     "I can't believe that Xander would say that it wasn't always bad."

     Sniffled a watery-eyed Buffy to a breastfeeding Anya. Swapping Aiesha to the other nipple, Anya replied that humans always tried to make the best out of any situation and that Xander had always displayed a natural talent for it. No matter how bad the situation was, Xander had always come up with some witty quip or another reasoning for it to be worse. Just something he had probably done on each day while at Eternal stated the ex-demon to a staring blonde Slayer. Upon being asked how she became so smart, the woman replied that she was currently reading books on how the mind worked in order for when her own girls started to grow up. With a nod, Buffy could see why it was more appropriate for the ex-demon than most people. Anya and tact had so far never met and would never probably be in the same time zone let alone universe. Something that would prove to be embarrassing for the twins in later life.

     Angel continued to pace up and down beside Cordelia who was on the phone to Father Ortize at the Christian Hostel. The would be actress was trying to establish just when Jason had been found missing after managing to convince the good Father to talk to her. Angel had originally tried to talk to the sleepy man but had been hung up upon twice after growling and calling the Christian priests a bunch of dickheaded wankers for not keeping an eye on the youth. Cordelia had quickly rung back after giving Angel a piece of her mind and a few slaps across his broad upper arm, slaps that had actually managed to penetrate the thick leather duster although Angel had winced more at the brunette woman’s tone of voice than the pain that had managed to connect through the leather.

     Walking back through the curtain barrier to the kitchenette, Doyle wiped his hands on his trousers as Joyce passed him by. To keep out of the way, they had both done the dishes as slowly as possible, the stale sandwiches thrown in the bin as were the numerous odd looking items that Anya had claimed to be appetisers. Just because Graham had eaten some and was still alive, didn't mean that anyone else was going to. Both passing by Wesley and Willow, they over heard the two arguing if Spike’s chip should be turned off if possible. Wesley arguing that the vampire would just start slaughtering again while the red head was trying to convince the ex-watcher that the vampire could offer Xander very little protection against humans and so far that it was humans that were causing the problems. Needless to say, they were both at stalemate. Each knew that they had valid points.

     Doyle wondered where Gunn was, only to start smirking at the muttered curses and gasping coming from where one twin was currently being changed. Although he desperately wanted children with Cordelia, the half demon was still trying to cope with the whirlwind that was Christopher. He considered the man/boy to be good training experience for when his own brood started to emerge. The Irishman wanted only two children and had been aghast when Cordelia had considered four to be the appropriate amount. Doyle had thought that he might have been lucky for his princess to consider one, four had been a totally unexpected amount.

     The two ex-soldiers decided to leave the vampire and the boy alone for the time being, just waiting outside the doorway while listening to the soft growling and muted sobs from within the training room. It hadn't been a nice experience for Xander. There hadn't been anything to numb the site where the chip had to be placed, Tara having to cast a spell that would freeze the tissue surrounding the brunettes right pectoral muscle, just under the nipple. Graham had just sliced into the cold tissue and flesh with a scalpel found in the first aid box under the kitchenette sink. The cut held open by Riley, the deep in concentration Graham had pushed and twisted the chip underneath the pectoral muscle as far as it would go. The tiny tracker finally resting in the hollow between two ribs, with the thicker muscle lying over the top in protection. Graham had just about sliced off the boys nipple when Xander had started in with the mantra, the former soldier had grown angrier at the people who were reducing the boy into such a terrified state of mind.

     Due to the site being frozen, there had been little blood leakage, making the job a lot easier while trying to cope with the boys shaking. Tara had just finished with the healing spell when pushed out of the way by an over anxious vampire. She had felt a moment of sadness when the blonde had grabbed at his head after pushing her. The shove might have startled her but it hadn't really hurt her at all.

     Tara went to sit with Wesley and her girlfriend. The two still arguing magic users had wandered over to Buffy and Anya, each trying to gather supporters to their different sides. Buffy was just starting to look like she was being won over by Willow, something that was amusing to Tara. Anya was listening intently to a madly gesturing Wesley.

     "Well, then just call me back on the number I gave you if anyone comes up with any other ideas, ok? Thanks again Father, we really appreciate it and once again, I'm so sorry about my employer's idiot mouth. Don't worry, Father, I *will* be talking to him about it. Bye!"

     Phone placed down, Cordelia arched a delicate eyebrow in Angel’s direction that promised more than just a talking to. Managing to hide a gulp, Angel instead scowled at Wesley who was now poking his finger at a red faced Willow. Not of the good really, like totally. With a pinch to his own arm, the older vampire told himself that now was not the time to start speaking like he had graduated from Sunnydale High.

     SMASH!!!

     Everyone froze as the stores large front window shattered into numerous shards, both Buffy and Tara sinking down to the ground at the same time, their blood spraying through the shop as their heads exploded. Only seconds later, the screams started from inside the main shop and the training room. Amid the screams, Angel, Riley and Graham were bellowing for everyone to stay where they were as the shop played host to dancing red beams. Years of practice of being placed in danger kicked in for everyone, the horrified humans and demons battling with the effort to stay where they were while trying not to go and help their fallen comrades.

     Silence descended upon the Magic Boxes main room as the red beams stilled upon seven different people. Angel, Willow, Gunn, Riley, Cordelia and Wesley all had a red dot lazily tracing over their faces. The only sound was Xander's screaming coming from the training room, backed up by the almost deafening snarling by Spike. Slowly it became clear what was happening as four black clad figures came through the shattered front window, glass crunching underneath the army boots. Three had two hand held laser sighted guns equipped with silencers each, while the fourth was holding a much larger automatic rifle. Hearing the back door being opened, no one was surprised when four other figures joined the rest in holding guns at the Scooby and L.A. teams.

     "Everybody kneel with hands on heads."

     It was then that everybody started to tell the balaclava wearing men that they wouldn't get away with what they were doing and that they would be hunted down and tortured like the sick fucks they were. The one who seemed in charge smiled slightly as he pointed at Anya and then Gunn, giving them the number Two each.

     "Silence. Kneel with hands on heads."

     Everybody was startled when in almost a second, the two former soldiers were in the requested position. With tears running down his face, Riley choked as he told everybody to do the same. The rest of the bewildered and angry group did the same, all the while trying to ignore the continual screaming from behind them.

     "Put the children on the ground, two steps in front of you. Don't worry, nothing will happen to them, we have no interest in them. You will then kneel with hands upon your heads."

     Crying, Anya complied with the request. Gontuaran placed next to her sister, Aiesha, by her father. Gunn glared at each soldier in turn, not quite daring to say the vile words he wanted to. With a glance at his wife, he felt himself grow cold as the red beams were pointed at both him and Anya again.

     "Ms. Rosenberg, please come forward. Keep your mouth closed and hands on your head."

     Hesitantly, Willow got up and shakily walked over to the leader of the men. She couldn't believe that Tara was dead. She had to be dead, Willow had little bits of grey stuff all over her orange long sleeved t-shirt. Maybe it was mostly Buffy’s brains and not Tara's?

     "You..you murdered Tara!"

     "TWO."

     In an instant, two quiet snaps rang out in the shop. One ex-demon and one former street kid were removed from the land of the living, their girls totally oblivious to the fact that they were now orphans. Horrified, the kneeling people held in their protests as Riley and Joyce were named number Three each. Unbelieving tears ran down everyone’s faces, Angel’s included. The screaming from the training room was quickly muffled, Spike’s Own growling lowering to a level that only Angel could hear. His Childe might be a barely controllable demon at times but this was where the Twilight Instructions were really kicking in. Xander had to be protected at all times and if getting the boy to be quiet was what helped do that, then Spike was going to make sure that no one heard the boy's screams.

     "Better. Ms. Chase, get up and come forward. You will keep your mouth closed and your hands on your head."

     Cordelia got up from her knees, fearing that at any moment she would be on the floor in a dead faint. She had seen demons and people killed over the years but never before had she seen it done with such coldness. For once, she managed not to say anything and slowly crossed the floor after looking at a bug eyed Doyle, a slight shake of her head warned him not to say or do anything.

     "Ms. Chase, Ms. Rosenberg. Take a child each and go outside. Walk into the middle of the street and wait. Don't move or say anything once you are outside or the number Four will be handed out."

     Tears choked back by both women, they quickly gathered a gurgling girl each in shaky arms and walked through the front door held open for them by one of the soldiers. Only a minute later, five vans pulled up out side the shop, stopping directly in front of the two women and children.

     "Mr Doyle, please get up and come forward. You will keep your mouth closed and your hands on your head."

     Francis Doyle could feel the shock just starting to settle in and after a glance at his employer, he could see that Angel wasn't far behind him. As he was told to go out side, he saw Willow collapse boneless onto the street after being jabbed at by the driver of one of the vans, Cordelia now holding both girls. Upper arm grabbed by another black clad man, he didn't protest his being shoved into the back of one as he watched Cordelia led to a separate van to his. His last glance before the van door was locked, was of Willow being lifted and thrown into the back of a van, a man getting in the back with her.

     "Mr William the Bloody. Please bring Scott out here. Keep your mouth closed and hands on your head."

     The moments ticked by as they waited for Spike and Xander to make an appearance. After a minute, the leader of the black clad men sighed and with a nod, he indicated for two men to go and collect the males holed up in the back room. Angel sensed that this would probably be the only opportunity he would have to make a move. With two of the men occupied with Spike and Xander, the vampire started to slowly get to his knees as he saw that no one was looking in his direction. A glance at Wesley and he saw that the former watcher had also calculated the odds. The frightened human was trying to summon up the will to attempt a spell casting, his fingers making slight movements as his lips barely moved to whispered words.

     Just as Angel managed to be almost standing, he found himself staring down the barrel of the automatic rifle.

     "You know that was the wrong thing to do, don't you. NO! Do not answer that. We are almost done here so I don't see the need for more bloodshed."

     Angel stayed silent as he glared game faced at the smirking male. Only seconds later, the vampire was rolling on the floor as both his kneecaps were shattered by shots from the rifle. God, he was hurting more than he had in years. It was taking all his efforts not to scream out loud, worried about the number Four being allocated. He was sure that either Wes or Spike were going to be allotted as a number Four, nevertheless, quiet groans of pain radiated from him.

     A thump on the floor signalled Joyce's faint over not being shot for Angels stupidity. Graham and Riley stayed where they were, jumping slightly at the gut wrenching screams from Xander as he was led out by one of the gunmen. What really made their stomachs turn was the way Spike was dragged from the back room. From the large rip through the black jumper attiring the man handling the vampire, it looked like the vampire had actually managed to attack the threat to Xander.

     The blonde vampire's body was twitching and jumping around on the floor as if he was being shocked continually by a taser. Blood was dripping from the pale nose and with a massive jerk of the body, Riley saw that there was blood leaking from both ears as well. Spikes eyes had rolled back into his head, only the whites showed as the body shook and rolled around on the floor.

     "Vans."

     At that word, one of the men continued to lead Xander toward the two vans parked out side, the other three having already driven off after being loaded with their intended goods. The urine soaked youth was followed by two of the gunmen dragging the vampire. The remnants of the Scooby Gang and L.A. Team watched in shock as they were placed in separate vans.

     "You. I said silence."

     Wesley was terrified at being caught out trying to mutter an incantation. It hadn't been going too well anyway, his voice needed to be louder to get any real effect, he knew that but had been unable to stop himself from trying. Coming to an abrupt halt, he stared as the leader of the black clad men came towards him. Told to close his eyes and open his mouth, he found himself frozen until Joyce had three red dots dancing over her face. In an instant, he complied thinking he was going to get a mouthful of pepper spray or something for daring to break the silence.

     Grimacing as a few gloved fingers grasped onto his tongue, Wesley felt a quick burn as his tongue was yanked out of his mouth and held tight. Only a moment later, he was trying to scream as best as he could without a tongue. Angel was snarling and yelling threats at the remaining black clad men as they went on to remove the former soldiers trigger fingers. Groans and swearing filled the Magic Box as the two men were allowed to try and stem the blood streaming from their stumps.

     "Angel. You will return to L.A. with what’s left of these people and wait for further orders. You all have four days to pack your things and return to the hotel and that includes the Slayers mother. You will heed what the person who contacts you says. Consequences will be grim if you don't."

     With that, Angel was told he could now make a move towards his stricken lover, he stuffed Wesley's shirt as much as possible into the bleeding mans mouth, ignoring the agony rolling through his own destroyed knees each time he moved. The former watcher's hands scrabbling at his mouth in a desperate act to try and make the pain go away. Graham and Riley sat and watched as the last of the gunmen split into two groups and were driven away from the shop in the remaining two vans.

     Everything had happened in less than twenty minutes, so quick and yet so devastating.

     A check that Joyce was alright, Graham could faintly hear an ambulance coming in their direction. If it got there fast enough, then Wesley might be able to be saved if both he and Riley managed to convince Angel to let go of his boyfriend. With a rapidly blood soaked shirt wrapped around his right hand, Graham found his gaze focused on Wes' tongue lying on the floor, his stomach churning, while Riley had crawled over to Buffy and was cradling the dead girl in his arms. Dimly, all were aware of the arrival of sunshine outside.

     What the hell were they going to say the police?

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