*Xander*

"Okay, so, uh....How're we going to get to them if they're on alien ships?" I asked. I felt it was necessary to put that obvious out into the air. I got a few annoyed looks from, oh, everyone, but better out than in, right?

"Some kind of teleportation spell?" Oz suggested, looking to Tara. She immediately and quite vehemently shook her head.

"N-no. We barely had enough st-strength to find them. Teleportation requires locating and pulling them through time and s-space to bring them here." She shrugged helplessly. "W-Willow did not even think she would manage teleportation and she's more powerful than anyone I've ever met." I sighed and poked at the delicious and nutritious soup dinner we'd all sat down to. We were all sitting around a dining room table off the main room. Well the human/werewolf population of our party were sitting. Spike was adding new depths to the meaning of "nervous pacing".

It was kind of funny though, from my seat. I was sitting directly across from Riley, who was still rather out of it, and he was watching Spike pace over my head with a bit of a glazed look in his eye. As he watched, his head turned from side to side like someone watching a tennis match. Shock and major limb loss did odd things to a man. I should know. I was without my favorite limb for a long time and look what I did! I fell in love with a psycho-neutered vamp with ADHD. I smirked to myself. I better keep Riley and Spike apart, don't want to lose my bloodsucker.

Spike stopped behind my chair and leaned forward, his forearms resting on my shoulders. "I say we hunt down some aliens down here, kill'em with much gore and screaming, then steal their bloody ship and then go fetch the bints." He announced. I sighed.

"Perfect! I'm even licenced to pilot alien ships! And while we're there, we can download a virus into their computer core that'll take down all their shields cuz everyone KNOWS aliens are MAC-compliant." I snarked at him. Tara smiled shyly and Oz snorted. Spike stayed silent as he usually does when he doesn't want to admit that he didn't catch a pop-culture reference.

"Well can't bloody well stay here! Lets go DO something." He demanded, returning to his default setting of pacing the room and growling. I turned to watch him for a moment, considering offering to "DO something" in the other room, but it was hardly the time for such things. I sighed. I missed sex and I missed not having to think. I was good at not-thinking.

“Um. We...could....er...” I started talking before I had any ideas, hoping for sudden inspiration, but was forced to trail off when none struck. I sighed. “Problem solving hurts.”

 

“Wesley?”

“Yes?”

“Go to bed.”

“No.” I scrubbed at my face as hard as possible, trying to return full awareness to my exhausted mind. “No time. Aliens. Must plan.” I mumbled at the vampire that stood over my seat in the empty Summer's family dining room. He had his arms crossed over his chest, looking down at me.

“You can hardly plan well when you're falling over exhausted.” He pointed out. I sighed. He was right and I knew it, and he knew it. But what if something horrible happened while I was sleeping? What if the aliens attacked and we all died because I was face down on a bed somewhere? It was almost dawn and the city and its gathered troops would be visible if they flew over even if the army set the command post here up with camou tents but the aliens would still have heat sensors wouldn't they and then we'd all be dead! “Go to bed, Wesley.” I scowled at him for interrupting my internal panic attack.

“Do you want me to go get Cordy?” He threatened. I smirked.

“Won't work. She's with the military group and you would burst into flame before you got that far.” He glowered at me for a moment, then shrugged. I smiled. He was giving up! I turned my attention to the map that marked the positions of all the camps spread throughout the California area. I needed to find a way to get the minions of the Master of Sacramento close enough to the front in San Francisco so they would be able to do some damage without eating all the regular human troops on the way... “Angel, what're you doing?” The world shifted and I found myself being slung over the vampire's shoulder as he left the room.

“You need to sleep or Cordy will tear out my spine. She made me swear on my hair gel.” I laughed at that. Exhaustion making me giggly. It always shocked me when he would crack a joke. It just wasn't....Angelic. I let the hulking brute carry me through the lower floor of the house and up the stairs. He didn't put me down until he reached the guest room and then he tossed me on the bed. “Sleep.” I sighed and gave up.

 

*Buffy*

“Okay, I know that experiment didn't have a purpose! They're just picking on us now.” I whined, inspecting the rather large patch of burnt skin on my stomach.

“Sounds about right, B. So, shouldn't your minions be bustin' us loose 'bout now?” Faith asked from the crumpled heap that was her body. She hadn't even bothered getting up and checking the damage.

“They probably have no clue where we are. They probably think we're dead.” I said and went into full depression mode. “We might as well be. We can't fight in here, we can't help.” I flopped ungracefully onto my relatively unmarred back. “They'll probably blow us up on accident when they kick these slime-oids asses.” I didn't bother looking up when I heard Faith dragging herself over to me.

“Never thought I'd wish for prison food.” She said quietly and stretched out beside me. Her left arm rested against my left as if to remind me that she was there. It was strangely comforting. Well, seeing as all I wanted at the moment was to hug my Mommy, I guess anything tactile would be comforting.

“I never thought I'd miss the Hellmouth.” I replied and dropped my eyes shut. “Wake me when they serve ice cream.”

 

Radioactive Flowers live HERE.