"This isn't gonna hurt, is it?" Alex warily perused the transformed living room.

Dana frowned slightly, her brow wrinkling. "Not much. Well, not after the first few hours. And I'm sure that blood coming out of the ears is perfectly normal." She glanced up at Alex, who had inched his way behind the sofa and was staring at her in wide-eyed horror. She giggled.

Wil glared at her as he pried Alex's fingers off his shoulder. "That wasn't funny, pet."

"Oh, sure it was! Lighten up!" Dana rolled her eyes, then went back to her task of placing the candles in their proper positions.

Alex stuck his tongue out at her before jumping over the back of the sofa to land almost on top of Wil. "Save me!" he pleaded pathetically as he burrowed his head against the vampire's chest.

Wil snorted.

Alex blinked up at him through tearful eyes. "But I'm scared...comfort me!" His lower lip poked out as he pouted.

"Yeah? An' what kind of comfortin' are you lookin' for?" Wil pressed Alex close to him as he ran a thumb over the protruding lip.

Alex smiled, kissing the finger. "What kind do you think?" he asked flirtatiously.

With a growl, Wil tugged Alex's face up and proceeded to kiss the human breathless.

Mellie sighed. "Boys." When that got no response, she barked out more sharply, "Boys!"

They jumped, turning dazed eyes to her. Alex flushed and cleared his throat. "Yes?" His voice was husky with restrained passion.

Mellie shook her head fondly. "Plenty of opportunity for that later," she admonished good-naturedly. "Everything is set up here. It's time."

"Oh." Alex reluctantly pulled away from Wil, running a hand through his hair. "Right. Guess we should, uh, do...that."

Wil grabbed his hand. "We...we don't have t'do it, luv."

Alex shook his head. "No, I want to." He brushed Wil's cheek gently. "I wanna remember everything about you that I can."

Wil turned his face toward the caressing hand, giving it a soft kiss. "Let's do it, then."

Alex pulled him up, leading him over to the circle of tall white candles.

"I need you to sit in the center. Face each other and hold hands. Make sure to keep the brazier between you." Dana waited until they were in position, then nodded to her mother. Mellie flicked the light switch off, plunging the room into darkness.

Wil held tightly to Alex, and both turned to face the flicker of light that appeared.

Dana slowly lit each candle, until a ring of light surrounded the boys. Carefully, she stepped inside the circle and used a long match to light the contents of the brazier. Almost immediately, wisps of sweetly scented smoke began to curl up around the seated figures.

In a whispered tone, Dana began the chant.

"Mnemosyne, we beseech you.
These, your children, have need of your power.
Daughter of Heaven and Earth,
Child of Uranus and Gaea,
Bestow upon us your aid."

Reaching in the hand-sewn, silk pouch, Dana removed a mixture of herbs and petals, scattering them over first Wil, then Alex.

"As you gave birth to the Muses,
So do we ask your loins to grant rebirth to these two.
Gift them with your grace,
Bless them with your power,
Bring forth in them that which was sundered."

She parted their clasped hands, depositing a small handful of the mixture in them before closing them together once more.

"Heal the minds which were broken,
Restore the memories which were stolen.
Grant unto these supplicants your gift of Memory.
Renew in them the knowledge they have lost.
Make them whole once again."

Dana pulled a small vial of oil from her pocket, unstoppering it and dabbing a drop on each of the boy's foreheads.

"This we ask.
This we plea.
And as we ask,
So let it be."

The remaining oil was poured into the brazier, and a bright blue flame shot up. Alex and Wil both flinched back, but didn't let go of each other. A gasp escaped the vampire as all the candles were abruptly extinguished, and a brisk breeze swirled through the room.

Then, the wind ceased, and there was silence.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Are you sure?"

Buffy rolled her eyes as she spoke into the phone. "Angel, this is Spike we're talking about. How could he *not* have something to do with this?"

"Buffy, I--" Angel sighed. "May I speak with Giles?"

Buffy pouted, but handed the phone over to her watcher.

Giles handled the phone distastefully, obviously not wanting to speak with Angel. But for Xander's sake, he was willing to make the effort. "Yes?"

"Giles, could you just tell me what you know for certain? Without the speculation?"

Giles took a deep breath. "Well, it seems Xander simply disappeared several weeks ago. He left behind no note, only an empty basement, a distraught girlfriend, and indifferent parents. We've neither seen nor heard anything from him, although we do know his car was impounded. Also, it seems that Spike has gone missing as well, apparently around the same time. At least, the last day he was seen was when Anya discovered Xander had left the basement. However, we don't know for certain that the two disappearances are related."

Angel groaned. "But with Spike's history, you're assuming the worst."

"Quite."

There was a bit of muted conversation as Angel spoke with his associates, then came back onto the line. "Look, we don't have any cases going at the moment, so I can be there sometime tonight." A screech as heard in the background, and Angel amended his statement with a sigh. "*We'll* be there."

"Wonderful," Giles muttered, then thrust the phone back at Buffy.

"Angel? So, you're coming? Great, we'll fill you in on all the details when you arrive. Bye!" She hung up the phone and beamed at everyone. "This is great. We'll sic Angel on Spike, and have Xander back in no time. Who's up for a latte?"

~~~~~~~~~~

Alex and Wil sat on the couch, holding hands. They watched as Dana poured the bits of mixture they'd held into the silk bag, then sewed it shut.

"I don't feel any different," Alex complained. "And I still can't remember anything."

"Don't worry," Dana told him calmly. "It'll come back slowly. Otherwise, your brain would get too swamped with information and overload. But it *will* come back to you."

"Everything?"

Dana nodded. "Every last little detail. Hope there was nothing you'd repressed during your childhood." She grinned, handing over the pouch. "Now, tie this to your headboard. Keep it there until your memories are back to normal."

Wil took the proffered item. "So, how slow is slow? Are we talking months here?"

"Oh no! A few days, a week or two at the most. You'll be as good as new in no time."

Mellie finished putting everything away, and gave the boys a hug. "Now, we'll just be heading back to my place. You two get a good night's sleep and come visit tomorrow before you head to work. Let us know how it's going." Smiling, she hurried Dana out of the apartment.

Wil snuggled up against Alex. "You sure we did the right thing?"

"Yeah. We'll be ok. You and me...we belong together."

"You think?"

Alex kissed him. "Definitely."

"Hmmm." Wil stroked along Alex's chest. "So, think we should...go to bed early?"

Alex didn't even pause to think about it, he simply stood and led the way to the bedroom. The two of them undressed to their boxers. Wil tied the pouch to the head of the bed, then Alex shut off the lights. It was early for them to be sleeping, but it was past dark, and the day's excitement had tired them out.

They cuddled up together under the covers, exchanging long, lazy kisses. Hands that stroked along bare flesh soon slowed and stilled, and the boys fell into a deep slumber.

*****

Ander gritted his teeth in pain as he dragged himself upright. He looked up at the steep hill he'd managed to stumble down, knowing he wouldn't be able to make it back up. Not with his leg hurting like it did.

Almost fearfully, he examined the leg. He could tell it was bruised, and there was a liberal amount of blood visible, but he could only hope that the bone hadn't given. He remembered the last hunter who'd ruined his leg that way; the man had been reduced to relying on his mate to scrounge enough food for them. He hadn't lasted through the harsh winter, and the woman he'd left behind had promptly been joined with another unmated hunter.

Ander had no mate to provide him with even a cursory amount of care, and any hunter who was going to be a liability to the clan was expected to...remove himself. After all, who would want to be mated with a crippled man unable to provide for those in his care?

Grunting, he tried to lever himself up the hill, giving it up when the pain overwhelmed him. He fell back, panting harshly. He closed his eyes, shivering as the sun began to set and coldness descended.

Knowing that to fall prey to the sleep of cold was to invite eternal slumber, Ander struggled to gather together any nearby kindling. However, he gave a low cry of frustration when he discovered his flint pouch had vanished, lost in the fall that had injured his leg.

He huddled into a ball, hoping another hunter from his clan would find him soon.

A twig snapped, and Ander forced himself to wakefulness. He held his breath, listening closely, but was unable to detect any signs that one of the larger predators in the region had found him. Sill, he reached for his broken spear, taking hold of the sharp end.

There was another cracking of wood, then a man emerged from the underbrush, approaching warily. Ander bared his teeth, raising his bit of spear menacingly.

The man stopped, crouching low to the ground. He glanced around and, seeing no one else nearby and nothing to indicate that there even *was* anyone else around, he crept forward.

Ander snarled weakly. This man was unknown to him; not of his clan, and therefore a potential enemy. There was much competition between clans for food during this time of little rains and scarce game. It was even rumored that some clans had taken to eating their own dead.

The stranger came close, examining the pile of wood that would have been a fire. He peered closely at Ander, noting the immobile leg that was encrusted with blood. He cocked his head.

Ander's hand began to tremble as he held the spear, and his breath was coming harsher. He didn't think he could stay awake for much longer. It was so cold, and he was so tired...

There was a spark, and another, then a tiny flame appeared. The stranger bent over the new ember, blowing on it gently until it flared up and consumed the tinder, soon growing to a tiny, welcome blaze. He snuck another peek at Ander, then scooted closer. He touched his hand to his chest. "Illam," he said softly.

Ander jerked back, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. He stared at the fire, then back at the man...Illam. The man didn't appear to be a threat, and Ander knew he'd be unable to defend himself at the moment even if Illam should prove to be an enemy. He sighed. "Ander."

Illam flashed him a wide grin. He crawled over to Ander and, after pulling out a bladder of water, gently began to clean the wound on Ander's leg.

Ander watched in the flickering light, grateful that the injury proved to be small and not as serious as he'd feared. He grunted his thanks, inching his way closer to the small warmth that the fire provided.

Illam frowned as he watch Ander shiver. Swiftly, he unrolled the pack he'd carried in, shaking out a fur-lined skin. He draped it over Ander.

Ander fingered the soft skin, then looked back at Illam. He blinked, then lifted the edge. Another wide grin met this action, and Illam scooted up behind him, spooning against his back. A hand brushed his hair away from his ear, and a voice whispered, "Sleep."

Enclosed by the warmth of the skin and the other man, Ander slept.

*****

Alex sat up with a gasp, his arms coming up to gather around Wil, who had also started awake. They stared at each other incredulously, somehow knowing that they'd shared the same dream.

"What the hell was that?!"

*****