At the knocking on his door, Giles yawned and clambered to his feet. He peered through the peephole, then opened the door, stifling another yawn as the obnoxiously wide-awake group of people filed in. "Excuse the...state of affairs," Giles said as he waved a hand at the people in various states of wakefulness around the room.

It was obvious that everyone had been there for a while. Pizza boxes were stacked in a corner, and the coffee table and surrounding floor were littered with pretzels and other snacks.

Tara and Willow were huddled in a large chair, going through a stack of book on automatic. Their eyes were glazed enough to prove that they really weren't reading much at all. They blinked and gave the four newcomers tired smiles when they finally noticed the intrusion.

Buffy had stopped her mechanical pacing, and was staring at Angel wistfully.

"Buffy," Angel greeted her quietly.

Buffy nodded jerkily. "Angel. It's...good to see you."

Angel shifted awkwardly. "So, where's...um...” He waved a hand.

Buffy gave him a tiny grin. "Riley had to get back to his place. He, um, has some stuff he needs to get done."

"He wanted to avoid me, huh?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Sorry."

"I'll live. Or...not, as the case may be." He cleared his throat and changed the subject. "So, what were you all doing before we came in?"

"Honestly? Sleeping. Or trying to."

"Sorry about the time," Angel apologized. "We got here as quickly as we could." He gave Cordelia a pointed stare.

"What!? I had to pack!"

Wesley rolled his eyes, sharing a long-suffering look with Gunn, who was trying hard not to start laughing out loud at Cordelia's tone of righteous indignation.

"Hey, you plan on dragging me back to *this* town, you better believe I'm gonna pack the essentials!"

"You didn't actually *have* to come," Angel reminded her.

Cordelia snorted indelicately. "Look, I may be a little self-centered, but I want to help Xander as much as the rest of you."

Buffy stared at her strangely. "And why is that? I mean, it's not as if you actually *like* him."

With a frown, Cordelia struggled to explain. "He's...he's...he's *Xander*!" Glaring petulantly at Buffy, she sat down stiffly on the sofa.

"Look guys, all this...discussion is really fascinating, it is, but...hello? That's not why we're here!" Willow glared around the room, daring anyone to argue.

Angel nodded. "She's right."

"Very well." Wesley moved to the center of the room. "Why don't you tell us what you know so far?"

"Short version?" Buffy took up residence in an empty chair. "Anya went to Xander's, found him and all his stuff gone. His dad, who is *seriously* creepy by the way, has no clue where he is. His car was abandoned and impounded, but we have no way of knowing where it was picked up. We've spent the last couple of days showing his picture around town, but so far, no one is talking. *And*, Spike also seems to have mysteriously vanished." As she ticked each point off on her fingers, her expression grew more and more worried.

Willow raised her hand. "Oh! Tara and I stopped by Xander's work, and it turns out he was fired just before his d-disappearance." Her face crumpled as she sniffled softly, and Tara patted her arm, trying to provide some comfort.

Wesley looked around, noting the lack of a certain individual. "Where is Anya, anyway? One would think she'd be quite eager to retrieve Xander."

"Don't know, really. She told us she was going to leave town for a few days, try to get over any impulses for vengeance she might have." Willow frowned slightly. "She thinks Xander did this because he wanted to break up with her, but he would *never* just...go away. Not without telling anyone!"

Angel spoke again. "You're certain Spike has something to do with this?"

Buffy gave him a *look*. "Doesn't he always?"

Angel conceded the point. "Usually, yes." He sighed heavily. "All right, then. If you've had no luck finding Xander, let's focus on locating Spike instead."

"Ok, see, how are we planning on doing that exactly?" Gunn asked as he sat on the arm of the sofa next to Cordelia.

Angel shrugged. "He's got to eat, which means he must be getting blood from somewhere. So, we check out all the sources, find out where he's buying from."

Gunn nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Of course, it might speed things up a little if *someone* could...give us some inside information." He tapped his head and winked at Cordelia.

Cordelia glared back. "It's not like I can *control* it! Trust me, if I could, I'd make sure they were a lot more helpful, and a *lot* less painful!"

Gunn held up his hands. "Woah! Back off, I was just joking! Geez."

Giles stepped in, hoping to stave off the bloodshed that Cordelia's flashing eyes promised. "It's almost sunrise now, and most of us have been up the majority of the night. Perhaps we should all get some sleep and start fresh in the evening. We can reconvene here and decide what to do."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh dear."

"'Oh dear'? What do you mean, 'Oh dear'? 'Oh dear' is *not* good. Alex, tell me she didn't just say 'Oh dear'."

Obligingly, Alex responded, "She didn't just say 'Oh dear'."

Wil groaned and slumped down onto the floor. "You're a pathetic liar, Alex. Shit. This *sucks*!" He glared at Dana. "I thought you were s'posed to be this great and powerful witchy type person. How could you screw this up?" He was shaking slightly now. "So what, we're just gonna go bonkers or something?

Dana gasped. "Oh, no! Of course not! I mean, the spell *did* work...really! It's just...um..."

Alex waited while she searched for the words. "Well? Spit it out!"

"Ok, so, you remember how I said that Kcsterki females are usually pretty powerful magically? Well, um, see...I kinda...” She chuckled nervously.

"You...what?" Alex glared at her coldly. "If Wil gets hurt because of something you neglected to tell us...” He left that sentence hanging threateningly.

"Alex! I'll thank you not to take that tone of voice with my daughter!" Mellie hovered protectively over Dana, hands on hips as she matched Alex glare for glare.

Alex wilted. "I'm sorry, Mellie," he said as he gathered Wil to him. "I just...I can't stand the thought of something happening to him. To *us*."

Dana cleared her throat and inched forward. "Look, *nothing* bad is happening. I just...sometimes have these little...*burps* with my magic. And things end up with a little extra...oomph."

"*Oomph*?" Wil blinked at her hopefully. "So, we're not goin' nutters?"

"Not at all! The spell was just a bit more powerful than I originally intended, and now it looks like you getting...all your memories back. *All* of them." She made sure to emphasize that point.

"What, exactly, do you mean by that?"

Dana settled into an overstuffed chair and wiggled around until she was comfortable. "Everything. You...I dunno, I guess you could call them soul memories...they're all coming back to you."

Alex pondered this. "So were talking, like, reincarnation and stuff?"

Dana nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Those dreams you shared...they're memories of previous lives, other incarnations that your souls, your...spirit essences...have taken on since they existed."

"That's...a lot of memories."

Wil was back to looking worried. "Are you sure our brains aren't gonna explode or something? 'Cause that's a *lot* of stuff that's gonna try to cram itself back in."

"Well, most of it will probably fade, just like normal memories. I mean, *I* certainly don't remember, say, learning to walk or talk. It's natural, really, otherwise we all probably *would* go insane."

Alex shuddered. "Somehow, that wasn't quite as reassuring as I'm sure you intended it to be."

"Oh. Sorry."

Wil picked at a stray thread in the carpet. "So, we have no choice, huh? Can't just get back the normal memories, we gotta take everything."

"Well, not exactly." Dana played with a lock of her hair. "You could get rid of the bundle I left with you. Without that to sustain the spell, your dream memories should stop."

"But then we'd never remember, right?"

"No. Probably not."

"So, it's all or nothing." Alex nodded. With a sigh, he stood and pulled Wil to his feet. "Look, we just...I mean, you know, thanks. For trying. Even if it turned out different then we thought it would."

Mellie sighed sadly. "So, you boys are going to call it quits with the spell?"

Alex shrugged, glancing at Wil. "Dunno. We'll have to talk about it."

"Of course. Sensible of you." Mellie walked them to the door. "Well, good luck with whatever you decide."

"Thanks Mellie." The boys hugged her. "And thanks again, Dana."

When the door closed, Wil practically dragged Alex down the hallway and back into their apartment. Once inside, he slammed the door shut, locking it securely. Then he turned and eyed Alex.

Alex gulped. "Um...Wil? Why are you looking at me like that?"

Wil growled low in his throat. "I thought I'd lost you, Alex. That dream...memory...whatever. It was...*real*. And I thought. You. Were. Dead!"

Alex rushed forward and enfolded Wil in his arms. "It's ok, Wil. I'm here, I'm alive. We're ok, both of us."

Wil shuddered, then relaxed against him. "I need you, Alex," he confessed softly. "Please...I just...I *need* you."

Alex pulled back a little, examining his lover. He nodded. "Yeah," he breathed. "Let's...ummm..." He jerked his head toward the bedroom.

Wil eagerly tugged Alex into the bedroom, then shoved him down on the bed. He crawled up over him, bending down to kiss him forcefully.

Alex groaned into Wil' mouth, arching his body up to press his burgeoning erection against the similarly hardening mound in Wil's pants. He pulled his mouth away briefly and gasped out, "Clothes!" then resumed the kiss, dueling with Wil's tongue as the other man plundered his mouth.

Wil squirmed out of his pants, never removing his lips from Alex's. Not wanting them to part for even the briefest moment, he settled for simply tearing off his shirt. Alex's was next, and he moaned as he pressed against heated flesh.

Reluctantly, Alex removed his hands from where they had wandered on Wil's body. He frantically shoved at his own pants, shoving them down his legs and then kicking them off into the corner. Clad only in boxers, the two writhed against each other, rolling across the surface of the bed.

Wil was in heaven. He was finally getting to touch and taste his fill of Alex, and he was rapidly becoming addicted to the tangy, slightly sweet taste of his skin, the way it felt gliding hotly against him. He kissed his way down Alex's chest, smiling when his lover groaned sharply at the light contact to his nipples. Quickly, Wil bent to taste this new bit of his lover.

Alex whimpered as a cool tongue played over his aching nipples. Teeth nibble softly, making him arch his back in pleasure. He tugged at Wil's head, pulling the vampire up and once more engaging him in a wet, heated kiss.

Wil thrust down on Alex. "Please..." he groaned. "Alex...I...” He thrust again, grinding himself into Alex's heat and hardness.

"Will...yes!" They continued like that for a bit until, frustrated, Alex pushed Wil away from him. He sat up and quickly peeled his boxers off, leaving himself bare to Wil's hungry gaze.

Wil devoured the sight of his naked lover. He too skimmed out of his boxers, then crept back into contact with Alex. Hesitantly, he reached out and stroked Alex's cock.

With a strangled shout, Alex fell back against the bed. He stared wide-eyed at Wil as his lover concentrated on touching him. Cool, exploratory fingers danced down his length, then back up again to circle the leaking head. "Wil!"

Wil was delighted with this part of his lover. There was *no* way he was going back to the previous policy of 'hardly ever look, and rarely touch' that had been established. They had been going slow enough up until today, and now it was time to have fun!

Alex dimly realized he should be doing something for Wil other than lay there passively. Not that there was anything wrong with it, but some reciprocal action would probably be appreciated. He reached up and pulled Wil on top of him.

Wil lost his hold on Alex's cock, and pouted briefly. The pout immediately turned into a satisfied moan when his own aching hardness slid over sweat-slick skin to nestle in next to Alex's. He stared in shock at Alex for a moment, then thrust experimentally.

Alex gasped and clutched at Wil, meeting his lover's wondering gaze as their cocks bumped each other. He rotated his hips, almost whimpering as he stroked against Wil's wiry bush of pubic hair. The sensation was maddening, but so *very* good, and he did it again. Evidently, Wil was liking this too, as he set up his own rhythm.

Soon, the two were grinding against each other in concert, and the room filled with low, husky moans and whispered endearments. The bed began to squeak softly as their movements sped up.

Alex spread his legs further apart, and Wil settled in between them. This pushed their cocks even closer and tighter together, and they each gave a broken cry of delight. Alex watched in amazement as Wil's blue eyes flickered with golden fire. Then, those eyes fluttered shut, and lips were once more descending to meet his. He let his own eyes close and wrapped his arms tight around Wil as they continued to thrust frantically together.

Suddenly, Wil stiffened. He released Alex's mouth and flung his head back. He howled Alex's name as he shuddered, cumming in violent pulses against his writhing lover.

Alex felt the wetness spurt up between them. He gasped and dragged Wil's head back down. The vampire hung onto him lovingly as he kept grinding desperately against him.

Wil laid a series of soft kisses on Alex's face and neck. He was nearly limp with pleasure, but continued to make tiny circular movements with his hips, coaxing Alex on. He reached between their sticky bodies and just barely scratched over the head of Alex's cock with his fingertip.

That simple touch was enough for Alex, and he cried out loudly, clutching Wil tight as he shuddered and came. Then, the room was quiet but for Alex's ragged panting.

It seemed like ages that they lay there, with Wil sprawled out contentedly on top of Alex. Their only movement was the gentle stroking of hands along quivering, sensitive skin. Then, Wil mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "...you were gone."

Alex sighed. "I'm here, Wil," he whispered. "I'm not going anywhere."

Wil kissed him possessively. "Promise me. Promise you won't leave me like that. I...I couldn't stand it."

"Shhh. I promise." He stroked Wil's back. "We're gonna stick, you know," he said with quiet humor.

"Don't care. Stay." Will snuggled in even closer against Alex.

Securely entwined, the two lovers drifted off into a light doze.

*****