Family Part 14

Title: Family Part 14

Author: Velvet Crypt

Disclaimer: Joss is God. I own nothing.

Spoilers: Um…total non canon.

Summary: An unwelcome visitor.

Xander came out of the room the girls were sharing with a smile. The smile dropped off of his face the second the door closed. Spike appeared at his side and snaked strong arms around his human. Xander dropped his head onto Spike’s shoulder and drew in a deep shuddering breath.

It was bad, Spike thought. Whatever it was that Lys needed to tell him about the shared vision that inspired the chaos of the evening was bad. He’d never seen Xan so shaken. The man looked about ready to cry. Firmly shoving his curiosity to the background, he led Xander to the couch. Dropping down onto it, he tugged Xander into his lap.

He held him, rubbing his hand over the tense muscles in Xander’s back. Every now and then, he would drop a kiss on sable locks or silky skin. He breathed in the scent of his mate and accepted. He was lost. Lost in the man in his arms. And he was happy to be there.

Xander finally snuffled his nose against his arm and looked up into Spike’s face. “Ellie saw Lys being raped.” He stated roughly. Spike froze, his mind refusing to wrap around the concept. Xander nodded. “Ellie saw it. Lys felt it. Nate apparently heard it. That’s why Angel had him there by the time we got there.”

He sucked in an unsteady breath. “I don’t understand why I felt nothing. All the kids did. You did. But I felt…nothing.” Spike clucked at him.

“Xander, I’m glad you didn’t feel anything. I can understand now why I felt the rage that I did. I was mindless. I just needed to kill something and I didn’t care what. I didn’t, and I know the kids wouldn’t, want you to feel that.” Xander sat up suddenly, looking irritated.

“That’s not my point, Spike.” He groused. “I’m supposed to be connected to this thing. But I wasn’t. I want to know why.”

Spike gnawed on his lip and stared at the unhappy man in front of him. “You calmed me down, luv.” He said softly. “You took away my rage.” Xander glanced up. “From what we could piece together, about the time you drug me back to myself, Ellie passed out. When she did, Lys was freed. So was Nate.” Spike shrugged. “I think you didn’t feel anything because you were our anchor.”

Xander blinked rapidly, trying to control the tears that threatened. “But…”

Spike held his arms out and Xander flew back into them. “Ssshhh, luv. You don’t have to feel guilty because you didn’t take your part of the bloody pentacle of pain. You didn’t desert us. You saved us. You pulled us out.” He held the brunette tightly against him, loving him with all he was worth until the man/boy finally cried himself to sleep.

__________________________________________________________

The next morning, the house seemed back to normal. Although no one spoke of any of the events of the previous night, it was evident in the small touches and tiny smiles the group gave to each other. Halfway though breakfast, the doorbell rang. Xander pushed his chair back and brushed his hand across the back of Spike’s neck as he walked past. The vamp briefly closed his eyes and bent his head forward with a smile.

Xander opened the front door to a familiar face. “Donna! What a pleasant surprise. Is everything okay at the site?” Donna was his boss’s wife. His smile fell as he caught sight of the two police officers and the unhappy look on Donna’s face. “Donna? Has something happened to Bob? The kids?” She visibly flinched.

“Donna? What’s wrong? Can I help?” He was starting to worry. Donna squared her chin and looked directly at Xander’s chin.

“X-Xander. This isn’t a social call. I’m here on business.” Xander frowned for a moment as he tried to remember what it was that Donna did. Oh, fuck. Oh, no. Oh please nonononono. Donna worked for CPS.

“Well, then I suppose you’d better come in, then.” Xander was amazed that he’d gotten anything out of his throat, it was so tight. “And you also, officers.” He stepped back and waved the small group inside.

He gestured to the couch. “Have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?” The officers shook their heads and Donna looked at the floor.

“Xander, I have an order here remanding guardianship of Nate, Ellie and Lys back to your parents until a hearing can be held to determine your competency as a guardian.” It all came out in one rushed breath, as though she’d rehearsed it a dozen times and was desperate to get it out while she remembered it.

Xander’s legs dropped out from under him. Luckily he was near a chair, and he sank into it, staring vaguely at Donna. “Pardon me?” He asked stupidly.

Donna squinched her face up, “I’m so sorry, Xander. Th-they submitted it this morning as soon as the courthouse opened. They brought…documentation, and some rather ugly charges. The judge…she signed it immediately. They forwarded the paperwork to my office and sent me out here to…to get the children.”

Xander blinked, looking from Donna to the police and back again. Donna looked miserable. The officers looked carved in stone. Expressionless. “What documentation? What charges?” He asked woodenly.

Donna shuffled in her bag and pulled out a manila folder. “They claim that you provide a morally unsafe environment by allowing them to spend inordinate amounts of time in an occult bookstore. That you have not provided adequate care for them during the times that you are at work…”

She stopped and shot a nervous look at Xander. “They state that you and the…babysitter…have engaged in sexual activities in the presence of the children.” Xander shot to his feet. The policemen’s hands went for their holsters, but Xander paid no attention.

“What the hell are you talking about?” He yelled. “I can understand the moral endangerment…sort of. I can even understand them not approving of my choice of people to watch the kids. But this? This is ridiculous!”

Donna lifted a shaky hand full of several pieces of paper. “They have documentation, Xander.” She whispered. Xander snatched the pictures out of her hand and stared. At himself. And Spike. Naked. On the very couch Donna and the police now sat on. He flipped through the pictures showing them in various stages of undress, of them pressed against each other, of Spike hovering over his erection.

He closed his eyes. Those fucking flashes. The man hiding in the goddamn roses. Fuck. “I agree. This looks really bad, Donna.” He opened them again to stare at the pictures. “But the kids weren’t here. They were spending the night with friends. Having a slumber party.” He looked up, pleading in his eyes. “I would never do…this…in front of them, Donna. Surely you believe that?”

Donna gently took the pictures back. “What I believe doesn’t really matter, Xander.” She said apologetically. “I have a court order to take them. I have to take them. I’m sorry.”

‘C-can you wait outside while I get them ready?” He choked out. The police looked ready to object, but Donna shook her head shortly.

“Yes, of course.” She and the officers shut the door quietly behind them, leaving Xander in shock and wondering what the hell he was going to tell the kids.

__________________________________________________________

Concerned looks met him as he pushed the kitchen door open.

“What’s wrong, Xander?” Cordy asked, setting her toast down. Xander tried to smile, but couldn’t seem to focus on her. She kept blurring. He was totally unaware of the tears slipping down his face. Lys turned white and grabbed Ellie’s hand. Nate stood up so fast that he threw his chair backwards. It clattered ominously in the silence of the room.

“Who’s taking us away?” He demanded.

Xander supported himself on the back of his chair. “That was CPS.” He began. “It seems that my parents have a court order to take the kids back while they try to prove that I’m an unfit guardian.” Silence. Then Spike erupted from his chair. Xander caught him as he was headed for the kitchen door.

“Spike,” he said softly. “This is beyond killing it to make it go away. We aren’t in your world right now. We’re in theirs.” He jerked his head towards the kids. “Remember that guy last night? The one from the rosebushes?” Spike nodded, still not looking convinced.

“He took pictures, Spike.” He stressed. “Pictures of…incriminating acts that support my parents claim.” He faced the kids. “There’s a lady outside. Her name is Donna Bartlett. She is waiting to take you to your grandparent’s house. I need you all to be strong. Be patient. I’ll figure out how to make this all go away and you’ll be back here in no time.”

He forced a smile, knowing it was a pathetic attempt. “Go get packed up. Take anything you want. music, Playstation, whatever. It’s all yours. You should have it with you. Go.” The kids stood in a daze. Nate moved away from his tipped over chair without righting it. Lys pulled Ellie down and herded her out of the kitchen.

Cordy stood too. “I’ll help the girls get packed.” She said quietly. Xander nodded a thank you and collapsed into his chair.

__________________________________________________________

“I’ll kill them.” Spike growled, game face in place. He had actually restrained himself to that point, Xander admitted wryly. He had hugged Lys and given her a kiss, tickling under her chin to make her smile through her tears. He’d roughly pulled Nate against him and whispered for the boy to be strong for his sisters. That he’d take care of Xander for them until they got back.

He swept Ellie up and clutched her desperately to his chest. He breathed in her scent and briefly vamped out in the vee of her neck to stop the tears from falling. “I love you, Ellie,” he’d whispered. And then he’d released her to her sister, his arms having never felt so empty.

But they were gone now. Spike and Angel had stood in the doorway, hating every ray of sunshine that stood between them and the kids. Xander, Cordy and Wesley had stood on the sidewalk waving goodbye to the kids. And they were gone. Now someone was going to pay for this, Spike swore.

“Spike, we can’t. We have to jump through legal hoops to get them back.” Xander said tiredly. He flinched as a plate crashed into the wall.

“Legal hoops?” Spike yelled. “I’m a Master Vampire, Xander. I’m above the law! I take what I want, when I want it. No one stands in my way!” Angel sat quietly, staring at the table. He understood the helplessness that Spike felt. And he too wanted to rip someone open for this. But he let Xander calm his mate down, knowing anything he had to say would only inflame the blonde vamp further.

“No, Spike. In this case you aren’t a Master Vampire.” Xander glared up at the infuriated man. “You aren’t invincible. You aren’t all-powerful. What you are is my illegal, gay, alien lover living in sin with me and helping me corrupt three innocent children.” He slammed his fist down on the table.

“Legally, you are nobody. You don’t even have a fucking driver’s license. As far as the state is concerned, you don’t even exist! That alone is enough to get the kids taken away. If I’m willing to let an illegal live with me, what else am I capable of?” He shoved away from the table.

“Oh, wait…I know. I’m capable of fucking said illegal alien on my fucking couch when the kids may or may not be home. And. My parents. Have. The fucking. Pictures. To. Prove. It!” Xander was, by now, screaming in his mate’s face, frustration, anger, and helplessness, all evident in his expression.

Spike’s own anger crumbled in light of his love’s pain. All that was left was the hopelessness he saw reflected in Xander’s eyes. “They took my kids, Xander.” He whispered painfully.

Xander held his arms open in an imitation of Spike’s comfort last night, and the vamp threw himself into Xander’s embrace. He buried his face in Xander’s shirt and Xander began gently rocking him. “I know, baby.” He whispered. “I know.”

Xander’s heart twisted. He held his arms out in a parody of last night. Spike buried his face in Xander’s chest. “I know, sweetheart.” He whispered back. “I know.”