Xander and Wesley had made good time. The traffic between Los Angeles and Sunnydale had been light and they had gotten home in under two hours. *Home* Xander thought about that word for a moment. While he knew in his head that Sunnydale was where he was born and raised his heart felt like it was still back in Los Angeles. Xander had missed the gang a lot, especially Willow, but the others back in L.A. had crept into his heart and Xander considered them family, too.

Xander marveled at the way they had become a family so quickly. While he and Cordy had known each other for most of their lives, they had never been as close as they were now. Xander smiled as he thought of his times with his ex-girlfriend. He had to admit that he loved spending time with her, even their shopping trips together where they would walk the mall hunting for the perfect shoes or outfit until Xander's legs would be ready to give out. Then they would get something to eat at the food court and while they ate they would either talk about old times or their lives now - how Cordy loved her job but wanted to be an actress and how Xander couldn't figure out what career he really wanted. Sometimes, Xander would just sit and listen to Cordy as she tried to analyze every person that walked past, making comments like "See that guy, mama's boy,Peter Pan complex" or "See that blonde? Self absorbed with a big 'the world owes me chip on her shoulder" or "Check out Sarah plain and tall. Has or comes from big money cause she would have to have money to snag that Calvin Klein model she's with."

Xander would find himself laughing so hard that tears would fall from his eyes. This would usually cause Cordy to get aggravated at him for laughing at her and she would end up throwing food at Xander to get him to shut up. He would throw some food back and soon they were involved in a full out food fight. They would end up running hand in hand out of the mall, laughing hysterically at the looks on the manager's faces as they came out to see what was going on. Xander figured they had been thrown out of every restaurant in the mall and the ones that they hadn't had banned them from eating there after hearing about their hijinx. When Angel, Doyle and Spike had heard about their antics they couldn't believe that Xander had actually brought out such a childlike quality in the usually reserved Cordelia Chase. Especially the time Cordy came back into the office happily telling them about their newest fight while she picked several strands of spaghetti out of her long dark hair.

When the others had discussed it later as Cordy and Xander had cleaned up, Angel had told Spike and Doyle that he thought their childish pranks came from the fact that neither of them had been allowed to have those times when they were younger. Cordelia was raised by a rich family who wouldn't allow her to get that messy and out of control and Xander's parents were drunks who wouldn't allow the boy to be happy. Then Buffy had come into their lives and they had begun fighting the demons of the Hellmouth. Neither one of them were ever allowed to be just children or young adults. Xander had overheard the conversation and had had to agree.

Xander thought about Doyle and how quickly the man had made a place for him in his life. He had even gone so far as to let Xander stay at his place the whole time he had been in Los Angeles. They spent most of their time going to the bar across the street and having a few beers while they played pool. Xander soon found that Doyle was very good - so good in fact that the only time Xander could beat him was when he did things to distract Doyle right as he took his shot. Things like saying, "Is that girl allowed to wear nothing in here?" or "Don't look now, but that redhead over there is staring at your ass." or "Doyle, watch out. There's a demon standing behind you." It was getting harder to fool Doyle though as he had grown used to Xander's comments.

Xander's thoughts came to Angel next. Xander knew if he had been the one who was sent to hell by Angel he wouldn't have forgiven him, much less taken him in, protected him, clothed and fed him. The thing that was most important to Xander was that Angel acted like he had respected and valued Xander's opinions and Angel had helped him to learn to fight so that Xander wouldn't get hurt. Xander had asked Angel over and over again to tell him how he could repay him for everything and Angel had just told him Xander was family and family took care of each other. Angel had told Xander that he finally had the one thing he'd wanted all his life - a family of his own. Since Xander and then Spike had arrived in L.A. they had both been accepted into the fold, and for that Xander was grateful.

Spike-well Spike was Spike. He could be really sensitive and gentle with the ones he cared about. He had listened to Xander talk about his life, his loved ones, good times and bad. Spike had laughed with him during the funny parts and had given him hugs when Xander grew sad. Spike could be very serious every now and then but for the most part he reminded Xander of himself. Spike said what he thought without thinking about the consequences, he was loyal to a fault and he had a sarcastic wit like Xander did. Xander just hoped that Spike had forgiven him for what he said during the argument that they had before he left. He had just gotten so mad when Spike had questioned him about his feelings over Spike and Angel, but most of all Lindsey since Xander had been having doubts about his relationship with his lover himself.

Which brought Xander's thoughts around to Lindsey. Xander had spent as much time as he could with his boyfriend, what with Lindsey's job and Xander helping Angel fight demons and trying to help Spike through what he was going through. Xander knew he cared deeply for Lindsey - was even very close to admitting to himself that he might be able to fall in love with the other man.

They had spent most of the times they were together at Lindsey's beach house, because his apartment looked like something on a showroom floor. Lindsey had admitted that the firm he worked for had decorated it but the beach house was his. Xander had been surprised to find out that Lindsey was a closet cowboy, having decorated his house like a ranch. Lindsey also loved country music like Xander and even played the guitar. Xander had confessed to Lindsey that Oz had been teaching him how to play before he left Sunnydale and Lindsey had offered to help Xander also, until Xander was pretty good at it. He smiled as he remembered the night that Lindsey had sung to him, both of them naked no less. It was one of his favorite memories.

*Flash*

You said you love country music?" Xander had asked Lindsey.

After a few moments, Lindsey laid his head on Xander's shoulder and softly said, "I'll always burn for you, Xander." They lay on the couch, intertwined with each other, watching the sunset.

*End of Memory*

*Damn, why did I have to think about that now*. Xander had to shift in his seat as his memories had made him so hard, he was feeling very uncomfortable. But then most of his good memories with Lindsey was about the sex. Lindsey could be very romantic and he had a way of turning Xander on like no other had ever done before. Xander knew that he had very deep feelings for this man but for some reason he was afraid to just let go and love him. It seemed almost as if Lindsey was actually two different people.

When Xander and Lindsey were alone together on the beach or at Lindsey's house, apartment or even Caritas, a demon-human kareoke bar that Lindsey liked to go to, his lover was kind, gentle and loving. He acted like Xander was the only person on earth. Lindsey loved to show Xander off at the club, especially in front of Lorne, a red-eyed, green empath demon that had taken an instant liking to Xander. Lorne could read people some of the time like when their emotions were running high, but always when they sang. Xander remembered one night Lindsey had sang a song just for him, and when he had finished Lorne had warned Xander that while Lindsey truly loved him, it was borderline obsession. Xander had been shocked to hear that, not thinking of himself as good enough or handsome enough for someone to obsess over. That thought scared him for some reason.

Then there had been the one and only time Xander had sat in court and watched his lover at work. While Lindsey was absolutely gorgeous in his suit, he was no longer the man Xander had come to know. His kindness and gentleness was no longer apparent and he had become almost ruthless in his attempt to win his case at all costs, no matter what. Lindsey had won the case and Xander had told him how much he admired Lindsey for being good at what he did, but when he had questioned some of Lindsey's methods, Lindsey had just smiled and said that was what all lawyers did. Xander never went to another hearing again.

The few times Xander had gone to Wolfram and Hart, Lindsey made sure he met him at the front door and wouldn't let Xander talk to anyone else. One time, Xander had been in Lindsey's office waiting for him when the boy from the mail room had come up to deliver Lindsey's mail. The man, whose name was Kevin, and Xander had gotten into a conversation about collecting comic books and had been debating over which ones were best when Lindsey had entered the room. He had coldly dismissed Kevin, making the excuse that he had just wanted time to be alone with his lover, but Xander had gotten a weird feeling from the encounter.

The worst thing that had happened, though, was when Lindsey found out that Xander worked for Angel. When Lindsey had found out where Xander was working, he had admitted that Angel didn't like the law firm he worked for. Seemed Angel had walked into a meeting Lindsey was having with one of his clients, which happened to be a vampire, and had accused him of killing some girl. When the vampire had taunted Angel, he had asked the vampire if he could fly. Before the other vampire could react, Angel had shoved not only him but the chair he was sitting in out the 20th story window. The vampire had burned up halfway down. No charges could be filed against Angel and Lindsey had been pissed about losing his powerful client.

Xander, on the other hand, had laughed when he heard what Angel had done. When Lindsey got mad, he found himself defending Angel's actions and the two of them had argued. They had made up by having lots and lots of make up sex and had agreed not to mention Angel anymore when they were together. Xander had left, still not totally happy and Lindsey had sent him two dozen red roses to the office with a card saying only 'Sorry about last night. Can't live without you. Lindsey'. Cordy had been very impressed, but not the men. Angel and Spike had wanted to know what Lindsey had done that was so bad that it would warrant an apology like that. Xander had played it off, saying it was just a lover's quarrel and Lindsey was just romantic, but he didn't think the two vampires had believed him. Xander had never told Angel where Lindsey worked. He knew the vampire would be upset and he didn't want to have that conversation until he had worked out his feelings for Lindsey.

As Xander made his way to the UC Sunnydale campus, he determined that when this thing with the Initiative was over, he would sit down with Lindsey and discuss his doubts with him. Xander was feeling uncomfortable about the amount of time he had been spending with Angel and Spike compared to the time with Lindsey. For some reason he felt more complete when he was with the two vampires. Xander knew he had always found Spike and Angel attractive and he didn't want a repeat of the Willow/Cordy thing. But that would mean the two vampires would have to love Xander and while Xander knew they did in their own special way, he also knew that Spike and Angel were in love, romantic love.

But first things first, Xander, he thought as he parked his car and stepped out. He waited for Wesley to park and while the man was getting off his motorcycle, Xander tried to form a plan of how to get into the Initiative. He knew that it wouldn't be easy, but he was determined to help Spike.

Xander and Wesley had been sitting on one of the benches in front of the campus for almost two hours before they saw Willow walking through the quad with a blonde-haired girl Xander didn't recognize. They seemed to be good friends as they were laughing and talking animatedly to one another. Xander was glad to see Willow happy. After she had called him a few weeks ago, he had almost come running home. She had sounded so sad and lonely that Xander's heart had broken for her. But she had insisted that she was fine and told him that he should stay in L.A. and help Angel with Spike.

Xander had planned on slipping in and out of Sunnydale without any of his friends knowing he was there. He didn't want to take the chance on someone from the Initiative seeing them together and possibly following him back to Spike. Although he knew he was probably being paranoid, there was no way he was going to put Spike in danger of going through any more than he already had at the hands of those wankers. Xander smiled as the word crossed through his mind. Maybe he had been spending too much time with Spike. He was even thinking like him, even though he didn't know what that word meant either. He just knew that Spike used it every time he talked about the Initiative soldiers.

"Are you sure we want to involve her, Xander?" Wesley's question cut into his thoughts bringing him back to the present.

"No, but I don't think there's any other way. Believe me, if there was I would do it. But we both know that Willow has the magic and computer skills to help us out with what we need to do."

Xander and Wesley stood up and walked behind Willow and the pretty blonde, neither girl noticing they were being followed. As they came to a secluded part of the campus, Xander sped up, reaching out to tap his best friend on her shoulder. Willow turned around and her mouth dropped open at the sight of Xander and Wesley standing before her. The blonde girl had also turned, looking back and forth between the three of them, not knowing what to say or do.

"Willow, are you going to speak or have I been gone so long that you've completely forgotten my name?" Xander teased, right before he heard a squeal and found himself with an armful of Willow.

"Oh, my God, Xander! I'm so happy to see you. Of course, I know who you are you big doofus. I'm just so shocked to see you here. Why didn't you call and let me know you were coming?"

"Need to breathe, Will," Xander told her as she squeezed him tightly. When she finally let go, he took in a deep breath. "Thanks, I needed that."

Willow took his hand and smiled at him. "I'm sorry. I've missed you so much and here you are and it's been so long and what did you say you were doing here? Are you home for good? Have you seen Buffy and Giles?"

"I've missed you too. I know it's been awhile. I need to talk to you about something and no, not yet on both of the last questions." Xander said, as Wesley and the blonde looked totally lost during the conversation.

Willow looked at Wesley for the first time. "Hey, Wesley what are you doing here with Xander? I thought you were a watcher. Xander's not a slayer now too is he? Of course not, only girls are slayers."

"Xander and I met up with each other in a restaurant in L.A. When he told me the reason for his coming to Sunnydale, I offered my assistance. I'm not a watcher anymore. I quit the Council. I'm a rogue demon hunter."

"Oh, that's nice. What's a rogue demon? Is it here in Sunnydale, because we've got enough stuff going on with the Initiative and everything that we don't need some kind of rogue demon mucking things up."

*She's the smart one of the group* "No, there's no such thing as a rogue demon. I hunt down any demons I may find along my travels and kill them." Wesley told her, deciding then and there to change the name of his occupation.

"Which is what I need to talk to you about, Willow. The Initiative, I mean. Can we go somewhere like really private and talk?" Xander asked, looking around.

"Sure. We can go up to mine and Buffy's dorm room." Willow said, tugging at Xander's hand as she got ready to lead him to Stevenson Hall.

Xander pulled back and Willow looked at him with concern. "I don't think that's a good idea. I don't want Giles and Buffy to know that I'm here."

"Xander, don't worry about the argument because Buffy and Giles will both be glad to see you, just like I am." Willow reassured him.

"I'm glad to hear that, but that's not the reason I don't want them to see me here. I'll tell you about it when we find that private place other than your dorm room where we can talk." Xander told her.

"Y-y-you c-c-can use my room," the blonde stuttered, timidly.

"Oh, yeah, that would be great. What am I thinking? I haven't even introduced you all yet. Xander and Wesley, this is Tara, Tara meet Xander, my best friend like forever and Wesley, who was Buffy's watcher at one time."

"Nice to meet you." Tara said, extending her hand to Xander. Xander smiled at her before he grabbed her hand and pulled her to him in a hug. "Any friend of Willow's is a friend of mine," he said with a smile. Tara looked back at him with a shy smile.

Wesley shook Tara's hand and then she led them to her dorm room. When they had all gotten inside, she closed the door and motioned for them to sit down. Xander and Wesley sat down in the chairs and Willow and Tara sat down on the bed. They all sat quietly for a moment before Xander spoke up.

"I don't mean to be rude or anything, cause I appreciate you loaning us your room to you know talk and everything and you seem to be a good friend of Willow's but whatever is said in this room cannot go any further."

"Xander you don't have to worry about Tara. She won't tell anyone anything we say if you don't want her to. But you know how bad I am at keeping secrets. It's gonna be hard enough not telling Buffy and Giles that I saw you, much less keep a secret from them." Willow groaned.

"I'm sorry, Wil. I didn't want any of you to know that I was here actually, but Wes and I couldn't think of any other way to do what we have to do without your help. We need to get into the Initiative." Xander laid it out on the line for his best friend. "If you don't want to help, you know if you're nervous about it or anything just let me know and we'll try to think of something else."

"No, of course not. You know I'll do anything to help you. Why do you want to get inside the Initiative? Xander, it could be dangerous. We still don't know that much about them, except that Riley is one of them."

"Who is Riley?" Xander asked.

"Riley is Buffy's new boyfriend. They've been seeing each other quite a bit lately. Remember when you called that night and Buffy said she knew a few of the Initiative guys - of course you do, because that's why you didn't want her to know isn't it?"

"Partly, yeah. But I had no idea she was seeing one of them. Is it serious? And how could she date one of those assholes?" Xander asked, a little angry that Buffy would date someone who would do the things that Spike had described.

Willow's eyes grew wide at his words. "Xander Harris. They're not all bad guys. I agree what they did to Spike and all those harmless demons are wrong, but Riley is really a nice guy. I don't think he knows about any experiments being done on anyone, if there is something like that going on."

"There most definitely is Willow. Spike's had plenty of nightmares about that place to have convinced me. Nightmares about being blinded on purpose, having his skin peeled away to see how fast he'd heal, being poked and prodded with God knows what and being neutered."

Willow gasped in horror at his words. "Oh, poor Spike. And did I just say that about the vampire that was going to kill me?"

Xander smiled. "Yeah, that was my reaction at first too, Willow. But I've come to know Spike these past few weeks and he's a pretty good guy considering the fact that he's a vampire."

"Oh. Well, what do you want me to do?" Willow asked.

Xander looked over at Tara before turning back to Willow. "Not trying to change the subject here but I just realized we've been talking about Buffy being the slayer, Wesley being a watcher, the Initiative and Spike being a vampire and Tara doesn't seem surprised in the least. I take it she knows about the hellmouthy side of this town then?"

"Yeah, Tara's a witch. She's really powerful too." Willow said, proudly rubbing Tara's shoulder as the girl protested that she wasn't that powerful. Xander watched for a minute and something began to form in his mind, two things actually. One was that his best friend seemed awfully cozy with this girl and looked at her the way she had always looked at Xander when she had a crush on him, or the way she looked at Oz when they were dating. The other thought was if Tara was a powerful witch like Willow said, she could come in handy for their plan, that is if she wanted to help. Xander looked up to see Willow watching him and it was if they knew without communicating what each of them were thinking.

"Xander, I have something to tell you," Willow began at the same moment that Xander was saying, "Willow, I have something to tell you."

"You first," they both said together after a minute.

"I'm gay," also together at the same time. They looked at each other and both of them burst out laughing. It wasn't unusual for the two friends to both speak at the same time, or practically read each other's minds. Xander and Willow had been doing that since they were three years old.

Tara and Wesley sat watching the two friends, amazed at how close they seemed to be. While Tara and Willow's relationship was in the new stages, she knew how much her girlfriend had missed Xander and had heard lots of tales of their childhood together. Wesley had known that they were close from his time before in Sunnydale, but had never realized just how close until now.

When they got through laughing, Willow looked at Xander and then at Wesley. "Not you two." It was more of a statement than a question. Willow could see that Xander wasn't acting like he was in love with Wesley.

"No, good Lord, no," Wesley huffed, as Xander looked at him.

"Thanks, dude. Appreciate that."

"Oh, I didn't mean it that way, I assure you. If I were gay, which I'm not, I would find you attractive. But I'm not, so I don't."

"It's alright, Wesley. Take it easy. I was just kidding you." Xander turned back to his friend. "No, I've got a boyfriend named Lindsey. He's an attorney who lives in Los Angeles. I met him at a bar and there was instant attraction. I don't know if it's full blown love yet, we'll just have to see."

"Well, Tara and I have been together for a little while now and I can tell you that from my point of view it's full blown love for me and I think it is for her too." Willow said, reaching over and taking her girlfriend's hand as Tara blushed and murmured, "Yes, it is."

"I'm happy for you both. Welcome to the Scooby family, Tara. I guess you've already been inducted though by Giles and Buffy."

"Actually, she hasn't. I haven't told either of them yet. I wanted to tell you first, cause you know you are my best friend. Besides, Buffy's never around to tell anything to. She stays with Riley and his friends constantly. She doesn't even know when I'm around," Willow pouted.

"I'm sorry she's treating you that way Willow, but you know how Buffy is. She can be kind of unthinking sometimes with her actions or the things she says. I love her and everything but she's sort of selfish. I think it's the 'only child syndrome', you know she always gets her way about stuff."

"Xander, we're only children too you know." Willow pointed out.

"Good point, but we weren't spoiled like Joyce spoils Buffy. Our parents were...well let's just say different, shall we and let it go. Besides she's got that 'I'm the slayer and you will listen to me or else' thing going on for her."

"Right. There are always exceptions to rules after all," Willow agreed. "So what did you and Wesley need help with?"

"I need to get inside the Initiative, poke around and try to find some kind of records or anything that they have about what they did to Spike. I want to find out exactly what they did and how they did it, so that we can get it reversed."

"Are you sure about that, Xander? I know it's wrong to experiment on people, even if they are demons, and while I feel sorry for Spike if you get this thing reversed and he can start biting again he'll probably go back to killing people."

"Look, Willow the point is he can't hurt anything or anyone right now. That may be a good notion at first, you know with the not being able to feed off people and killing them. But it's gone too far. He can't even protect himself from humans. I told you about finding him in the alley. Well, we all went out the other night and there was a bar fight and he was scared. Can you believe that? William the Bloody was scared of a bar fight. It was terrible. I'd rather try to fix him and if he gets out of hand, one of us will just have to stake him, although I don't want it to be me, cause I like him."

"Maybe we should talk to Buffy or Giles about this before we try to help him. I mean if we do this and you find out something that will help Spike, I don't know that they're going to be too happy about that. Plus, Buffy will be very angry if she finds out what we're doing. You know, messing around with Riley and his friends, cause he's her boyfriend." Willow was starting to look uncomfortable.

"I don't care how mad she gets Willow. Hell, Spike is my friend and they messed with him so I say the Initiative deserves whatever's coming to them, Buffy's boyfriend, friends whatever be damned. You just told me a few minutes ago that you would absolutely help me. Now you're changing your mind because Buffy might get mad? When are you going to finally stand up to Buffy, Willow? You've been following her for almost four years and you never question her about anything, even if you feel it's wrong. I'm getting sick of everyone cow towing to her all the time. You and Giles have her up on this pedestal because she's the slayer. Fuck, she's a person too and she makes mistakes. Believing in the good work of the Initiative is one of them." Xander was starting to get angry. What was a boyfriend compared to losing your choice of freedom or your entire existence like Spike had.

"You make mistakes too, Alexander Harris. You and Buffy are my two best friends and I don't want to get caught in between you two. Besides, how many times have you trusted people and they've turned out to be mummies or preying mantis or whatever?" Willow was angry now too. "You free Spike from what those doctors did to him and everyone he kills will be on your conscience."

"Fine, I'll deal when the time comes. You can bail on this if you want to, but I'm not going to. With or without your help I'm going to find something to help Spike. Just do me a favor will you? You know for all those years of friendship we had before Buffy came along. Don't say anything to her about us being here. Give us the weekend and then you can do what you want to, I don't care. You can tell Buffy, Giles, this Riley what's his name---"

"Finn, Riley Finn and he's a good guy, Xander. He doesn't act like he would tell a little white lie, much less a big ugly one like you're suggesting."

"That's why they're called the Secret Forces, Wil. You know because they keep secrets. I don't want to argue with you. Just promise me that you won't say anything to Buffy for the rest of the weekend. Give us that long, and if I can't find anything, I'll go quietly back to L.A. and I won't bother Riley and this Professor---whatever."

"Walsh. All right, I'll give you the weekend, but if I don't hear from you by Sunday night, I'm telling Buffy and Giles. I don't like going behind their backs and besides, you and Wesley could end up getting into trouble if what you think is going on is actually going on. And this has nothing to do with me picking one friend over another. It has to do with letting Spike go back to full out killing again. I feel sorry for him, but not enough to let him loose on everyone, and that includes you, me and Buffy."

"Whatever," Xander said, standing up to leave. "Come on, Wesley. We've got less than 48 hours and time's a wasting."

Willow put a hand on her friend's arm. "What are you going to do, Xander?"

"I think it's best if you don't know Willow. You don't want to be a part of this and I respect that. But you have to respect that I'm not going to give away any of my plans either. We'll just have to agree to disagree. Promise me one thing, though. If something does happen and Wesley and I don't show up, call Angel. Get him down here as fast as you can. I need somebody down here that will watch my back, because from what I've heard just now - Buffy wouldn't. Once again, she'd side with her boyfriend over her friend, even if her boyfriend is doing something wrong."

"It's not like that, Xander. We love you. It's just that you don't always think things over before you jump headlong into something. I don't want to see you get hurt, or Wesley. I mean he's just an innocent person drug into all of this by you. How are you going to feel if something happens to him?"

Before Xander could answer Willow, Wesley spoke up. "He didn't drag me into this. I offered my assistance. Therefore, he should not feel guilty in any way if something goes wrong."

"That's settled then. Do you promise me that you'll at least call Angel if something happens? You have to pinky swear."

"I promise. But you have to promise to be careful. Even though I don't like this idea and I don't agree with it, I don't want you getting hurt." Willow hugged Xander. Xander gave her a half-hearted hug before promising that he would be careful and then he and Wesley walked out of the room.

They had walked for a few minutes when Wesley spoke. "It hurts when your friends don't believe in you, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it really does. I would have thought that just this once, Willow would see my point and not side with Buffy but I guess I was wrong. I know that I had Buffy on a pedestal for a long time, but hell if I thought she did something wrong I told her. Giles and Willow act like they're afraid of her or something and you shouldn't be afraid of your friends. They should be the ones you can trust when you need them."

"It doesn't always turn out that way, Xander. I know when I was on the watcher's council, I thought a lot of those people were my friends. I had known some of them my whole life. But as it turns out, none of them could be trusted."

"So that's why you decided to make your own way in life, huh?"

"Exactly, just as you should do. It hurts, but in the long run it's usually for the best. And sometimes you actually find friends that will respect you and listen to you, no matter what."

"I have. Cordy, Doyle, Spike and especially Angel have been there for me and really listened when I said something. They respect my opinion, even if they don't always agree with me at times. And now here you are, helping me out when you don't have to. I remember how we treated you when you were here before. I'm sorry for that. I was too busy trying to please Buffy and take up for Giles to give you a chance. I did the same thing that I just accused Willow of doing. Plus, there was that whole I used to date Cordy and she fell for British guy thing going on."

Wesley looked pleased at Xander's words. "No apologies necessary. I think we both used to be quite different people. What say we just start over again?"

"We already have. I trust you to watch my back, Wesley. I know that if anything happens, you'll be right there with me. It means a lot."

"To me too. So what's our first move then?" Wesley said, changing the conversation before he started crying. No one had ever told him that they trusted him to watch out for them before.

"I have a few ideas. I was possessed by a soldier during Halloween. The memories have sort of faded over time, but now that I'm trying to think like a soldier, it's starting to come back to me. I can't remember all the codes and stuff, just the basic memories of how the Government works."

"How did that happen - the possession I mean?" Wesley asked, slipping into watcher mode.

"Ethan Rayne put a spell on the costumes we were wearing for Halloween to make us turn into whatever we were dressed as, but Giles managed to reverse the spell."

"Ethan Rayne? My God is he still around wreaking havoc?"

"I really don't know. The last time I heard about him being around was last year. He put a spell on the band candy we were selling to make all the adults act immature. I ate a shitload of it and nothing happened to me. How did you know him?"

"Everyone in the watcher's council knows Ethan. He's a bad seed so to speak ever since he started worshipping Chaos."

"I don't know about the worshipping part, but he sure knows how to cause it - Chaos I mean," Xander clarified as Wesley smiled. "And stop and marvel at the concept of being called a 'bad seed' by the watcher's council."

"It does seem a bit hypocritical doesn't it?"

"Yep. Now, since Willow gave us Riley's last name and also the Professor's I think it's time to find a computer, preferably the one in the college office. We can get on it and look up where this guy lives, cause I'm thinking if he's Initiative and going to college then they've probably recruited a bunch of these college guys. The Government wouldn't want their little tin soldiers scattered all over campus, in case there was an emergency. They would want them all housed in the same place, right?"

Wesley seemed shocked at Xander's insight. "Yes, you're probably right. Just as the watcher's council has their own place. They like to keep everyone close except for those that are out in the field. Wesley paused for a moment as he thought about what Xander had just said. "You tricked Willow into telling you their last names."

"Works every time. Play dumb and someone will always give up information. Especially Willow. Spike said this place was underground somewhere, so I'm also thinking that it would probably be under wherever these guys live. That would make it easier for them to get in and out without anyone getting suspicious. The only problem is we can't just waltz into their house and say, 'oh hey guys, we want to get into your secret lab so we're just passing through' cause I don't think that would go over too well."

Wesley laughed. "No, you're probably right. Wait a minute. From what you told me, Spike said he came out into a clearing, so there must be other entrances. We just need to find out where they are. We find out the location of their house and then look around for any secluded clearing near there and I'm sure we'll find a way in."

"When we do we wait for a couple of soldiers to come out, jump them and take their clothes and weapons and make them tell us what we need to know. You know stuff like where to find the information that we need to make Spike better. I'm sure with enough torture they should crack." Xander followed Wesley's train of thought.

"You can do that," both men said to the other in unison. Both of them laughed at their uneasiness at the thought of torturing someone.

"I've got a better idea," Xander said. "As much as I would love to beat one of these guys up for what they did to Spike, well" - he looked at himself and then Wesley before continuing, "somehow I don't think either one of us comes off as very threatening. One thing I remember clearly about military men is that they are trained to keep their mouths shut. So who would you say hates these soldier guys as much or more than we do?"

Wesley thought for a moment before his face lit up. "Demons."

"Exactly. I figure we go to Willie's and recruit a few of them to have some fun after we find this place and grab those guys. So let's run down this plan shall we? We go to the school office, you distract anyone that may be in there while I get online and find where one Riley Finn lives. We go there, scout around for a couple of guys after we've gone to Willie's and recruited some demons, we switch clothes with soldier boys, take their weapons while the demons get the information we need. We get in, get the notes about their experiments and haul ass out of Sunnydale and back to L.A. We'll have to be quick about it so no has time to follow us. I don't want to lead them to Spike even though I think Angel would enjoy some payback."

"He's not Angelus again is he?" Wesley asked, a little frightened at that thought.

"Angel's always Angelus deep down. He just knows how to curb his baser instincts. He loves Spike though and after what they did to him, I think Angel would gladly justify killing a few humans. Come on, we've got a lot of detective work to do and very little time."

Xander and Wesley hurried towards the college offices to look up one Riley Finn, both of them silently hoping and praying that they hadn't bitten off more than they could chew.

Xander and Wesley had made it to the campus office without being spotted by Willow or Buffy. After Willow had refused to help, Xander didn't want her to know anything about his plan. It still hurt that Willow had once again sided with Buffy over him even though she professed to love him so much. Was that all just talk? Xander wondered sadly before turning to Wesley.

"Okay. So far so good. No sign of the girls or anyone I know that can place me here. Are you ready?"

"Why do I have to be the one to distract someone if they're in the office? Or if someone comes in? You're much better suited for the distracting part." Wesley was practically begging.

"Fine," Xander gave in. I'll do the distracting thing, but remember to hurry, okay?" When Wesley nodded, they slowly crept into the office. As they looked around, they noticed it was empty. "Good, no one's here. Get in there, find where Riley lives and get the hell out."

Xander watched as Wesley ran into the inner office. After a few minutes, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard Wesley yell, "I’m on the computer. Someone left it on, thank goodness, so I don't have to try to hack into it."

"Shit, Wesley, why don't you yell a little louder cause I don't think the people in Florida heard you that time."

"Oh, yes, sorry. Shutting up now."

Xander raised his eyes heavenward before starting to pace back and forth across the floor. He felt bad for yelling at Wesley because at least the other man was helping. Wesley's ass was on the line just like his. Well, he'd apologize to the man when they were both out of here.

He was just about to congratulate himself on the fact that they were going to make it in and out of the office without anyone walking in on them when he heard the door open and looked over to see a middle-aged, heavyset woman walking in. *Damn, Hellmouth. Why had he jinxed himself like that*.

He turned to face the woman that was looking at him with interest. "Hello, Ms. uh...uh..." Xander stuttered putting his hand to his head as if he were trying to recall her name.

"Jamison," the woman replied, walking over to him. "What are you doing here? Students aren't allowed in these offices."

"Oh, well, yeah...I mean, I know that...Ms. Jamison...it's like this. Someone sent me to tell everyone that there's some kids keying cars in the faculty parking lot," he said as he looked over her shoulder and saw Wesley standing there giving him a thumbs up gesture.

"I don't have a car young man, but thank you anyway. I ride the bus," she informed him as she got ready to turn towards Wesley. Wesley quickly ducked behind the door out of sight.

"Oh, I almost forgot, there was something else I wanted to tell you," Xander almost yelled as he grabbed her arm.

Ms. Jamison jumped and turned towards Xander again. "Young man, don't you have any manners? You don't yell at your elders and you certainly don't grab them," Ms. Jamison sniffed as she pulled her arm away from Xander. Wesley, who had rounded the corner again and was now headed halfway across the room stopped quickly, looking towards them, fear on his face.

"Sorry, it's just...I heard one of the professors say you were...a...babe." Xander stammered weakly. Wesley looked at him, rolling his eyes at the boy.

Mrs. Jamison perked up at Xander's words. "Really? Which one?"

Xander sifted through his memory trying to remember any teacher's name that may have come up in his and Willow's conversations. "Mr. Ferguson."

"Mr. Ferguson? The sociology teacher, Mr. Ferguson?"

"Is there any other one?" Xander asked smiling.

"Yes, as a matter of fact there is. There is also Mr. Charles Ferguson, the algebra teacher. Mr. Stanley Ferguson is the sociology teacher and you should know that," she admonished him as Xander's smile faded.

"Oh, well I'm new here and everything so I have problems with names. But it was definitely Mr. Ferguson, the sociology teacher. He said you were hot."

Xander watched over the woman's shoulder as Wesley snuck towards the door, holding a piece of paper in his hand. He was almost there, if Xander could just keep her attention for another minute or two. "You know how disgusting it is for us kids to even contemplate you grown-ups having smoochies but I think you should go for it."

"I appreciate your concern and enthusiasm young man, but I'll have you know I don't date married men. He's been married for 20 years and has 3 kids. I think that you have---"

"Overstepped my bounds," Xander interrupted her as he saw Wesley slip out the door. "It's none of my business, you know. What was I thinking?" he asked as he backed away from the woman towards the door. "My God. Shame. Shame. I gotta...uh...go." he finished before making a quick exit.

"What a strange young man," Ms. Jamison said to herself as she walked to her desk. She reached into her purse and pulled out a makeup mirror, looking at herself and grinning broadly. "A babe, huh? Well I can live with that."

Xander half ran-half walked out to his car, looking back periodically to make sure the woman wasn't chasing after him. He found Wesley leaning up against the car holding a piece of paper in one hand while his other was clutching his side from laughing so hard. Wesley looked up as Xander came over to him, once again starting to laugh at the boy.

"Glad you found that amusing, Wesley."

"I'm so sorry, Xander. You should have...should have...seen the look...on your face," Wesley said in between laughing and wiping the tears from his eyes. "It was priceless."

"Is that the information we need?" Xander asked, pointing at the paper. "Please tell me that you did find what we needed since I probably just started a rumor that will break up a man's marriage of 20 years." Xander groaned at the memory.

"Yes, I did. It appears he lives at Lowell House. And what's more interesting is the fact that every young man who lives in that particular house has listed Professor Walsh as his emergency contact."

"Which proves my theory that the Initiative soldiers all live in that house. Great. Which means we can just grab someone who comes out of that house instead of looking for the other opening ourselves. I mean, they all work for this Initiative thing and any one of them can lead us right where we need to go. It will save us some time. Good work, Wesley." Xander clapped the man on the back.

Wesley was beaming with pride. "It was nothing. Just years of being stealthy and trained in the art of getting information."

"Yeah, well let's see how good we are at recruiting. Next stop, Willie's." Xander said opening his car door and waiting for Wesley to get into the passenger side. He started up his car and headed towards the bar.

Xander and Wesley knew they were in trouble within five minutes of entering the bar. Xander was cursing himself for walking into a bar full of demons knowing he was a demon magnet and Wesley was cursing himself for walking into the bar dressed in leather. Seems between demon magnet and leather boy, they were drawing much unwanted attention.

"So you two pretty boys come here often?" A demon with horns on his head was asking, as he snaked his tail around Wesley's waist, trapping the man and pulling him close.

"No way. We would have noticed them already, and ate them up," a dark-haired, very bulky vampire was saying as he put his arm around Xander and sniffed his neck before licking down the side of his jugular. "This one is much too sweet and innocent to go unnoticed by me."

"Unhand me you whatever. I did not come here to be manhandled by some demon," Wesley said, trying to slap the tail away from him.

"You're a watcher and that's the best you can come up with?" Xander asked him, as he tried to get away from the vampire who was holding him. "Aren't you guys supposed to know what every demon is?"

"So sorry, I can't rattle it off from the top of my head. We have books you know that tell us about every species. I wasn't required to memorize them all."

"I'll make it easy on you honey. I'm a Todger demon."

Wesley started laughing as Xander looked on in stunned silence. When Wesley saw the boy looking at him he explained. "I'm sorry, it's just that a todger in British slang means penis."

"You're a penis demon?" Xander asked the horned demon, as Wesley started laughing again. "A horny penis demon?" Wesley laughed even harder.

"Yes," the demon answered lifting the flap of skin underneath his stomach to show what looked like three penises. Wesley stopped laughing and started struggling again as it was Xander's turn to laugh.

"Looks like the laugh is on you, Wesley my boy."

By this time, another vampire had come up on the other side of Xander, also sniffing at his neck before putting his arm around the boy's shoulders. He looked over at the dark haired vampire and casually said, "Hey, Sid how about sharing this tasty morsel with me?"

"No way, Johnny. Go find your own meal. This one's mine."

Xander looked around the bar in panic before his eyes found Willy standing behind the bar, taking in the scene. "Hey, Willy, why don't you tell this dick," pointing at the Todger demon," "and these vampires just who they're dealing with before they make one huge mistake."

"Uh, guys, that kid happens to be a good friend of the Slayer's."

"No, way. If he was such good friends with the Slayer, he wouldn't walk in here unprotected." Sid sneered as Johnny laughed. By that time two more vampires were also making their way over to the boy.

Unprotected? Shit, Xander thought. He had forgotten about the little toys he had filched from Angel a long while back. Xander had seen Angel use them and thought they were cool so Angel had given him a pair. He had forgotten that he had put them on before walking into the bar.

Xander smiled as he heard Willy saying, "No, it's true. He came in here one time with the Slayer when they were trying to get information to help Angel."

"That's right guys. I'm not only friends with Buffy, the slayer but also Angel, formerly known as Angelus. I guess you've heard of them before haven't you?" he asked right before he tried out his toys. As the two vampires backed off a little, Xander raised his arms up as much as he could and hit the switch on the cuffs. As he did two stakes appeared, one on each arm. Soon both Sid and Johnny were nothing but two piles of dust.

"By the way, Angel sends his regards," Xander smiled as the other two vampires who had been approaching him started to back off in fear. Xander turned towards the Todger demon that was still holding Wesley. As he approached the demon started to grin. "Those won't kill me." he taunted right before Xander stuck one through his tail and embedded it into the floor. The demon let out a howl as Wesley stumbled away from him, reaching for the knife he had placed in his boot.

"No, they probably won't but they'll hurt like hell," Xander grinned, before he jerked the stake out of the demons tail and hit the switch that retracted the stakes back into place. Wesley made his way over to Xander and they faced the other demons in the room. By then, everyone had grown silent.

Wesley leaned over and whispered, "Do you think Angel will give me a pair of those?"

"Neat, aren't they?" Xander grinned. Wesley nodded his head.

"Xander you can't come in here and kill my patrons like this. I haven't done anything. Buffy promised that she wouldn't cause trouble in here anymore unless I caused problems." Willy was whining.

"I don't work for Buffy. I work for Angel." Xander told the man, who gave him a terrified look.

"Angel? What did I do to piss Angel off? Last time I heard he was in L.A. I haven't done anything bad enough to reach Los Angeles."

"Nothing yet. But if your customers touch me or Wesley again, I think that Angel would get very testy. He might even have to come in here and redecorate if you get my drift." Xander said, looking around the bar and noticing the other demons and vampires cowering at the sound of Angel's name. *Gee, this was fun*.

Xander had never realized just how nice it was to have someone as powerful as Angel to fall back on before. One mention of the vampire's name was throwing fear into every demon and vampire in the place. They were more scared of Angel than they were Buffy. Xander could only imagine how good it would be to throw Spike's name into the mix, but he didn't want to give away anything that would lead anyone back to the vampire. *Oh, well maybe next time.*

"Sure, sure, we understand don't we guys?" Willy asked his patrons as they all nodded their head in agreement.

"Good. Glad that's settled. Now, Wesley and I didn't come here to kill anyone, well not demons anyway."

"But you just dusted two of my customers and injured another one," Willy protested.

"Well, not to go all schoolyard on you, but they started it. Angel sent us down here to recruit help on finding a way to get rid of the Initiative. Seems he doesn't like what he's been hearing about these guys. Any of you want to help, you'll have his gratitude. Anyone that does what these guys just did," Xander indicated the two piles of dust and the injured demon, "is going to find themselves permanently dead. I was told to make it plain to all of you that if Wesley and I don't return unharmed, Angel is going to blame every last demon here, starting with you," he finished pointing at Willy.

"But I'm not a demon," Willy protested. "I'm human."

"Oh, do stop waffling, you wanker." Wesley told him, getting in on the fun. Everyone just stared at him in confusion. "Oh, good grief, it means quit going on and on about nothing you jerk."

"Why didn't you just say that?" Xander asked him.

"Because I'm British. British slang slips out when I get annoyed. Besides I thought it sounded better." Wesley explained.

"Well, you got me there. Personally, I would have gone with shut up."

"Yes, that would have worked also, I imagine. Thank you."

"You're welcome." Xander smiled just as one of the demons stood up.

"Will both of you just shut up!" he told the two men before turning to face the other demons and vampires in the room. "We don't have to listen to two stupid humans. Just because the kid says he knows Angel doesn't mean he does. Besides, Willy said Angel was in Los Angeles. He won't know who was here and who wasn't. We could kill them and be out of town in no time." The other demons started to nod their heads in agreement.

Wesley froze as he heard the demon's words and saw everyone in the room looking at the two of them. He looked over at Xander and saw that the boy was actually smiling. *Doesn't he realize we're about to be killed?*

"That's true, to a certain extent anyway. See while Angel is in L.A., Buffy is still right here in good old Sunnydale. And even though I've been helping Angel out in L.A. Buffy and I are still very good friends. If we're not back at her house within the hour, she's been told to come looking for us. I don't think you could take us both and get out of town in let's see," he paused dramatically as he looked at his watch, "half an hour. Also, let's not forget that if you kill us, there will be lots of blood. You'll never be able to wash the scent of our blood off of you enough to keep Angel from smelling it on you. Like I said, he's vowed death on anyone who hurts us - well the ones that are left standing when Buffy gets through with you guys. Not to mention the ones Wesley and I take out."

"Oooh, you guys are so scary," one of the vampires said, as he stood up.

"Want to give it a go big guy? You'll be a big pile of dust like your buddies in about 30 seconds. You don't really think that Angel would send his friends down here without training them first do you? He's smarter than that. Where do you think I got my little toys? I still have plenty of other stuff up my sleeve so to speak, so come on. Go ahead and take your best shot, lackbrain. We came here to help you but if you want to get killed by the helping hands then it's your party."

"You said you came here to help with the Initiative?" the vampire asked, backing off. He had heard of Angel's prowess not only at fighting but at mind playing games too. The vampire knew how smart Angelus was and the kid was probably right. It wasn't worth the risk anyway. Besides, he hated the Initiative.

Wesley and Xander relaxed as the vampire sat back down. *Thank God,he had managed to bluff them all*. "That's right. We don't like them any more than you all do and it's time they're stopped."

"That's not true. I saw the Slayer out patroling with a bunch of them soldier guys just last night." another vampire spoke up.

*Damn you, Buffy*. "It's true that Buffy is dating one of them. But she and Angel are still very close, emphasis on the word very. She'd do anything for him, even going against her own boyfriend."

"It's true. She's crazy over Angel," Willy assured them.

Xander had never been more happy for Buffy's obsession over Angel as now. Who would have ever thought he would have enjoyed using that against someone? This had been a crazy night indeed and it just kept getting weirder.

"Alex, is that you?" a voice came from out of the darkness in the corner. Xander strained his eyes to see who was calling out to him. A floppy eared demon with skin hanging off his face came walking towards him.

"Clem?" Xander asked as his friend came up and gave him a hug. "How you been doing?"

"Not good. Those Initiative guys are bad news. They got Clarence and DeDe the other night. They weren't doing anything, just walking home from a date. I tried to tell them it wasn't a good idea, that the streets weren't safe anymore, but they wouldn't listen to me." Clem said, his eyes beginning to tear up at the thought of his friends being captured and tortured.

"Not Clarence," Xander muttered, as he comforted Clem. Clarence was one of the sweetest demons he had ever met. He didn't know this DeDe but his heart dropped at the thought of one of his friends being held by those damn soldier guys. "What was Clarence doing here? He lives in Oxnard."

Clem paused for a moment before he looked sadly at Xander. "He came to look you up. He said he missed you dancing at the club and wanted to see if you would come back for at least a few appearances. Said he missed your jokes along with...well you know..watching you strip."

Xander's worst fears had been realized. A friend who had come to see him was now in the hands of the Initiative. It was his fault. Thoughts of what Spike had told him about the Initiative came flooding back and he held Clem tightly as they both started to cry.

All the demons and vampires in the bar, along with Willy and Wesley were watching in amazement. They had never seen a human holding a demon and crying along with him at the thought of another demon being captured by humans. Maybe this young man was special enough to help them get rid of the soldiers. As Xander and Clem parted, they all saw the look on Xander's face. While it was tear streaked from crying, he had a look of fierce determination mixed with a rage that sent chills down their backs, especially the vampires in the room. Not only could they see Xander's face, they could smell his emotions and it was enough to set their blood raging.

Xander turned to look at all of them. "Guys, this has gone from being a simple recon mission to full out war. Anyone who wants to sign up step forward. The rest of you better get the hell out of Dodge, because come tomorrow night, either we'll all be dead and the soldier boys will be on a rampage or the Initiative will be destroyed. I'm voting on the second outcome."

Song used in this chapter was "Burn" recorded by JoDee Messina.