"Why are you torturing me?! I thought Angelus and William the Bloody were gone....that you guys were Angel and Spike now." Dawn yelled.

"Not true, Dawn. Angelus and William the Bloody are still a part of us and you've brought them out. Now quit struggling or I might have to do something I won't regret." Dawn's eyes widened and she immediately stopped trying to get away. She recalled some of the stories Spike had told her about 'the good old days'. How had this happened? One minute everyone was clearing away the breakfast dishes and cleaning up and the next minute...William the Bloody. And Angelus. Couldn't forget Angelus, who was holding Xander. She turned a defiant face towards Spike who glared at her. "You should have stayed tucked in your beddy bye all warm and safe where nothing bad could get at you." Dawn couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face thus ending Spike's little game.

"Come on, Spike. I slept a few steps away from you guys last night. And are you supposed to be scaring me? Cause I gotta say your attempt is kinda lame." Spike sighed, letting go of her.

"A little tremble wouldn't hurt."

"Sorry, it's just....come on, I'm badder than you."

"Are not.

"Am too.

"Evil, soulless, chip-free vampire, pet."

"Who wouldn't hurt us for the world because you love us. Besides, I'm a teenager living on the Hellmouth. Now that's a bad combination."

"Yeah, I can see how that would be much more evil than a vampire." Spike smirked. "What do you do for fun? Sneak out of the house and run to your friend's houses so you can braid hair and watch Teletubbies?"

"No! Well...yeah, I do sneak out of the house when I want to go to the Bronze with my friends." Dawn admitted.

"What! You go running about Sunnydale without your big sis and your mum knowing where you are? Are you crazy!? You could be killed...you know what's wandering about that town at night." Spike was yelling now as Angel and Xander approached, also looking worried.

"Dawnie, not to sound like an old fogey but Spike's right." Xander told her.

"Hey! I'm not an old fogey," Spike protested.

"Yes, you are...in a way. You're what? 128 or something?"

"126. Besides, Angel is way older than me. He's 258." Spike pointed at the older vampire.

"240. As long as we've known each other you don't remember how old I am? That hurts." Angel pouted. Xander put a comforting arm around his lovers.

"Doesn't really matter how old you are, you're both very well preserved...I mean handsome. And we're getting off topic here. Dawn, you have to promise us that you won't go out alone at night. It's too dangerous."

"You guys were patroling at my age, so what's the diff?"

"We were 15 before we started doing that," Willow told her, joining the argument. "You're only 14. And we had the slayer with us...you remember her, don't you? Your sister. The one who is going to kick your ass if she finds out about this." Now Dawn was beginning to look worried.

"You're not going to tell on me, are you?"

"That depends." Spike told her.

"On what?"

"Two things. You give us your word you'll stop sneaking out of the house and you sit down and wait for the others to arrive before you go prancing through the gifts again." Spike brought up the whole reason this conversation had gotten started. Dawn had been caught several times trying to sneak a peek at her presents, this last time taking Xander with her. Angel and Spike had come upon the two of them rummaging through the gifts. Dawn looked at everyone's determined faces, knowing they meant business. She rolled her eyes, nodded and stomped to the couch to sit down.

"I won't sneak out anymore...and I'll wait for the others." she mock glared at Spike. "I take it back...you are still evil." Spike smiled at her last words, taking it as a compliment before another thought crossed his mind.

"Are any of these 'friends' boys? Cause if they've tried anything with you, I'll cut their hands off and---"

"Geez, Spike. Overprotective much. You're worse than mom and the gang back home. Between all of you and your threats, I'll never get a boyfriend."

"That's the idea. Don't need one till you're at least 35."

"Spike, that's not fair." Xander came to Dawn's rescue. "Angel, tell him how silly he's being."

"Xander's right, Spike. Dawn shouldn't have a boyfriend until she's...oh, 25."

"You two aren't being fair. Heck, back in your day girls were married by the time they were 16 or so." Willow pointed out.

"Maybe so but nowadays all young blokes want to think about is sex, sex, sex." Spike told her.

"Yeah, and we weren't as....sexually active back then." Angel told them, everyone laughing at what the two of them had just said. If anyone in the room was sexually active it was Angel, Spike and Xander.

"Well, you two have definitely done a good job adjusting to that transition." Cordelia pointed out. "And with one of those young blokes you were talking about."

"Hey! I don't always think about sex." Xander defended himself. "Only when I'm awake....when I'm asleep it's called dreaming."

"This from a guy who once told me 'looking at linoleum makes me want to have sex'." Cordelia reminded him.

"No wonder you two never went that far. That's a lame line." Doyle told Xander.

"It wasn't a line, Doyle. Cordy asked me if looking at big guns made me want to have sex so I answered her." Spike raised his eyebrow at him. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Spike. It was when we were stealing that rocket launcher....you know to kill the judge."

"Oh, yeah, the big blue smurf." Willow nodded.

"Anyway, back to what we were talking about. I think what Spike and Angel are trying to get across to Dawnie is that her mom has made rules that should not be broken. She's the adult in the house and she knows what's best. I trust Joyce to make the right decisions for you Dawn. It's like with us...I try to follow any rules Angel and Spike lay out for us...cause they're older and more experienced." There was a knock at the door. "Bet that's David and the others now." Xander broke loose from his lovers, making a beeline for the door.

"Hey, what have we told you about just opening the door to anyone?" Spike protested, shaking his head at his young lover. Xander had been calm through breakfast due to the after effects of the pain medicine but now he was a cross between a little kid and an excited puppy.

"Uh huh. I see how well Xander follows your rules." Dawn teased the two vampires. Spike looked at Angel, who was grinning.

"We're going to have to put a leash on him, aren't we?" he asked as Angel nodded. Spike's warning had gone unheeded as Xander threw the door open, smiling at the others. David, Anya, Clarence, Clem, Harmony and.....Halfrek? Damn. Xander knew he had been lucky that no one had protested when he had casually mentioned that David was bringing Anya...although from the expressions on Angel and Spike's faces they had not been happy about it...but now Halfrek? The group entered the apartment, Anya stopping to talk to Xander.

"I hope you don't mind me bringing Hallie. She showed up at David's house this morning asking if she could come with us. She said she didn't have any place else to go for Christmas. I felt sorry for her and..well, I couldn't say no. She is sort of my friend after all."

"It's okay with me...as long as she lays off about my relationship with Angel and Spike. I don't know how they're going to handle this though."

"Oh, I'm sure she'll behave-----"

"Oh, bloody hell...no. Haven't you caused enough problems? Get out of here. I mean it...piss off!" Spike was yelling. Xander turned to see that, yes indeed...Spike had a problem with Hallie. From the expression on Angel's face, he did too. Xander and Anya rushed forward, Xander stepping between the three demons.

"Hey...come on, it's Christmas Day. Let's play nice, okay?"

"I don't know what the problem is. All I did was introduce myself to everyone." Hallie told him.

"We're not going to 'play nice' as Xander put it. You were the one who upset him the other night...almost got him killed. It's not going to happen again and you are not welcome here." Angel told her, stepping up next to Spike. Hallie tried to appear confused but Spike and Angel weren't buying it.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Now everyone was gathered around, watching the scene in front of them.

"You're the one that put all those thoughts of Spike and I not loving the boy in his head. And I have a feeling you did it on purpose, for some twisted reason. We're not sharing our home with you and consider our not killing you a Christmas gift."

"Angel, you don't have to threaten her. Hallie wouldn't do anything to purposely hurt Xander...well, unless I asked her to, which I did and I've already apologized for." Anya reminded the vampires. She had spent an hour the night before listening to them chew her out for trying to get vengeance on Xander...and had indeed apologized at least 5 times. "Hallie knows that I love him...as a friend of course." Anya was quick to point out.

"Anya's right. I shouldn't have let it get to me. Hallie was just curious, that's all." Xander tried to reason with his boyfriends but it wasn't working.

"Oh, no it's more than that, Xander. Hallie did it on purpose." Spike stepped forward, really looking at the vengeance demon. "How did you know?"

"Know what?" Hallie continued her innocent act, although there was a faint sneer on her face.

"That I had been turned. That I was William...Spike."

"I don't know what he's talking about. Is something wrong with him?" Spike grabbed the vengeance demon by the neck, shoving her against the door near the gifts.

"If you two are going to fight at least do it away from the gifts!" Dawn grumbled as everyone wondered what the hell was going on.

"Now, I'm going to ask you one more time and you'd better be honest with me. Otherwise, I'll rip your head off. How did you find out? Or were you a vengeance demon back then because that would explain the attitude."

"Did we bring someone we shouldn't have?" Clem asked, looking worried as he came to join Xander. Xander shrugged, not knowing what the two were talking about. Hallie hadn't mentioned knowing Spike when they had talked before.

"Spike, let her go. She can't talk while you're choking her." Angel pointed out. Spike reluctantly let go, stepping back a pace, his eyes never leaving Hallie's.

"You've got 30 seconds. Talk."

"About what?"

"You know bloody damn well about what so stop stalling." Hallie glared at Spike, dropping her innocent facade.

"I wasn't a vengeance demon back then, William. You made me into what I am today....it was your doing."

"Have you gone daft? What possible reason could you have for taking vengeance on me? I was the one who...I should have been the one seeking vengeance after what you did to me. Thought about it even after I woke up but I decided you weren't worth the trouble. And while we're on the subject...you're the reason I'm a vampire."

"Would one of you please tell us what's going on here?" Xander asked, while Dawn nodded.

"Yeah, I wish you guys would share your secret with us so we'd know what you're talking about." Dawn huffed, not thinking.

"Wish granted." Hallie pointed towards the television which flickered to life.

"I don't believe this." Xander's eyes were wide as he viewed the person on the t.v. Spike...no, William was sitting on a couch. No plantinum blonde hair, no big bad attitude. Instead, his hair was a sandy blonde color, long and curly. Spike's blue eyes were still beautiful behind glasses as he glanced up from where he had been writing on a pad as he talked to himself.

"Damn it! Turn that bloody thing off." Spike yelled as the girls gathered around Xander, all of them trying to get a good look at William. Spike was worried that the girls would start laughing and was surprised by their reactions.

"Oh, my God! Spike you were cute even with glasses." Cordelia said, grinning at the image of William. "A lot of people can't carry the look off, but you..."

"Yeah, totally hot. I love the long hair." Dawn pointed out while the other girls nodded. Spike seemed puzzled, stealing a glance at Angel who smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"I thought you were hot. That's why I chose you."

*Flashback*

"Luminous. Oh, no, no." William scratched his pen across the paper. "Eradient is better." He put the pen to his mouth as he became lost in thought. A waiter approached....William was at a party.

"Care for a refreshment, sir?"

"Quickly. I'm the very spirit of vexation. What's another word for gleaming? It's a perfectly perfect word as many words go, but the bother is nothing rhymes, you see?" The waiter gave William a quick smile as he moved away, not understanding the man at all.

William's attention was drawn to the stairs as the love of his life, Cecily, descended the stairs. She was more beautiful than ever in her new gown and William's breath was taken away at the sight of her. "Cecily," he sighed. He watched her talking to her friends and a smile crossed his handsome face as he once again began scribbling on his paper. William got up and joined the group as one of the women started talking.

"I merely point out that it's something of a mystery and the police should keep an open mind." One of the men noticed William shyly standing to the back of the crowd and he called out to him, drawing everyone's attention to the shy man.

"William! Favor us with your opinion. What do you make of this rash of disappearances sweeping through our town?" William stepped forward as the man continued. "Animals or thieves?"

"I prefer not to think of such dark, ugly business at all. That's what the police are for." He glanced at Cecily, smiling proudly. He was sure she would be impressed with his answer. "I prefer placing my energies into creating things of beauty." He held up his notepad.

"I see." One of the men approached, snatching the paper from his hands. "Well, don't withhold, William."

"Rescue us from a dreary topic." The woman from before mocked as the man holding the paper stepped to the front to face the entire room full of guests.

"Careful," William tried to get the paper back but the man held it away from him. "The ink's still wet. Please, it's not finished."

"Don't be shy." The man looked at the paper, starting to read William's words. "My heart expands, tis grown ebulgient...Inspired by your beauty effulgient. Effulgient?" Everyone in the room started to laugh as William's smile faded. He watched Cecily slip away from the crowd so he grabbed the paper from the man and went after her. On his way he heard one of the other men talking.

"And that's actually one of his better compositions."

"Have you heard? They call him William the Bloody because of his bloody awful poetry." the woman told the crowd.

"It suits him." Another man joined in the teasing. "I'd rather have a railroad spike through my head than listen to that awful stuff."

*End flashback for a moment*

"Those great big meanies. How could they laugh at William's poem? It was so romantic and sweet." Willow was angry.

"People always laugh when they can't comprehend another person's art. It makes them feel better about themselves instead of stupid like they should. I know how that feels." Lorne told her. No one on Pylea had ever understood him either.

"Yeah, ditto here." Oz agreed.

"Well, it's just wrong. They're all a bunch of rude-o's." Willow pointed out, all of them shutting up when they heard William talking to the young girl in front of him.

*****Flashback resumes*************

William walked over to the couch where Cecily was sitting, looking out the window. A beautiful smile crossed his face and Xander was hit with just how vulnerable William...Spike really was.

"Cecily?" The girl turned at the mention of her name.

"Oh....leave me alone." She started fanning herself as she looked away from William.

"Oh, they're vulgarians." William sat down next to Cecily. "They're not like you and I."

"You and I?" Cecily stopped fanning herself to stare at William. "I'm going to ask you a very personal question and I demand an honest answer. Do you understand?" William nodded, hope in his big, blue eyes. "Your poetry it's...they're not written about me, are they?"

"They're about how I feel."

"Yes, but are they about me?" William fought to get the courage to tell Cecily just how he felt about her.

"Every last syllable."

"Oh, God." Cecily cried, hiding her face.

"I know it's sudden and...and please, if they're no good, they're only words but the feeling behind them...I love you, Cecily."

"Please," Cecily turned away from William. "Stop."

"I...I know I'm a bad poet but I'm a good man. All I ask is that you try to see me."

"I do see you. That's the problem. You're nothing to me, William." A hurt expression crossed William's face as Cecily rose, turning to look at him. "You're beneath me." Cecily walked away, leaving a forlorn William sitting on the couch. He sat for a minute, trying to stop the tears from coming as he glanced around the room. Slowly, the tears began to fall and he stumbled to the door, walking outside onto the street. He started tearing the paper up, crying as he did so. Not paying attention to what he was doing, he bumped into Angelus, who was walking down the street, his arm around Darla and Drusilla by his side.

"Watch where you're going." The three vampires turned to watch him as he walked into an alley, both Drusilla's and Angelus' eyes lighting up at the sight of the beautiful human.

*End of Flashback*

The set went dark and Halfrek smiled, enjoying the horrified expression on Spike's face as he relived that moment in time. The vampire was leaning against Angel who had his arms wrapped around his lover, his eyes a deadly amber that belied the calm facade he was wearing. Xander and the others were still looking at the television set, none of them knowing what to say. Hallie turned to Spike.

"So you see? That's why I became a vengeance demon. D'Hoffryn found me and promised I could exact revenge on you if I joined him. After I agreed, we found you but you had already been turned into a vampire. D'Hoffryn said he couldn't do vengeance against another demon but I swore I would make you pay no matter how long it took. It might have taken me over a century but I've accomplished what I set out to do."

"And what exactly would that be now?" Angel asked, Spike noticing the Irish accent....Angelus was taking control.

"Why embarrassing him of course. Shaming him in front of those he loves just as I was....." Hallie stopped talking when everyone but Xander and Spike started laughing....at her.

"There's no shame in being a handsome, young lad who finds himself in love with a beautiful woman. A woman who was clearly undeserving of the love William was willing to offer." Angelus told her, pausing to kiss Spike on the head. "All ye've managed to accomplish is shaming yourself by showing us what an idiot ye were. That and giving me yet another reason to want to kill ye." Spike turned his head to stare at Angel.

"You've figured it out, haven't you? She knew....when she talked to Xander that first time....she knew." .

"Aye, I have and she'll get what's coming to her. She not only hurt ye but she hurt our boy to get at you. No one hurts what's mine and gets away with it. I'll see that she's taken care of." They watched as the rest of their family circled around the woman like buzzards circling their prey. "That is if the other's don't do it for me." Spike was looking for Xander, but he couldn't find him.

"Where's Xander?" Angel shrugged, having lost sight of the boy earlier.

"I think he went into the bedroom." Dawn told them. They were prepared to follow when a loud voice stopped them.

"How could you hurt my sweet Blondie Bear like that?" Harmony's voice had startled them but that was nothing compared to what happened next. Hallie went sailing across the room, landing with a thud near the kitchen. Spike and Angel watched as Harmony dusted her hands. "Okay...I feel better now. Who's next?" Hallie slowly stood, wiping herself off.

"I don't know why you're defending William. He hurt me, don't you understand? He ran off and no one ever saw him again. People started gossiping about me, saying that I had encouraged him to write that poetry for me...that I couldn't even keep a...a fool like William as a beau. No one ever sought me out for dates after that and I was always so popular. Do you know what that did to me?" Cordelia stood in front of her, a look of utter disgust on her face.

"I know a lot about being popular...I was that way in school. I was surrounded by people and still felt completely alone. It's not like any of my so called friends really knew me. I didn't even know if they liked me half the time. People just wanted to be in the popular zone. Sometimes, I felt like when I talked to them everyone was so busy agreeing with me that they didn't hear a word I said. But that was pre-Xander. He not only listened to me...he disagreed with me a lot. I think that's why I fell in love with him." Cordy smiled at the boy who had come out of the bedroom and was resting against the doorway, his hands behind his back, his face expressionless. "As for William...I would have snapped him up in a heartbeat." She turned towards Spike. "If I had been living back then you wouldn't have given her a second glance, would you?" Spike smiled and shook his head as Doyle stepped up behind his girlfriend, taking her in his arms.

"No one would have, Princess. She's not half the looker that you are."

"How dare you!" Hallie was getting angry now. Hadn't anyone in the room been paying attention?

"No, how dare you!" Willow joined in, wanting to tell the demon off. "You had no right to try and hurt Spike like this. Well, it backfired, missy. If you thought we were going to laugh at him like those stupid people did....well, you're the stupid one. Spike...I mean William, was a cutie patootie, not to mention sensitive. You had a good man staring you in the face and instead of thanking the Gods that he would give a snobby, self-centered bitch like you the time of day you turned him away. You...you...well, I can't think of enough bad words to say about you but you're them and you make me sick."

"I have to agree with Cordelia and Willow," Tara added. "If I had met a man like William, I would have fallen in love with him." She lowered her head, giving Spike a shy smile from underneath the curtain of blond hair that fell in her face. Spike grinned back at her, grateful for the girl's kind words and his grin widened as he heard Dawn's words.

"Well, I like William and Spike both, so you guys can back down now. Besides, Tara you're gay, remember?"

"I might've made an exception if there had been a William around. You don't find guys like that anymore." Tara answered.

"Hey!" Oz, Wesley and Doyle chorused as Spike laughed. He had always considered William as someone he should be ashamed of but now that the girls were appreciative of him, Spike was having second thoughts.

"Angel was right when he said you were completely undeserving of Spike's...I mean, William's love." Wesley told Hallie.

"You were a total loser. Still are." Oz told her.

"She doesn't even have to sing for me to agree with that comment." Lorne added. Hallie glanced at Anya, David, Clem and Clarence who turned their backs on her. She kept looking around the room, her eyes searching for Xander. He was the key to William's misery. She caught sight of him standing by the bedroom door and quickly made her way over to him, not noticing the low growls that were coming from Angel and Spike.

"What about you, Xander? I notice that everyone in the room is taking up for William except you." Xander just stared at her, his face still masked of expression. Hallie stepped closer. "You understand where I'm coming from, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do." Spike's heart dropped...Xander had seen what a simpleton he had been when he was human and now he didn't want him. All the girls compliments, his family taking up for him, the nice, warm feeling he had been having was forgotten in that one moment. If Xander was ashamed of him, Hallie had won...her vengeance had worked for as much as he loved his family, Xander and Angel were his number one priorities.

"You planned this all along. You tried to hurt Spike by getting at him through me. You knew Spike was William, you heard me call him by name and that's why you started talking about claiming rituals. You wanted me to believe that Spike and Angel didn't love me enough to go through with something like that so you could cause trouble for Spike. And I fell for it. But I have to give you credit...you're a very good actress. That or I'm very gullible. Either way, it doesn't matter. I love Spike and I'm not ashamed of him...not now...not ever." Xander brought one of his hands from behind his back to show everyone the picture he had brought with him from their room...the one that Angel and Spike had given him earlier. "They gave me this as an early Christmas gift. Angel drew the pictures and Spike wrote the words. It says 'The most eloquent silence; that of our mouths meeting in a kiss.' I didn't laugh when I read those words....instead I memorized them, cherished them. They touched my heart, my soul and I'll never forget them." Xander placed the picture on the coffeetable. "Spike...or William...may not have been considered a great poet like William Wordsworth or John Keaton..."

"Uh, Xander...I don't want to interrupt your rant but that was John Keats...not Keaton." Spike told him, beginning to smile once again. His boy still loved him...was even taking up for him...for William.

"Oh, I thought it was....yeah, that's right. The Keatons were on 'Family Ties'. Got mixed up there for a minute."

"S'okay" Spike assured him.

"Anyway, as I was saying, William may not have been a Wordsworth or KEATS," Xander emphasized the last name, "but I love his writing all the same. And I think Spike...I mean, William....would have eventually had some of his poems published. Hell, he might have even been famous if he hadn't become a vampire." Hallie laughed at that thought.

"Him? Famous. That's too funny, Xander." An angry expression crossed Xander's face.

"He DID become famous...for being a vampire. He's listed in books as one of the most vicious vampires of all time...next to Angelus. I've never seen any records of anything you've done as a vengeance demon and lady I've read all the books. Anyanka was in them, but there was no mention of you."

"Really? I was mentioned in the books?" Anya asked, clearly excited about this piece of information. Xander nodded. "Was there a picture? Again, Xander nodded, his eyes never leaving Hallie. "Was it a good one?" A slight pause and then Xander shook his head. "Damn."

"I don't like to brag, but I am very good at what I do." Hallie was offended now.

"Evidently not. You've spent over a century trying to get vengeance on William...or Spike and you've failed. No one in this room thinks any less of him and they still love him. As a matter of fact, it made me love him more....if that's possible. Now you...that's a different subject. I'm thinking you don't have any friends at all and I know you're not welcome here anymore."

"Anyanka is my friend." Hallie gestured at the girl who shook her head.

"Not anymore, Hallie. I've put up with your jealousy of me over the years but when you start using me to hurt my friends all bets are off. You better leave....like Xander said, you're not welcome here."

"You heard her, bitch. Hasta la vista, caio, adios, good-bye..." Xander was cut off by a hand around his throat. He gasped for breath as he felt himself being lifted by the neck into the air.

"I wouldn't come any closer or I'll have to snap his neck." Hallie warned Angel, Spike and the others as they converged on her. Everyone stopped in their tracks, worried that the vengeance demon would do just that. "And don't try any magic because it doesn't work on vengeance demons." she warned Willow and Tara.

"Put him down. You want vengeance on me...take it. Just leave Xander out of this." Spike told Hallie, his eyes amber and his game face on. "I mean it. Send me to hell...kill me, I don't care as long as you don't hurt Xander."

"Oh, William don't you get it? This is my vengeance....I take Xander away from you. What could hurt worse than---" Hallie's eyes filled with pain and she dropped Xander, staring down at the sword in her chest. *So that's what the boy had been holding behind his back*.

"How about a sword through the chest? Gosh, that's gotta hurt." Xander had an evil smile on his face as he taunted Hallie, waiting for her to die. Instead she pulled the sword out with a grunt.

"This is nothing. It's a flesh wound."

"It takes more than a sword through the chest to kill a vengeance demon, Xander." Anya informed him.

"Of course it does." Xander rolled his eyes. Hallie drew back, preparing to hit Xander but her arm was caught and held. She turned to see amber eyes staring at her. Before she could react she was thrown against the wall. Now it was her turn to look death in the face. In the form of Spike. She quickly stood up, doing her best to smile at the blonde vampire standing in front of her. "William, let's not be hasty. After all, you did love me at one time."

"I thought I loved you. Thought I couldn't live without seeing you every day. When you turned your back on me it broke my heart. I thought I was going to die from the pain of it. And in fact, I did. You killed my spirit with your words as surely as Angelus sucked out my life's blood. Now I'm going to return the favor. I have three words for you before I kill you...you're beneath me." The words felt good coming out of his mouth. Spike stalked towards Hallie, swinging the sword, an evil smile on his face. Angel grabbed Xander and moved his family back, knowing there was going to be a fight.

"William, you don't want to kill me. Not in front of all these humans, especially the little girl." Hallie pointed at Dawn.

"The only thing that could have possibly spared your life were the people in this room. You turned them against you when you tried to hurt me. Now that you've tried to take Xander's life...not even my love for them could stop me from killing you. You can beg, you can plead and you can cry....won't do you any good. As a matter of fact, I wish you would beg...it'll just make killing you more fun for me." Spike swung the sword at Hallie's head but she caught it, butting him in the face with it. Spike fell backwards, the sword tumbling to the ground. He got up, giving the demon an evil grin.

"So you want to go a few rounds do you? This could be fun." The two demons started to fight, exchanging blows and kicks until Spike finally took Hallie down with a flying kick. He grabbed the sword again and Hallie raised her arms up as in defeat. Anya knew what the woman was going to do and she yelled a warning at Spike.

"Spike, she's going to-----" Hallie's head went rolling, coming to rest at Dawn's feet. "teleport. Never mind."

"Wow! That was cool. Look...her mouth is still open...like she's going to say something." Dawn, Willow and Tara leaned down to inspect the demon's head. Hallie's eyes were still open, her mouth formed in the shape of an o."

"Looks like she was going to say....Oh, shit!" Willow said as Tara nodded.

"That or possibly Ow!"

"No, I don't think so. See how your mouth forms when you say Ow and Oh." Willow showed her girlfriend as Lorne watched, stunned that the girls weren't more shaken up.

"Ladies...aren't you the least bit upset about someone's head lying on the floor in front of you?"

"Nope." They chorused before Willow added, "We've seen worse living on the Hellmouth and fighting alongside the slayer. Not that we're heartless or anything cause we're not. If that had been your head instead of her's then...you know we would have been upset."

"Oh, you wouldn't have had to be." Lorne told them.

"Look, just because you're dating Oz that doesn't mean I don't like you. I do And I would be upset if something happened to you." Willow protested.

"No, honeybun, that's not what I meant. See, as long as my body's not dead, I can reattach my head." Lorne explained, getting the entire gang's attention.

"Well, that's different." Tara noted. Oz nodded, hugging Lorne close.

"That's my boyfriend. A man of many talents."

"So who's going to clean this up?" Wesley asked, gesturing at the body and head of the demon.

"Don't look at us. Cleaning up guts and bodies is a man's job." Cordelia told him. "And since Spike made the mess I think he should be the one to...to...." Cordelia glanced around the room. "Where's Spike?"

"Oh, I saw him go in the bedroom with Angel and Xander. I believe they're going to have loud, hot sex with many orgasms." Anya pointed towards the closed door.

"Well, I guess it's up to us to get rid of the body." Doyle told the other men. He picked up the head before turning to the girls. "I guess that leaves you women folk with the mopping and stuff."

"I am so going to kill those three for running off and leaving us with this mess." Cordelia grumbled.

"Now we're going to have to wait another hour to open our presents." Dawn added, everyone joining in the clean up as they waited for their friends. ***********************************

Spike stood back, taking in the view of his lovers as they finished drying off. When Spike had cut Hallie's head off, the blood had spattered, most of it landing on himself, Angel and Xander who were the closest to the fight. When their friends had started discussing the fight, Spike had taken the opportunity to grab the two of them and head for the bathroom so that they could get cleaned up. Now that they were clean, he wanted to have some fun before joining the others.

"Would you two hurry up?"

"Yeah, we better get a move on." Xander threw his towel on the floor and went into the bedroom, heading for the closet. "Dawnie's probably having a fit by now. We've got to get dressed so that we can...." Xander moaned when he felt a cool tongue trace it's way up his neck. He leaned back, feeling Spike's firm body behind him while the vampire's arms wrapped around his waist, hands lightly rubbing up and down his sides. Xander tilted his head to the side, allowing Spike better access to his neck as he forgot about his friends...wait their friends. "Spike...not now." Xander's protest was half hearted and he let Spike cup his hand beneath his jaw, turning his head so that he was looking into beautiful blue eyes.

"Yes, now." Spike captured Xander's mouth, tongue demanding entrance to the boy's mouth. Xander tried to hold out but when Spike's hands found their way to his nipple and cock, Xander couldn't stop the moan. He was lost now....Spike's tongue was tracing the inside of his mouth, the vampire's left hand was twisting and playing with his nipple while the right hand was gently stroking Xander's now hard shaft. Xander pressed back against Spike, feeling the vampire's hard cock against him. He reached behind him, one hand playing with Spike's ass while the other carded through Spike's wet, ungelled curls, pulling him in for a deeper kiss.

Spike broke the kiss, allowing the boy to breathe. He moved Xander to the left, taking the boy's hands and putting them against the wall next to the closet as he continued to suckle on his neck, leaving little red love marks. Spike wanted nothing more than to be in his boy right now and he smiled when he heard the cap of the lube pop open. He raised his head as Angel squirted some lube on his fingers, taking Spike's mouth in a passionate kiss. Spike spread the lube across his fingers, quickly opening Xander and inserting his finger into the tight, warm hole. Xander pushed back onto his finger just as Angel spread Spike's ass, putting his finger into Spike's hole. Now Spike was pushing back against Angel, his lips traveling down Xander's back as another finger was added. By now Xander was trembling, loving the feel of Spike's fingers in him, his lips tracing down his back....still he needed more.

"Need you in me, Spike. Can't wait..."

"Just one more, Xander..." Spike wanted to make sure Xander was prepared but the boy was having none of it.

"No...your cock...in me now. Please." Spike turned to Angel, kissing him again.

"Want you in me first." Angel nodded, lining his cock up to Spike's hole. Spike gasped as Angel thrust inside him, hands coming around to play with his nipples. Angel held still as Spike did the same thing to Xander, pushing inside the warm, tight hole. Xander leaned his head against the wall, pushing backwards so that he could have all of Spike. Spike closed his eyes, enjoying the warmth of Xander around his cock and the coolness of Angel filling him at the same time.

"I'm going to start moving, Spike." Angel warned, making sure he and Spike were in sync with one another. They set up a slow, deliberate pace, the three of them enjoying the closeness...the joining of all three bodies as Angel's hands held Xander's hips in place. "So good, always were so tight." Angel groaned, feeling Spike's muscles clenching around his cock.

"Faster, Angel. I need to go faster." Spike moaned, loving how Angel's cock filled him up. He sucked on Xander's shoulder, pulling the boy closer, reveling in the heat and warmth emanating from Xander.

"God, oh God, oh God," Xander chanted as Spike started to stroke his erection in time to his thrusts. His balls tightened and he felt his orgasm wash over him. He leaned against the wall, taking Spike in as he erupted over the vampire's hand. Spike felt Xander's ass muscles spasming and he knew he was close. He tilted his head, silently begging for Angel to bite him. He screamed out Angel's name when he felt the fangs pierce his throat and he shot his seed into Xander. Angel followed, moaning loudly as he drank the lust filled blood of his childe, loving the taste of Spike. When his orgasm was over, he licked the wound closed and pulled Spike close, helping him hold Xander whose legs had given out on him after his own orgasm.

"Spike, Angel....God, I can't feel my legs." Xander mumbled. Spike laughed, picking the boy up and carrying him over to the bed. He laid Xander in the middle of the bed, getting in and watching as Angel did the same. Xander smiled up at the two of them, taking Angel's hand while his other hand threaded through Spike's curls. "Do me a favor Spike. Would you wear your hair like this more often?"

"What? Wet and wild?" Spike asked.

"Soft and wavy. I like it."

"Liked William's hair did you?"

"It was cute.." Spike scowled at him. "Adorable." No that wasn't working. "Sweet and sexy?" Spike grinned.

"The sexy part was good. Alright, I'll wear it this way for today." Spike promised, giving Xander a kiss. He glanced over at Angel who was smirking at him. "What?"

"Well, you promised Xander you would wear your hair like that....how about glasses for me?" Spike vigorously shook his head.

"I looked like a total ponce."

"You looked beautiful. That's why I chose you. I've always thought you were beautiful." Angel leaned over and kissed Spike, holding him close for a moment. "I never knew until today what drove you out into the night and my arms. I hate to say this but I'm glad she did what she did, otherwise I might never have found you. I hate that I turned you into a vampire, hate what I did to you when we were together before but I can't help but be glad you're here with us now."

"I have to agree with Angel. I hate that you were hurt like that...God, my heart broke for you. But at the same time, I was thankful. Call me selfish for being grateful that you're a vampire, I don't care. All I know is...Cecily, Hallie whatever you want to call her...she never would have loved you as much as I do. I'm head over heels, heart over mind, totally and completely in love with you. William or Spike or a combination of both. It doesn't matter. You've got me body and soul for as long as you want." Xander kissed Spike, trying to show how true his words were, how much he adored him.

"Want you forever, luv." Spike whispered against his lips before giving Xander another kiss, this one deeper and more passionate. When they were done, Xander gave Angel a kiss just as passionately.

"I want you to know that I thought you were hot, too."

"I'm not growing my hair long, Xander. As much as I love you, no." Xander fake pouted but Angel shook his head. "I will do something else for you, though." Angel bent down, kissing Xander while his hand traced up and down the boy's body.

"Angel, I think we should..." Angel kissed him again, this time his hand went lower still, tracing along the hair below Xander's navel. Xander groaned, his body responding to Angel's teasing. "Angel, our friends..."

"Can wait a few minutes more." Angel's mouth was on Xander's again, his hand stroking the hardening flesh. Xander's arms went around the older vampire, spreading his legs before pulling Angel on top of him. Angel smiled into the kiss as Xander's legs came up to wrap around his waist. He didn't wait...lining his cock up before sheathing himself in Xander's warmth. Angel nibbled down Xander's throat to his chest, licking first one nipple and then the other, never stopping his motion.

"Love it when you do that, Angel. Feels so fucking good. Soooo good." Xander babbled, arching up into Angel.

"You mean this?" Angel licked the right nipple. Xander moaned, digging his fingers into Angel's shoulders. "Or this?" Angel nibbled on Xander's throat, making the boy push up closer still. Now Angel moaned...God, their boy was so responsive. "Or maybe it was this?" Angel placed his mouth back on Xander's, his tongue finding it's way into the warmth of the boy's mouth. After a few minutes he broke the kiss. "Which was it, baby?"

"Uh-huh," Xander answered. Angel pulled out of Xander, sitting up and staring down at the boy. "What? I'm sorry. Did I do something wrong?" Angel shook his head, he and Spike exchanging a glance. Spike leaned over and kissed the boy, pulling Xander on top of him.

"I want you in me, Xander." Spike watched Xander's expression change from one of confusion to one of happiness.

"You mean it?" Spike nodded. "I get to do whatever I want to you?" Another nod. Xander started to work, licking, kissing, nibbling every inch of Spike's upper body, starting at his hips and working his way up. By the time he reached Spike's mouth, the younger vampire was writhing underneath him, begging Xander to take him. Xander slid into Spike's wet channel, both of them groaning. Xander's groans became louder when he felt Angel enter him again.

"You set the pace, Xander. I'll keep up." Angel whispered, nibbling Xander's earlobe. Xander turned and gave Angel a kiss before turning back to Spike. He leaned down, placing his mouth beside Spike's ear.

"I want to touch every little secret place inside of you." He started moving, feeling Spike tremble beneath him. "There," Xander pushed inside of Spike four or five times before changing his angle, "there," again a few more strokes before changing, "and right there." Spike's grip tightened on Xander's shoulders as the boy hit his prostate. "I like right there, don't you?" Xander was enjoying turning Spike on and every time he had changed his angle, it had changed Angel's as well, until the older vampire was hitting his prostate as Xander hit Spike's.

"Fuck yes! God, I love you, Xander. I can feel you pulsing inside me and it's...just fuck me." Spike held on as Xander started moving, his strokes becoming faster and faster until Spike couldn't stand it anymore. "Xander, luv, gonna come." Spike rode the waves of pleasure, loving the feel of Xander's warmth deep inside of him. As he started to come down from his orgasm, he felt Xander shoot his load of heat inside of him and it pushed him over the brink again, both of them coming together, Angel following closely behind. Angel and Xander collapsed on the bed next to Spike, all of them wrapping around each other in a sated heap. After a few minutes, Spike got up and went to the bathroom returning with a wet washcloth. They cleaned each other up before getting dressed, happily making their way back into the living room to join their friends.

"It's about time you guys came out. Can we open our gifts now?" Dawn asked.

"Go ahead." Angel told them, he and Spike sitting down on the couch as the others ran for the tree like a bunch of 6 year olds on a chocolate binge. "You okay, Spike?"

"Never better." Spike wasn't just saying that, he truly meant it. The ghosts of the past were swept away as he basked in the love and warmth of their family.


Chapter Forty-Four

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