Spike came out of his coma a few hours later. While he was still hungry, he didn't feel that sense of starvation and weakness that had pervaded his body for the past few days. He looked around for a few minutes, disoriented, until he realized he was in Angel's apartment. Not only in his apartment, with the taste of his blood on his mouth, but in his bed. Spike was shocked but a few seconds later he came to full awareness as he realized that not only was he in Angel's bed he wasn't alone. Spike felt the warm body lying beside him and turned to see his heart's desire lying next to him.

Spike turned towards Xander and lay there watching the boy sleep. He took in the sight before him and smiled with happiness for the first time in what felt like an eternity. Xander was lying, clad only in boxers, showing off the body that Spike had dreamed of for weeks. But no dream could compare to the real thing.

Xander had kicked the covers off of himself during his sleep and Spike drank in the sight of the exposed young man. Spike sat up and tentatively reached out, tracing a path up Xander's body, from the long, lean legs, past the boy's firm ass and toned abdomen, up to the muscular chest and broad shoulders. Why did the boy hide such a beautiful body under the baggy clothes that Spike remembered him wearing? No more of that if Spike had anything to say about it. He thought of that body in black leather pants and a red satin shirt and he felt himself grow hard at the image. Spike stopped himself from thinking about Xander naked. He knew that if he conjured up that image, he wouldn't be able to stop himself from pouncing on the boy and he didn't want to scare Xander.

Spike frowned at the bandages that covered that perfect body. One bandage in particular bothered him and he looked more closely at it. The bandage had reddened from the blood that had started to pool underneath and as Spike gently pulled it off, he was upset to see that the gash had reopened during Xander's sleep. Spike bent down and lovingly lapped at the injury, intent on trying to get it to heal properly so as not to mar the body he had been studying. As he tasted the blood, the essence of his boy, mixed with the sweat from Xander's body, Spike's mind went from playing doctor to full arousal.

Spike had fed off many people in his 120 some odd years as a vampire. Some of them had just been victims, others had been lovers. Never had he tasted anything this heady, this arousing. Xander tasted like a mixture of love, loyalty, innocence, pain, laughter and mostly sunshine. No wonder the boy was a demon magnet. He had the essence that every demon was drawn to.

Spike moaned as he wrenched his mouth away from the young man's body. He wanted nothing more than to take the boy. He could imagine kissing those full lips, sucking the boy's cock until his mouth was filled with Xander's cum, having his dick thrusting inside of Xander's silky channel while the boy writhed underneath him, screaming Spike's name and begging him for more. Spike had to have another taste of Xander and he decided that it was for the boy's own good. After all, he didn't want that nasty cut to get infected now did he?

Spike once again leaned over and ran his tongue up Xander's chest, shuddering at the feelings the taste of Xander aroused in him. Just as he raised up to put the bandage back in place he heard Xander moan. Spike smiled at the boy. Oh, yes, he wanted Xander to moan for him, just like that. Spike lay back down next to Xander and sighed. As much as Spike wanted to continue to stare at the sleeping boy, he was still weak himself and needed some more sleep.

He was pleasantly surprised when he felt Xander shift in the bed, turning over and wrapping his leg and arm over Spike's body. Xander placed his head on Spike's chest and cuddled closely to the vampire, and Spike could feel the warmth of Xander's breath on his chest. He gently raised the boy up, placing his arm underneath Xander's body before laying the young man back down and wrapping his own arm around Xander's shoulders. Spike waited for the boy to wake up but when he didn't Spike tenderly brushed the curl from off of Xander's forehead before he ran his hand through the dark, silky hair. It was as soft as Spike had imagined it would be and as they lay there together, Spike knew he could very easily become addicted to the habit of playing with Xander's hair. Hell, who was he kidding. He could become addicted, had become addicted to this young man he was holding. As Spike was beginning to drift back into sleep, he was sure that he heard Xander whisper, "Spike, feels so good, don't stop" and he smiled, drifting off into a dream where Xander was saying those same words under very different circumstances.

Cordelia entered the office around 9 a.m. that morning. She looked around and after seeing that Doyle, Angel or Xander had not yet arrived, she went to the coffeemaker and started to brew some coffee for herself and the others for when they came in. It was always Angel's habit to get himself a cup of coffee as soon as he woke. She was about to start reading the paper when the phone rang.

"Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless," she said brightly, hoping that this would be a paying customer for once.

"Cordy, is that you? Well, of course it's you. This is Willow. I need to find Xander. We've been looking all over for him and I thought he might have gone back there but Giles and Buffy don't think he would...you know with the lie and everything...and Angel...well anyway, I was hoping that he might be there and I decided to give it a try even though Buffy and Giles didn't want me to...well you know...bother Angel...because they're still kinda upset with Xander and they figured...well, if they were still upset he was probably furious. Is he there? Not Angel, but Xander?" Willow babbled.

Cordelia didn't know what to say. She didn't want to lie to her friend, but she didn't know if Xander was ready to talk to her or not. Cordy decided to stall. "Hey, Willow, nice to hear from you. So Buffy and Giles haven't forgiven Xander yet? What about you?" Cordy felt like the babbling was contagious or something.

"Oh, yeah, I've forgiven him. It took a week or two, but I can't go on being mad at him forever. He's my best friend and I couldn't think of my life without him in it, you know. Buffy and Giles are still a little upset...well Giles is pretty much getting over it...but Buffy is still a little upset...well, actually more than a little...but not as much as she was at first, you know? You didn't answer my question though. Is Xander there with you? It's really urgent that I get hold of him...cause you know he could be in trouble."

Cordelia was about to ask Willow what kind of trouble she was talking about when she heard shouting coming from the apartment below. *What the hell was going on*? "Hold on just a second, Willow. I think I may have an emergency here. Let me call you back as soon as I can. Talk to you later." She quickly hung up the phone and then took it off the hook before making her way to the apartment below. As Cordelia reached the top of the stairs she began to distinguish voices and what they were saying.

"Oh, my God what's going on here? Need some help here." Xander

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? Get away from him right now before I stake you myself." Angel

"Angel, man calm down before you do something you might regret." Doyle

"Bloody hell, poof, he's laying on me not the other way around." Spike

SPIKE. Oh, my God, Spike's back. And he's downstairs with the others. What is Spike doing here again? Cordelia was thinking before it dawned on her what was going on. All the pieces of the puzzle started to fall into place. Spike coming on to Xander last time he was here. Angel's voice full of anger as he threatened Spike, Xander's voice full of fear and Doyle trying to calm everyone down, Willow's call saying that Xander may be in trouble. So Spike thought he could just waltz in here and try to take her friend away did he? Well he had another thing coming if he thought he could get away with that. Cordelia raced over to the desk and opened it, grabbing a stake before deciding she better get at least three more, one for each of them. This was Spike they were talking about after all.

Cordelia hurried down the stairs and looked around. There was no one in the living room and as she started for the bedroom, she heard the voices again before someone went crashing across the floor. *Hope that was Spike*. She entered the room to find Xander lying on the bed in pain, Doyle trying to help the boy and Angel standing over Spike glaring at the younger vampire, as Spike glared back.

"I told you, you soddin git. I woke up and Xander was laying on top of me." Spike was saying as Cordelia took the time to admire Spike's body. *Damn, too bad he's a vampire who likes to kill people*.

"Somehow I find it hard to believe that Xander would want to snuggle with you, Spike. I think you maneuvered it so that Xander was exactly where you wanted him. You forget, I know you and your tricks. How you like to seduce your victims before you drain them. It was always your forte after all." Angel growled at his childe.

Spike rose from the floor, growling back at Angel. He continued to stare Angel down as he reached for his clothes and put them on. *How dare he accuse him of trying to seduce the boy. Well, he was, but not at this moment*. Spike had been having a nice sleep when he had been awoken by Xander's rapid heartbeat. He had tried to comfort the boy, which had only agitated Xander more.

"I told you what happened. Can't help it if you don't see my attributes like you used to now can I?" Spike said, trying to look innocent while leering at Angel at the same time.

"Oh, my God. You and Angel were...I mean Angel and you were...oh, shit I knew sire/childe bonds were close but there was nothing in the Watcher's diaries about...well, you know sex." Xander said, from where he was lying on the bed. His ribs ached beyond belief and he was trying hard not to remember that even if Angel didn't see Spike's physical attributes, he certainly had noticed. A long time ago as a matter of fact. Something he had never told anyone or ever would.

Xander knew why he was freaking out so bad. It really wasn't Spike's fault because he had cuddled with the evil, undead. He vaguely remembered someone licking his chest and it had felt so very good. Who would have thought that someone cleaning blood off his chest could feel so erotic? Xander recalled turning over and snuggling next to the cool body that had felt so good next to his overheated one. When Spike had put his arm around Xander and started rubbing his hand through his hair it had felt like heaven. Then something else came to mind. He was horrified to remember his words "Spike, don't stop. It feels so good." How could he have said something like that when he was in love with Lindsey? Lindsey was the one he should be begging to not stop, not Spike.

"What the hell is going on in here?" Cordelia asked as she looked around at the men. "What is he doing here?" pointing at Spike, "And do we need these?" pointing at the stakes in her hand. "By the way, what's with all the sex talk? Did he try to mack on Xander? Is that what Willow was calling about?"

Everyone else in the room turned at the mention of the redhead. "Willow called? When did she call? Is she all right?" Xander rose from the bed and headed for the door as he clutched at his side in pain. He walked out into the living room, everyone following him and reached for the phone. Xander picked it up and dialed quickly only to find that it wasn't ringing. "What the hell is wrong with the phone. Someone give me their fucking cell phone, and by the way Angel, if I'm going to be helping you I deserve one of these things," he indicated Doyle's cell phone he had snatched out of his friend's hand.

"I'll be sure to remember that," Angel said. "But for now I think you need to go and get dressed or maybe you should go back to bed, seeing as your ribs can't be feeling too good right now."

"Don't feel like you need to get dressed on my account," Spike smiled as he watched Xander turn red with embarrassment as he looked down at himself noticing for the first time that he was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.

Angel gave Spike a warning look before continuing, "Why don't you let Doyle help you get dressed or back into bed, whichever you prefer."

"No, that's okay. I think I can handle it," Xander assured him as he backed away from them, holding his arms up over his chest. He tossed Doyle's cell phone back over to him as he passed the man and entered the bedroom, shutting the doors behind him.

"What did Willow want?" Angel asked Cordelia after Xander had disappeared.

"She wanted to know if Xander was here. I didn't know if he wanted to talk to her yet so I was trying to stall when I heard all the shouting. I told her I'd call her back and hung up. Then I came down here and found you guys all standing around the bed. What was going on anyway? Were you all fighting or having an orgy?"

"Which would you prefer?" Spike asked, raising his eyebrow. "And would you like to join us?"

"Shut up, Spike," Doyle told the vampire before he turned to face Cordelia. "There was a fight last night. Spike and Xander were knocked around quite a bit and Angel and I brought them here to recuperate. End of story."

"Not on your life mister," Cordelia told him, putting her hands on her hips and looking at him with determination. "You're not getting away with the PG version. What happened in the bedroom?"

"The cheerleader seems really fixated on the bedroom action doesn't she?" Spike commented.

"Spike, I haven't forgotten what you did last time you were here. I remember what you said about Xander, too. Are you here for round two of torturing my boss or are you here to mack on Xander? And don't forget I still have a handful of stakes in my hand and I'm not afraid to use them." Cordelia showed him the very stakes she was talking about.

"Everyone sit down, now," Angel commanded. Cordelia and Doyle sat down on one of the couches as Spike stood watching. When he made no move to sit down, Angel looked at him for a long moment. "Did you not hear what I just said, Spike?"

"Oh, I heard peaches. Doesn't mean I'll listen to you now does it? I mean I don't remember ever listening to you before, so why should I start now?"

Spike yelped as Angel grabbed him by his ear and pulled him towards the chair before shoving the younger vampire into it. Spike glared at him. "Bloody hell, Angel. What was that for?"

"As long as you stay under my roof, you're going to behave. That was an indication of why you should start listening to me."

Spike sat for a moment before he spoke again. "Seeing as how I'm your houseguest for the time being, get me some blood. I'm hungry and I'm feeling a bit peckish. I need a bit of a pick me up. And by the way you're a very bad host. I wouldn't recommend staying here to a Slugoff demon."

Angel sighed as he made his way into the kitchen. He grabbed a couple of bags of the human blood from the refrigerator before grabbing two mugs and setting them on the counter. He poured the contents into the mugs and put them in the microwave. As Angel waited for them to heat up, he turned back towards Spike and asked, "Is that why you were all over Xander in there? You needed a pick me up?"

"Oi, it wasn't me all over the boy. Harris was on top of me in case you didn't notice. I think your eyesight has gone bad in your old age." Spike retorted, just as Xander came out of the bedroom.

Everyone watched as Xander made his way across the living room. He was walking a little better, but he still hissed in pain as he raised his arm to towel his hair dry. Spike and Angel took in an unneeded breath at the sight of the boy in front of them. He had on a pair of Angel's sweatpants which were a little big and rode low on his hips, while his upper torso was bare. The muscles in his shoulders rippled as he drug the towel through his long, dark hair. When he was through, his hair curled around his face making him look like a little boy.

Spike and Angel watched as a few drops of water made their way down Xander's chest towards the pants he was wearing. Angel heard the microwave ding and turned his gaze away from the boy's body long enough to take the blood out and Spike was still staring when he felt Angel bump his shoulder and hand him his mug. As Spike reached up to take the mug he noticed that Angel was staring at Xander. Seemed Angel appreciated the view as much as he did.

Unaware of the impression he was making on the room, Xander walked over to the phone and picked it up. When he couldn't get a dial tone, he asked, "What happened to the phone?"

"I took it off the hook while I came down here. I didn't want Willow calling back and not getting an answer. I'll go fix it." Cordy said as she walked up the stairs turning back to look at Xander one more time before she continued on. Spike felt a pang of jealousy as he watched the girl. He didn't like the looks the cheerleader was giving Xander, although for some reason he didn't mind Angel doing the same thing.

After Cordelia had put the phone back on the hook upstairs, Xander got ready to dial Willow's number. Before he could get started, Spike spoke up. "Before you call Red, I just wanted to say that I probably know why she's calling."

"What do you think she's calling for Spike?" Angel asked him.

"I paid her and the slayer a little visit a few nights ago. I was going to kill the slayer and turn Red, but I couldn't." Spike answered, waiting for the explosion he knew would happen as soon as they heard his words. He didn't have to wait long before Xander was across the room, looking down at him with dark brown eyes that were so full of anger they were almost black. Spike thought he had never seen such a beautiful sight in his life. He had always been a sucker for dark haired, dark eyed people, but even Angel's eyes were not as gorgeous as Xander's. His boy's eyes held all his emotions right there and it was like looking straight into his soul.

"If you hurt her in any way Spike I swear I will kill you myself," Xander threatened the vampire. Angel pulled Xander away from Spike and led him over to the couch, sitting the young man down next to him and casually draping his right arm over Xander's shoulder.

"I wasn't going to kill the little witch. I was just going to turn her. I've got a soft spot for her, have had one since she stood up to me that night I kidnapped both of you." Spike insisted.

"Not helping yourself out any, Spike," Xander warned again, as he tried to get away from Angel, but the older vampire held on and Xander was no match for his strength. Finally, he tired and sat still.

"Xander, you've been hurt. Getting all worked up like this is not going to help anything."

"Didn't you hear what Spike said. He was going to kill Buffy. Aren't you mad?"

"He was going to TRY to kill Buffy, emphasis on the word try."

"I could take her. I've just been unlucky is all. I've killed two slayers already, you know," Spike said with pride.

"What happened with you and Willow?" Cordy asked. "I mean, not that I want anything to happen to her but what stopped you from turning her?"

"Every time I tried to bite her, a jolt of pain would go through my head. Wasn't just her, either. Every time I try to hit someone or do any kind of violence I get the same pain. That's what happened last night. Those stupid gits attacked me and I couldn't even defend myself."

"What happened to cause this Spike?" Angel asked him, a concerned expression on his face. He didn't want Spike to be able to hurt anyone, but he wanted his childe to be able to defend himself.

"Those stupid soldier gits. Wankers. They zapped me with their little toy guns and took me underground somewhere. When I woke up I was in this cell and there were a bunch of men walking around with lab coats. I don't remember much of what happened in between getting zapped and waking up, although there have been little bits and pieces of memories coming back. All I know is they capture vampires and demons, hold them in cells and do experiments on them."

Xander sat up, his eyes going from being filled with anger to one of compassion. "What kind of demons?"

Spike stared back at him, his blue eyes filling with tears. "Every kind that you could think of, even the peaceable ones and some that were half human. I managed to outsmart the doctors that opened my cell. They were gettin ready to run a few more 'experiments' on me but I got away. I wanted to free the others, but there wasn't enough time. I barely got out myself."

Xander jumped off the couch and started pacing back and forth. "Isn't that just great. Our tax dollars at work. Take a few soldier boys, add a few non-or half-human species, some crazy doctors and a little bit of money and stir. And you end up with a huge fucked up mess. All for the greater good of the people."

"Xander, calm down. I mean, if they're helping to control the demons on the Hellmouth, I don't see the bad in this. After all, if they hadn't fixed Spike he would have killed Willow." Cordy tried to calm her friend.

"Did you hear what you just said? Fixed Spike? Don't you see the bad in that at all? What gives them the right to make lab rats out of anyone they see fit to? You don't experiment on humans, demons, vampires whatever...it's just not right."

"I don't understand. It's not like we haven't killed our share of vampires and demons." Cordelia continued to argue her point.

"That's right. We killed them. Why? Because they were trying to kill us. We were defending ourselves or other people. We didn't just go out and shoot down anything or anyone that looked different and then ask questions later. What would have happened if Buffy had done that the first time she saw Oz as a werewolf? We would have lost a friend. By Spike's description, we still might. Think about it. They're collecting anyone that's different, you know not a normal human. Oz is a werewolf, Willow's a witch and Buffy's the slayer. Not your average group of friends are they? What if these soldiers decide to grab them? I've got to get back to Sunnydale and warn them."

Xander started to walk off and Angel jumped up and grabbed him by the arm. "You're not going anywhere until you've healed. Besides, we can't just go charging in there without knowing what we're up against."

"Does that mean you'll help? You agree with me that this is wrong? What they've done to Spike and all the others goes against everything I think is right. I used to think that all demons were bad until Oxnard. I can't help but wonder if some of the demons I made friends with could be down there. They told me they may visit and what if they got captured just because they wanted to come and see me? Angel, no one deserves to be to be used as a lab rat, not even Spike." Xander said, tears filling his eyes at the thought of his friends being tortured.

"Thanks, I think," Spike snorted.

"Sorry, Spike. You know what I mean. I know it's your nature to kill us humans and everything but even though I don't agree with that, no one should be going around changing nature. I'm not making any sense am I?" he asked no one in particular as he sat back down and put his head in his hands.

"Yes, you are," Angel told him, patting Xander on the shoulder. "I agree with you. I've tortured a lot of people in my time but I was a vampire and that's what we do. I wouldn't wish that on very many people, although I do believe there are some out there that deserve it."

"Does that mean that you'll let Spike stay here with you? I mean he can't feed, he can't defend himself and he sure as hell can't go back to Sunnydale." Xander was looking at Angel with his puppy dog eyes.

"What? You can't be serious. Spike tried to kill Angel, he tortured him. He did the exact same thing to Angel that you're so upset about other people doing to him." Cordelia said.

"Princess does have a point, Xander," Doyle said with mixed emotions. While he didn't want to give Spike another crack at Angel or any of them, his demon side had to agree with the boy.

Angel was in the same boat as Doyle. While Angelus raged at the thought of some human doctors experimenting on his childe, the Angel side worried that if he let Spike stay with him, something might happen to one of his friends. He didn't know if what had happened to Spike was permanent or temporary and Angel didn't want one of his friend's deaths on his conscience. Still, he couldn't just turn his childe away. No matter how annoying Spike was, Angel still cared deeply for him.

"Fine. If you all won't take Spike in, then I'll find someplace for us to stay until I can figure out what's going on back home. There's no fucking way I'm going to turn my back on this. Angel, you're his sire. You have to help him. And if that's not enough what about 'we help the hopeless'? Is that just a little jingle to bring in the customers or did you mean what you said?"

"Actually, I came up with the slogan," Cordelia said raising her hand. "But I didn't mean help the evil soulless monsters of the world."

"Any human that walks through those doors could be just as evil as Spike is or Angelus was. Having a soul doesn't make someone non-evil. Believe me, I know," Xander muttered the last sentence.

Spike looked at his boy in utter amazement. No one had ever stood up for him like Xander was doing now, including Angel. His heart swelled with pride for the stand Xander was making and it made him realize that there was much more to Xander than met the eye. Not only was he beautiful on the outside, but the inside as well. Xander may have made mistakes in his life, but he had learned from them and was willing to go out on a limb for anyone he thought was in trouble.

Angel's mind was following the same path as Spike's. His admiration for Xander grew as he looked at the boy. Xander had come a long way over the years and had grown into someone that he was proud to call his friend.

"Tell you what. Spike can stay here with us as long as he behaves himself, and by that I mean, no biting the humans even if this thing turns out to be temporary. We need to call Willow back and see if any of them know what the hell is happening down there."

"Thanks, Angel. I'll give Willow a call right now," Xander said reaching for the phone. He quickly dialed Willow's number. He waited for a few minutes before he heard her voice come across the line. "Hello?"

"Willow? Hey, it's me, Xander. What's up?" he asked, trying his best to sound casual, while inside his stomach was doing nervous flip-flops.

"Xander? Oh, thank God you called back. Cordelia had me worried what with the hanging up on me, which by the way I did not appreciate. We've been trying to find you, cause something happened the other night that you need to know about. We had to warn you about him but we didn't know where you were and I was hoping you were there and there you are." Willow babbled.

"By the him, are you talking about Spike?" Xander asked.

"How did you know?" Willow asked. Before Xander could reply she said, "Wait a minute. I'm going to put you on speaker phone, cause Giles and Buffy are here too." Xander reached over and flicked the switch on Angel's phone as he waited.

"I put you on speaker phone too, Willow. Angel, Cordy, Doyle and uh...and...uh...Spike are here too."

"Spike's there?" Giles, Willow and Buffy chorused.

"Got it in one people. And to think, this is the crack team that spoils my every plot." Spike taunted.

"Spike, if you've done anything to hurt Angel again, I swear I will hunt you down and stake you before you can blink an eye," Buffy threatened. Everyone saw the look of sadness that crossed Xander's face as he realized that Buffy was only worried about Angel's safety.

"Yes, we're all fine, slayer thanks for asking. I'm feeling really good now that I'm immortal. How about you, Cordy?" Xander asked, winking at his friend, hoping she would go along with his hoax.

Cordelia caught on to what Xander was doing. "Yes, I feel great. All I need now is a new makeover, what with the paler skin and all. Oh, and my clothes just aren't right for a vampire of my status. I think I need more leather and spandex and lower heels for chasing my victims. What about you, Doyle?"

"I feel like running a marathon, because I won't run out of breath with the not having to breathe and all," Doyle told them.

"See? We're all doing fine. We've just been sitting around betting on who is going to get staked first and the results are...let's see...the votes have been counted and the winner is...fuck, it's me. Why is it always me? I mean I know when I was human it was all Xander the Zeppo, the gopher, the loser, the weak link, but hell I'm a childe of a master vampire now. That should count for something shouldn't it?" Xander asked as Spike preened at Xander calling him a master vampire.

"We're all childer of a master vampire, Xander." Cordy told him, stifling a giggle.

"That's right. Well, I guess I'll just have to prove you all wrong and win that money. Guess I'll have to stake one of you first. Let's see...eeeny, meeny, miney....Angel. Sorry, dude." Xander said before making a sound like a vampire being dusted. "I win. Angel was the first one to die so pay up."

"But I had plans for my money," Cordy whined. "If I don't have any money then I can't get all that leather and spandex."

"Oh, shit Xander. Have mercy. Cordy, leather and spandex. And just think of all that vampire stamina we have now." Doyle said.

"All right, I'll let you keep a little of the money as long as Cordy lets Willow borrow some of her clothes when I turn her, because vamp Willow was a hottie. Plus, you have to leave me enough money to buy Giles some spandex and leather, too. How about that G-man?" Cordy and Doyle hid their faces in the couch pillows to muffle their snickers.

Spike and Angel were watching the young people with amusement. They knew that Xander was trying to get Buffy back for what she had said, and while they both hated that Willow might get scared, they felt Buffy got what she deserved.

"That's quite enough, Xander," Giles reproached the boy. "I know it's human Xander because no self-respecting vampire would call me that."

"No self respecting vampire would ever pay for anything, either," Spike informed Xander. "We take what we want."

"Gosh, Xander you almost gave me a heart attack until I realized that you were pulling our legs," Willow said, laughing. "I miss you so much. I haven't laughed like this since you left."

Angel, Spike and Cordelia were all thinking the same thing - *I bet you haven't.* Angel and the others knew that their days had been much brighter and happier with Xander around and they were secretly hoping that he would decide to stay in Los Angeles for good.

"Xander, I'm going to kill you. That's one of the meanest pranks you and Cordelia have ever pulled before. I could expect something like that from her, but not you. And don't bother to convince me that Angel is in the same room as you all are because there is no way he would have let you try to trick me like that." Buffy was a little ticked.

"Angel, Angel, Angel. Why does every conversation we have come back to that freak. Hey, man how you doing?" Xander asked, smiling at Angel.

Angel remembered Xander saying something like that a few years ago, and now he was smiling back at the boy. *Times they were a changing*. "I'm fine. Buffy I am in the room. Been sitting here the whole time, both Spike and myself, watching these crazy people. And you forgot to mention Doyle, he was in on it along with the other two."

"What has Xander done to you? He's corrupted you, Angel."

"If what you mean by corrupting me is making me laugh more and spending less time brooding, then yes he definitely has," Angel answered honestly, noticing how Xander ducked his head and blushed at the compliment.

"Angel, I love Xander, you know I do but his sense of humor is sometimes so not of the good. You know, like while we're fighting vampires and stuff. Someday it's going to get him or someone else killed and I don't want to see that happen to you. We're sort of used to it and tune him out when that happens, but you aren't so you won't."

Before Angel or Spike could defend the boy who was looking sadly at the floor now, Cordy spoke up. "If I recall Buffy, you're the one that likes to play 'taunt the vampire' while you're slaying and I have to tell you that your jokes are not nearly as funny as Xander's are."

"I'm the slayer. I can get by with it. Xander's just a human. He's going to get himself killed doing that someday and I don't want to see that happen."

"I'm glad you care, Buff, but my mouth has managed to talk myself out of many bad situations." Xander said defensively.

"And into a lot of them, too." Buffy reminded him.

"Look, we didn't call to debate Xander's sense of humor. We called to find out what happened to Spike, if it's permanent or temporary and who the hell these soldier boys are." Angel said, determined to stop this line of conversation before he got angrier than he already was at Buffy's words and what the soldiers had done to Spike.

"Yeah, am I the only one with a big floating question mark over his head about this soldier boy thing?" Xander asked them.

"They all seem to fall in the good guy camp. I mean they are anti-demon. But I have to agree with you, Xander. After I saw what they did to Spike, I kinda felt sorry for him. Not that I wanted to be a vampire, mind you and he was still terrifying, but still----"

"Yes, Willow's right. There is quite a lot we don't know about these commandos. While they seem to be doing some good we don't know what they're up to." Giles added. "I'm afraid they may be too good to be true."

"Like doing experiments on us demons and making us lab rats," Spike said.

"Like I'd believe anything you said Spike. I know a few of the soldiers and they seem to be doing good. I mean my patrols have been much easier with them out there, too." Buffy told them. "Besides, they're backed by the Government so how bad could they be?"

"Oh, that makes us feel comforted," Doyle snorted. "We all know that everything the Government backs is great."

"Well, I for one say yah-hoo for the Initiative. That's what they're called. I'm glad they neutered Spike. Now I don't have to worry about him always trying to kill me." Buffy retorted.

"You wouldn't have said that if you had seen Spike last night, Buffy. He couldn't even defend himself against some humans that were trying to take his money. While I don't condone Spike killing my friends or anyone else for that matter, I don't like that he is not able to defend himself." Angel said angrily. He was shocked to hear Buffy giggling on the other end of the phone as Willow tried to shut her up by saying, "It's not funny, Buffy. How would you like to be defenseless in this world?"

"And I suppose you think it's also funny that Xander got hurt last night trying to help him?" Angel asked with a calm that belied the anger on his face.

"Xander got hurt? Not too badly though, right? Cause we were just talking to him. Was Spike hurt, too?" Willow asked worriedly.

"We're going to be fine, Will. It was just the usual bumps and bruises type thing. I'd say we've both seen worse." Xander reassured her, knowing that if anyone in Sunnydale would feel sorry for Spike it would be Willow. She had the biggest heart when it came to someone not being able to defend themselves.

"I'm sorry," Buffy said, but everyone could tell that she wasn't really sad about Spike getting hurt. "My total bad. Xander how many times have I told you not to go running headlong into dangerous situations?"

"I had to, Buff. I saw those three guys thrashing on another one and I couldn't just walk away now could I?"

"No, Xander of course not. I'm proud of you for taking the right stand, but still you really do need to get help before you attack. Maybe you should have gotten Angel to go with you. After all you are just a human." Giles suggested.

Xander knew that Giles meant well, but the statement still hurt. He decided to let it pass and get back to these commando guys and what they were doing. "Buffy, don't you think you're rushing to conclusions about these Initiative guys? There's still a lot of stuff about them that nobody knows."

"I know that." Buffy answered, before there was a long pause and they heard her say, "Like what?"

"Well, what's their ultimate agenda? I mean, okay yeah, they neuter vampires and demons but then what? Are they going to reintegrate them into society? Get them jobs as bagboys at Wal-Mart?"

The AI gang and Spike laughed at that remark. Leave it to Xander to place vampires and demons on the Hellmouth, dressed in Wal-mart uniforms bagging the humans purchases. The image that conjured up made them giggle more and they heard Willow joining in before Buffy asked, "Does Wal-mart have bag boys?"

"Buff, get your head out of the shopping clouds and listen to me for a minute, will you?" Xander asked with annoyance. He should have known not to use that point with Buffy. "These people are acting like they're the greatest thing since the Hershey bar was invented but they're collecting demons that are peaceable and experimenting on them. People like Oz, or Willow or even you, because you are the slayer, you know."

"They're not going to hurt any of us. They know Willow and I and they know that I'm the slayer. Professor Walsh, the leader of the Initiative has even tried to recruit me to help them." Buffy answered confidently.

"What if a full moon comes along and Oz gets out of his cage? Then what? They could get him and torture him with those experiments of theirs. Is that what you want?" Xander was getting angry again.

"Right now, I wouldn't care. For your information, Oz isn't even in Sunnydale anymore. He cheated on Willow and left." Buffy informed him, as they heard Willow's muffled sob.

"Oh, God, I'm sorry Willow. I had no idea. Are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?" Xander asked, before he thought about his words. "Of course you don't. Well not now of course, too many people listening. Call me later though, and we'll talk okay? You know as long as I'm around, well I haven't been around, but now that you know where I am, you can call me and talk any time day or night. And I'm so, so sorry that I wasn't there for you. Can you ever forgive me?"

"She wasn't alone she had me," Buffy said.

"I know that Buff, but sometimes...well it's...I don't want to hurt your feelings or make you mad or anything...but...well, Willow and I have been best friends since birth almost. I can always tell when she's hurting. She doesn't have to mention it, I can just tell by the look on her face or the the tone of her voice."

"And you think I can't?"

"No, it's not that, but it's like Xander said. He does know me better than I know myself sometimes. Just like I do him. We're not saying that you're not our best friend too, but there are times when you're preoccupied...you know with your slaying and all," they heard Willow explain to Buffy.

"I can't help that I'm the slayer," Buffy defended herself. "And it's been pretty hectic around here with the Initiative wanting me to join and everything."

"Speaking of which, you're not going to do it are you, Buffy?" Xander asked her.

"Why not? Where is the bad in that? I mean if they were as evil as Spike says or you all seem to believe, why would they want me around mucking up their plans?"

"Have you ever heard the saying 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'?" Xander asked. "If you join them, they'll be able to watch your every move. If they are hiding something, that will give them plenty of time to counteract anything you throw up against them."

Angel and Spike looked at each other. Their boy was very astute. The two vampires both knew that was what each of them was thinking, even as Xander had said it.

"Tell you what, Xander. Come home for Thanksgiving. Mom's going to be out of town and I'm fixing the meal and I want you here. It wouldn't be the same without you. We'll talk about the Initiative then and you can see up close and personal what's going on. I promise I won't do anything until you've had a chance to see them in action and meet some of them."

Everyone in the room looked at each other, concern in their eyes. None of them wanted Xander going back to Sunnydale not knowing what he was going home to.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea, Xander. Not until we know a little more about this organization," Angel told the boy.

"Yeah, what if they grab you and try to do experiments on you," Cordy stated.

"Why would they do that, Cordelia?" For Pete’s sake, if they aren't hurting us, they're definitely not going to hurt Xander. I'm the slayer, Willow's a witch and Giles is a sorcerer. Xander's just a human being."

Xander winced at those words. He knew he was the weak link in the group but did Buffy always have to bring that up? "Fine. I'll be there. See you around Thanksgiving and give us a call if you find out anything else about this Initiative thing. And Willow, honey, don't forget to call me later?"

"I will, Xander. We love you." Willow said, as they hung up their phone. Xander flipped the phone switch off, before he noticed the others staring at him.

"What? Buffy's right. These guys wouldn't try anything with me. I'm the nobody in the group after all. Besides, maybe I can find out something that will help Spike and the others."

"No. Absolutely not. You are not to go snooping around by yourself trying to help me or anyone else. These people are fucking loonies, no telling what they might do if they caught you." Spike commanded angrily. He didn't want Xander getting hurt because of him.

"Since when do you care what I do or don't do?" Xander shot back, still angry from Buffy's words.

"We all care, Xander." Angel told him, trying to calm the young man down. He knew where Xander's anger was coming from and it wasn't meant to be directed at Spike. "None of us want you to go back there and get hurt."

"I appreciate that, all of you," Xander told them. "But I'm not going to do any snooping. I'm too smart for that. Now who's up for something to eat, because I'm starving. My stomach thinks my throat's been cut."

With that being said, Xander made his way to the kitchen. Everyone soon followed, knowing it was useless to argue with him. When Xander made up his mind to do something, no one could change it. They just hoped his stubborn streak wouldn't get him into trouble.