"So you say Dawn told you Xander beat up a rather large troll before Willow and Tara sent it to another dimension?" Wesley asked.

"Yeah, that's what she told me. Man, that kid has a major crush on Xander." Cordelia picked up her napkin, wiping her mouth before throwing it onto her plate.

"I suppose." Wesley answered, distracted by his book. He had been going through it, trying to find out about trolls. "I'm quite intrigued with the situation. I wonder where the troll came from."

"The troll section at Toy's R Us?" Oz joked. Wesley gave him a look before returning his attention to his reading.

"Dawn said Anya accidentally brought it here. Anya was going to wreak vengeance on Xander, decided not to but somehow she ended up making a wish about her ex-boyfriend, the troll who suddenly appeared. Dawn also said it was big and ugly - your typical everyday demon. Which brings me back to the subject of Anya and David hooking up. I don't think Dawn knows what she's talking about. Either that or David must be even lonelier than I thought if he's attracted to a demon. I mean is there anything more disgusting than a demon?" Everyone but Cordelia noticed the way Doyle's face fell at his girlfriend's words.

"Some not-so-human human's can be attractive." Oz stated. Cordelia almost blushed when she realized her insensitivity.

"I'm sorry, Oz. You know I didn't mean you." She reached across the desk and patted his hand. "Besides, you're not a demon. You're a werewolf."

"Anya's very attractive in her human form." Oz added.

"If you like that type." Cordelia sniffed, not willing to admit to that fact. She always thought she was the prettiest girl Xander had ever dated and she wanted to keep that title.

"What about Angel and Spike?" Wesley asked, trying to help out. "They're very attractive...for men."

"Come on, guys, don't tell me it's been so long since you've had a real date that you're finding the things in this book attractive." Cordelia turned a page and pointed at a demon. "Here, look at this one. This demon wears a wreath of intestines around it's head. I mean honestly, what kind of statement is this thing trying to make?"

"Well...I mean...you know it really depends on the type of demon, doesn't it? Uh, I think some demons could be actually nice you know if given the opportunity. Like the ones we met in Sunnydale...like Clem. I think you'd have to get to know them, yeah," Doyle asked hopefully.

"I've known a lot of demons and slimicide, not a lot going on there for the most part." Cordelia got up, gathering the empty paper plates before heading to the kitchen.

"Doyle, I'm sure she didn't mean----" Oz started to say but Doyle cut him off.

"Yes, she did. That's why I can't bring myself to tell her about me. I know I should have told her earlier...now that I've been with Cordy I can't stand the thought of telling her what I am and taking a chance on losing her."

"She loves you, Doyle." Oz assured him.

"Enough to love the demon half of me?" Before anyone could answer, Cordelia came back into the room, just as the phone rang. She gave them a smile before picking up the reciever.

"Angel Investigations, we help the - oh, hi Spike. Spike, calm down, I just talked to Dawn a few minutes ago. Xander's with them." *************************************************

Xander sped down the road, his mind a blur as Hallie's words kept racing through his mind. "I'm sure they're having fun with you for time being." Is that all it was? A good time with the human until he got old and wrinkly. Had Lindsey been right when he said Xander was just a playtoy in their bed until Angel and Spike got tired of him? No, Angel and Spike loved him.

Xander's eyes blurred with tears, recalling the conversation the three of them had had with Doyle and Wesley a few weeks earlier. Spike and Angel hadn't wanted Wesley teaching Xander anything about vampires. Were they afraid Wesley would come to the same conclusion that Hallie had and tell him? Maybe they didn't want him to know about claiming because they didn't want him like they said they did.

Xander wished he had read more about vampires during his summer at the demon bar but he had skimmed over that part thinking that Giles had told him everything he needed to know. Yeah, right. This was the same man that had told Xander there was no part of Jesse in the vampire he had dusted. Xander knew better. He had been the one to see his best friend's face for the last time, he had been the one to hear Jesse's pained words about his former life. NO there was definitely some of Jesse there.

Xander brushed a tear away as he tried to stay confident. Spike and Angel loved him. He knew they weren't lying when they said they loved him. He could tell it by the way they kissed him, touched him, made love to him. And that's what it was - making love, not just fun sex. Vampires may be good at playing head games but Xander doubted Spike and Angel could fake such passion. If they could, then Cordy needed to take acting lessons from them. Xander began to feel better until memories of Angel and Spike biting each other during sex entered his mind. They never went into game face with him during sex. Xander's chest tightened when he remembered Giles telling the gang that vampires showed their true selves when they felt anger, pain, fear, lust, passion - any strong emotion. Oz had told him how he had managed to control the wolf until he had seen Willow and Tara together. Jealousy - his love for Willow - was the reason Oz had been captured by the Initiative.

The tears started coming faster as Xander's memories came back in a rush. While he didn't doubt Angel and Spike truly cared about him, it wasn't the passionate kind of love he thought it had been. Not the kind Angel had felt for Buffy - hadn't he gone into vamp face when he thought her life was in danger that time at the fraternity house? It wasn't the kind of love that Spike had felt for Dru - Willow had told him how Spike had reverted to his 'scary face' when he talked about how Dru had left him for that Chaos demon. And then there was Spike and Angel sharing blood during sex, but not with him. Once again, Xander Harris wasn't quite good enough.

Xander was working himself into full self-pity mode when he noticed he was driving the car off the road and right into a telephone pole. He braced himself for the crash he knew was coming while he tried to steer clear of the post. A few seconds later, he felt the impact of the crash as the front right side of his car bounced of the pole. Xander had forgotten to put his seat belt on and he was thrown around the car, his ribs and chest hitting the steering wheel before he was tossed to the side, smashing his left side against the door and his head into the window.

Xander sat dazed for a few minutes, trying to assess the damage he had done to himself and his car while thanking anyone that was listening that he hadn't knocked himself out. He felt the trickle of blood running from a gash in his forehead. He reached up to wipe it away thinking now he had a matching set. Xander tried to restart the car but it only protested before falling quiet. He stumbled out of the car, flexing his body parts, grateful once again when he found nothing broken or sprained. He knew he was going to be sore the next day but for now at least he could get home. Xander went to pull the phone out of his pocket and cursed when he couldn't find it. He climbed back into the car and found it lying underneath the dash - broken.

Well, this was just great. He had a broken car, a broken cell phone and no way of getting home. Wait a minute. Where was here? Xander cursed a bloody blue streak that would have made even Spike blush when he realized that while he had been thinking he had also been mindlessly driving around. Now he didn't know where the hell he was.

Xander decided to find a phone so he could call his friends to come and get him. He grabbed the keys from the ignition, making his way to the trunk where he proceeded to pull out his little toys. Xander didn't know where he was but he knew two things - it was dark and the way things were going tonight, he would definitely meet up with a vampire or two. He placed the stakes in his pockets before shutting the trunk and taking a look around. Which way? The answer came to him in the form of a young, very pretty black girl who was walking down the street a few blocks ahead of him...being followed by more than a dozen vampires.

"Here we go again," Xander muttered, hurrying to catch up with them. His head was telling him how stupid he was to be following so many vampires, but his heart was telling him he needed to help the girl. Oh, well, if these vamps didn't kill him, Angel and Spike would. ***********************************************

"Angel Investigations, we help the - Oh, hi Spike. No, he's not here. Spike, calm down. I just talked to Dawn. Xander's with them."

"Where are they? Xander was supposed to be home by now."

"She said Xander was going to stay at David's for an hour or so before he headed home."

"How long ago?" Spike waited for Cordelia to answer, not liking the bad feeling he had in the pit of his stomach.

"About ten minutes before you called. Spike, quit being such a mother hen. Xander's fine. Where are you two?"

"Still waiting on this bloke to come back with the...uh...information we need." Spike didn't know whether David wanted everyone to know about his problem or not.

"Well, I'm sure Xander will be home by the time you get here."

"If he's not back within the hour, call us."

"You got it." Spike hung up the phone and turned to Angel. "Do you think we should call David?"

"And have Xander accuse us of not trusting his ability to take care of himself. No, I don't think so." Angel leaned his head back against the car seat. "We've got a while before Lenny's supposed to show. When we're done, if Xander hasn't gotten home, then we'll call David's house. At least that way we'll have an excuse."

"Guess you're right." Spike took a puff off his cigarette, gazing worriedly out the window of the car. "I can't seem to shake this feeling that Xander's in trouble. Probably just missing the boy."

Angel nodded, hoping Spike was right. God, he hated waiting. *********************************

Xander turned the corner and quickly crept into the alleyway. The girl was trapped between the wall at the end of the alley and the line of vampires who were staring at her hungrily. He snuck up on the closest vampire and staked him just as he heard another vampire say, "You." He turned to see a large, black man dressed in a long black coat similar to Angel's and carrying a large wooden stake standing on the left side of the alleyway.

"You expecting somebody else?" Xander saw a young man standing beside the taller man, holding a cross bow in his hand while a truck full of kids about his age pulled up behind them. There was a boy standing behind what appeared to be some kind of makeshift machine gun on the back of the truck.

"Excuse me, I can't help but notice you're rather large toy and I've got to say I'm impressed. Don't think it's going to help much. Can't kill vamps with bullets."

"But you can with large wooden stakes." Xander barely had time to duck before a large stake sailed through the air, hitting the vampire behind him.

"Hey, hold on there a minute buddy. I'm not a fucking vampire. I'm human...just like you."

"And just like him...you're going to die." A large vampire lunged at Xander but was dust within seconds when Xander hit the switch on his cuff, discharging his stakes.

"I've got a few toys myself, you bastards." Xander addressed the vampires in front of him. "Leave the girl alone."

"What are you going to do if we don't?" One of the vampires asked.

"I'm thinking of dusting your asses. Unless you'd rather go out for a pizza?"

"Look wise guy. This is our turf. We take care of our own so why don't you turn around and walk the other way." The black man pointed towards where Xander had come from.

"Don't think so. I'm thinking you could use all the help you can get." Xander gestured behind the men. "There's more behind you."

"We can handle them. I don't need some skinny ass, white dude getting in the way."

"Getting in the way? I've already killed two vamps." Xander was prepared to argue further, but the vampires had other ideas. Soon he was caught up in the fight, staking several vampires as he taunted them with 'you are such a lame ass', 'bite me...not', and 'geez, fledges are so stupid'. The black man turned to glare at him.

"Do you always talk this much when you're fighting?"

"What can I say? Helps with the concentration thing." He staked another vampire, just as one leaped towards him. Dust showered around his head and he turned to see the young boy behind the machine raising his fist in triumph. "Man, that thing is cool." The black man rolled his eyes before staking another vampire. Xander watched as the boy behind the machine tried to reload it as another vampire went running towards him and the girl Xander had followed. He knew the boy wasn't going to make it in time. Running as fast as he could Xander managed to climb onto the truck just as the vampire grabbed the boy.

"Bobby!" the girl screamed, holding a long wooden stick in her hand as she watched the two of them fight. The vampire grabbed the boy by the neck and was ready to pile drive his chest against the side of the truck. Xander jumped down off the top of the cab, staking the vampire as he landed. Bobby fell into the bed of the truck, holding his neck as he smiled at Xander.

"Thanks for the assist."

"No problem. You need to make sure that thing's fully loaded at all times, otherwise----"

"Look out behind you!" the girl yelled. Xander turned to see three vampires coming right at him. He managed to eject the stakes on his wrist cuffs once again, taking two of them out as the other knocked him down into the truck. His shoulder hit the side of the truck before his head hit the bed. Xander lay there stunned, knowing he was going to die. The vampire leaned towards him, only to explode into dust. He heard a lot of yelling right before he blacked out. ***************************************

Xander woke up on the hard, cold floor of what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. He lay quietly as he took in his surroundings, his mind trying to recapture what had happened before he evidently passed out. He heard voices and decided to play possum, hoping to get a handle on where he was and who he was with.

"How are we fixed for tonight?" A man's voice asked, Xander remembering the large, black man he had seen in the alley earlier.

"Wasn't much in the bins behind Mel's and we got that." Xander opened his eyes, following the direction the young boy was pointing. There were three more boys standing in a corner of the building. "I told them we don't take squatters."

"Everybody eats." the other man said, walking away.

"Okay guys, you can eat." The boy walked over to the other three, leading them towards the back of the room. The young, black girl he had seen in the alley earlier walked over, bending down to talk to one of the youths leaning against the wall.

"Have you seen my brother, Gunn?" The boy pointed towards the stairs where the man from before was coming down. "Gunn, we need to talk."

"Yeah, what up?"

"What happened out there earlier tonight with Bobby."

"No, I don't want to talk about it. It's done."

"We're dying here Gunn. If it hadn't been for that guy over there, our little brother would have been dead."

"I would have gotten to him in time, Alana. Nothing's going to happen to you two as long as I have something to say about it. Haven't I always taken care of you and Bobby?"

"Yes, you have but Gunn it shouldn't have gone down the way it did. You're getting reckless."

"I do what I got to do." The two of them were standing in front of Xander now, so wrapped up in their conversation they didn't notice him trying to sit up.

"You do more than you gotta do. Three weeks, G. Three weeks and no teeth and you had to ring the dinner bell like that? You just couldn't go another day without getting a little death in, could you?"

"You think I like this?"

"No, I think you love it, and you won't be happy until you get as close to death as you possibly can."

"You're wrong."

"Well, I hope so cause I don't want anything happening to you or Bobby. He idolizes you, Gunn. You're his hero and he'll do anything to make you proud. God, Gunn I don't want to lose you or Bobby."

"That's not gonna happen, little sister." The man took the girl's hand, smiling down at her. "It's never gonna happen."

"Never say never." Xander groaned, putting his hand to his head. "Vampire fighting doesn't come with any guarantees."

"You're awake." Alana hurried over, bending down to check out Xander's head. "We were beginning to worry about you."

"I wasn't." Gunn said, making Xander glare at the man.

"Anyone ever tell you what a great host you are? And let's not forget what a pleasant attitude you have."

"You don't like it, leave."

"I would but there's a few problems with that scenario. One, I wrecked my car and broke my cell phone so I can't get hold of my friends to come and get me."

"Let me tell you how sorry I'm not about some rich kid's problem."

"Rich? Did you say rich? If I were rich would I be wearing these clothes?" Xander pointed at his torn work pants and the old Hawaiian shirt he had put on before going to David's house.

"Hell, even poor I wouldn't be caught dead in them."

"I'll have you know this is the best money can buy at Goodwill." Alana smiled at him while Gunn stood over him, arms crossed. "I see you don't have much of a sense of humor either, do you Gunn?"

"How do you know my name?" Gunn was immediately suspicious.

"Could be I heard your sister call you that." Xander gave him a 'duh' look before turning to shake Alana's hand. "Hi, Alana. I'm Xander."

"Nice to meet you, Xander."

"Speak for yourself." Gunn's attitude wasn't getting any better.

"Gunn, stop it. Xander saved Bobby's life...you should be grateful instead of acting like an asshole."

"He's acting? I don't think you're acting, are you?" Xander stood, facing Gunn.

"You're pushing it rich kid."

"Would you quit calling me that, attitude boy? You think because I carry a cell phone I'm rich? This happens to belong to the company I work for. Work. As in, have to. Got it?"

"Know what I think? You're a smart ass who's about ready to get his ass whupped." Gunn stepped into Xander's personal space. Xander took a long look around the room.

"Yeah? By who?"

"Me."

"Gunn, stop it." Bobby ran over, ready to stop the impending fight.

"Why should I?"

"Because your sister was right. It's stupid to go out there and attract vampires when they're leaving you alone."

"Yeah? What would you know about it?" Xander had to laugh at that statement. "What's so damn funny?"

"You are. What you just said. I grew up on the Hellmouth buddy. You think L.A. is bad? You ain't seen nothing."

"I've been fighting vampires for years now."

"So have I. And demons, giant snakes, invisible girls, eggs that hatched into slimy little creatures that attached themselves to you so you had no free will, pissed off ghosts, sea creatures that turned out to be my fellow swim teammates, a big smurf that could burn you from the inside out, zombies, witches and that was just during high school." Now Xander had everyone's attention.

"I think you hit your head a lot harder than you thought cause you're crazy, man." Gunn shook his head.

"God's honest truth." Xander crossed his heart. "I haven't even mentioned my dates. There was the mummy girl that sucked the life out of anyone she kissed, the hot teacher who turned out to be a large praying mantis that wanted to mate with me, a vengeance demon and a very scary cheerleader."

"What was she?" Bobby asked, interested in Xander's stories.

"Who?"

"The cheerleader. What did she turn out to be?"

"Oh, she's human but she's as scary as any of the demons I mentioned." Everyone but Gunn and another boy laughed, taken in by Xander's humor.

"You think we're going to believe all that crap." The other boy asked.

"Don't care if you believe me or not. It's true. I ought to know. I was there."

"Still don't make you no authority on killing vamps." Gunn snorted.

"I could say the same thing about you. How's about I give you a word of advice."

"How's about I kick your ass."

"Let me see. This is a tough decision you're giving me here. Get my ass kicked or give you some advice." Xander put out his hands as if he were weighing the options. "Hmmm. I could use a good ass kicking, I'll be very honest with you." Xander thought about it for a minute. "Nah, I think I'll just go with the giving you advice option." Everyone laughed, sure this boy couldn't beat their leader. Gunn turned to glare at them and they immediately stopped.

"Over my dead body."

"You like to change the choices as you go along, don't you? Okay, here's my answer. Do I have to kill you? What if I just kicked the ever loving shit out of you?"

"In your dreams." Gunn laughed.

"No, no, no. In reality. If I were to kick the shit out of you, do I get to say what I want to say and you listen to me?"

"If you kick the shit out of me?" Gunn repeated Xander's words, not believing what he was hearing.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, then you get to talk and I'll listen."

"Okay, let's see if we agree to the terms before we fight. The choice now is.... I get my ass kicked or option B, I kick your ass and give you some advice which you're going to listen to." Xander thought for a moment. "I'm going with option B. Kicking your ass and giving you advice that you're going to listen to."

"Are we going to fight now?"

"Yeah." Before they could throw a punch, Bobby and Alana stepped between them.

"No fighting. Haven't we had enough of that tonight?" Alana asked.

"I don't need advice from some crazy white dude who doesn't know what he's talking about." Gunn looked at Xander. "You don't know what my life is. You got no idea what it's like down here."

"What are we playing here? Who's had the worst life? Because I gotta tell you, until recently, my life sucked. Just because I had a roof over my head, didn't mean I was safe. My father was more of a monster than any vampire I ever fought." Xander stepped back, raising his hands up in the air. "Look, I just don't want to see any of you die."

"People die all the time. Some just for talking too much." The boy from before stepped forward, holding a crossbow.

"I've been told that. But.." Xander looked at himself. "I'm still here."

"Yeah, well maybe you shouldn't be. We're done." Gunn started to walk off but Xander stopped him.

"Look, I've got a crew that fights vamps and so do you. We could help each other. Unless, of course, death is what you're after. Then you're on your own."

"I'm always on my own."

"Doesn't seem that way to me. What about Alana? Bobby? All these other kids? Seems to me they're as much a part of the fight as you are. But you don't see that do you? Noooo, Gunn's the big, bad leader who has to make all the decisions because he knows so much more than everybody else." Xander's voice was full of sarcasm. "You'd be surprised at how much these kids or I could help you if you just gave us the chance."

"What would you know about being a leader?"

"I led a group of de..people who took down a government installation that was building a big creature out of demon parts to take over the world."

"Now I know you're trippin' cause nobody wins against the Government." Gunn's voice was harsh but there was a small smile on his face. Xander smiled back.

"I did. We did." Before Gunn could answer, another boy ran down the stairs.

"It's time to....do the thing we were planning on doing tonight, G." Gunn nodded, turning back to Xander.

"Stay here with Bobby and the others. When we get back, I'll take you home."

"But Gunn, I wanted to go, too." Gunn placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Bobby, you almost got yourself killed earlier. I don't want you getting hurt. Stay with him until we get back." Gunn and the others grabbed their weapons and left the room. Xander put a comforting arm around the boy.

"So, want to trade some war stories while we wait? One Zeppo to another?" Bobby grinned at Xander, fully understanding what Xander was talking about. **********************************************

"Angel, he's back." Spike hit the older vampire on his shoulder, making him sit up and look around. "Were you asleep?"

"What? No." Spike raised his eyebrow and Angel shrugged. "Only a few minutes. Let's get those pictures so we can go home." They went to meet Lenny, who was sitting on top of his car, staring into space. He jumped when he saw them standing in front of him.

"You two are sneaky sons of bitches aren't you?"

"You brought the photographs?" Angel asked, ignoring the man's question. Lenny jumped down off the car, holding out a manilla folder.

"Of course I brought them. And a little something extra." Angel and Spike heard growls and turned to see two Vortath demons standing behind them. Before they could react, both of them were sailing backwards, landing hard on the pavement.

"Love that." Lenny smirked. Angel and Spike jumped up, each of them attacking one of the demons. Angel was thrown onto Lenny's car while Spike hit the ground below him.

"Whatever he's paying you isn't enough is it chumps." Lenny asked. Spike knocked his demon to the side, raising up and ducking as the demon swung at him. It didn't have a chance to recover, Spike sweeping it's feet out from under him and knocking the demon to the ground. Angel had pushed his demon off of him and knocked Lenny down, grabbing the envelope and shoving it into his duster pocket before running towards a light post. The demon chased after him and was hit in the face by Angel's feet as the vampire grabbed the pole in front of him and twirled around it. Spike and Angel traded blows with the demons before finally grabbing their necks, snapping them. They fell to their knees, both of them breathing hard even though they didn't have to.

"You okay?" Angel asked. Spike looked up just in time to see a truck with large wooden stakes attached to it rolling up behind Angel. Before Spike could warn him, a stake came flying through the air, piercing the right side of Angel's chest.

"Bloody hell!" Spike helped Angel to his feet as the older vampire pulled the stake from his shoulder. They started to run, dodging the stakes as they pushed large dumpsters out into the road behind them, trying to slow the truck down. When they came to the end of the alley, Spike grabbed Angel's arm. "This way." They ducked underneath a warehouse door, both of them standing next to it as they tried to recover from the shock of what had just happened. A large wooden stake was driven through the door, barely missing both vampires. They took off again and Angel stepped on something causing a large thing of spikes to come crashing down towards them. Angel pushed Spike out of the way, both of them tucking and rolling before getting up and taking off again. They had only managed to go a few feet when they were attacked by humans wielding stakes. They knocked them down and took off again, this time being met with stake like arrows. One hit Spike on the left side of his chest. He pulled it out as they continued to run through the warehouse, hoping they would make it to the other side in one piece. They thought they had made it out when they were attacked again, this time by at least ten humans. They kicked and pushed the kids back, trying not to hurt them. Finally, Angel grabbed a young, black girl, pulling her in front of him while Spike stood behind them.

"Alana!" A young, black man with a crossbow came to a stop when he heard the girl screaming. "Don't shoot." He told his crew, keeping his crossbow trained on the two vampires.

"What are you gits playing at?" Spike asked.

"We're not playing," the man told him.

"You're going to get yourselves killed." Angel warned, holding the struggling girl.

"We gonna get you killed first." the young man replied.

"Let's dust them," a young, white boy next to the other said. Angel let go of the girl and she took off running, tripping over a wire. Spike stuck his hand out, a small arrow going through his hand, stopping it from hitting the girl on the floor.

"Bloody fucking hell."

"Are you alright?" Angel asked him, not taking his eyes off the young men in front of him.

"I'll survive. No thanks to these soddin' wankers."

"You know, for some reason I'm getting the impression you don't like us very much." Angel told them, helping Spike get the arrow out of his hand. "Maybe I'm just over reacting."

"What? You two gonna pretend you're different from the rest of them?" the young man said, pushing the girl behind him.

"Yeah, and I'll just pretend I saved her life." Spike pointed out.

"You put a lot of work into this," Angel told them, taking a look around. "Some clever stuff, really. I'm impressed, but I have a few suggestions----"

"Don't think we're interested."

"Yeah? You should be." Spike threw the arrow on the ground at the man's feet. "Who do you think that would've killed?"

"We're fighting on the same side," Angel told them.

"Same side of what?" The white boy asked.

"We didn't come here to kill you."

"Don't matter why you two came here or what the two of you are, if either of you ever show your face down here again don't count on any long good-byes." Gunn turned and walked away, his crew following. Angel and Spike exchanged glances.

"Do you have any idea what happened here?" Angel shook his head. "Let's get the fuck out of here before they decide to come back for round two." They walked out of the warehouse towards the car, anxious to get home. ***************************************

It was half an hour later when the two vampires pulled into the garage and stumbled into the apartment. Finding it empty, they made their way upstairs where Doyle, Cordelia, Wesley and Oz were sitting around the office talking. They stopped when they saw the shape Spike and Angel were in.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Cordelia demanded as Oz rushed off to gather up the first aid kit.

"Had a run in with a bunch of stake happy kids. Where's Xander?" Angel asked.

"He hasn't gotten home yet." Wesley told him, trying to help him get his coat off. Angel grabbed the man's arm, stopping him.

"Where is he?"

"Probably still at David's talking to Willow and Dawn. You know how those three are when they get together." Oz was trying to help Spike out of his coat, but the vampires were having none of it.

"We're going to go find him." Angel told the others as he and Spike turned to leave.

"Hold it right there, buster. No one's going anywhere. You two need to get patched up before Xander gets home, sees you looking like this and has a heart attack."

"But----"

"No buts about it, Spike. Sit. Doyle, you take Angel and I'll take Spike. Wesley, call David's house. See if Xander is still over there. If he's not, call his cell. Oz, get them some human blood." Cordelia gave out orders as she took Spike's coat off and sat him in the chair. The vampires sat down, too weak to argue while the others rushed around, following Queen C's orders.

"Tell David we got the pictures." Angel told Wesley, holding up the manilla folder. Wesley nodded, waiting for the man to answer his phone. After a few rings he heard David's voice on the other end.

"Hello, David. This is Wesley. Angel wanted me to let you know that he and Spike got the pictures you requested."

"That's great. Tell them thanks. Boy, what a relief."

"Yes...uh, David may I speak to Xander."

"Xander left about an hour ago. He should be there already." David's voice went from relief to worry in two seconds flat. "Do you want me to send some of my men out to look for him?"

"No, that won't be necessary. I'm sure he's fine. I'll just give him a call on his cell phone."

"Okay. Let me know if you need any help finding him."

"Yes, thank you. And David, don't mention this to Willow or the others. I wouldn't want them to be worried for no reason."

"Yeah, sure. But if we can help----"

"I'll let you know." Wesley hung up the phone and immediately dialed Xander's number. Instead of hearing the voice he was hoping to hear, Wesley got a recorded message.

"We're sorry. The number you have reached is not in service at this time. If you feel----" Wesley hung up, turning to face the others. Spike and Angel were already arguing with Doyle and Cordelia, determined to go out and find Xander.

"Angel, man, sit back down. I'm not finished yet." Doyle was still trying to wrap the bandage around Angel's chest.

"Finish it later. We've got a----" Angel's voice trailed off as the door opened and a very tired, very battered Xander walked through the door. Oz handed the vampires the blood he had brought up before rushing over to help his friend.

"What is this, looney tunes night?"

"I think so. I'm still seeing those little cartoon birdies." Xander flopped down in the chair behind the desk.

"Xander, what-----"

"Don't get all mother hen on me, Angel. I'll be fine. I had a run in with-----" Xander's voice trailed off when he got a good look at his vampires. Within seconds the three lovers met in the middle of the room, hands running over bodies as they took in each other's damaged appearance. "Oh, my God. You guys were staked. Fuck, that was too close." Xander's hands began to tremble when he saw just how close he had come to losing Angel and Spike.

"Xander, we're fine. What happened to you?" Angel asked. Xander ignored his question, his eyes still on the vampire's battle scars.

"Too close. I could have lost both of you tonight. Oh, shit." Xander began to wobble, his legs threatening to give out on him.

"Xander, luv, you okay?" Spike gently traced the outline of Xander's jaw with the back of his hand.

"No....yeah...no, oh shit." Oz and Wesley took hold of Xander's arms, leading him back to his chair. Before the two vampires could make a move, they were shoved into their seats by Doyle and Cordelia.

"None of you are okay. Now sit down and let us take of you." Cordelia told them, giving Spike his blood as Doyle did the same with Angel. "If you don't drink that and let me patch you up you're not going to be able to help Xander." Those words prompted the vampires to follow directions, their eyes never leaving the boy across from them.

"The same thing goes for you, Xander. Let us tend to you before you pass out." Wesley's voice was stern and Xander knew he had no recourse but to do as he was told. He was too tired, too sore and too worried about Spike and Angel to argue.

"Fine. But Angel and Spike have to tell me who did this to them so I can kick their ass." Spike and Angel were concerned about Xander, but they had to smile at their boy's words.

"Doesn't look like you can make it to that door, much less kick someone's ass." Oz stated, saying what the vampires were thinking.

"Anger tends to motivate me." Xander replied, grimacing when Wesley touched his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Xander. Didn't mean to hurt you."

"That's okay, Wes. I'm kinda numb right now." Xander turned his attention on Spike and Angel. "Spill you guys. Who did this to you? Was it that man David sent you to find? No, it couldn't have been him. No way. One human against you two, pfft. So who was it?" Xander rambled.

"Some kids we ran into who didn't seem to like vampires." Angel told them. Doyle looked at him in surprise.

"Kids? A bunch of kids did this much damage to you?"

"Yeah. We found the guy David sent us after. That prostitute led us right to him----"Angel began before Xander interrupted.

"Oh, that's right. How was the brothel?" His voice held a note of jealousy and again the two vampires smiled.

"Right na.....nice." Spike amended, taking another drink of blood as he watched Xander's eyes flare with anger. He was feeling better after drinking the blood and he knew Xander was going to be okay if he was questioning them about the brothel. "It's been a long time since I've been to one of those places. They've got a much nicer choice of demons----"

"How nice?" Spike shrugged. Xander turned to Angel. "How. Nice?"

"We were thinking of you the whole time, Xander." Angel tried to sound innocent.

"I bet."

"Cheer up, luv. We were only teasing you. It was nasty...the demon chits were ugly, the place smelled disgusting and we left as soon as we could."

"Really? That's too bad." Xander feigned pity, but inside he was happy.

"Would somebody please tell us what the hell is going on, cause we're totally clueless here," Cordelia didn't like being left out in the dark. Angel filled her in on David's case before finishing his story.

"Got the info we needed, found the bloke, talked him into the bringing the pictures to us. When he came back he brought a surprise...two Vortath demons. We killed them, took the pictures and ended up getting chased down the street by some kids in a truck filled with all kinds of toy stakes." Wesley took the pictures from Angel, pulling them out to have a look.

"That's very nice work. I know David's relieved you got these pictures back. Oh, my." Wesley stopped shuffling through the pictures as he stared at one in particular. Angel leaned over to have a look.

"It's upside down." Wesley turned it around, making a face.

"Certainly not something you want to have framed."

"How's it feel?" Doyle asked Angel, having finished his nursing duties.

"I can't possibly imagine it was pleasant." Wesley answered.

"I'm talking to Angel." Doyle grinned at the man's embarrassment.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"It feels better." Angel answered. "We need to find those kids. I don't think any of them have homes. They must be living together somewhere." Angel added.

"How many are there?" Wesley asked.

"I'm not sure. Six, seven maybe more. A couple of them couldn't have been over 16."

"Kids going to war." Oz said, putting a bandaid on Xander's forehead.

"This isn't something they just started doing, I mean, they were ready. They've been pushed to this."

"In which case I could certainly understand their 'stake first and ask questions later' state of mind." Spike and Angel turned to look at Wesley. "That's how they survive."

"And the idea of a couple of vampires in white hats probably seems a little give me a breaky." Cordelia added, putting the final touches on Spike's bandages.

"They're in over their heads and they're going to get themselves killed. If they're hunting vampires then there's got to be a nest in the area. Wesley, I want you to find out where those kids live."

"Consider it done."

"No...don't." Everyone stared at Xander.

"Xander, I know they tried to kill Spike and Angel but----"

"No, Doyle it's not that. I'm not happy with them right now but that's not the reason I said what I did."

"Then what is it pet?"

"I know who you're talking about. I met them tonight. There's a lot more than six or seven of them. The whole place was full. They live in an abandoned warehouse about twenty minutes from David's house."

"Do you think you could find it again?" Angel asked.

"Yeah, I think so. I got a look at the outside when we left."

"You didn't notice where you were going when they took you there?" Angel asked.

"Hard to notice anything when you're unconscious."

"Good point." Oz finished with Xander and the two vampires stared at him.

"Did they knock you out?" Angel felt sorry for the kids but he was beginning to get pissed. It was bad enough having them stake him and Spike but if they had hurt Xander....

"Course not. It was the usual. A vampire."

"How did you end up so close to where we were. That's a bit out of the way, isn't it?" Spike noticed the sad look that crossed Xander's face minutes before he hid his emotions.

"I was thinking...wasn't paying attention to where I was going. I ran my car into a telephone pole. When I got out, I saw Alana walking down the street and there were about a dozen vamps following her. I got my toys out and went after them."

"Xander, what have we told you about doing crazy things like that?"

"What was I supposed to do, Angel? Let her get killed? You know I couldn't do that." Angel and Spike knew what the boy was saying was true but it didn't mean they had to like it. "Gunn, that's the leader, showed up with his crew and there was a big fight. I saw a vampire getting ready to kill the kid behind that gun they keep on the back of their truck so I went to help him. I staked the vamp, but three more jumped me. I got two of them but the other knocked me down into the cab of the truck. I hit my shoulder on the side of the truck and my head hit the bed. That's the last thing I remember before I woke up in the warehouse." Angel and Spike crossed the room, Angel checking out Xander's shoulder while Spike looked at his head.

"Crazy boy. Could have gotten yourself killed." Spike gently ran his hand through Xander's hair, finding the large bump on the back of the boy's head. "Quite a goose egg you got there." He leaned down, gently kissing Xander on the head.

"And a hell of a bruise on your shoulder. It's a wonder it isn't dislocated. Spike's right, Xander. You could have been killed."

"Look who's talking." The pain was back in Xander's eyes as he looked at his lover's bandaged chests.

"We'll get on the trail first thing tomorrow. Right now I think you three should go to bed.....and rest." Cordelia quickly added.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Spike helped Xander out of the chair as the others got ready to leave. Wesley turned as they reached the door.

"Xander, if we have time tomorrow I'd like to ask you some questions about that troll you fought."

"Okay."

"What troll? What the fuck is he talking about?" Spike asked. It was bad enough Xander had fought dozens of vampires and been in a car wreck without fighting a troll.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. When Dawn called she was going on and on about how Xander was so brave, taking on a big, ugly troll all by himself. That girl's got a bad case of hero worship."

"And you didn't think that would be something we should know about?" Spike was getting agitated.

"Sorry. I didn't think I should tell you about Anya showing up at David's house, calling some other woman to exact vengeance on Xander only to end up with her ex-boyfriend who she turned into a troll making a housecall... and boy, howdy was that the wrong thing to say right now." Cordelia realized her mistake when she saw the vampire's eyes turn amber.

"Anya? What was she doing at David's house?" Spike asked Xander.

"Exactly what Cordy said. Anya's got her vengeance on again and I was the target. She couldn't do it herself, some kind of rule or something, so she called Hallie in to do it for her."

"I'll kill that stupid bint." Spike was furious.

"Spike, stop. It's okay. We made up and now she's after David...romantically after, not in a vengeancy kind of way. The troll was an accident."

"How in the hell is a troll an accident?" Angel asked. Xander told them what had happened.

"Damnit, I knew something was going on with Xander...I had a bad feeling when I called earlier." Spike glared at the others, not happy with them for keeping this information from him.

"What a coincidence. I'm getting a bad feeling about being here right now. Let's go, Doyle." Cordelia grabbed her boyfriend's arm, quickly pulling him out the door, Wesley and Oz hot on their heels. None of them liked to be around Spike when he was in overprotective mode. Xander turned to stare at his lover.

"See what you did? You scared our friends. It's not their fault---" His words were cut off by Spike's mouth as the vampire captured the boy's lips in a passionate kiss. "Okaaay, that was---" This time it was Angel's mouth and Xander was thoroughly enjoying himself, despite the many aches and pains he had.

"Let's take Cordy's advice and go to bed." Angel led his mates down the stairs, ready to make up for lost time. ************************************

As soon as they made their way into the bedroom, Xander's hands were all over his lovers, rubbing, touching and peeling the rest of their clothes off until Spike and Angel were standing naked in front of him. He led them to the bed, pointing at it as he started to remove his socks, shoes and pants. The two vampires stared at each other before following their boy's order. They lay down on the bed, both of them face up, their arms crossed under their heads watching Xander strip and getting hard at the sight in front of them.

"Fuck, Xander. Even bruised, your body's gorgeous, luv."

"I agree. Come to bed and we'll see what we can do about making you forget your aches and pains." Angel patted the spot in between him and Spike. Xander crawled up the bed until his face was even with their erections. He leaned down, taking Angel's cock into his mouth at the same time he took Spike's in his hand, running his fingers up and down the underside of the hardened shaft. Xander's tongue came out, playing along Angel's cock as he continued to suck him from balls to tip, ocassionally running his tongue over the head, dipping into the slit to gather the pre-cum. His hand cupped Angel's balls, kneading them in time to his sucking motion. At the same time, his other hand was stroking Spike's hard shaft, working the younger vampire into a frenzy with his alternate quick and hard, gentle and slow motions.

"Shit, Xander feels so bloody good." Spike arched up into Xander's hand while Angel moaned, writhing underneath the boy's ministrations.

"Such a talented mouth." Angel managed to say just as Xander's hand made it's way to the base of his shaft, his mouth tightening around the cock head, sucking with a vigor Angel had never known Xander to do before. This continued for several minutes before Angel could take it no longer. The sucking motion was driving Angel crazy and he grasped the pillow under his head as his orgasm was drawn out. He shot his load down Xander's throat, the boy licking and swallowing as he made sure to get every drop. When he was done, Xander gave his cock one last, loving lick before engulfing Spike's erection. Spike cried out at the sensations Xander was causing, his sucking urgent as he brought Spike to his climax. When he was finished cleaning Spike up, Xander made his way to the vampire's mouth, taking it in a breathtaking kiss.

"I want to fuck you, Spike. I need to make you feel sooo good." Xander stradled his lover, gazing lovingly at the blond curls, the chiseled jaw, the beauty that was Spike. "So beautiful." Xander gave Spike another kiss before peppering his face, his neck and his chest with small tiny kisses mixed with some sucking and nibbling. He flicked his tongue over one of Spike's nipples, gently pinching and twisting the other until Spike began to pant.

"Fuck me, Xander. Want to feel your dick pounding into me." Xander was only too happy to comply. He reached for the lube, but put it down when he got a better idea. Spike was just about to ask the boy what he was doing when Xander spread Spike's legs, his tongue finding the pink rosette. Xander swirled his tongue around the entrance, tasting his lover's essence before his tongue entered the cool channel. Spike cried out, grabbing the pillow underneath him as Xander's tongue caressed every inch of him, coming to a stop when he found the small nub deep inside. He ran his tongue back and forth over Spike's pleasure point until the younger vampire was begging to be fucked. Xander continued tongue fucking Spike's hole, his hand stroking Spike's cock in time. Before Spike could stop himself, another orgasm washed over him. When this one had passed, Xander removed his tongue and sat up, brushing his hand over Spike's shaft and stomach, collecting the cum that was on the younger vampire. Xander rubbed some on his own cock before coating his fingers, pushing his index finger through the tight hole and into Spike. After a few minutes, he added another, crooking his fingers until he hit Spike's prostate again.

"Oh, shit, Xander. Do you have any idea what you're doing to me, luv? Quit teasing and fuck me now." Xander added two more fingers, stretching Spike before removing them. He picked up Spike's left leg, putting it above his shoulder but he couldn't manage the right. Spike wrapped his right leg around Xander's waist and Xander lined his cock up to Spike's hole, entering him in one smooth motion. Both of them groaned at the sensations of filling and being filled.

"Spike, so tight. Love having you around me, your muscles clenching around my cock. Oh, fuck, feels incredible." Xander started to move, taking Spike slow and gentle until desire overcame him. He started pistoning in and out of Spike's hole, Spike's leg tightening around Xander's waist, pulling the boy deeper into his channel. Xander changed his angle until he was hitting Spike's prostate with every stroke, rotating his hips with every thrust. Spike knew there was something going on with Xander. The boy had never insisted on topping and there was an urgency and a need radiating off Xander that was driving Spike's senses into overload. Spike decided to ask Xander about it later, he was too busy enjoying this.

Xander leaned in, taking Spike's mouth in another kiss, their tongues playing as Xander explored every inch of his lover's mouth. Xander didn't care about the pain that was shooting through his shoulder or the many other aches and pains he had. All he knew was the desire to connect with Spike and it prompted him to quicken his thrusts, pounding into his lover until they both came at the same time, each of them screaming the other's name. When they were done, Xander collapsed onto Spike, making sure to try to avoid the damage to his chest. He tilted his head up so that he and Spike could share several kisses. After a few moments, Xander slid down Spike's body, licking up the semen until his lover was thoroughly clean. He gave Spike one final kiss before rolling off him and onto Angel. Xander groaned at the sharp pain that went through his shoulder and Angel held him, looking deeply into his eyes.

"Xander, why don't you let me take you?" Xander shook his head, determination on his face.

"I need to take you. I need to feel you surrounding me. Need to know you're still with me." Angel understood what his young lover was saying. Xander had been scared to death when he had seen how close the stakes were to hitting their heart and dusting them. Angel had witnessed how turned on Spike had been by bottoming for Xander and he was anxious to have his turn.

"Okay, baby. I'm all yours. Do with me what you will." Angel spread his arms out in a 'I give up gesture', making Xander smile. He slid down Angel's body, making sure to nip and bite Angel's hips, licking the hardened shaft, his balls before finding the pink hole. Xander did the same thing he had done to Spike earlier, swirling his tongue around the entrance before it entered to taste every inch of Angel's cool channel, his hand stroking Angel's cock the whole time. Angel writhed underneath the boy, amazed at how talented Xander was at love making. Every lick, every stroke done at just the right time and before Angel could stop himself, he was having his second orgasm, this one more intense than the one before. Xander sat up, running his tongue across his lips, eyes closed in pleasure as he tasted Angel's essence mixed with Spike's and Angel was already getting hard from watching the boy. Xander slicked his cock and fingers with Angel's cum much as he had done Spike, inserting two fingers at a time and crooking his fingers until Angel was pleading for more.

"Xander, God, Xander I need you to fuck me. Take me now." Soon they were both in the same position as Xander and Spike had been earlier and Xander was seated balls deep in Angel within seconds. Xander withdrew until only the head of his cock was inside Angel. He rotated his hips a few times before ramming into his lover, making Angel cry out in ecstasy. He continued this motion for several minutes, before losing himself in the passion and desire that was overcoming him. Slow thrusts became more urgent and soon he was pounding into Angel, words of love spilling from his mouth as they reached their orgasms. Angel came first, screaming Xander's name and when the boy felt Angel's ass muscles clenching around his cock he lost it, spiraling into the orgasm with an intensity that rivaled the one he had had with Spike. When he was done, he fell over onto the bed, forgetting about his sore shoulder until it hit the bed. He let out a cry of pain and both vampires turned to soothe their lover.

"That shoulder is gonna give you some trouble, luv." Spike ran his fingers over the dark bruise.

"It'll feel better in the morning," Xander answered, leaning into Spike's touch.

"Not likely. If anything it'll be more sore." Angel snuggled up next to Xander. Xander turned his face towards Angel, eyeing the bandages on his vampire's chest.

"Does it hurt a lot?" Angel shook his head. Xander turned over, reaching out to touch Spike's bandages.

"How about you?"

"Bloody hell, it'll take more than a little hole in my shoulder to make me---"

"In your chest, Spike. Inches from your heart. Both of you." Xander leaned back against Angel, trying to reach behind him so that he could touch Angel as well, but his shoulder wasn't cooperating. Angel took his hand, pulling it up to his waist as he spooned behind Xander.

"Quit trying to use that shoulder, Xander."

"Just wanted to touch you. Both of you. I need the connection...I need to know you're still here with me. I could have lost both of you...God, I don't want to think about it but it's all that keeps running through my head." Xander's eyes filled with tears and Spike leaned forwards, giving Xander a long kiss full of love. Angel moved Xander's hair from his neck, placing soft, gentle kisses along the nape of his neck.

"We're here, we're safe and by morning time, we'll be good as new."

"But what if..." Spike put his fingers to Xander's lips, stopping the boy from finishing his sentence.

"It's over, luv. Let it go."

"No, it isn't. You two are planning on taking out the vamp nest near where those kids live. If they see you, they'll try again."

"Not going to happen."

"Damn straight it's not. I'm going with you. I'll have a talk with Gunn while you take out the nest."

"So you made friends with them?" Angel asked.

"With some of them, especially Bobby. But that Gunn is one tough nut to crack. I don't know how he manages to walk around with that oversized chip on his shoulder. And let's not forget the 'Buffy attitude'."

"Buffy attitude?"

"Yeah, you know the one. I'm always on my own, I have to be the one to do everything and everybody else around me is window dressing, incapable of a clear thought or being able to fight without getting hurt."

"Oh, that one." Angel knew exactly what Xander was talking about. "So how are you going to convince him to let us help?"

"Option B."

"Huh?" Spike and Angel chorused.

"Inside joke. Come on guys, I can do this." Xander saw the two vampires exchange glances. "If you don't let me help then I won't tell you where they're living." Xander's jaw was set, his stubborness clearly showing.

"Wesley and the others can locate them. All we have to do is look for your car somewhere near where we were last night." Angel reminded him.

"Lots of empty buildings down there big guy. And let's not forget the sun or time factor. Didn't you say you needed to find them as quickly as possible?"

"Fine. You go down there tomorrow and have a meeting with these kids while Spike and I look for the nest...but you're taking Oz, Doyle or Wesley with you." Xander shook his head.

"Nope. I go alone. Gunn and the others barely trust me. If I bring in a bunch of people they don't know I won't have a chance to say anything before they kick us out on our collective asses."

"Xander---"

"If you don't let me do this, I won't ever, ever do what we just did ever again. And that might not have been a good argument. I probably didn't get it quite right, it being my first time on top, but I could get better with practice."

"Luv, if you get any better than you were tonight, I'm sure my head will explode."

"Which one?"

"Very funny, you silly git." Spike smiled fondly at the boy before giving him a hug. "So what do you think Angel? Want to give up what happened tonight or do we let Xander have his way?"

"Well, letting him have his way tonight was mind blowing. If he's as good at talking to those kids as he was in bed tonight, they'll be following him wherever he wants them to go." Xander snuggled closer to his vampires, happy he had managed to impress them with his love making skills.

"So that's a yes, then?"

"That's a yes. But don't go getting the big head on us Xander. We still like to be in control you know." Spike warned him, while in his mind he was deciding that they would have to change places a lot in the near future. He saw the contented look on Angel's face and knew he was thinking along the same lines.

"Oh, don't I know it." Xander turned his head to look at Angel, hoping to get his approval on the plan.

"Okay, okay. We'll do it your way. Now let's get some sleep. We've got a long day tomorrow." The three of them snuggled close, wanting to make sure the others were alright as they drifted off to sleep.


Chapter Thirty-Six

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