An hour later, Xander emerged from the bathroom. He was walking a little better after his hot shower but he dreaded sitting down. Xander smiled happily at the sight of his two lovers lying entertwined on the bed. Xander fought the urge to join them, knowing that he wasn't up for another round just yet. He went over to where his clothes were and selected a pair of gray sweat pants and a black t-shirt. Xander knew that wasn't very dressy for the party but he didn't care. The sweat pants hung loosely, not rubbing his tender backside and that's exactly what he needed. Xander took a second look at the t-shirt when he put it on and wondered if he had gotten out one of Spike's by mistake because it was a snug fit. Oh well, he didn't feel like changing. Xander picked up his cell phone and walked quietly out of the room, closing the door behind him.

Xander hoped Willow would call him later on today. That would make his Thanksgiving perfect, but he wasn't holding his breath. She was probably going to be too busy with Giles, Buffy and Tara. Before he had a chance to slip into a maudlin state over the thought of his best friend not talking to him, he heard Oz's voice.

"Hey, man you finally decide to crawl out here and join the living?"

"Yeah, I thought I'd party a little more before everyone went home," Xander smiled at his friend as he joined Oz by the fountain. "Where's the beer?"

"In the big cooler over there. Some in the refrigerator, too," Oz pointed at the cooler someone had gotten during the course of the party. "And no more partying to be done. Everyone's gone home. You've been in there for almost three hours, buddy."

Xander opened his beer looking at the two men in surprise. We've been in there that long?"

Wesley snickered as he looked at Oz. "I guess that old saying is true. Time flies when you're having fun."

"So where's the gang?"

"Cordelia and Doyle went to bed, as did Clem and Harmony. I think you started a new trend in party games," Wesley told him.

"Nah, can't take credit for that - it's been going on for years," Xander noticed for the first time that everything had been cleaned up. There were several filled garbage bags to the side and even the food and tables were put away. There were still a few chairs left sitting around and Xander walked over and gingerly sat down in one as his friends watched.

"Not moving so good, Xander. Hard workout?" Oz asked.

"I, uh I had some needs that well, uh, needed to be taken care of," Xander told him. Wesley and Oz sat down across from him before Wesley spoke.

"Needs should definitely be met as long as it doesn't require ointments the next day." He watched as Xander tried to get comfortable in the chair. He took in the baggy sweat pants and the way Xander was moving and smiled. "Do you require something to heal or are you practicing some sort of after party/morning ritual?"

"Okay, at this point - you're abusing sarcasm," Xander finally got as comfortable as he could in the chair. "I'll be fine, thanks. How did this place get so clean because last time I looked I thought it was going to be an all day job just getting it back in shape." Xander tryed to get off the topic of his discomfort.

"We had a little help," Oz gestured towards the three boys who were walking towards them with the last of the garbage bags in their hands.

"Their punishment for being bad. Cordelia came up with the idea," Wesley informed Xander.

"I always said she was a smart girl." Xander watched the boys add the last of the bags to the others and approach them. "Well, did you three learn your lesson?"

"Yeah, we got it already. No more robot girlfriends," Warren grumped as he threw himself down into a nearby chair. "Can we rest here a few minutes before you kick us out?"

"Don't you have to go home to your friends and family for Thanksgiving?" Wesley asked as Andrew and Jonathon sat down.

"Pfft. Like I want to spend time with my family." Andrew said.

"And we have no friends, well except for each other," Jonathon said.

"Well, that's just - so like me." Xander felt sorry for the three boys. He knew what it was like being alone on a holiday, hell at any time.

"Nuh uh. You have all your friends here, plus two boyfriends, not to mention Buffy and Willow," Jonathon told him.

"Don't forget me," Clarence walked around from in front of the mansion. "Hey, guys. I heard your voices so I thought I'd join you, if that's alright.

"Sure. Pull up a chair and join us. There's beer over in the cooler if you want one." Xander pointed at the cooler. Clarence snagged one and sat down beside the others.

"So why aren't you with your girlfriend?" Xander asked.

"Oh, we broke up. I'm sorta interested in this guy now, but I don't think he likes me that way," Clarence answered as he stared at the ground. Xander felt bad for the demon and patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't give up. You never know whether he likes you until you make a move."

"I can't. This guy has two bo---" Clarence caught himself smiling shyly at Xander before finishing. "Too buff a boyfriend to look at me." Wesley and Oz caught the slip and the adoring gaze and wondered if Xander had noticed. When the boy continued encouraging Clarence, they realized he had no clue that the man Clarence was talking about was actually Xander.

"You're pretty buff yourself. Wait it out, see what happens. You might be pleasantly surprised if they break up."

"You think so?" Clarence asked hopefully. Xander nodded, and Oz cleared his throat. "See Xander you have plenty of friends," Oz told him, stressing the word friend so Clarence would get the hint.

"Yeah, but not so much with Buffy and Willow. They're mad at me right now."

"Well, their loss is our incredible gain," Cordelia came out to join the others along with Doyle and Clem. Harmony hung back in the shaded area of the patio and watched her new friends as she drank a mug of blood.

Thanksgiving has only begun, Xander. Give Willow some time. I'm sure she'll call." Oz patted Xander on the back.

"I hope so," Xander told him. "I've never let a holiday pass without at least talking to her."

"Did you guys make sure to pick up everything," Cordelia asked the three boys as she looked around the mansion and the surrounding area.

"Yeah, yeah we got everything." Warren stood to leave. "Come on, losers - let's go." Xander stood up and faced the three.

"If you don't have anything to do you can eat with us - that is, if you want to. There's plenty of t.v. dinners and pot pies for everyone, especially with three of us on liquid diets. That goes for you too, Clarence." The demon beamed as he nodded his acceptance.

Andrew and Jonathon seemed happy at the thought, but Warren looked at Xander suspiciously. "Why would you want us to stay? You were the one pounding my face earlier, remember? Because if you don't, I have the swollen eye to prove it."

"Can't say I'm sorry, cause I'm not. I did it for Spike. What you did was totally stupid and could have gotten one of my friends killed, but who hasn't done something stupid in his or her life? I know I have. You said you learned your lesson, Spike and Cordy are fine, so let's forget about it. What do you say?" Xander extended his hand.

Warren shook it. "Okay, we'll stay. But I want to go get my van and pull it over here. I've got alot of stuff in it that I don't want to get stolen."

"We'll be here," Xander watched Warren walk off in the direction of his vehicle.

"Thanks for letting us stay," Jonathon said.

"No problem. The more the merrier." Xander told him. Cordelia rolled her eyes at him before grabbing Harmony and going back into the mansion, leaving the guys outside. The men grabbed another beer and sat down, waiting for Warren to return. A few minutes later they heard the 'Star Wars' theme as a black van pulled up next to Oz's.

"That is, wow," Xander's attention was drawn to the van. On the side of it was a big picture of the Deathstar. He walked over to it, followed by the others.

"Oh, yeah my Deathstar, dude," Andrew said proudly. "I painted it. Wicked, huh?"

"Yeah, but the thermal exhaust port is above the main port, numnuts," Xander pointed at the drawing.

"See, I told you," Jonathon said.

Andrew looked at Xander, totally offended. "For your information, I used the Empire's revised designs from "Return of the Jedi".

"That's a flawed design," Jonathon said angrily.

"Well, in all fairness I guess it's just the way you look at it. It's really cool, however, I have to agree with Jonathon on this one." Xander let his inner geek take hold. "It's a matter of opinion. Like who's the coolest - Luke or Hans Solo."

"Hans Solo," Andrew and Jonathon said.

"Luke," Xander and Oz replied."Huh?" Doyle, Clem, Clarence and Wesley asked in unison as they stood back, watching the boys argue.

"Are you kidding me? Hans Solo was awesome. He kicked some major league butt," Andrew argued.

"But Luke had the coolness that was the force," Oz told him.

"Hans Solo got the girl," Jonathon pointed out.

"But Luke was a student of both Obi Wan Kenobe and Yoda. Lucky, he was," Xander told them before they all started laughing.

"I still say Darth Vader was the best," Warren said.

"He was the villain," Xander pointed out.

"Well, duh. That's what made him wicked cool."

"So you want to see what we have in here?" Andrew asked, opening the door to the van. Xander couldn't help but forget what they were arguing about as he looked inside.

"This is great. Superman comics, Star Wars figurines, and --oh, my God, I can't believe you messed this up by hanging up a poster of that guy," Xander said, pointing at a picture of Timothy Dalton.

"Timothy Dalton is the best," Andrew whined.

"Get that picture out of my van. Don't make me have to hurt you," Warren went after Andrew, as Oz kept them apart.

"Like Xander said, it's a matter of opinion."

"Are you kidding me? Saying Timothy Dalton is a great actor is like saying Milli Vanilli can sing," Xander retorted, forgetting his words of earlier.

"Timothy Dalton was the best Bond ever," Andrew argued.

"No way. Roger Moore ruled," Xander told him, as Warren shook his head.

"I think Sean Connery was the best Bond. When Sean Connery was Bond the movies were decent."

"Who even remembers Connery? I mean, Roger Moore was smooth," Jonathon said, as Xander nodded his head.

"Totally. And he was the best looking and coolest Bond."

"What do you guys know. You're gay," Warren pointed at Xander, "And you're short. Short and insane," he told Jonathon.

"Right, I am gay, so I should know which one is the best looking."

"Connery, his Bond had style," Warren told them.

"Yeah, but Roger Moore was funny," Xander argued.

"Moonraker?" Warren scoffed. "The gondula turns into a hovercraft, it's retarded."

"Oh, and making a girlfriend out of plastic isn't?" Xander asked.

"Roger Moore is lame. The guy had like no edge." Warren ignored Xander's comment about April.

"Dalton had edge. In 'License to Kill' he was a rogue agent. That's edgy." Andrew said.

"I still think that Connery would have played the part much better."

"What? No way. Dalton was great in that movie and he was amazing in 'The Living Dead'." Andrew continued to argue.

"Yeah, which was written for Roger Moore, not Timothy Dalton," Jonathon said, as Xander nodded.

"Okay, this is stupid. Roger Moore was the better Bond, end of discussion." Xander tryed to get the last word in as he grabbed some comics and went back to the patio. He sat back down in his chair. The others followed, each taking a seat on the patio.

"Moonraker is inexcusable." Warren started the argument again. "Connery is the only actor of the bunch."

"Timothy Dalton should get an Oscar and beat Sean Connery over the head with it!" Andrew yelled at Warren.

"Okay, that's it," Warren pulled Andrew into a headlock as Jonathon and Xander tried to break them up. Finally, they managed to pull the two apart.

"No fighting. Everyone has their own opinion, this is America, land of the free, yadda yadda so let's all move on to something else," Xander encouraged.

"Yes, especially when we all know that Sean Connery is the best actor of the three," Wesley said. Warren nodded eagerly as Xander scowled at his friend.

"Topic changed. So what do we do until dinner? Xander asked.

After much conversation, they all decided to do different things. Doyle, Clem, Warren and Clarence played poker, Wesley started reading one of his books while Jonathon and Andrew showed Xander and Oz their collection of books as they discussed Superman.

"I've told you before, Xander. Kryptonite kills." Oz told him.

"That's the green kryptonite. The red kryptonite drains Superman of all his powers." Xander argued.

"Wrong. The gold kryptonite is the power sucker. The red kryptonite mutates Superman into some sort of weird mutant."

Xander turned to the other two. "Who's right? We've been having this fight since senior year."

"Well, you're right about the green kryptonite. It weakens and eventually kills super-powered Kryptonians. It's usually harmless to other races, but one story in Brave and the Bold had a device used which resulted in Terrans being affected similar to Kryptonians." Andrew told him.

"See," Xander taunted.

"Yeah, but he's wrong about the red kryptonite and Oz is right. The red kryptonite causes physical transformations or mental changes. Each chunk has a different effect and could only affect Superman once. And the gold removes Superman's powers permanently, so he's right about that, too." Jonathon said.

"Two to one," Oz smiled at Xander.

"How come you know more about Superman than I do, but everyone thought I was the geek and you were the cool guy?" Xander asked.

"I hid it well." No sooner had their argument been settled, then another started over at the poker table.

"You're awfully lucky, Warren," Doyle said as he glared at the boy.

"You cleaned us out. No one's that lucky," Clarence grouched.

"Yeah, I'm starting to think you cheat," Clem pointed his finger at Warren.

Xander and the others walked over to the table."What's up guys?"

"Everyone's just pissed because I beat them at poker," Warren grabbed the money they had decided to play for instead of kittens.

"Well, they should be. Why are you wearing those glasses? You know they have x-ray vision built in them." Jonathon accused Warren, who smacked him over the head.

"Really? X-ray vision? Did you buy them out of one of those books or something?" Xander reached for the glasses. Warren swatted his hand away.

"No. I had Jonathon make them. He's been practicing magic," Warren told him as Xander turned to Jonathon looking impressed.

"You can do magic?"

"Only a little. I'm not that good - well, not as good as Andrew. He's really... good."

"Why thank you Jonathon. How sweet of you to say that," Andrew smiled as Clem stood up and glared at Warren.

"So you were cheating."

"Whoa, calm down Clem," Xander told him, before noticing the ace of clubs that was tucked into a fold of skin in the demon's lower left arm. "Clem, you know I love you, buddy, but you can't accuse someone of cheating when you have that stashed away now can you?"

"I had no idea that was there. I could have leaned on that days ago," Clem protested.

Everyone started talking at once until Wesley yelled, "That's enough!" The others were so stunned by the gentle Englishman's loud voice that they shut up immediately.

"Good. Now that we have some quiet, may I suggest that everyone take the money they started with and forget about the cheating at poker issue since I saw all of you do it at one time or another." Doyle and Clarence were about to object when they saw the look in Wesley's eyes.

"Oh, alright," Doyle grumbled as everyone took their own money back and pocketed it.

"Now, I suggest we all act like the friends we are supposed to be, whether new or old. It is Thanksgiving Day after all." Wesley told them.

"Wes is right. Let's sit down, talk and listen to music," Xander grabbed another beer. "And have a few drinks." Everyone settled down and talked as they enjoyed the warm November day.

Spike and Angel had woken a few hours after Xander had left. They had taken a shower together, taking their time as they enjoyed one another's body. Spike and Angel dressed alike, each putting on a pair of black jeans and a skin tight black t-shirt before exiting the bedroom. As they entered the living area they noticed it was empty. They went into the kitchen and got themselves some blood before walking out into the shaded area of the patio. Cordelia and Harmony were standing nearby as they cheered their respective teams on while the men played a game of football. Xander, Wesley, Oz and Doyle were on the skins team and the others were shirts. Spike and Angel sat back and listened to the two girls while they watched Xander having fun with his friends.

"They are so plastered," Harmony giggled as Cordelia nodded.

"Did you see that move Wesley did?" Cordy asked as they both laughed.

"Is that what you call it?" Harmony was still giggling at the ex-watcher. "And look at the three nerds."

"What about Clem? At least my man knows how to handle himself," Cordy pointed at Doyle who had just made a touchdown and was doing a little dance behind a tombstone near some bushes that were nearby.

"Clem's learning. He's doing better than he was an hour ago. I don't see how they have the energy to keep on going." Harmony said after waiting for Cordelia to stop her cheering.

"I know. They've been at this for like an hour or more." Cordelia inhaled sharply. "Take a look at Xander. I'm glad he's on the skins team. It would have been a waste if he was on the shirts side. When did he grow into those muscles?"

"I don't know," Harmony leaned forward, careful to watch the sun. "I don't remember him looking like that in high school. I so know I would remember that."

"See? I know how to pick them. I remember how you and the other girls never thought I should have dated him, but I knew Xander had potential. And look at my Doyle. Who would have thought he would look so good under the clothes he wears. I have a way of peeling back the layers of men to find their hidden potential."

"I guess you do. All I know is, I'm enjoying the view."

"Don't enjoy it too much," Spike warned as Cordy and Harmony jumped, guilty at having been caught by the two vampires.

"Oh, give it a rest, Spike. We were only watching the guys play football. It is a Thanksgiving tradition after all. Besides, we're their cheerleaders. " Cordy never took her eyes off the men.

"Yeah, it's been very entertaining, and you know the saying, 'once a cheerleader, always a cheerleader'," Harmony said as she continued to watch.

"Aren't you two fixing dinner?" Spike asked.

"It's in the oven. Another twenty minutes and it'll be done," Cordy assured him.

"Who invited the nerd herd to stay?" Spike asked, a little snappish at the amount of time the three boys and Clarence were lying on top of Xander after tackling him.

"Who do you think?" Cordy asked.

"Xander," Spike and Angel chorused, both of them enjoying the view but wishing they could be out in the sunshine with their boy. Xander had taken off his shirt and the loose sweatpants were hanging low on his hips. His dark hair hung in damp curls and there was a faint sheen of sweat on his body. Xander was smiling as he turned his face up as if to drink in the sunshine. Spike could almost feel the warmth of Xander's body, taste the salty tang of sweat and smell the sunshine that always radiated from him. Spike thought Xander was gorgeous in the moonlight, but in the sunshine he was magnificent - a creature of beauty. He took in an unneeded breath just as Angel moaned.

"Don't even think it guys. Let Xander enjoy himself. Besides dinner will be ready long before you three get through and then we're going home, right?" Cordy asked hopefully.

"Yeah, we're finally going home," Angel sighed happily, glad to be thinking about leaving the Hellmouth behind. He had been having the nagging feeling of being watched ever since the cemetary and he couldn't seem to shake it. Angel and Spike exchanged glances, knowing they were both thinking the same thing. They wanted Xander safely home with them.

**********************************************

"Touchdown, oh yeah, go Team Skins," Xander yelled as he passed the designated tombstone.

"Anybody ever tell Team Skins the quarterback throws like a girl?" Warren asked.

"I do?" Wesley threw the ball hard into Warren's stomach, knocking the boy backwards. "Oh, sorry."

"You are not! You meant to do that." Warren and Wesley squared off as Xander got between them.

"Come on, guys. We were having fun. Just one more touchdown and we win. Let's play." The men went to their designated huddles and then lined up.

"The ex-watcher has some strength and muscles himself," Spike noted as Angel nodded approvingly. "That'll be a big help with his training. We are going to train all of them so no one gets hurt aren't we?"

"Of course we are. I'm not going to be like Giles and send everyone out to fight without teaching them a thing or two. It's a wonder that these kids have lived through all the fights they've had here on the Hellmouth," Angel pointed at Xander, Oz, and Cordy as he spoke.

"Inner self-preservation," Cordy told him as they watched Oz pick off Warren's pass and run a few feet before Clem tackled him. "Yay, Team Skins!"

Xander turned towards the cheerleader and grinned, his smile growing wider at the sight of his lovers. He waved at them before joining the others as they lined up. Spike and Angel watched as Xander ran away from the others and turned yelling, "Wes man, I'm open." Wesley threw the ball long and to the left towards the bushes. Xander ran for it, watching the ball. Spike and Angel laughed at their boy's attempts at showing off for the two of them. They heard Xander yell, "Alright, it's all me." He jumped on the tombstone and dove for the ball, catching it before falling over into the bushes.

"Touchdown!" Oz yelled.

"No way. Xander caught it while he was going out of bounds," Warren argued. Doyle and Wesley noticed that Xander had not appeared. They ran for the bushes as Spike and Angel stood up, worried looks on their faces. They saw the two men come to an abrupt stop, exchange glances and then disappear behind the bushes calling out Xander's name. The two vampires suddenly felt very helpless, knowing there was nothing they could do to help their boyfriend.

Xander ran after the ball determined to show off his athletic prowess to his lovers. He dove for the football and caught it before landing on the ground with a thud, his right arm taking most of the fall as his head hit the ground hard. He rolled over, holding his arm and groaning as he felt a trickle of blood making it's way down his forehead.

Xander shook his head to try to clear the fog in his brain. He tried to stand, but the ground came rushing back up to meet his face as he staggered and fell. Xander heard his name being called and felt himself being rolled over before looking up into the worried faces of his friends.

"Xander, can you hear us?" Doyle asked, seeing the glazed look in Xander's eyes.

"Uh, yeah, I can hear you, all three of you." Xander was seeing triple of everything.

"Well, that doesn't sound very good," Wesley was checking Xander over and when he came to Xander's right arm, the boy yelped in pain.

"Ow, fuck that hurts," Xander flinched, pulling his arm back.

"We better get him back to the mansion," Doyle started helping Xander up, hearing the yelling coming from the porch. Spike and Angel were calling out to them, wanting to know if Xander was alright. "You gonna be able to make it?"

"I think I can walk now," Xander took a few wobbly steps. When he started to fall, Doyle and Wesley grabbed him, careful to not touch his arm. "As long as you two prop me up."

The three men made their way back to the mansion and two very anxious vampires. Spike and Angel had noticed how Doyle and Wesley were holding Xander up and knew their boy had been hurt, even though he was giving them one of those lop-sided grins of his. As soon as they crossed into the shadows Angel picked Xander up and ran into the house. He sat the boy on the couch and Xander submitted to a thorough going over at the hands of his lovers.

After a few minutes, he raised his head from off the back of the couch and stared at them. "Guys, I'm okay. My arm's not throbbing anymore, it's a dull ache and I'm only seeing one of you now, although I was kinda enjoying seeing three of each of you cause it was like one of my fantasy dreams."

"That I don't care to hear, thank you very much." Cordy grabbed Harmony's arm, pulling her towards the kitchen. "Now that the excitement is over, let's get dinner on the table. Doyle, why don't you, Oz and Wesley set the glasses and silverware out."

"But I wanted to hear the fantasy," Harmony protested as she was pulled into the kitchen. The three men followed, laughing and complaining about doing women's work as Spike turned to Xander.

"You sure you're feeling up to this, pet? Why don't Angel and I take you into the bedroom so you can lie down?"

"Are you kidding? I'll get more rest eating and besides I'm really hungry." Xander groaned as Angel put his arm into the makeshift sling he had made with a few towels.

"Yeah, like hell you're feeling better. That arm is more than bruised. It's probably a bad sprain and you may have a concussion."

"What? This hard head? Not likely," Xander told them, giving him a goofy grin as Spike smiled back, giving him a kiss.

"Not going to argue about the hard head part but if I recall correctly you just got out of the hospital a few days ago after a head injury. You keep hurting that noggin of yours and you're going to be more daft than you already are and I don't want that to happen."

"Thanks, I think," Xander said, giving Spike a dirty look.

"You had us scared, whelp. We didn't know what had happened to you and there wasn't anything we could do to help because of the soddin' sun." Spike shivered as the thought of how helpless he and Angel were hit him. Xander noticed and put his hand on Spike's cheek.

"Spike, you and Angel are going to have to realize that you can't protect me 24-7. I love it that you guys are so protective. It makes me feel loved and I haven't felt that way in a long time. A very, very long time. But I can take care of myself, honest." Xander put his hand on Spike's cheek, tracing the outline of his cheekbone as he smiled at the two vampires.

"What would I do if I ever lost you?" Spike placed a gentle kiss on Xander's lips.

"Never gonna have to find out." Xander whispered against his lips, nibbling along the bottom one before pulling Spike in for a long, passionate kiss. When the kiss ended, Xander turned towards Angel. "And before you say anything, the same thing goes for you."

Angel pulled Xander close, licking the dried blood from Xander's forehead and cheek. He groaned at the taste of his boy, so full of love, sunshine and happiness. Angel knew he could never get enough of this young man and kissed him long and hard, sharing the taste of Xander's blood with the boy. Spike glided his hand across Xander's chest, lightly rubbing his thumb across the boy's nipples before moving lower.

"Let's take this to another room." Angel jumped off the couch, gathering Xander up into his arms, intent on heading to the bedroom when he was stopped by a voice he knew all too well.

"Is that other room the bedroom, lover?"