Xander was packing his things into a bag that Angel had given him. It was more of a sports bag than a backpack but it would do for now. His double had - apparently at Angel's request - brought clothes for him. He had brought some things for Spike as well, so Xander had taken them upstairs and left them on the bed beside the sleeping vampire.

Angel had no clue what the little bits of metal he had dug out of Spike were. Xander had pointed out the three tracers and Angel immediately smashed them and then flushed the pieces down the nearest toilet. Now if only they knew what the others were for… Angel said he had a friend - David something or other - who could probably find out so he went to call him, leaving Xander alone in the kitchen perusing the contents of the recently restocked fridge.

Spike woke up feeling like a truck had hit him. He groaned and rolled over in the bed, right into a pile of clothes that he assumed were for him. He chuckled at the idea of Xander making sure he got dressed before leaving the room. Maybe the boy wasn't as straight as he thought he was. Not that Spike was anyone to talk - he had never cared one way or the other what sex his partner was. Of course he wasn't planning on bending over for anyone anytime soon. He pulled on the jeans and shirt - a pretty good fit - and then shoved his feet into his boots. He stuffed a pair of socks in his duster pocket - he'd put them on later - and headed for the kitchen. He was starved.

He found Xander hunched over the counter scribbling away in a notebook. He barely spared him a look as he headed for the refrigerator. He must have lost a lot of blood earlier ‘cause he hadn't been this hungry in a long time.

After pouring a large mug full and putting it in to heat, Spike drank the rest of the blood straight from the container - cold - he was that hungry. The microwave had barely signalled the end of its cycle when Spike grabbed the mug from within and drained it as well. His hunger sated, he was about to ask Xander if they knew what the hell had been inside him. He never got the chance.

Xander had just finished putting his journal away after writing down all the horrible details of what he had watched Angel do a few hours before. He knew Spike would want to know what they had found. He saw Spike open his mouth to speak before the hotel went dark and an alarm began to sound.

Xander shouldered his bag just as Angel ran into the kitchen. He tried to usher them toward the back hallway, and Xander caught him saying something to Spike about sewer access. Xander couldn't see where he was going and was grateful that Spike had grabbed hold of him and was pulling him along in the dark.

Suddenly there were bright lights and Xander could clearly make out the game faces of the two vampires before he heard Buffy's voice.

"Angel, step away from Spike. He's all we came for. Let us have him and no one needs to get hurt."

"I can't let you take him Buffy. I know what kinds of things have been done to him, I won't allow it to continue."

Xander wished he could see Buffy, he really needed to know if she was aware of what exactly her 'boyfriend' had done to the helpless vampire. Unfortunately the boyfriend in question took that moment to begin issuing orders.

"Take them all down, we'll retrieve the hostile afterwards."

Spike turned to run but only got a few feet before he was hit with a tazer blast. Xander screamed as he watched him fall. He rushed toward Spike and felt himself get hit, the last thing he remembered was landing on Spike before the darkness took him.

The first thing Xander saw when he opened his eyes was the arrow of a crossbow - pointed right at him. The second thing he saw was Faith, not the softer version he'd met before but the hard-as-nails-looking Faith he was familiar with.

"Fang! Get your ass in here, one of them is awake."

Xander moved to cover his ears when she started to yell but then thought better of it. He might not be a vampire but a bolt through the chest would still kill him. He watched Angel come through the door and sighed in relief. At least Deadboy wouldn't let her kill them. The fact that he was still sprawled on top of Spike's back had not escaped his notice and he desperately wanted to move before the vampire came to. He didn't need Spike setting off his implant in a blind panic.

"Can I sit up now? Spike's too skinny to be a comfortable cushion."

Faith nodded but didn't put the bow down for a second. Angel continued to watch him and once he was up, the older vampire immediately flipped Spike over and shook him. Xander suddenly realised that there were no soldiers, no Riley and no Buffy. That could only mean one thing - he'd shifted again. And apparently taken Spike with him.

"Angel? I don't think you should do that. He's in pretty bad shape."

Angel stopped manhandling the blonde and looked at Xander.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know how long we've been lying on your floor but just a couple hours before that, Spike had fifteen pieces of Initiative technology dug out of his body. He lost a lot of blood, and then he got shot by a tazer. So all in all, I think shaking him is probably a bad idea."

Angel seemed to consider this before letting go of Spike. He then turned to Faith and nodded for her to lower the weapon. He looked at Xander long enough to make the mortal uncomfortable before speaking.

"So what was that then? A teleportation spell? And what do you want with Spike? And while I'm at it, why bring him here, I mean won't your wizard be looking for you?"

"Um, not a spell. A trans-dimensional shift. I don't want anything with Spike; I just landed on him after I got blasted by one of Finn's goons. We're here because I always end up in the same place as I left, and what wizard? I don't have a wizard. Do I?"

Spike chose that moment to groan and sit up. Xander went to his side and helped him. Angel watched the interaction between human and vampire with interest. Faith just rolled her eyes.

"If I'm not needed here, can I go? Cordy said she'd take me to that new leather shop in the mall."

Angel waved Faith away and turned back to Xander and Spike who were now seated side by side against the counter. Spike was looking around warily and Xander had a guilty _expression on his face.

"Uh, Xan? What the hell happened? Last thing I remember, Farmboy and his friends were pointing guns at us."

Well ... I don't know how to tell you this, but I shifted out again ... and somehow took you with me. I think maybe 'cause I landed on you when I got shot."

Spike stared at Xander for a few minutes while he thought over the idea of being in an alternate dimension. In the end, he figured it had to be better than being recaptured by Finn or being dust, so he just shrugged and nodded once.

"Alright. I can live with that."