Part Twelve

Spike shook himself out from under the haze that this mere child had confounded him with. The Future !! Oh god he had a lot to learn if he could be snowed so very easily. Those human emotions still rattled around in his system ...his demon might have the controls but his human memories , his emotions crippled him every time. This human was his food he should eat and not talk to it. Spike locked eyes with his prey and pounced.

Xander screamed and tried to scramble away from him desperately but Spike had him pinned to the wet ground . Spikes body was positioned over him on all fours. He had one arm firmly planted on Xander's chest, easily restraining the boy...Xander couldn't move ...he was frozen and only managed to flinch as Spike leaned into his neck so deliberately, it drained every last shred of confidence he had left.

" please...please...please...Spike...please...I...I can tell you about so many things...what will happen ...oh please Spike don't ...I don't want to die " Xander whispered hoarsely over and over like a litany...his prayer ...oh please.

Spike tried to close his eyes against the pathetic whine of the man under him , pleading pitifully for his life. He snarled as those words broke down his determination...he was weak and useless in the face of such terror . Fuck...what kind of a vampire was he if he could be so easily persuaded and he leaped to his feet, a tight coil of anger and frustration. He paced wildly back and forth his eyes spitting golden fire.

Xander heaved himself forward into a sitting position then slumped against the wall. He was disgusted at the shameful pleading that had dribbled out of his mouth. Taking a deep breath he lifted his chin and heaved himself upright. Leaning exhausted on the brick wall as he struggled to regain his composure . Pushing off the surface he staggered forward towards Spike, his nerves were shot but his features were a depiction of perseverance. Spike had to admire the guts of this boy coming for him .

Xander arched his neck in an invitation " Do it ...if you don't believe me " he added quietly as he lost his bravado " just do it ...please ...now "

Spike laughed nastily, he hissed and flung himself across the cobblestone street towards the boy. Xander's eyes widened in alarm as the vampire hurtled towards him. There was  an ear-splitting crack and Xander went down, a lifeless body slumped on the ground with a sickening smack of bone hitting concrete.

Spike spun on the balls of his feet and grinned at the precision of his attack and the result sprawled at his feet.

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Part Thirteen

Spike poked lazily at the fire with one of his trademark railroad spikes. The flickering orange flame illuminated his face, light cavorted across his features, spreading warmth across impossibly sharp cheekbones, only to vanish back into the darkness once more as if in defiance of the creature he had come to be.

He was crouched on the floor of his hotel room, waiting... behind him lay Xander, arranged comfortably on a opulent canopy bed. Spike had to scoff at the tender way he had placed his burden upon those silky covers...it was such a contradiction to how he became unconscious in the first place.

Behind him his pretty pet began to stir and Spike continued to gaze into the firelight a moment longer, small smile playing upon his lips. There was a low moan of pain and a quickly whispered obscenity from the bed. Spike flexed his muscles as he rose to his feet.

The groan of protesting leather and the sway of Spikes hips as he meandered across the room to his side, had Xander in a spell. His head throbbed , his body complained bitterly but one thing he was aware of, was that he wasn't dead. Yet.

Spike reached for a glass before coming to rest on the edge of the bed... with one arm braced against the mattress he leaned in towards Xander. His cool arm nudged at Xander's bare hip . With a nod of his head and a flash of a grin, Spike brought the glass up to those sweet luscious lips . Xander flinched, he couldn't help be unnerved at the offer, couldn't help but feel a little suspicious and it must have showed on his face.

Spike rolled his eyes and sighed " Its only water " . He waited patiently, watching the different emotions war with each other across Xander's features.

Eventually Xander gave in and inched up into a sitting position ...he winced at the pain shooting through his head and closed his eyes only to snap them open again, when he realized just how near Spike was . He stiffened and back peddled into the headboard with a solid whack. His thoughts went instantly back to the pain " Owww!!! damn it " he groaned rubbing his head vigorously.

Spike raised an eyebrow at Xander's antics...the boy was nothing but amusing and he leaned forward again , again offering the glass. This time Xander took it, both hands wrapped around it as he brought it to his lips without looking at Spike once. The sweet wetness was like heaven going down...that was until he started to cough and splutter. Spike dragged Xander onto his lap and began to thump him on the back until the coughing subsided.

Xander recovered quickly feeling weak and tired, he leaned against Spike with his head tucked into the vampires neck. Spike gritted his teeth against the insistent beat of Xander's heart and held on . Suddenly Xander shrank back from the comfort when it penetrated his brain what the hell he was doing.

Spike flickered his golden eyes over the human in his bed and got to his feet , striding across the room before spinning around and growling at him ...not so much to scare the boy but mainly at himself and the appalling mess he had created bringing Xander back to his living quarters.

" Are you a vampire hunter like the man you were with ? "

Xander blinked , fingering the bandages tied around his arm " No ... I'm no vampire hunter, he pulled me into this world with him, believe me it wasn't by choice " and he frowned up at the vampire teetering on the verge of some hissy fit. " You bandaged my arm? " surveying the neat cloth wrapping with a considerable amount of surprise. Spike just growled low in his throat, avoiding eye contact completely...yet another display of how much the human part of him made him soft.

" Who are you then ? "

" Uhh  my name is Xander "

Spike stalked towards him " Xander is it ...Tell me, if I know you so well , how come you aren't dead or my Childe by now "

Xander stuttered finding himself lost for words with a snarling vamp up in his face " Uhh I guess I'm not dead because I'm friends with a Slayer and Buffy's always been around to fight you back "

Spike shook his head in disgust " If I have indeed killed two Slayers ...then why is a Slayer with the name Buffy " and he wrinkled up his nose in distaste " still alive ? Tell me that? "

Xander reached for the cover when he noticed how naked he was... Spike leered at him, knowing exactly what he was thinking . Pulling it up around his chin he answered " I guess sometimes she's just been lucky ...Buffy's not like other Slayer's , she's out lived them all...actually she hasn't. Buffy's died twice and come back ...although you are a worthy opponent ...Buffy, she's fought against Gods and kicked their asses back to hell "

Spike looked thoughtful, less likely to consider manslaughter at this moment. Xander knew he had Spike hooked but for how long? how long indeed.

" Is Angelus ...there in your time "

Oh god...he knew it was coming , just one those questions he really didn't want to answer, the answer would have Spike spitting in his face , slobbering on his neck . Could he lie? Because the idea of telling Spike that Angelus gets a soul might be a bit fantastical for even him to believe ...let alone the many times Deadboy had fought by their side and not to mention Buffy and Angel's undying love for each other.

Spike was becoming impatient with the silence, he could see the boy was debating on telling him something very important.

" Tell me " he hissed with barely controlled rage.

Xander gulped " Ahhh yes he is , or should I say kind of " he couldn't quite find the right words.
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Part Fourteen

Spike moved over to the fireplace once more. Turning to face Xander he braced both arms along the mantelpiece and gazed evenly at the boy in his bed.

Xander clenched his fists under the cover, his fingers clawed at the sheet underneath him ...needing the purchase ...needing the texture and feel of something to cling too.
Because this was definitely sickening , his thoughts were just plain perverted and sick , so wrong ...so very wrong.

There...defined in roaring flames was a ...god. Those amber tongues of fire ignited something dangerously primal in Xander and it was weirding him out something awful. His mouth was bone dry and he needed another mouthful of that sweet water but he couldn't force himself to turn away from him. Spike virtually indistinguishable from the flames licking seductively at his body, a twist of smoke curling possessively around him , the heady warmth , the glow had Xander panting and he felt the desire to crawl on his hands and knees and beg for Spike's attention. He had to grip his hands tighter into the sheets and shake himself out the erotic picture show playing behind his closed lids.

His eyes sprang open and he breathed a sigh of relief that Spike had wandered away from those crackling flames that seemed to laugh at him, like they knew his shame and they had used him for their own amusement. How ridiculous but he was desperate to latch on to any excuse for all this.

Xander tried not to look but his eyes drifted back to Spike as he poured a glass full of amber liquid and raised it to his lips. Xander glimpsed in agony at the sheen of wetness on that fire kissed mouth. Wriggling uncomfortably on the bed he busied his hands with getting some water down his own throat ...he had to find something to douse those thoughts reemerging in his brain.

" Kind of "

Xander frowned " What ? "

Spike just flashed him a grin " You said Angelus was 'kind of' there in the future "

Xander nodded " umm yes he's there but its complicated, its a very long story "

Spike started to come toward him again his glass dangling from his fingers. Oh god! did he really want him to come any closer. Xander dragged his eyes away from the mesmerizing flex and crease of impossibly soft white material against Spike's torso and looked up into the vampires amused face. Those stomach muscles had been laid bare to his imagination and there was a war going on in his head...how could this man be anymore sexier.

" Oh ...I'm not going anywhere and I love a good story . You're not going anywhere , are you pet? "

Xander knew that Spike did not require an answer but he gave a small smile in return.

A key rattled in the lock, a gentle push and into the room slinked Drusilla. Her eyes immediately went to Xander's and he could see the contempt paint across her features. This would not be good. She rushed towards Xander and all his instincts had him huddled against the headboard in nothing short of out and out terror. It didn't help that she dressed and looked the same as when he crossed her path in Sunnydale and she had always scared him witless.

Spike intervened in her path to Xander. Shooting accusing eyes at her Childe as she struggled in his tight embrace. Spike wrestled her into a chair and stood over her menacingly.

" Don't luv, he's mine ... you had your fun let me have mine "

Like a pouting disobedient child she stamped her foot and threw hateful glances in Xander's direction...but she stayed put.

" You have sought him out as a mate, how could you my sweet little Spike, you are my beloved, my dark Childe ...it was I who gave birth to you, this land of endless night where the rivers of ruby flow, that we should dance and whirl in it's splendidness."

Spike grinned down at her with affection " I know luv and I do so appreciate this gift ...you know I do princess " and he kissed her gently on the lips " now please don't pout "

Drusilla nuzzled into his touch briefly before pulling away to scratch one nail down his cheek. He hissed and anger flashed in his eyes. She escaped under his distraction, scooping up a doll that had been seated in another chair.

" Miss Edith tells me you have been bad and wicked ...she says you want to replace me with this human boy "

Spike dashes around the furniture as she makes her way to Xander. Spike stutters " c'mere poodle , don't worry that pretty head with all this ...I'd never leave you "

" Yes you will.  Cast me aside without a moments hesitation , the stars sing of your betrayal"

Spike didn't have an answer for her ...all he had was denial, he knew nothing else that  would placate her. Xander though wary of Drusilla coming ever closer couldn't help but laugh at the exchange between the two vampires. When two heads spun towards him he gulped, placing a hand over his mouth in horror, it was to late to stifle the bark of laughter.

Spike glared at him " What's so amusing ? "

Xander's eyes darted from one to the other " Uhh nothing ...nothing I just choked on the water "

Spike eyed him suspiciously " I don't think so ...tell me ? " he roared the last part making Xander jump violently.

Drusilla smiled coldly at Xander " He lies to you , he tries to deceive you " she hissed .

Spike loomed over Xander the threat very real if he didn't spill what he knew. Never losing eye contact with Spike he told him " Drusilla cheated on you many times and that's why you came to Sunnydale and left it again , time and again ...I just thought it funny that she would throw your assumed betrayal in your face when she will hurt you over and over again "

Something akin to pain flashed across Spike's pinched features , quickly swallowed up with annoyance. Then Spike landed on top of him as a whirlwind of shrieking Drusilla landed squarely on his back, flailing her arms and legs trying to get to Xander. Spike bucked the hell spawned bitch off his back and Dru went hurtling into the glass drink trolley. There was a crack of splintered crystal and an explosion of tiny fragments.

Moments later Drusilla rose to her feet shaking glass from her hair, smoothing her dress. Spike faced her with his back to Xander but he still managed to drag him from the bed, one hand splayed across Xander's chest in a silent message, to not move. Xander wasn't going to move ..he had no problem there.

Dru extracted a large shard of splintered glass from the floor, raising it above her head she charged forward with an enraged bloodcurdling howl.

Spike swept her feet out from under her with an expertly placed kick. She went down with a squeal of outrage and a whoosh!! ...her dress billowing out around her. This time when she scrambled to her feet it was a slower process ...so hurt that her boy had attacked her over a human.

When Xander had seen the piece of glass in her hand he had panicked with dread at what she would do to him, seeking out the only safe haven he had left...Spike. He burrowed into Spikes back, molding himself against his spine after he witnessed Drusilla go down once more. That solid wall of muscle and bone surrounded in leather and stale smoke awakened such yearning that he didn't stop himself till it was too late. Oh god and he jumped away in embarrassment.

Spike stiffened then turned to face Xander his eyes wide with wonder and just a little shock. Xander glanced around the room his skin flushed from head to toe.

As Spike continued to stare, his back to Drusilla she slid to her feet and strode towards him.

" Xander ? "

Xander's mouth dropped open, eyes wide at the figure looming behind Spike.

" umm yes "

Spike rotated his hips using the momentum to punch Drusilla in the face ...this time when she dropped she wasn't coming back up...well anytime soon.

" Xander when I asked why my future self had never managed to Kill you and you told me  it was because you always had the Slayer to rescue you ... was the real reason because we are lovers "

Oh god ..no! He had felt it ...damn .

" What ? "

Spike grinned at how uncomfortable Xander was and he slid into his personal space , grinning wider at the frantic heart beat he could hear pounding in the boys chest.

" Were we fucking Xander  ?"

Xander unconsciously licked his lips , blushing an even deeper tone of delicious blood red .

" No ... no ...it wasn't like that . Ew !! No way we hated each other "

Spike rubbed his hips into Xander's...feeling, seeking out the hardness there that he felt probing between his cheeks only moments before. The slow burn as he plastered himself against hot skin ... his own cock showing signs of interest.

Whispering in Xander's ear the question " You wanted to fuck me though ...yes ? Like you want to right now " and he bit the lobe that teased him before tilting Xander's head back to mouth hungrily at a wildly bobbing Adams apple.

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Part Fifteen

Xander gasped, panting hard ...his head arched back...feverish unbelieving eyes fixed on the patterned ceiling...mouth gaping open , blindly trying to grasp for the right words, the correct vocabulary to make it all stop.

But he really didn't want it to stop . God no ...not ever.

Eyes fluttering closed as if that would just cease what was happening to him...closing his eyes against the need, that hunger, those shattering cravings, the wish to be consumed, to be devoured , to be thoroughly debauched and left screaming for more.

Spike blocked the call of the blood to his demon and went about appeasing the beast by other means. Cool fingers pressed greedily into naked flesh, seeking out the heat and sliding a bruising path around a shivering body. Xander's frantic spasms...rocked into his hard body and only intensified his need to possess it.

Spike was making little slurping, sucking, chewing noises , although incredibly cute ...were driving him insane. Xander felt himself lose all control and he hadn't even cum yet. A boneless glide to the floor and his head hitting the surface with a solid whack. His brain melted out of the deep freeze, screaming sirens in his head and with extreme refusal 'to just not go there' he scrambled backwards across the floor.

His whole body said " God yes...take me " but his brain was firing very unpleasant scenario's in his head, all sorts of nasty little comments and laughing...there were gales of mocking laughter raining down on him. Xander winced and got to his feet , trembling uncontrollably he refused to look at Spike .

Spike at first was confused with Xander's desperate escape from his arms...it stung him to see that rejection in those expressive eyes. Everything had been so good and now it was gone. Anger surged into his system...how dare he dismiss what had happened. There had been lust on both sides...this sudden rejection wasn't acceptable.  What had he been about to do?. Angelus was right ...just eat the human don't try and get to know the food...that just made everything complicated.

He snarled ...letting the demon emerge to the surface and have its way. Xander skirted around the furniture and pushed his aching body to its limit, scratching at the door furiously trying to grasp the handle in his sweaty hands ...hoping against hope he could escape. Then he was snatched away from the shiny doorknob. Arms wrapped tightly around his body, stilling his arms and legs from flailing about . Spike dug his nails viciously into the bare skin of Xander's arm, making him scream in agony. Lifting Xander off the floor with ease he threw him onto the bed.

Xander hit the bed, bouncing once before unconsciously curling himself into a fetal position...tucking his head as close to his chest as he could.

" I'm sorry . I'm sorry " he whispered.

Spike leaped up on the bed ...the mattress shook with the force of his rage and Xander's fear as he stood over the boy. Tearing off his coat , shirt crumpled to the floor, buttons flying , pants hurled into a ball and sent sailing across the room. The fire in the grate seemed to spark dangerously, its blaze intensifying as if it couldn't hold back the desire , the excitement of what was to come.

Spike with the deadliest grin transforming his features, stretched on his toes and rolled his shoulders. Both of his hands curled with lethal anticipation around his hard cock. Taut against his belly he stroked with slow, sure caresses. Eyes flashed like the predator he was  ...at the cowering boy staring unblinkingly up at him, Xander his lashes wet with silent tears could only hold his breath.

Spikes thumb swiped against the precum leaking from his cock . Bringing the thumb up to his face ...he watched as a single drop fell onto Xander's bare stomach. Xander flinched , his muscles taut with the impact of Spike's cum on his skin, so intimate that he bit his tongue sharply so that he wouldn't betray his need.

Spike pounced on all fours over a stunned Xander... leaning into that shocked face he licked his lips slowly and leered at him before dipping his head a little lower. So close, inches separating them ...he could feel the short bursts of air against his lips coming from Xander, the thud of his heart beat . With one final grin he leapt up from the bed and sauntered across the room to stand against the fire place.

Flashing his golden eyes at the rising flames he silently challenged the boy to come to him,  surrender to him.

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Part Sixteen

Xander uncurled from his position on the bed...dragging his body to the edge he sat there and just stared at the sight of Spike ...naked Spike surrounded in those flames, those flames that taunted him. Only moments before it had seemed like they were hissing at him in contempt but now they were torturing him with 'what could be'. Whispering to him from across the room, revealing to him all the little fantasies that he had kept inside for so long ...they knew his desires and they cackled at how close he was to having them fulfilled.

Spike lay his head on the mantelpiece, his arms folded underneath him. Closing his eyes...he waited for him.

Suddenly the mocking laughter that had been reverberating around his skull seemed to lose it's power and disappear completely. All Xander could hear was his heartbeat...so loud, so insistent in his head. Have...Take...Now...Go...Now...Take him , he's waiting for you.

The journey from the bed to standing right behind Spike seemed instantaneous. He didn't remember the getting there...just that he was now here. God he itched to touch but he couldn't , not yet , he needed to just let his eyes flow over the perfection in front of him. Needed to get a little of his control back ...

God, what a rush to stand over a creature that could render him from this world with a flick of his wrist. Spike was handing over his dominance, his power to him and he couldn't be more astounded yet touched, at such a gift.

Spike had felt the instant Xander had decided to answer his call and come to him. A log in the fire collapsed on top of another, flames crackled sending a flurry of sparks around his body. Pinpricks of pain sizzled on his skin, every nerve snapped to attention and he froze waiting in agony for that first caress.

Xander reached out ...his fingertips came in contact with cool smooth skin and he sighed at the peace of finally giving in to his need. Pressing the palm of his hand into the curve of Spikes back, he became overwhelmed with the softness of it. A step closer brought him that much closer to the ultimate sin, fraternizing with the evil undead...what was he thinking -he would be doing a hell of a lot more than fraternizing if he got any nearer, or his hands just dipped that extra few inches over...

Encouraging moans of incredible pleasure whispered over Xander's skin. His cock hardened and his senses burst into song at Spike's command.

Xander stepped away for a moment, excited fingers fumbled over jeans , wrenched haphazardly off legs. A scene that had once seemed straight out of some arty erotic flick had been turned into a Marx brothers farce in a few short seconds. Hopping on one leg as one stubborn trouser leg refused to budge over his sneaker. He toppled into Spike who promptly arched away from his mad attacker. Only to find his stomach scorched by an impressive surge of flames.

Throwing himself backwards Spike drove Xander to hop out of the vampires way as he still wrestled with his uncooperative shoe. Only to crash with an elegant nose dive into the plush carpet. He had tripped over the unconscious Drusilla. Only consolation it seemed from this fall was Xander's shoe being dislodged and it flying through the air like a determined missile. Spike weaved by a mere fraction of a hair as it whizzed by his nose...only it took a liking to the twinkling chandelier and the whole catastrophe ended with a spectacular collision of crystal and wax with the much abused floor.

Angelus flew into the room, the smack of that heavy door hitting solid brick wall seemed almost as loud as the fated chandelier. He raised an eyebrow at the scene he was confronting.

Two naked men , one human , one bad ass vampire absolutely beside themselves with laughter. Both on the floor rolling around, clutching at their stomachs, breathing hard with tears in their eyes, roaring with laughter at the preposterous mess their attempt at having sex had become.

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Part Seventeen

Spike clutched onto a wingback chair as his laughter subsided and he noted Angelus was still in his suite. Turning towards the boy he could see Xander was still trying to control his amusement ...but he did seem to sober up when Angelus continued to leer at him. Scooting back across the floor when Angelus smiled in a very feral way and stepped closer.

Xander had forgotten about his naked situation ...but god the way Angelus was staring, all those gleaming teeth and the intent flashing in his eyes. He didn't like it ...he dove for the bed , burrowing under the covers ...as if that would protect him if Angelus chose to strike.

Spike growled loudly behind Angelus...like a rabid dog. Angelus stopped moving towards Xander but he didn't turn towards Spike either. His eyes unfocussed, obviously concentrating on Spike's scent...listening, waiting , sensing when he would make his move. He grinned with delight. Spike was an infant ...he had a lot to learn if he thought he could out smart him.

Angelus spun around, slicing the air, his leg shot out connecting with Spike's. Spike's knees buckled out from underneath him and was sent crashing to the floor. Angelus stepped over him and crouched grinning close to his face  " You have a lot to learn William " and snorted at the loathing spitting fire from those cool blue eyes.

Just then something flung itself at Angelus bent back. Losing his balance momentarily as the weight of the human nearly toppled him over. Nails raked like fire across his cheek as Xander attacked him with a ferocious energy.  Even with the stinging pain searing his flesh he couldn't help but laugh at the boys behavior. This boy was trying to defend Spike...that was rather amusing in it self. As if Spike needed protection from a mere human child.

He twirled around not really trying very hard to get this squirming package off his back. Oh, Angelus purposely bumped into a few walls and various other objects around the room, it wouldn't be right to let the boy think he was getting the better of a master vampire...but the grin never left his face on their journey around the room. The smell of this human, his heart beat so erratic and so near ...god it was exciting just to play with him for awhile .

Then things changed ...suddenly it wasn't fun and he growled low in the back of his throat, a warning . Xander only gripped more of a fistful of silky chestnut locks and yanked .

" Never Touch the Hair " Angelus roared ...flipping Xander over his head, he landed squarely in the centre of the mattress, his limbs stretched out in shock and he froze as he gently bounced with the force of his descent. All was still... then Angelus pounced mirroring Xander's body position on top of him. Xander's eyes widened and his mouth fell open as the air was forced out of him from the sheer weight of the vampire pushing into his body... he couldn't utter a single word in defense. Angelus leered at him before dipping his head to taste those gorgeous lips for himself. Panic flitted across Xander's face as Angelus sucked on his bottom lip. He couldn't respond as fear controlled him...he remembered how psychotic  Angelus was and he wished to be rescued from this...Oh please stop this.

As if his prayers had been answered the weight was pulled off him, those lips left his and he gulped in relief at being blissfully freed.

Xander shook his head to clear the sheer dizziness competing for dominance in his brain. He could hear the crash of broken furniture close to him, the growls, hisses, howls of agony as two male vampires tore each other apart. Xander wished he could focus on the fight, he hoped that Spike won but he couldn't see , desperately blinking as his eyes watered painfully...the ceiling swam in front of his eyes and he knew that the edges of his world were growing dim , sound just seemed to wash away from him , everything was just trickling through his fingers ... the only thing that he could focus on was the blindingly sharp knife like pain in his throat. His struggles jerked his body into action but he was drowning in his own blood...his eyes rolling back in his head.

Angelus paused in his battering of Spikes skull into the fireplace...scenting the air he whirled around. Spike stumbled backwards as Angelus's hands left his head and also spun around to face the bed.

Both screamed " No " at exactly the same instant, with matching howls of fury they both flew across the room wrenching Drusilla away from Xander. Moments later her body snapped with a nauseating crack as she collided with a near wall.

Xander's eyes flickered over his rescuers before collapsing in a bloody heap in Spike's embrace.

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Part Eighteen

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 Part Nineteen

The moment Angelus left with Dru, closing the door silently behind him...the tears began to fall. Spike swiped at them with a trembling hand. Furious with himself, that this could happen to him, that he should feel this way...when it wasn't fair.

God he had to laugh at that, bitter cold laugh that reflected a self loathing so intense. Like his life had ever been fair, he never got what he wanted...and what did he do, in a moment of pitiful weakness he let a strange lady drag him into a hellish existence he would never be free of. Why ? Because she had showed him a small amount of acceptance and like the hungry mongrel he was, he had eagerly lapped up the scrap of affection she had tossed his way.

Now he lived this dark empty life where the only thing that touched him were the fleeting moments when he conversed with his prey, wrapping his needy body around their warmth, savouring every drop of their being till even they were as cold as him.

Only two years and it had already felt like an eternity. Now...cruelly he had been shown something so beautiful, someone that wanted his love, but he was snatched away as quickly as he had been found. To tease him with a manifestation of his deepest desire, only to rip it from his grasp minutes later...he deserved that. Because he was a loser, pathetic and damned...not even a nasty controlling demon could change his fate. 

Spike lay on the bed on his side, his fingers combed through Xander's damp locks. He could feel the warmth of his skin under the pads of his fingers, still alive, just, he was weakening ...soon his life would be extinguished and the icy tongues of death would penetrate his skin. Spike let his eyes close, he would wait it out to the end, he would not let him leave this world thinking he was alone. Concentrating on that slow heart beat ...soft words of endearment flowed between his lips before he could stop them.

" It's alright pet, I'm here for you, I'm so sorry that this happened, I won't leave you, you can go now, let go , Xander let go... " he felt hysterical and he wanted to shake him,  couldn't control the grief...

The door to his suite burst open and Angelus stalked into the room, behind him he dragged a human who seemed fairly reluctant about being there, but then weren't they always. This wasn't the time to bring a meal into his room.

" He's here to help " Angelus stated moving directly to the bed, but not before Spike leapt off, meeting him halfway ...his nails instantly gouging into Angelus's biceps, his momentum forcing Angelus backwards and toppling him over the couch. " This is not going to help " Spike hissed in his ear. " Get the hell out of here, leave me alone with him  " he whispered the last part, he was almost pleading to his Grandsire and he loathed that Angelus had the power to belittle him...but he was desperate to have those last moments to himself.

Angelus frowned, recovering from his unflattering stumble over the couch to face Spike once more. " Oh ... I had the impression when I left that you wanted the boy to live , my mistake " he roared getting up in Spike's face.

" excuse me... "

It was Spike's turn to frown " He's dead...what could you possibly " his eyes widened " oh no, no, no, you are not bloody well turning him, that won't be happening, he will never be yours, never " he screamed, just the implication threw him into murderous rage.

" uhh excuse me... "

Spike snatched the nearest thing to him when Angelus lurched closer to the bed. The water pitcher flew by Angelus's head, smashing spectacularly against the wall beside him. Unfortunately Xander's diluted blood did find its target as it trickled down Angelus's face...shards of jagged glass sprayed onto his exposed skin, tearing into his flesh and mingling intimately the two distinct blood types.

Spike roared at the brutal irony, marching towards Angelus, desiring nothing more than to rip his face off. It was as he closed in on him, that he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, spinning on his heel...

He was touching him, his hands were soiling, tainting his perfect skin

" What the hell do you think you're doing ? " the undercurrent in his voice could not be mistaken ...it meant instant excruciating death.

Before Spike could strike ...arms wrapped tightly around him, a strength he couldn't escape. He spat at his captor, screamed and squirmed in his powerful grip. Spike kicked with the heel of his boot into Angelus's shins ...but the man didn't even flinch, actually he had the gall to sigh, as if he was dealing with a rather stubborn and petulant child ...that only made Spike more furious.

The man sitting on the bed alongside Xander, was trembling uncontrollably...he just hoped that this vampire would not be allowed to kill him, that his elder knew how to control him.

He had been frozen in fear when he opened his door to Angelus, god one of the most dreaded creatures of all time, his sights set on him...in his terror he had forgotten that a vampire could not pass into his home without being invited. Too late when his hand had strayed over the invisible border, lightening reflexes had him out into the open, Angelus's body in a mockery of intimacy draped over his, golden eyes flashing inches from his alarmed ones, cold cold smile...he had no choice but to agree to anything the man wanted.

" I tried to get your attention but you seemed uhh busy and I knew I didn't have much time " he muttered, trying to force himself to calm down, not looking at the vampire just itching to slice him in half.

" He's here to bring Xander back to you ...so stop with this hissy fit  right now " Angelus spoke into Spike's ear, he got a snarl and a series of head butts aimed at his nose for his trouble.

Angelus drew in a painful breath as he directed his next words at the doctor " What do you need ?" Spike grinned, briefly satisfied that he had caused some pain.

" I need a vial of blood " he stammered, he couldn't look either of them in the eye. " Blood taken directly from the heart " he added.

Angelus smiled " Take his "

The man gulped, oh god he didn't want to get any closer...but his death was assured either way, if he failed- doubly so.

Edging across the room towards the ferociously struggling Spike and Angelus's cool determination to keep him in check ...he tried not to gaze at either of them, he just wanted to get this part over and done with.

He was in their personal space now and the thought brought stark terror into his wildly beating heart...it really didn't help that Spike was hissing threats at him.

" Don't you fucking come near me with that needle "

" He can't hold me forever, what then ..."

" I'll tell you what, you will never be able to run from me..."

" I'll slice you open, make it such a slow and painful death "

" Do you have a wife, children, a sister, is your mother still living ...I could do such terrible things to them "

" you can't even imagine the suffering ..."

He squeezed his eyes shut, willed the monsters voice to cease...his eyes flew open as his arm came down in an arc, fast and hard... and it was in

There was screaming that rang in his ears, attempting to drive him insane...he cried out and the vial filled with deep red blood before his eyes, once it was done he stumbled backwards panting furiously.

Laying the vial carefully down on the bed he crouched to rummage through his bag, extracting a small glass test tube he proceeded to remove the cork stopper, the contents of the vial was mixed with the black powder in the tube. Cork replaced and the two ingredients were shaken till the colour leached out completely and the two elements shifted to a clear liquid.

Taking a new vial from the depths of his bag, he fitted a thick needle to the end. Removing the cork once more, he filled the vial with the new liquid. He hesitated a moment, wiping his brow of the nervous sweat that had beaded there, quickly knelt beside Xander's body smoothing his hand over the lukewarm skin on his chest. He stabbed firmly, penetrating the heart and releasing the charmed fluid into his system.

Dropping the empty vials back into his bag he slid off the bed and just stood there...his eyes trained on Xander's face.

" What now ? " Angelus interrupted his thoughts...still holding fast to Spike although the man had ceased struggling and attacking him.

The man turned to Angelus " We wait ! "

......................................................................................................................................................

Part Twenty

" We wait, for what exactly ? " Spike growled...he was restless and more than a bit pissed off, still Angelus held him securely.