"Nothing," he moaned, a hand over his stomach as he bent as ifto catch his breath. "Not a damn thing. I don't know where they took them. Ihad that one for almost a mile.."

"And then you..ran out of breath?" Buffy asked curiously. Sheknew that the situation was too dire for her humor but still..

He looked up at her with evident irritation, "I don't breathe,Buffy.."

"I..know..that but honey.."

"Oh," he replied, suddenly understanding. He moved back to hisfull length to reveal his torso, which was covered in blood. "The one I waschasing was carrying some kind of staff. It's got a nasty tip.."

"I see that," she replied, reaching out to touch the blood withher hand. She looked at her red smeared fingers and sighed. "We have to getyou cleaned up or you'll start attracting every other vamp for miles around.."

"We're losing time.." Angel replied impatiently.

She reached out and stroked his cheek, "Don't you think I knowthat?"

He locked eyes with her, his dark pained ones staring into hergiant blue pools. Finally, tiredly, he nodded. "Okay, let's head back tothe mansion. I can patch myself up and then we can try to pick up the demons'scent again."

"Sounds like a plan. They'll be okay." Then she looked up athim. "Right?"

He didn't reply, simply leaned forward and pressed a kiss to herlips. She nodded her understanding and then allowed him to take her handand pull her in the direction of the mansion.

****

He was dreaming again. His body was moving spastically,uncomfortably. And there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. He was hurt.Badly. The blood soaking through the flannel he was wearing was proof ofthat. She'd pulled off her own leather jacket and was trying to use it tostop the blood seeping from his head wound but things were getting serious in ahurry. And the darkness wasn't helping. They were in a room that was probably no larger than the size ofa walk-in freezer. It had one steel door at the front that had so manystrange locking mechanisms.. that well..``````````` even without a hint oflight, it was hopeless to even think about picking them. And Xander needed her at his side anyway. Which meant it fell tothe others, mainly Buffy and Angel to save them. She hated waiting around.It made her feel helpless. Which at the moment, she very much was. Helplessto do much more than attempt to stop the bleeding. To stop him from dying. She brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes and sighed tiredly.She was hurt too. Not badly of course and really all she was was sore butjust the same, it didn't help things. She was exhausted. It'd been at leasteight hours since they'd been thrown into this cold room. Eight hours ofdarkness. Eight hours of praying and hoping that he didn't fade away on her. Eight hours of knowing for damn sure that if he did, it'd breakher heart. That was something she wasn't prepared to deal with. It wasemotion she had no experience with and it terrified her to her very soul.Just likecries. She wanted o kiss him and make the pain cease. Like she'd seenBuffy do a million times with Angel. All the blonde seemed to have to do tocalm Angel was press her soft lips to his and whatever Angel seemed to beailing from would depart.Xander hadn't even reacted when she'd kissed him. Which, if she was fair about it, didn't mean all that much. Hewas unconscious after all. Just the same, she liked to think thatshe meant enough to him that maybe she could be some kind of comfortthrough the pain. She knew that his presence was somewhat calming for her. Andsomewhatfrightening. Lifting his head onto her lap, she began to stroke his cheek."I'm here," she whispered, suddenly hating the sound of her own voice. And thenonce again hating her helplessness. She was a Slayer. She should be able to get out of any and everysituation. Only sometimes Slayers didn't get out of every situation.Sometimes Slayersdied. Faith ran a shaky hand through her dark hair and sighed. It wasa good thing she wasn't a vampire or the smell of blood would be overwhelmingher. It was sickening enough as it was. Too damn much of it. "Hang on," she whispered, not knowing what else to say andfearing that anything she did say would come up painfully short. "They'llfind us." And that was what it all came down to. Hope that Buffy and Angelwould track them down and get to them before Xander died. Before whoever hadgrabbed them did whatever it meant to do with her. And in her experience, bad guys didn't tend to treat Slayerslike honoredguests. And to think, the night had started out so well. *** "No, no, no." He insisted, waving his hands around in crazycircles. "We can't always go to a bar. You need to party like a teenagerwhich means ice cream."

"Beer floats?" she asked, troubled.

"No, banana splits."

"Why?"

"You're sailing right past the part about being a kid aren'tya?" Xander joked, taking her hand in his. "Look, even Buff has gotten DeadBoy to agree to meet us at Frankie's.."

"A bar?" she asked with hope.

"Ance cream parlor. Stay with me here, honey."

"Oh. Angel? Ice cream?"

"Stranger things have happened."

"No, they haven't."

"Yes, they have. This is not a sign of the Apocalypse my love."

She moaned in protest but didn't stop him when he lifted herinto the passenger seat of old 1989 Jeep Wrangler. He'd managed to scrapenough money together working odd jobs to buy it after Uncle Rory had comecollecting on his convertible.

Leaning across to the radio dial, she thumbed her hand againstit, trying to find something more that the six stations of country he hadstored.

"Xand, I thought country was your pain music.." then she narrowed hereyes at him, "Are you in pain?"

"No..I just..well it was when I got the jeep..." he lowered hisvoice, "It was that night you called me a lying sack of shit."

"You were being a lying sack of shit that night," she remindedhim. It had been a small fight but a significant one in their still youngromance. He had stayed out late with Cordelia who it later turned out had justwanted to put all the old feelings away so she could try to go after some newjock she had her eye on. They'd spent most of the night up on the cliffstalking but for some reason Xander hadn't told her that. He'd insisted that he'djust been kicking around town. Faith had cornered him into the truth and afight had broken out that had sent both of them home in a huff.

"I was," he agreed. "Here we are." He got out of the car andmoved around to the other side to open the door for her. This was stillsomething she was getting used to. Angel did it for her and so did Xand. It wasstrange. It was nice.He offered her his hand and the led her towards the brightly lit if not tackybuilding in front of them. A bright pink Neon sign screamed FRANKIE'S formiles to come. It was frightening and something that she was pretty surewould haunt her dreams for years to come. Xander for his partseemed unaffected. Poor boy.

When they entered the parlor, the first thing she saw was allthe teenagers. Taking into account that she was the same age as them, she foundthem to be utterly irritating and had a sudden need for them all to eitherdie or simply disappear.And from the first look she saw spread across Angel's face as they movedcloser to the table that Buffy and her vampiric lover were seated at, heprobably felt much the same way. He looked pained and she felt sorry for him.

"Hey guys," Xander chirped. "Noisy night."

Buffy shrugged, "Yeah. Angel's got a headache."

"I didn't have one an hour ago," he muttered, hand still tightlyclutching hers. He'd never really mastered the art of looking an emotionhe wasn't feeling. Right now he just looked deeply irritated. And perhapseven a tad bit hungry.

"Oh stop it." Buffy scolded, slapping at his hand. "I ordered us one of themondo splits."

Xander grinned, "Cool. Faith, you gotta try this thing. It tookall of us, Buff, me, Wills, Oz and Cor to get through it last time."

Faith just rolled her eyes and yet part of her was intrigued andfascinated by it all. He was so carefree and that was part of whatattracted her to him. Her life had been mostly heartache after heartache with not alot of time for laughs. She'd tried to just let it ride but the waves had a badhabit of coming up and hurting her.He made her laugh. Just like Buffy made Angel smile.

Antiseptic for the cuts that ran so very deep.

"Faith?"

"Hm?"

"Drink?"

"Vodka."

"Shell have a chocolate milkshake. Lotsa whip."

She frowned at him and was about to open her mouth when she feltAngel settle a hand over her shoulder. "They don't serve vodka at ice creamparlors."

"Oh. Well they should."

"Kinda defeats the purpose of not being at a bar doesn't it?"Xander teased, grinning widely at her. For a moment she wavered betweensmacking that annoying smile off him and kissing his lips so that it wouldnever go away.

Within minutes, a perky redheaded waitress reappeared with asilver tray that had the most monstrous thing Faith had ever seen. It waspresumably the banana split. "Here ya are, kids." She put the dripping plate onthe table and then moved to hand them all napkins, all the while trailingone long nailed hand over Angel's shoulder. He seemed oblivious but Buffysure as hell wasn't.

"Our shakes?" she reminded the waitress.

"In a couple heartbeats, love." She smiled widely at Angel,"Kids these days, huh?"

Angel for his part just returned the smile and glanced back at Buffy. Who wasglaring at him. He blinked. "Yeah. Thanks. Buffy?"

"Kids," she muttered. "Open your mouth."

"Pillow talk," Faith grinned.

"Hardly," Buffy snorted. "Not for him at least."

"Buffy? What'd I do?" he asked, genuinely confused. And that wasall it took. Faith saw the softening of the anger lines around the tinyblonde Slayers'mouth. She leaned over and pecked him gently on themouth and then when he opened it a tad bit more, she pulled away and depositeda spoon between his lips. He let out a small gasp and then swallowed."Buffy."

"Oh you liked it," she replied, smacking his arm. "Faith, tryit."

Sighing dramatically, she pushed her hair out of her way andthen bent to pick up a spoon. Xander stopped her.

"Let me.."

"Xand, I can.."

"Let me. Please." He looked at her with wide eyes so full ofpleading that she could hardly say no. She rolled her eyes and consented. Hegrinned and that was enough. That too was puzzling for her. Why should hissmile make her feel so damn good? It wasn't anything she hadn't seen before,right?

Or was it? Wasn't that smile for her? Wasn't that new?

He interrupted her musings by placing the ice-cream heaped spooninto her mouth. She tried to get her tongue around the sensations butthey were almost too many. This was definitely a new experience. Back in Bostonwhere she'd grown up, it'd always been far too cold for banana splits andreally, she'd never been one of those carefree kids who hung out at an icecream parloranyways.

It was suprisingly good.

She looked up and into Xanders' eyes. She nodded. He grinned.Angel smirked.

Buffy hit him. She always did that. He always deserved it.

"Your shakes, kids." They looked up to see the waitress again.She put down four chocolate shakes and then began to move away. "Oh wait,your bill."

"I'll take it," Angel said softly.

"I knew you would, sweetie." She pressed the bill into his handalong with a peculiar piece of yellow lined paper. She smiled, winked at himand then moved away. He frowned for a moment and then opened his hand.

"That hussy gave you her phone number," Buffy growled.

"Baby.."

"Don't baby me.." Buffy replied sharply, taking both pieces ofpaper from him. She glanced at them and then handed the bill back to him."Lillian. Who names their kid Lillian? Huh?"

"Buffy.."

"Pay the bill. We're leaving."

Xander looked up in shock, mouth full of chocolate ice cream,"Huh?"

"Buffy, we're not leaving. Eat your ice cream, love." Angelsoothed, rubbing her hand. She glared at him for a moment longer and then finallysettled on curling against him, one hand slipping between the buttons ofhis shirt.

"So, we patrolling after this?" Xander asked, stuffing his mouthyet again.

"Yeah, if we roll there," Faith snorted as she did the exactsame thing her boyfriend was doing.

"I think no patrol tonight," Angel said softly. "A little R&Rwon't hurt you two. You're already worn to the bone from the last several weeksof fighting off the Crimson Guard."

"Tell me about it," Buffy muttered. The Crimson Guard was anancient Vampire coven not unlike the Order of Taraka. They were deadly assassinsbut they were much more. These red garbed vamps were also hunters andcollectors. Not one knew for sure what they wanted with the Slayers. Whetherdead or alive though, they were a true threat. And an exhaustive one.

"So we go back to the dorms and kick it?" Xander asked.

"Yeah," Buffy shrugged. "Will and Oz are off touring in LosAngeles and you know Cordy's working on that cowboy she's had her eye on.."

"Cowboy? Since when did Cordy get into cowboys?" Xander asked,looking up.

"He's a surfer who wears a cowboy hat," Buffy laughed. "She sayshe's a cowboy because he's a nerd and she doesn't want to admit thatshe digs dorks."

"You know I take offense to that."

"You are a dork, Xander." Faith said firmly. "A cute dork?"

"I can live with that. How about a gorgeous dork?" h e asked,attempting to flex his muscles but managing to dribble ice cream onto hisshirt.

"Can I throw-up?" Angel asked. Xander threw him a look but Angelwas already busying staring at the banana split again. He'd seen a lot inhis life and yet this thing was right up there with the most horrific and yetamazing.

"So when are we gonna meet this guy?" Xander asked, cleaninghimself up the napkin. Faith shook her head at him, considered using her tongueto clean up the rest of the mess and then passed the thought up. PDA's wereBuffy and Angel's field of expertise not hers.

"Eventually. After Cordelia has house-trained him enough to beseen in her presence," Buffy laughed. She finally pushed the plate away fromher and back towards Xander. "No more," the tiny blonde groaned. "I think I'mgonnaexplode."

Angel lifted an eyebrow, "Lovely. We done yet?"

Xander looked up at him; face smeared with chocolate and thistime Faith couldn't resist. She leaned across and kissed him on the mouthand then flicked her tongue over his lips and around his mouth. He moanedand settled into the kiss. Buffy grinned. Angel wondered why he couldn't hither when she looked smug. It wasn't fair. Buffy looked up at him, smiled,gently slapped his arm and then cuddled against him.

"Urk," Xander managed, breaking away.

"There, all clean," Faith purred, almost seductively.

"Don't remember my mom ever employing that particular method offacecleaning."

She winked at him, "Let's get out of here. If I hear one mygiggle from that dumb blonde tramp over there with the bad roots, I'm gonna killher and Angel..I won't feel sorry for it."

"I think I'll let her do it, baby," Buffy grimaced as the blondegirl across the room giggled and bounced.

"We're up then," Angel said. He pulled Buffy up with him,depositing a soft kiss on her lips and then reached into his pocket and tosseddown a twenty-dollar bill.

"That's way too big of a tip for Lillian," Buffy muttered. Angeljust grinned at her. She sighed and took his hand.

The foursome stepped out in the warm fall night and all let outa collective sigh of thanks. Some parts of high school you outgrew morequickly thanothers.

"Movie store?" Xander asked.

"Red guys," Buffy replied suddenly, very quietly.

***

She'd felt her stomach seize violently the moment she'd laideyes on the tall lean vampires dressed immaculately in red cloaks. And now, asshe glanced over at her lover and watched him feverishly cleaning out hischest wound, she wondered why she hadn't just grabbed his hand, told Xanderto grab Faith's and run like hell.Hindsight and all that.

"You okay?" Angel asked, sitting down next to her. His shirt wasoff and he was winding a long piece of gauze around his chest.

She just nodded. Reaching across him, she took the end of thegauze from him and began to do the wrapping job herself. It made her feel likeshe was doing something and right now more than ever; she needed to feel that."How about you? Can you fight?"

"I'll be fine," he said with a quick nod. It left no room forargument and frankly, she hadn't the energy anyways. Their friends were indanger. Very bad danger. "Did you call the others?"

"Yeah. Giles, Oz and Will are on their way over. She said she'dget ahold of Cordelia," Buffy replied, taping down the end and then leaningforward to gently brush his lips with hers. "Don't scare me like that everagain."

"Sorry," he said, returning the kiss. Breaking away, he sighed.This wasn't how he'd planned for the night to go. He'd been thinking alittle fun with friends and then a little more fun without friends. But such wasthe life of a Slayer and a vampire. Things very rarely went as planned.

"They're here," Buffy said suddenly, looking towards the window.Standing up, she moved gracefully towards the courtyard. "Giles!" A fewmoments later she reappeared with her Watcher, her best friend Willow and Will'sboyfriend Oz in tow.

"Good," Angel said. "We're gonna need all the help we can get."

"Right. Let's start from the beginning. Buffy said you wereattacked by the Crimson Guard. How did Xander and Faith get separated from you?"

"That's a damn good question," Angel murmured. "Damn good."

***

He was thinking that maybe he shouldn't have eaten so much icecream. He was thinking that maybe the pain coursing in waves through his skullwas nothing more than a cold headache. Only it wasn't going away. Only hecouldn't exactly see straight. Only it felt like there was blood drippingdown hisface. And he could swear that he could hear someone screaming hisname.

It was at that moment that he began to wonder if he was evenstanding up. Because it kinda felt like he wasn't. He tried to move but itfelt like nothing would work and then all he saw was red over his eyes.

"This is no good," he whispered, his voice little more than acreak. And then the red began to turn black.

"Xander?" she cried out dropping down next to him. She liftedhis head into her lap. "Xan?" She looked up desperately to the others for helpbut all she saw were the three cloaked vampires standing above her.

It occurred to her that she could attempt to fight her way out.She figured that she could probably make it with maybe just a few brokenbones. But he wouldn't. He'd be dead.Dropping her stake, for the first time in her life, Faith surrendered.

***

Sighing dramatically, she found that she couldn't stop her mindfrom drifting back to Boston. It always seemed to do that. It was where she'dgrown up. Where she'd bought her first pair of shiny gold wings and thensold them so that she get more durable if not more dented ones. And it waswhere she'd learned almost all of the hellish lessons that had stapled herlife together. And yet she always returned there when things got bad. Becausethere she'd had a reputation. There she'd been the eternal scrapper. Theunderdog who never got taken. The one who always got up and knocked theGoliath out in the end. Her methods had always been questionable even in aneighborhood without rules but she'd been respected.

And she'd never surrendered. Not for anyone. It just wasn't herway. And it wasn't the way to survive and she had always desperately wantedto. No, rules of living said you looked out for the boss and that's what shewas. The boss of her own world. It sucked as a life philosophy but it had kepther alive. The guys would be shocked that she had surrendered to save aman.

Use them and lose them. It'd been her motto and it had servesher well. Only a few men had gotten through her defenses and when they'd hurther, they'd all paid dearly. Not with their lives but she'd made sure theyremembered her. And then she'd remembered them and built her brick walljust a little bit taller.So what the hell was this all about?

Angel would say that it was about letting someone touch what noother person ever had. And in the most frightening of ways, he'd have beendead right. She'd been with her share of lovers. Certainly not as many asAngel had but still, a nice round number just the same. But not a single oneof them had ever really touched her soul. Not like Xander did. And good Goddid that scare the living hell out of her.

She wondered if Angel had felt the same way with Buffy. He'dfallen for her quickly but she figured that he hadn't planned on gettinginvolved with Buffy. That had been more of a fantasy that had roared intolife. She wondered if he'd freaked like she had when Xander had toldher he liked her. Really liked her. And not just in the physical way.

It didn't really matter though. The only thing she could layabsolute claim to as far as knowledge was the bitter realization that she wasthe only thing standing between Xander and death. His life was in her hands.

And she was afraid. Really afraid. And that too was something ofa newfeeling.

****

"So you looked around and they were gone?" Giles queried, gazingcarefully at his Slayer and her exhausted vampiric lover. The night was stillyoung for them and he knew that they wouldn't catch even ten minutes ofsleep until they had located their friends. Dead or alive.

As Cordelia would say, morbid much.

"Yeah. Wait, no." Angel murmured thoughtfully. "When I turnedaround, I saw a few of the cloaks carrying them away. Buffy looked like she wasdoing all right so I went after them. One of them stabbed me in thechest."

"And that's when I caught up with him," Buffy finished."Giles..what the hell is going on? Why'd they take Xand? I mean..I can at least figurethe sitch as far as Faith..duh..Slayer..every moron calling themselves abounty hunter wants Slayer ass..but Xand?"

"Could they have mistaken him for you Angel?" Giles asked.

"Doubtful. They've been stalking us for weeks," Angel replied.He stood up a moment later when he heard a knock on the door. Moving over, heopened it quickly to reveal Cordelia Chase and a very handsome blonde guy.He looked to be somewhere in his early twenties with a definite surfer build.He was very obviously her infamous cowboy. For his part he offered Angel analmost wary if not amused smile.

"Cordelia," Angel said, looking at the new guy with confusion.She knew why she'd been called here..why had she brought an outsider.

"Angel," she greeted, in typical crisp Cordelia fashion. "Thisis Shawn. He's an ex-Marine. He knows about the uglies in Sunnydale. I thoughthe could help." Angel considered reminding her that bringing new peopleinto the equation was bad but then quickly dropped the idea. Afterall,Cordelia Chase would do whatever Cordelia Chase wanted to do and to hell withall who disagreed. "Buffy..what trouble have you gotten us into now?"

Buffy sighed deeply, "Not me. Xander and Faith. They've been.."she paused thoughtfully. "Kidnapped?"

"Good call. Slayer-napped would have sounded lame." She lookedto the guy next to her and then smiled as if remembering him. "Shawn..thisis Buffy."

"The Slayer, right?" Shawn asked, his voice low and calm. He sawher surprise and pushed ahead,"My father was born and raised in England..heused to run errands for some of the Watchers. Quite a ride."

"Really?" Giles queried. "What was his name?"

"Robert Carter. He lives in Utah now," Shawn said with a grin."You're the Watcher then?"

"I am. And we're always happy for the help as long as you understand therisks."

"I do," Shawn replied. And without, he fell into silence.

Cordy smiled, "I like the silent ones."

"Right," Buffy muttered. "Okay..where's Will?"

"Right here," a voice said from the doorway. The groupcollectively looked over to see Willow and Oz entering.

"Good. The whole team is here. Angel..fill everyone in, willyou? I'm going to go see if there's a map out in the jeep."

****

He'd stopped thrashing. That was a good thing. Right?

So why did she feel so absolutely sick to her stomach? And whydid she feel like she could hear a clock audibly clicking away the moments ofhis life? And where the hell were the Rescue Rangers when you reallyneeded them?

She brushed his hair away from his eyes for probably thefifteenth time. It was a nervous twitch and she knew it. It was like her handsinsisted on doing something productive and somehow, that was all she could come upwith.

Stupid.

Dumb.

Something.

Right?

It was moments like this where she wondered about God. As a young girl, whenher life had started to go to hell and when she'd finally figured out thather mother was just crazy instead of simply confused, she'd decided thatthere couldn't possibly be a God because she was only a little girl and shehadn't done anything wrong. Yet.

So she'd decided to put it to the test.

She figured that if there was a God..well then if she reallycaused some trouble, He was gonna get pissed off and wanna have a word withher. It all made sense. At least in her head.

Problem was, He just didn't seem to give a damn.

So she tried harder. Skipped doing her homework, said a cruelword to her mom. Lied. Stole. Hurt.

He remained silent. After awhile, she simply stopped believing.

And yet, once again, the idea of an absoloute and eternalWatcher came flying back at her. Not so much for herself but for him.Another bit of crazy. This whole caring more for someone else thing was still takingsome getting used to. Wicked weird.

In any case, she had to believe that someone like Xander hadsomething good coming to him. He was a genuinely good person. Kind-hearted andloving in every way. Sweet and genuine. There were supposed to be rewardsfor things like that, right?She was drawn out of her thoughts by what sounded like choked gasping.Looking down, she saw that his dark eyes had opened just a bit.

He was consious. Barely, but just the same.

"Xand?" she whispered, her voice hoarse. She dropped her handsso that they were rested under his head.

"Don't feel so hot," he slurred. It took her a moment to figureout just what the hell he'd said.

"You're okay," she whispered, not knowing what to say. Usuallyshe'd be honest but right now that was the last thing in the world thatshe wanted to be. She wanted to give him as much hope as possible. Because hehad to fight.

Not buts about it. He just had to."Head ouchie," he said drowsily. "Wan..sleep."

"Don't," Faith replied and then in a much younger, much moreterrified voice, she whispered, "Please. Stay with me. Don't wanna be alone."

She could swear that he smiled up at her,"Always here."

"I hope so," she replied. Closing her eyes, she bent over andpressed her lips urgently against his. The exchange lasted only moments butthe warmth in his lips was enough to give her some sense of reassurance. Therewas always a chance and that was something.

Especially for a scrapper from the wicked streets of Boston.

****

"A willing sacrifice of the second chosen shall open the mouthof hell to the dark warrior," Giles read, his voice soft. He glanced up at theothers and saw grim realization on all their faces. They understood what itmeant; Faith would sacrifice herself to save Xander and then everything wouldgo to hell in a handbasket.Simply put of course.

"Can I just say this sucks?" Cordy said, looking up from thecouch where she was sitting. Shawn was seated next to her looking far morepassive and yet curious.

"Uh..rather an understatement," Giles murmured. Then he looked up at Angel,"Alright then..I guess our first priorty is to figure out where they arebeing held."

"Good," Buffy said forcefully. "Then I can go in and kick theshit out ofthem."

"Buffy," Angel cautioned. She answered his soft tone with anyice glare. He looked back at Giles quickly. This was not a fight he wanted tostart. He was tired, cranky and in way too much pain already. "We should get amove on."

"Right. Buffy?" Giles said, deferring to the basic team leader.

"I guess we should split up. Willow, Oz try the old district of twon..especially the abondoned houses. Cordelia, Shawn..thechurches..evil demons seem to love doing rituals that will bring the big badinto our world in sacred places. Angel and I will hit the warehouse district."She looked sharply at Giles, "I need you to keep reading. We need to knowexactly what's being brought in.."

"Right," Giles murmured.

Buffy looked over at Angel, "How are you feeling?"

"Good to go. Time's running out.."

***

Latin had always been a mystery to her. Her Watcher beforeGiles, Melanie, had always tried to teach her some of the basics but it had goneover her head like a flock of birds headed out of town in a hurry. Shejust didn't getit. Now she wished she'd listened a little bit harder.

They'd come about fifteen minutes earlier. Four big guys,presumably vampires dressed in red cloaks. And well they hadsn't exactly been gentlewith their cargo. In fact, they'd seemed not to give a damn about how hurtXand was; one of them had just hefted him into the air and carried him out. They'd made her walk.Now they were tying her down.

A million things went through her mind all at once, very few ofthem proper or decent. She conisdered cussing up a storm but the idea wasquickly swept away when she heard Xander moan in agony and saw that the bloodwas beginning to drip down his face again.He wasn't going to make it through this.

The thought chilled her to the bone. So much in fact that shecould physically feel her stomach lurch and almost give. She clampedher jaw, vowing not to show these Crimson bastards any obvious signs ofweakness and then within the same thought promising a gruesome revenge if herlover didn't make it out of this.

"What are you doing?" she demanded as they tightened her restraints. One of them gave her a look like he was saying shouldn't it be obvious.

Another one crossed over to her with a large ceramic bowel. He gazed at herfor a long moment, his yellow eyes meeting her narrowed brown ones. Finallyhe dipped his thumb into the bowel and came up with some red liquidsmeared across its' tip. It didn't take a brain surgeon to wager a guess that it wasprobably blood. She didn't have a clue about who's though. And that wasfairly icky.

He gazed at her for a moment longer and then he pressed histhumb to her forehead and drew some design there while speaking in Latin.When he was done, he stood back and looked at his work.

"What? A vampire perfectionist?" Faith hissed, strugglingagainst her binds.

The vamp ignored her, instead turning to another vamp who waswearing a cloak of a deeper crimson. He came over and nodded. "Good. It's nearlytime."

"Wonderful, the peanut gallery speaks," she muttered. "Can we goplease? I mean..we kinda forgot to pay our membership dues for CrazySacrificing Bastards R Us so we really shouldn't be here."

"Quiet child, you disturb the serenity," The lead vampadmonished.

"Imagine my dismay," she spat back, again pulling against theropes. She glanced over at Xander and was devastated to see that his headwas drooped down. He clearly wasn't consious. Just the same, she could seethe sweat dripping down his brow. He was in bad shape.

Perhaps it was because she had turned her attention twoardsXand, but she never saw the blow that knocked her clean out. All she knew wasthat one moment she was looking at him, begging him to hold on and thenthe very next, she was spinning through a very dark tunnel towardsunconsiousness. And then all she knew was silence.

****

He was bleeding again and that was a very definate problem. Atthis rate, they didn't have a chance of sneaking up on their enemy even ifthey did find them; his blood would be a dead give-away to any vamp for milesaround.

"We gotta get you sewed up," Buffy said with a sigh.

"It'll still smell. We gotta burn it."

"Burn it?" she repeated. "You didn't actually just say that,right?"

"I did."

"No way. Oh so no way."

"This is not up for debate, Buffy..their lives are in seriousdanger. I can handle it."

"Angel..we're talking fire here.."

"No, we're talking worse than fire..we talking holy water. Andwe don't have any options. I reek of blood."Angel replied, straight faced ashe began to remove his blood-soaked shirt.

"No! You're not listening to me, Angel.."

"And you're not listening to me..bandaging won't get rid of thesmell. Burning it will.."

"Oh good..then you'll just smell like burnt flesh and you'll besick with infection. I like that idea much better."

"We're going into a warehouse district..burnt flesh is somehwatthe norm..isn't there a meat packing plant somewhere back onIndustrial.."

"That you know that puts us having whoopy anytime soon seriouslyin jeopardy."

"Buffy..""Angel...I'm not okay with hurting you.."

"Look, I'm already hurt and we don't have a lot of time as itis..please.."

"This is sick," Buffy said in a whisper.

"Baby, you think I like this? Not much of a hardcharger for painbut time is running out.." Angel cried out. He moved towards her and quicklycaught her mouth in a passionate embrace that related all the fear and painthey were both feeling. When he moved away, he looked at her with pleadingeyes.

"Fine," she said in a voice that was barely audible. She tookthe backpack filled with weapons she had slung on before they had left themansion and dropped it to her feet. She leafed through the bag, her heartheavy with pain and fear, until she found the glass bottle she was looking for.Looking up at him with large wide eyes, she offered it to him.

He took it, turned it around in his hands and then sighed.Peeling the rest of his shirt off, he dropped it to the ground and then moved sothat he was leaning against a tree. Buffy immediately moved to offer hissupport but he held up a hand to stop her. He uncapped the bottle, took a deepeven though un-neccesary breath and then turned it upside down and poured itover thewound.

He'd vowed that he wouldn't cry out. He didn't want to frightenher. Problem was, he'd greatly underestimated the pain. Swallowing hard, hereached out for balance but found the world swimming in front of his eyesinstead.

"Angel?" she cried out, grabbing him just seconds before hecrashed to his feet. She fell with him, hitting her butt hard but not reallycaring. She grabbed his face and turned it towards hers, "Baby?"

He tried to gasp out a reply but couldn't manage between hisclenched teeth. Finally he sagged against her, his strength momentarily spent.She stroked his cheek until his eyes finally cleared and then she helped himto his feet.

"I brought another shirt for you," she said very quietly. "I wasworried that one might get soaked too fast."

"Thanks," he whispered. There was sweat on his forehead but sofar he was standing and that was a good thing. "We need to get going." "Wait, let me at least wrap that. We don't need to temptinfection.," Buffy pleaded, He didn't protest. Taking his arm, she brought him backdown to the ground and then bent over the burned skin to inspect it. "Oh baby," she murmured. "Always have to make it hard, don'tyou?" He chuckled low in his through," I certainly try, don't I?"

***

"Well, the good news is that now I believe the world is going toend in 355 days," Cordela muttered as she pulled Shawn out of the church.He was, as usual, somewhat quiet and thoughtful. He said it was hisbusiness mood which was, in all fairness, completely different from his playfulmood. Marine at work, surfer at play.

"Just another whacko in the circle of life," Shawn murmured.Then he sighed.

"Nothing. We've checked all of the churches that aren't inservice. Right now..we need a new plan."

"Yeah, we go back and wait for further orders, soldier-boy,"Cordelia replied, narrowing her eyes.

Shawn grinned, blue eyes sparkling, "Not in the service anymore,Delia..don't have to wait for orders..can think on my own..imagine that."

"Yeah, imagine the possibilities," she replied dryly. "Alright,Captain..do tell me...what are we to do next."

"Search and rescue," he replied with a large smile.

"Of course."

****

She came around to find that there were dark spots shadowing hervision. She blinked them away desperately but they were stubborn littlebastards and insisted on holding on for dear life. No matter what the bosssaid.

"She must be blessed before the ceremony can begin. Her bloodmust be pure," one of the vampires said in a whiny little voice.

"Wrong Slayer," Faith gasped out. "Haven't been like that in along while."

There was bitterness in her tone and she knew it, but she reallydidn't give a damn. If she was going to die, well then..she was going torage against it to the best of her ability.The vamp stared at her in confusion. "Wrong Slayer?"

"Yeah..not cute and blonde.."

"No. You are to be sacrificed."

"Wonderful. Lucky me., Right up there with winning thePublisher's Clearing House sweepstakes. More please."

"Silence or I'll be forced to take your tongue," the leadvampire said almost pleasantly. Faith stared at him for a long moment beforedeciding that yes, this demon was far crazier than she had ever been.

Either way, she chose to clamp her jaw down. Gazing over atXander, she sighed. It was all winding down. One way or another..it wouldn'tbe much longer now.

****

He felt the pager vibrate against his hip and immediatelyjerked. It was a feeling that he'd never quite gotten used to and yet Buffy,whether for her own sick amusement or otherwise, insisted that he wear it.

Shaking his head, he lifted it up. "It's Giles," he whispered to Buffy. She noddedand then reached into her pocket and pulled out a cellular.

She dialed quickly and then waited rather impatiently for herWatcher to pick up the phone. Finally she heard him say hello.

"Giles? It'sBuffy. What'sup?"

"Willow and Oz just returned from Willy's..they decided to takea chance and I think it paid off.."

"Go on."

"Willy told them that he believes they're down at Old MillerRoad in the flour procession plant. The abandoned one."

"Aren't all the plants in this town abandoned? I mean, isn'tthat the requirement of all evil towns?"

"How droll. Look..it's imperative that you get to them beforemidnight. The ceremony must begin exactly at the strike of twelve."

"It's eleven-thirty. Time to book. Say thanks for the heads-upand we're out." Buffy said as she hung the phone up. "Old Miller Road.Let's go, lover."

*****

"How much is your life worth to you child?" the lead vamp askedabruptly.

Faith blinked. This wasn't a question she had expected to hearfrom a vampire. "Huh?"

"How much does his life mean to you?"

Okay. That was more like it. Now came the threats. This was morefamiliar.

Vamps always did go back to posturing. Best to play it silent.After all, he had promised to take her tongue if she spoke again."Speak child."

Now why did they insist on doing that? Sure, they were dusty oldguys but really...He face contorted from it's calm mask to his more natural vampiric visage."Speak or you both die."

"What? I speak and he lives? Heard that line before, toothy."

"For him to live, you must surrender your life. Is he worth thatmuch,Slayer?"

"No," Faith murmured. "As a Slayer, he's not worth that much."

She gazed over at his unconscious body for a long moment. "But for otherreasons...yes."

And then once again, the Boston scrapper surrendered to her fateinstead of fighting it.

****

He was in sheer agony but he wasn't about to let her know that.Really, what would be the use? The burns on his chest were cracking withevery movement but at least he wasn't bleeding yet. He could smell his owncharred flesh which was rather gruesome to say the least.

"Baby?" Buffy whispered from beside him. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he murmured. "Fine." He indicatated towards thewraehouse with his hand. Buffy reached up and grabbed his hand and looked at hiswatch.

"Five minutes. Time to go Slayer on the bad guys. Game facesonly, lover."

"As you wish," he replied, a grim smile playing over his lips.

He pulled a stake out of his jacket and then moved alongside her as theyentered the supposedly abandoned plant. As they walked, the clock hit 11:56.

****

She watched her blood flow down her arm into the bowl. It wasthe same one that held the other blood that had been dabbed on her foreheadless than an hour earlier. She could feel herself draining out and that wasfar more horrifying than she had ever imagined.This wasn't how she had wanted to die.

She hadn't wanted to die at all, but certainly not like this.Not bleeding to death and getting to a point where she was too weak to fighteven if the opportunity were to present itself.

And as if that weren't bad enough, they were also chanting overher. The lead vamp would say something and then in a macabre imitation of abad Simon Says game, the others would repeat his words. If was safe to say thatshe was fairly wigged.

"Is this a private party or can we join in too?"

She looked up and smiled. She started to speak but then thelights began to swirl and then she lost consciousness again.

Buffy looked up sharply," Angel, cover me.."

He nodded and then responded by lashing out with a devastatingkick that easily knocked back the vamp that had been rushing towards him.

"Next."

Buffy watched him for a split second to make sure he was okayand then made a mad dash towards Faith. There was blood still streaming down herforearm and she was beginning to look pasty.

One of the vamps tried to bar her way but she quickly dispatchedhim and then moved to Faith's side. Quickly stripping away her blue and greyflannel, she tied it above the long laceration and then pulled it tight.

"Hold on."

"Xa...Xa..Xander," Faith managed to gasp out, her eyes painfullybloodshot.

Buffy followed her gasp across the room and gasped.

"Oh God...Angel..get to Xand!" She cried out, pointing wildly."He's hurt!"

He looked over. "Damn." Killing the two vamps that wereattacking him with sudden deadliness, he moved to pull Xand free of his binds. Thenext thing he knew, he was on the floor staring up into a demons' yellow eyesand his back felt like he'd been hit with a 4X4 which he probably had.

"Leave him, traitor."

He glared up at the vampire wearing the deep crimson cloak. Thedemon growled at him, his fangs peering over his lip. Angel growled back.

"Lucas. I should have known. What is it now? Bringing the FirstEvil back into the world all by yourself? Got a how-to book for that?"Angel hissed.

Lucas laughed and even that sound was chilling. "Soon, mybrother and we'll all see his full fury unleashed on Earth."

"Not anytime soon. It's 12:06, Luc...looks like you fucked upagain."

"Go to hell."

"Already took that trip..wasn't what I paid for, you know. Wouldn't recommendit..housekeeping blew..then again...you might like it.." Angel replied,kicking out and knocking Lucas away.

"This is far from over, Angelus." Lucas growled back, hittingAngel with a wicked right hook that knocked him onto his injured side. "Beseeing ya.."

And with that, he got up and ran, leaving an eerie silence inhis wake.

"Okay, that was weird," Buffy said from across the room. "Youcan explain later..help Xand.."

"Hey..anyone need some assistance?" a voice called out from thedoorway.

"Speaking of.." Buffy murmured. Then she shouted, "In here."

Within seconds, Cordy and Shawn had entered the room followed bya group of paramedics wielding stretchers. Shawn just winked at Buffy. "Hada feeling."

"Good feeling," she said with a nod. "Cord, he can stay.."

"Like I was really gonna let him go...he's my cowboy.." Cordeliareplied, wrapping a hand around Shawn's arm. For his part, the ex-marinejust continued to shake his head while he watched the paramedics loadthe two kids up onto the stretchers.

One of them looked at Buffy, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah..but I'd like to go with them to the hospital."

"Of course." He replied, moving to help wheel Xander towards theambulance.

All Buffy heard as they moved was a torrent of words that shedidn't understand but which terrified her to her very soul.

******

"So, who is Lucas?" Buffy asked, looking over at her exhaustedlover. The doctors had told them that it would be hours before anything wasknown and then Giles had ordered them both home. Now they were sacked backat the mansion, lying restlessly on his bed.

His shirt was off revealing his flat chest that was marred bythe overly large bandage that was covering up the burns. She'd changed thebandage earlier and had almost lost her lunch at the sight of it. Shecould only imagine his agony.

"Old friend from my time traveling with Darla. She made him andI around the same time.."

"Sibling rilvary?" Buffy asked with a hint of amusement.

"Something like that. He and I have never liked each other. Andwe've certaily never gotten along. I think our friendship if you callit that was built on attempting to kill one another in underhanded ways. Hewanted Darla, she wanted me..kinda pissed him off."

"Oh listen to you Mr. Man."

"Buffy .."

She just giggled. Then sombering up, she asked"So, is heproblem?"

"I dunno. Don't know what he's been up to as of late but of thetop of my head..attempting to bring the Dark Lord into our world is apretty honest attempt at true evil."

"Spoken from a pro."

"And thank you so much for reminding me," he kidded. She pushedon him gently. He laughed.

"Stop it."

"Sorry."

"I bet." Then she paused. "Hey Angel?"

"Yeah, love?"

"They're gonna be okay, right? I mean, they have to be right? At least Faithwas doing her job but Xand.."

"They'll be okay, baby." Angel whispered. He knew full well thathe shouldn't make promises that he wasn't certain he could keep but the lookin her soft blue eyes made him do it just the same. "Now kiss me. Just kissme."

***

She woke up only once in the middle of the night but it was along enough period for her to feel the strange pain coursing through herbody. She felt like jello that had been left in the sun too long and now wasabout to melt. Her mind was foogy and she wasn't altogether sure of where shewas, but the stark whiteness of the room convinced her that it was either ahospital or a sanitarium. Both being entirely possible.

She fought to try to remember how she'd gotten to the white roombut her mind kept balking everytime she thought about Xander. What did thatmean? Was hehurt? No.No.That was a possibility that was simply unacceptable. No, it hadto be something else. Maybe some bad slayage. And she'd see Xander inthe morning.

And he'd be just fine.

And with that thought firmly lodged in her mind, she finallydrifted off again. From white to black. Fade out.

***

The first thing she heard was her dreams of making love on abeach in the tropics began to fade to the quiet darkness of Angel's bedroomat the mansion was the sound of water hitting tiles. It sounded suspiciouslylike the shower. No...That meant Angel was up.

Which meant that soon he'd be trying to get her up.

Stupid man. Why'd he have to be a bully about it? Afterall,she'd given him what he wanted. He could let her sleep for an extra fiveminutes. If he really loved her..

Baby? You up yet? she heard from inside the bathroom.. She considered justburying her head into the blankets but then was reminded of times past whenher solution to that had been simply to lift her into the air and then dropher underneath the ice cold water.

Baby?

Im up, she grumbled, curling further into the blankets. Fivemore minutes underneath the warm comforters wouldnt kill him. It wasntuntil she felt his hand settle on her shoulder maybe fifteen minutes later whenshe realized that not only had she dozed off again but shed also beencaught.

Hi? she said, trying to be as cute as possible.

He wasnt buying. He folded his arms across his chest and then looked down ather,Buffy..

I know, I know..ten seconds. Fifteen and Ill be up. Promise. He just kept staring down at her.

Fine, fine, she muttered, tossing off the blankets. Shereached down to the ground and plucked up a pair of sweat-shorts. She pulled them onand then followed it up by tossing on his discarded shirt. You know Icould still be naked.

I know, lover and believe me..I like..love the idea but we needto get to the hospital. He moved across the room so that he was standingin front of her. Lifting her chin, he looked into her eyes. Remember?

Yeah, she said, a little bit quieter. She dipped her cheekinto his palm and sighed. Okay, Ill be out in a minute.

She hated hospitals.

Much like Buffy, she had a phobia of them. Giles had suggestedthat part of both of their fear was directly proportional(he'd actually saidthat too) to the fact that hospitals housed the sick and often about to dieand both girls were terribly afraid of dying.

Because they both knew that it wouldn't happen easily.

They were Slayers which meant that it was their destiny andtheir birthright to die horribly. "Give me a two dollar gold watch anyday," Faithmuttered.

She shifted in her bed and sighed. This was stupid.

She was restless and the hospital bed with all the tubes wasnthelping. True, she still felt like shed gone thirty rounds with aheavyweight and not come out on top. She wanted to move about. In fact she wasitching to. And she wanted to know.

It was the first thing that had crossed her mind. As if thatwasnt weirdenough.

Faith?

She looked up at the door and smiled faintly.

Hey guys. Looks like I madeit, huh?

The two lovers entered the room holding each others hands butwith Buffy in the lead. Angel looked better than he had the night before butFaith could still plainly see that he was in some kind of unlikable pain.

How are you feeling this morning? Buffy asked as she led Angelto a chair. Faith watched with curiosity as he very gently rubbed the burnon his chest. She obviously couldnt see it but she could well imagine thepain he was in.

Alright. My arm is numb. Hows he? Faith asked, motioningtowards Angel.

Hes here. And hes fine.

Oh. Then she looked up at Buffy, Xand?

No word yet but we have a parental pacing party happening inthe hallway. Buffy replied with a small smile. She was scared, Faith knewthat much but the smaller Slayer was good at hiding it when she needed to.

Okay. So what was all that?

Old student of mine deciding to have too much fun.

How nice. You flunked him and he decided to take it out on me.

Sorry, Angel replied with a tired sigh. He reached over andsqueezed her hand reassuringly.

So when are they going to let me out of here?

They want to do a psych work-up to ensure that it wasnt asuicide attempt, Buffy said softly, knowing full well that her friend was aboutto become very agitated.

What? Faith cried out, sitting up way too fast and thenfeeling the effects. She steadied herself for a moment and then settled hergaze on Buffy. Tell me youre joking and I might not rip out all ofyour hair.

Now Faith

Buffy..

Its not my fault..I guess its hospital policy.. Buffy triedto explain, curling further into her lovers chest. Angel just grinned.

Faith, it wont be that bad. Theyll aska fewquestions..youll tell em you got attacked by some sickos..Sunnydale is full of them..tellthem its kids on acid trips and theyll go away. Dont be too bitchy.

Thanks Angelloving the family bit here.

At that moment, Cordelia stuck her head through the door. Heyguys..the doctor just came out.

Faith looked up at her friends desperately but she knew by thelook in Angels eyes that she would have to stay lying down while thefate of the man she was falling for just a little bit more every day wasannounced.

Make him okay, she whispered to Angel. He just offered a smallsmile, squeezed her hand and then made his exit.

The doctor, a tall man with peppered hair was standing in thehallway, waiting patiently for the group to gather. Alright, I have somegood news and some not so good. The good is obviously that hes going tolive and he will be just fine. The bad is that hes not going to be doinganything anytime soon.

Can you elaborate? Giles asked softly.

Well, Mr. Harris had some pretty bad blunt head trauma. Luckilyall the scans have showed up normal but you can expect a couple weeks ofnasty headaches. Quite a concussion. And hes pretty bruised andbattered. Its likely that hes going to sleep for the next week.

"But he's going to be alright?" Marianne Harris asked softlyfrom where she stood next to the receptionist' desk.

"Yes, ma'am. Your son will make a full recovery. He's a verylucky boy."

"Thank you, doctor." He nodded, smiled and then quickly made hisexit.

Buffy smiled softly, "Thank God."

***

It seemed like three seasons had changed in the time it took toconvince the doctors at Sunnydale University Hospital to release him. Butfinally, after almost a week and a half, a full ten days of nothing butwatching bad soap operas through drugged half-lidded eyes, they released him.

His mother drove him home that night reminding him that he hadto spend at least one night resting in his own bed before he went back outinto the world to cause more trouble. She'd even said it like that. Good ol'mom.

Of course mom thought trouble meant rassling down at the SpeedySkate not getting kidnapped by crazed vampires who wanted to use you as away to open hell so that an even crazier and more whacked vampire could slipthrough.

Either way, he agreed to her deal and spent the night loungingon his bed.

Watching more soap operas and promising to himself that the nextday would either be more exciting or he'd at least switch to a new soap.

***

He shaved by touch.

And damn was it a strange thing to watch. She'd seen itcountless times now but it still amazed her how he managed to get his cheeks andchin completely hairless without the benefit of a mirror. Instead, he closed hiseyes, ran his fingers over his cheeks and then followed it with a blade.It was a good thing he wasn't into creative goatees though; that might havetaken a little more planning.

"Hey baby," he said softly, interrupting her thoughts. Shelooked over to him and wasn't at all surprised to see that his eyes were stillclosed.

"Hi," she said with a bit of amusement. She crossed over to him.Taking his hand in hers, she pried the blade from his fingers. "Let mefinish."

"Okay," he said with a smile, eyes still closed. He'd told herbefore that it was a very erotic experience. That was all she needed. As shegently glided the blade across his cheeks, he sighed.

She chuckled."Cute. Hey, how's Faith?"

"She's fine. She's been pretty much dead to the world since Ibrought her back here."

"That was three days ago."

"Right. And not a single complaint about wanting to go back toher apartment."

"Yikes. I guess she is feeling bad. Ooh..smooth." Buffypractically purred.

He was about to say something when he noticed her smile changeto a frown.

"What?"

"How's your wound?"

"My wound?"

"The burn, Angel."

"Oh. Fine."

"Oh? Fine? Is that way you've been incognito for the last week?"

"Honey. I kinda wanted to rest too.."

"I bet. Seriously, how is it? A kiss for the truth."

"It's hurts but it's mostly healed. Another couple of the daysand you'll never know you doused me with holy water."

"Hey! You told me to!"

"I know..I know," Angel murmured, saddling up to her. Liftingher into his arms, he pressed a kiss to her soft lips. A kiss that promisedmuch more. She dropped the razor into the sink and wrapped her arms around hisneck. He pushed her into the wall and started to kiss her neck...

"Oh great. Wake up with a headache, go looking with aspirin andlewd bathroom sex is what I get instead. Please, just fucking kill me now,"Faith grouched as she walked past them over to the medicine cabinet. Thetwosome watched in amazement as the disgruntled girl yanked the cabinet open andpulled out a white bottle. She snapped the lid off without much effort andextracted five capsuls. Angel opened his mouth to protest but a departingmiddle finger was all he got before Faith disappeared back through the mansion.

"She's pleasant in the morning," Buffy noted.

"You're just getting that?"

"Yeah. Oh..the reason I came by.."

"It wasn't just to see me?" Angel asked, sounding hurt.

"Of course it was, silly." Buffy said with a grin. She kissedhim quickly to soothe his ego. Vampire or not, he was still a man. "Butreally.."

"Really. Tell me."

"Angel, down boy. Giles said he did some looking on your boy..what's hisname.."

"Fuck-face?" Faith muttered as she crossed back into the bathroom. She turnedthe sink on, dipped her mouth under the spout, took a long drink, swallowed,stood back up and once again exited.

"She's very dramatic today," Buffy noted. Then she shrugged."Anyways.."

"Lucas."

"Right. Giles said that he's been cutting himself quite a pathacross both Europe and the United States. Like he's up to something. Hethinks that we shouldn't assume he's finished with whatever he's up to."

"I didn't. If Luc was anything, he was always a persistantbastard," Angel muttered.

"Wonderful?" Buffy said, eyebrow lifted. "Hey Faith?"

"What?" the taller girl growled as she stepped back into thefield of vision. Her dark hair was shooting out into obscene angles and shelooked like she was crashing from a serious bender.

"Um. Xand..he uh, called me earlier?"

"That's a question, Buffy. Did or didn't he?"

Buffy whimpered and stepped behind Angel. "He did."

"Okay. What did he say?"

"He wants to go out tonight?"

"Again with the stupid questions. And stop hiding behind thecorpse."

"Okay. Um, you know what? Take a shower. Get some food. Takesome prozac and I'll be back later. With Xander." She moved onto her toes,kissed Angel quickly and then turned and made a hasty exit.

"Thanks, Faith." Angel said, a hint of amusement lifting hislip.

"You're welcome. I'm gonna go take a shower. That's your cue togo brood for awhile."

"Thanks for the reminder," Angel said, pursing his lips. She passed him byand clapped him on the shoulder.

"Anytime because you know I'm here for you," Faith said as shepushed him out of the bathroom. He sighed dramatically and then headed backtowards his bedroom. Maybe a nap would make the headache go away.

All of them.

***

She kissed him almost urgently, pushing her tongue into hismouth and then holding the passionate embrace until she had to let him up forair. When they finally separated, she frantically searched for his eyes.

And found them gazing back at her with all the warmth in theworld.

"Shh, I'm right here, Faith. I'm okay. We're both okay." Xanderpromised, kissing her again.

"Yeah. I knew that. Just horny is all."

"Okay," he agreed softly, leaving little doubt in his tone thathe knew exactly what was going on. Taking her hand, he led her up thestairs towards the dorms. The gang had agreed that after their recent smash ofbad luck with going out on the town, that perhaps what was needed was a nicequiet indoors party.

With bad foreign movies.

They were introducing Cordelia's new beau to the world ofunintelligable plots and unbelievably bad dialogue. It promised to be abloodless night. And that was always good.

"Hey, Xand.."

"Yeah?" he asked, turning towards her.

"I, uh..I.." she swallowed hard. "I'm glad you're alive."

He smiled and then winked,"Me, too. Kinda partial to the wholeliving thing."

"Yeah," she said, again following into step as they climbed thestairs. Then she grabbed his arm and stopped him again. "No, wait..I meanit.."

"I didn't think you didn't."

"Xand, shut up for a minute. I'm not good at this and if youkeep being sweet and understanding, I'll never say what I need to and I kindathink I need to, you know?"

He opened his mouth to say something but she quickly pushed her palm over hislips.

"I love you, okay? I love you and I don't..well I think I kinda wannakeep doing this thing with you. It feels good. So you gotta not go anywhere.Okay?"

He just smiled, "Okay." Leaning over, he kissed her very passionately. "Nowcome on Faith, we got some wicked fun to watch, huh?"

"Wicked fun my ass..only you wackos think those morons runningaround screaming about dead fish is amusing. I'll take a good slasherflick where the dumb skanks bite it every single time."

"I know, baby..that's why I love you."

****

"You still don't fit," Buffy whimpered petulantly as she triedto curl into her lovers' body. It was well after four in the morning and thegang had conked out hours ago. Xand and Faith were lying together on thefloor next to the foot of Will's bed. Willow and Oz were sleeping in her bed,he snoring softly as he swore that werewolves were apt to do. Cordelia andShawn were curled up next to their bed, her head rested against his chets.She seemed to be genuinely into him. That was good. They all deservedhappiness. Each of them had sure earned it.

"Sorry," he muttered, shifting slightly. Her bed was simply toosmall. He was a big man and she was a small woman. There was bound to be somesize problems. For instance, whenever he saw her wearing one of themany shirts that she had "borrowed" from him, he always noted with bothamusement and a strange degree of lust that the shirts often swept down to herknees. It was a stunningly beautiful visual.

"Oh, 's okay I guess." She replied, snuggling into his chest.

"See, I told you everything would be okay."

"I know," Angel replied with a soft laugh. "Now go to sleep. Youhave school in the morning and you are not missing class again."

"Mean bastard."

"I love you," he whispered into her ear.

She smiled and reached her hand back to stroke his cheek, "Iknow." And with that, she drifted off.

***

"You know I hadn't expected Angelus," Lucas muttered as hecrossed the room in several quick strides. His motions were irritated; he wasfairly seething with anger.

"Will he be a problem?" a voice asked from the darkness. Always from thedarkness.

"No," Lucas murmured. "I can handle him. I can see his weaknesses clear asday."

"Good. Deal with him then and then get back on track. Time isrunning out. The End of Days is coming."