__Family Values__
By Exfilia



"Angel? You're up?"

"I heard you coming up the stairs. Elevator
out again?"

"I didn't want to wake you, even though I was
coming up here to wake you up."

"Vision?"

"Phone. Buffy... Angel, she says Spike has a
crush on her."

"What had she been drinking?"

"She says he's stalking her."

"Oh, then it's okay. She's the Slayer.
Spike's supposed to stalk her. He didn't kill
her yet?"

"Yet?"

"I just woke up, okay, Wes? So Spike's after
Buffy. The sun's going to go down, too. Not
for a couple of hours, though, so can I go back
to sleep until then?"

"Cordelia feels that there may be more to it
than that. Buffy's mother...."

"Buffy's mother is an overprotective pain in
the ass."

"She's dead, Angel."

"Oh. Sorry. Spike killed her?"

"No, Spike did not kill her she had an aneurysm
and she died and Buffy is upset and she may be
projecting all that unfocused nervous tension
on Spike...."

"Did she stake him?"

"Angel, get your clothes on and get a pint of
blood and we'll talk about this on the way."

"Where are we going?"

"Sunnydale, Angel. We're going to Sunnydale."

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

They said there were strange things in the
nighttime jungle in Belize. There were Mayan
ruins where the power of ancient rites
lingered, and jaguars whose voices were almost
human.

There were also two white women alone in a land
of indios, trying to change a tire on a VW
microbus in the dark by the side of a rutted
road miles from anywhere. They were probably
students on a lark, or maybe little rich girls
playing at freedom fighter. In either case,
they were in the wrong place. Riley pulled the
jeep in behind them. The little blond was
trying to get the jack to work, but she
couldn't get any purchase for it in the mud.
The other one, tall and dark with a world-class
chest, stood ankle-deep in mud, staring up at
the moon.

"Can I help you ladies?" Riley called.

"Do you have a sense of the light?" asked the
dark one in a Cockney accent.

"I... suppose I have a pretty good feel for
it," he said. "Did you guys have a flat tire?"

"No," said the blond, "we bit it and let the
air out."

"Hey," he said as he sank down beside her, "I
used to know some people who could really do
that."

"Yeah? Could they do this?" She picked up the
bus and sat it down with the tire on his foot.
Riley groped at his belt, and found a nine-
millimeter pistol where he'd carried a stake in
Sunnydale.

"Are you looking for one of these?" the tall
one asked, holding out a short sharp length of
wood. Riley held out his hand. There was
something sticky on it, and the weight and the
texture were wrong.

"A plastic wood-grained stake," he said.

"You know it?"

"I've seen them before."

"You've seen this one before."

"I have?"

"You stuck it in my Childe."

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

Spike sat on the mausoleum with a six-pack of
beer propped between the marble tits of the
monument and watched the old black convertible
glide up to his digs. Four of them, now. He
wondered where the pouf had found that glorious
bit of maleness, and if they were having it off
yet. No such luck on this trip, it seemed:
the underWatcher and the beauty queen climbed
out the other side of the car. Cordelia strode
up to his crypt and banged on the door.

"He's probably out hunting," said Angel.
"Let's go talk to Buffy and get out of here."

"We should really hear his side of it," said
the Watchlet.

"I've been listening to Spike's side of it for
a hundred and twenty-eight years. I've had it
up to here with Spike's side of it. I am sick
and tired of Spike and Dru and Darla and my
whole freaking family! We are going to find
out what Spike has done and make him regret it
and run him out of town so I can go home and...
and get on with what we have to do!"

Cordelia almost cowered against the car.

"Are you okay, man?" asked the new guy.

"Yeah. Yeah, it's just that Spike gets on my
nerves."

"Why don't you take Gunn to meet Buffy?" asked
the subWatcher. "Cordelia and I can swing
through the graveyard and see, well, see what
we can see."

"If you're sure you'll be all right?"

"We'll be fine, Angel. Go."

Spike dropped to the ground as the convertible
cruised away. The humans turned at the sound,
and the man looked down at Cordelia, who
nodded.

"Just for the record, I don't need anyone to
stand up to the pouf for me. I can still bite
demons, I can. He's a demon. I can bite him."

Cordelia actually walked up to Spike and laid a
hand on his chest.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"I'm well enough that you can bloody well take
your hands off me!"

"I'm sorry! It's just, Harmony said...."

"Oh, she admitted trying to put a crossbow bolt
through me heart? If the stupid bint could
shoot straight I'd be dust right now."

"I don't remember her mentioning that part,"
said the man. "She did say Riley Finn tortured
you with a plastic stake."

"Yeah, and nobody bloody cared. They said they
were my friends, but...."

"Spike...."

"Don't touch me! Just don't...."

"We care, Spike. We're here."

"Why?"

"Because your Sire wants to be, and he doesn't
know how."

"He's not me Sire. Dru is."

"Drusilla is in Los Angeles, you know. If you
were to come home with us...."

"Not any more, she's not. She was here, and
she... she... left... me...."

"Oh, Spike!" The girl's arms slipped round his
neck, and the Watcher stepped up and embraced
him as well.

"We're here," he said. "We're here, and we'll
help you fix whatever you've got yourselves
into."

"Don't need help."

"Of course, you don't." Cordelia's fingers
were smoothing the lapels of his duster. "But
we need to feel like we're doing something.
Won't you let us try?"

He stood for a moment wrapped in warm arms and
looked up at the moon, but, as always, it
wouldn't speak to him.

"You could hang around if you like," he said.
"You want some of this beer?"

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

"Riley's dead," Buffy told Angel.

"I thought it was your mother."

"She's dead, too. They just called about
Riley, though. They found him in the jungle
with a van on his foot and his neck broken and
a toy stake shoved up his backside! Oh, Angel,
what am I going to do?"

"What are you going to do? The poor guy is
dead! I mean, from what I hear, he pretty much
deserved it, but being dead is a lot worse than
knowing someone who died, and I ought to know."

"Yeah, well, dead people don't have to decide
what to do next!"

"Some of us do."

"I... oh. Yeah. But still...."

"Look, Buffy, I know it's rough, but the way
you're acting right now is pushing people
away."

"I am not pushing people away! My friends have
all been right here! They've been a part of
this!"

"All of them?"

"Yes, all of them! What are you talking
about?"

"Spike."

"Spike is not my friend!"

"He thought he was."

"Do you know what he did to me?"

"No, and right now I don't really care! He
thought you were his friends, that you would be
there for him, a part of his life. He thought
if he screwed up, you'd help him make it
right."

"He was stalking me!"

"Yeah, and what if he catches you? Worse that
can happen, you have to stake him, and that
would be better than what he's going through
now! You are not a helpless victim, Buffy."

"Neither was Harmony, and he hit her. He was
going to stake Drusilla."

"He said he would hurt Dru?"

"He had her tied up in his crypt and was going
to stake her in front of me to prove how much
he loved me."

"Where is she now?"

"I don't know, and I don't care! Angel, we let
him in. We treated him as one of us, mostly,
and he betrayed us."

"It was you he was pointing the stake at,
then?"

"No, but next time it could be. Angel, we just
can't take the chance. My little sister has a
crush on him. She cries every night because of
the way we're treating him. Do you expect us
to let Spike back into our lives so this can
happen again?"

"Buffy, I've got to tell you: I know how
irritating Spike can be, but I really think
that when you get over everything else that's
going on in your life right now, you'll look at
this differently."

"I'm never going to love him."

"I know. Hell, he probably knows, but that
doesn't mean you have to treat him like dirt.
He's not dirt."

"You're wrong, Angel. Vampires... I don't mean
you. You're not the typical vampire...
vampires are just evil. They were put on earth
to be dusted, and I'm here to dust them. I
don't make friends with them."

"Well, if that's the way it is, I guess that's
okay."

"What do you mean, if that's the way it is?
Where are you going?"

"To do what I have to do to protect my family
from a woman who plans to hunt them down and
kill them in cold blood. Not that we have any
other kind of blood, but still. Goodbye,
Buffy."

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

Drusilla's hands closed on Darla's shoulders.

"There's someone in there with him," she said.
"Humans."

"Supper?" Darla wouldn't mind a bit of supper.
They hadn't fed since the plane. She wondered
if they'd found the body in the toilet yet.

"Spike can't bite humans." Dru said.

"I've got to think you've got that part wrong,
Dru. I mean, vampires bite. It's who we are.
A vampire who can't bite...."

"They might be hurting him."

"You'd know, Dru. I'd know. Will could scream
louder than anyone I ever knew."

"You made him scream."

"Of... Dru, don't go psycho on me, here. That
was different. I can't hurt him now. You know
that. I won't hurt him. I need him."

"You hurt him, and Daddy hurt me, and Spike
hurt Harmony."

"Who's Harmony?"

"Spike's fledge. Brave as anything, but
starlight where her brains ought to be."

"That's all we need. Trust Spike to make
somebody who's just going to be a drag on us."

"Shah." They're coming out."

Darla watched as Spike emerged from the crypt,
one arm around a girl's shoulders and the other
circling a man's waist, and the girl and the
man were....

"Oh, this is just peachy!"

"Darla?"

Darla's feet hit the ground and she strode
across the cemetery driveway to Spike and his
companions.

"Just what do you people think you're doing
here?"

"Going for some more beer," answered Spike.
"We'd offer to share, but beer is for
grownups."

"Yeah, well, why don't you get your beer, and
we'll just relieve you of your munchies, here."

"I heard about the state you're in, pet.
What's a fledge with dinky little quarter inch
fangs going to do with a couple of strapping
big humans like these?"

"Hey, at least my fangs work!"

Spike grasped the front of Darla's shirt.

"Maybe you ought to quit flapping them, then,
before...."

"Hey, let go! You're hurting me! Drusilla!"

"Here, she started it! Dru! Dru?"

Drusilla was holding on to a tree with one
hand, the other on her abdomen. She was
convulsed with laughter. Darla heard a snicker
from behind her. Angelus's pet Watcher was
laughing at her, too. A human was laughing at
her. Darla went gamefaced and snarled, and
Spike picked her up and held her against the
lintel of his crypt.

"All right!" Drusilla said. "Stop it! Neither
of you is going to eat your grandsire's human
servants. Just... stop... it!" Gales of
laughter overcame her again.

"You heard her! Put me down!"

Spike dropped Darla. She kicked him in the
shin, and then ducked behind Cordelia when he
snarled at her.

"Excuse me." Cordelia grabbed Darla by the
shoulders and turned her to face Spike. "I am
not a part of this family unlife. If Spike
wants to bite your head off, it's fine with me
as long as he doesn't get you on my clothes.
Come on, Wes. I think they need some quality
time."

Cordelia stalked away, slowing down only when
she heard Wesley running behind her.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"To talk to Giles," she said.

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

"Where's Angelus?" Darla asked Spike.

"Gone hunting his little blonde slut. The
other one, I mean."

"Dru!"

"Our Spike's drunker than the barrel the
goldfish are in."

"You used to like me drunk," he said. "You
said when I was drunk, it would last forever.
Of course, maybe not as long as a chaos demon."

Drusilla folded her arms around her waist. Her
bottom lip was trembling.

"Leave her alone, Spike."

"Oh, no more 'Dru, he's picking on me?'"

"Pick on me all you want, but leave her alone."

"You don't defend her! That's for me to do!"

"You can't even defend yourself!"

"Stop it stop it STOP IT!!!" Drusilla sank to
her knees, wailing. "There's marmalade for the
blackbirds, and cinnamon for the pie, and we
were to have a lovely feast, but... but...."

"Silly bint, now look what you've done!"

"What I've done?" Darla sank down and wrapped
her arms around Drusilla. "Hush, hush,
sweetie, it's all right. We're not going to
fight any more. Shh. Hush now."

"Yeah, go ahead, invest all that effort in her.
Make a real emotional commitment, and we'll see
what she leaves you for."

"Why don't you leave, Spike?"

"'Cause it's my crypt, innit?"

"I thought you were going for more beer?"

"Oh, right, so I was. I'll just be a moment,
then." Spike staggered off down the path.

"Come on, Dru," said Darla, "let's get out of
here before he gets back."

"But we can't just leave him. The crows on the
gibbet can taste him already. We must keep the
crows away."

"Come on, sweetie. I don't know of any crow
anywhere that would touch Spike with a barge
pole. We'll find a place for the day, and have
ourselves a cuddle, hmm?"

"Spike likes to watch."

"Yeah, Angelus did, too, but do it for me,
okay? Tonight, let it be just for me."

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

"Yo! English!"

"Gunn? Whiz Angel?"

"You been drinking, man?"

"Just a couple, between us. Couple of six-
packs."

"Spike's just lonely," Cordelia announced. "We
just gotta get him laid."

"I don't think Harmony's coming back up here.
Not without the crossbow."

"Drush... Trush... Tri... her," said Wesley.

"You think Darla's gonna wait in the car?"
Cordelia asked.

"I think we need to get you two in a room,"
said Gunn.

"What about Angel?"

"I don't do threesomes," said Cordelia.
"Foursomes...." She hiccupped. "I think I'm
going to be sick."

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

Giles could transport himself into another
world with the guitar. The strings thrummed
under his fingers, the sound supporting and
caressing his voice, until the knock on the
door.

"Angel, what are you doing here?"

"What's Spike actually doing?"

"Making a bloody fool of himself."

"So what else is new?"

"What's new is that he has fantasies of a
romantic relationship with Buffy."

"So she hung around with him for a couple of
days and he got over it, right? I mean, those
two would drive each other nuts in an hour."

"He's obsessed, Angel. He's dangerous, and I
don't think it's appropriate for Buffy to go
anywhere near him."

"You don't know him."

"He lived with me for quite a while last
summer, Angel. I know how deeply he can fall
in love in how short a time, and how hard he
takes rejection."

"You know?"

"Yes, I... I don't mean to be indelicate,
Angel, b... but... I'm not proud of myself, you
know. A helpless creature took refuge in my
home and I exploited him to satisfy my own
perversion, but...."

"You did? You?"

"When I asked Olivia down to tell her about
him, I asked him... actually I asked Xander to
take care of him while she was here. Spike
thought I wanted it to be a permanent
arrangement. They said he tried to stake
himself."

"Uh-huh. And now Spike is in love with Buffy?"

"That's right."

"And you think that's a bad idea?"

"Don't you?"

"But only because Buffy might get hurt?"

"Angel, what are you implying?"

"I'm not implying anything. I'm saying
straight out that you don't want Spike to be
with Buffy because you're jealous. Of Spike.
Jealous of Spike, I mean."

"He used to torture people with railroad
spikes!"

"Myth. I was with him when he made up that
story. He was drunk and in a lying match with
a Midsummer Demon."

"He's killed more people than you've had hot
lunches!"

"Yeah, and you slept with him. What, are your
castoffs too good for Buffy?"

"Hot pokers, Angel!"

"Momentary indiscretion. Giles, we could do
this all day. He's my grandchilde, and he's
hurt, and you did your share of it."

"For what I've done, Angel, I'm sorry, but
Spike cannot have Buffy! It cannot be!"

"I don't think there's any real danger of Spike
having Buffy. It's more a matter of what you,
all of you, are driving him to. He could go
really evil because of this."

"He's a vampire, Angel. He's already evil."

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

Angel didn't understand. Angel, of all people,
did not get what Buffy was going through. He
objected to the way she was treating Spike.

It wasn't that Buffy approved of people
mistreating Spike. The ones who beat him up
were so out of line, except for her. She never
touched him except when he was actively
promoting evil, when he was refusing to help
the Scoobies or something.

And now Spike had turned Angel against her. He
was talking about his family, about Darla and
Drusilla and Spike, as if... as if they really
were family. It was all Spike's fault.

As if on cue, the blond appeared, staggering up
the gravel cemetery path with a plastic
convenience store bag.

"Spike."

"Slayer. Come to say you're sorry?"

"Come to make sure you never hurt anyone
again."

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

Darla had done her share of childe abuse.
She'd been tortured as a fledgling, and she'd
tortured Angelus in turn, and Angelus had
raised the practice to a fine art when he'd
made Drusilla.

Drusilla, however, would not torture Darla.
They were curled together on the dusty cot in a
shack once occupied by the cemetery's night
watchman, before every Sunnydalite stupid
enough to take that job had been eaten. They
were bored out of their skulls, and Dru
couldn't be bothered even to tweak a nipple or
tug a strand of hair. She'd never cut Darla,
or burned her. It was disgusting.

Of course, she'd never hurt Spike, either, but
that was just because her twisted little mind
was so full of Angelus that there wasn't room
for anyone else.

Not anyone?

"Dru?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you love me?"

"You're mummy's precious little girl."

"Yeah, but do you love me? Do you love me as
much as Spike?"

"Why do you care?"

"You're my Sire."

"I'm not the one you wanted. I'm just all you
could get."

"You're the one I want now."

"I came away with you, didn't I?"

Okay, keeping Dru on a single track had never
been easy. There'd been a time when Darla
wouldn't have bothered. There'd been a time
when Darla carried enough fang to bite through
sewing thread, too. Now, though, she needed
Dru.

"Love me," she said. "Show me how much."

Drusilla frowned, and looked into her eyes.

"You don't have to be afraid," she said.

"Love me, Dru, please."

Drusilla's fingers played with Darla's knee,
bright red nails with pearly tips grazing her
skin. Darla felt her legs fall apart, and
Dru's firm hand sweep up her thigh.

"Love me," Darla whispered.

"I do, sweet."

It was almost enough, almost, as Dru's fingers
slid under the elastic of Darla's panties,
almost enough to make Darla feel like a vampire
again. She pushed the cotton bodice aside and
nuzzled against Drusilla's breast.

"Better?" Dru asked. Darla muttered something
affirmative around the nipple in her mouth and
rocked her hips against Drusilla's hand.

"Mummy's here, pet," Drusilla said. "Mummy's
going to take good care of her precious little
girl."

Silly words, really, but somehow the words and
the voice and the magical fingers came together
in a roar that bore Darla into a world where
nothing mattered, nothing was except the rush
of sweet blood when she sank her fangs into
Drusilla's breast.

She came down to kisses on her forehead and
whispers in her ears, and the sound of
screaming in the distance. Oh, well, it was
Sunnydale.

Dru, though, lifted her head, and her eyes
darkened.

"Dru? What is it?"

As quickly as that, Drusilla was gone, leaving
Darla alone on the narrow cot wondering where
the tears were coming from.

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

"Giles? What are you doing out in the
graveyard alone?"

"Buffy, are you all right? I thought I heard
someone screaming."

"Yeah, it was just a vamp. You wanna finish
the patrol with me?"

"Wipe your hands. There's blood all over
them."

"Vampire blood. No biggie. You coming, or
what?"

"No, I was actually on my way to visit a
friend. I'd best get on with it."

"Yeah, okay. Later, then."

"Indeed."

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

Wesley watched as the latch on the motel door
slid of itself to the open end of its slot and
fell out. The door opened, and Angel came in.

"Glad it's you," Wesley said. "Thought I was
having hasulli... hallissu... you know. Seeing
things."

"Can all vampires do that?" Gunn asked.

"Mostly," said Angel, "if they've been
invited."

"Or it's a public accommodation," rattled
Cordelia, "or if the owner's dead. Then you
don't need a benitation."

"What happened to these two?"

"Seems like Drusilla's oldest is a bad
influence. They polished off a couple of six-
packs while you were out asking around."

"Everybody's okay?"

"What, vampires can't get drunk with humans?"

"Not with humans who know how to use stakes,
not when the vampire is a vicious killer."

"Angel," said Cordelia, "you know we would
never hurt Spike. He's impotent!"

"I thought you was just drinking! What, was
the Watcher watching?"

Wesley giggled. Cordelia stood up and pointed
a finger at Gunn, then turned and bolted into
the bathroom. Angel shook his head.

"The fangs, Gunn. His fangs don't work. Spike
can't bite anybody."

"He's causing this much trouble without fangs?"

"Spike's pretty good at mayhem. So, what, he
passed out somewhere?"

"He was going for more beer," said Wesley,
"but your girls were there."

"Dru and Darla? Good."

"Good?" said Gunn. "Dru and Darla are good?"

"They'll take care of him. Dru's used to him.
For that matter, so's Darla, but she won't put
up with him. Look, guys, I'll be back in a
little while. I've just got to go tell one of
them something."

"One of them?"

"Whichever one's closest to sane right now.
I'll be back."

"The one closest to sane," said Gunn as the
door closed. "Well, it sure ain't Angel."

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

Giles found one of the crypt's candles and lit
it. Nothing snarled at him from the shadows.
Nothing moved. Spike wasn't here.

Of course, for Spike, two AM was prime activity
time. He could be at Willy's. He could be
gently rolling drunks down on the Strip. He
could be stalking demons.

Something crunched under Giles's foot. He bent
down and found a beer can, one of a dozen, and
the smell of the pissy American imitation beer
was still fresh.

Spike wasn't hunting demons, or if he was, he
was a fool. The sound of that horrible scream
echoed through Giles's mind, and his mouth went
dry. He started out the door, but went back
and collected Spike's shotgun. Whatever had
hurt Spike was in deep trouble, indeed.


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

Drusilla went gamefaced and sniffed the air.
There were a few frightened fledglings in the
cemetery, two werewolves skulking in the sewer
access vent, and several groups of humans.
There had been a time when no sensible human
set foot in this place in daylight, much less
at night. She clucked her tongue against the
roof of her mouth. She and Spike had kept
Sunnydale in better order than this.

There were no more screams. Dru thought she
could hear something whimpering, but that could
have been the moon chattering. Then she heard
real voices, Angelus and his dark friend. She
polished the tip of one fang with her tongue,
grasped an overhanging branch and lifted
herself into a tree.

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

"Feeling better?" Wes asked as Cordelia
staggered out of the bathroom.

"God, what did we drink?"

"Vampire beer."

"Never again."

"Hush."

"Hey, you started it!"

"No, be still. I think I heard a noise."

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

More vampires. Great. The one night that
Buffy would have loved to have had time to sit
and think things out, and there were squads of
vampires prowling the cemetery. She wondered
if Giles would be all right. Well, there was
only one friend he could be visiting in the
cemetery, and if Giles had been hanging out
with Spike again, he deserved whatever he found
in the cemetery tonight. Maybe it would shock
some common sense into him.

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

"There's one!"

Shit. When Darla had been in Sunnydale before,
there had not been squads of armed humans
patrolling the cemetery. There had been the
Slayer, of course, but she and her little band
were easily avoided if one wanted to avoid
them.

Surely Darla could avoid this lot, too. She
dodged into a vacant crypt, out the window and
under the low branches of a tree. The humans
poked around the crypt for a bit and made a
perfunctory sweep of the area before one of
them spoke.

"It was just a fledge," he said. "Not even a
year old. Come on. We've got bigger fish to
fry." The men moved away through the cemetery,
spread out as Darla had seen soldiers do since
the Revolutionary War. She slid to her feet,
not stirring a leaf, and dodged from stone to
stone behind them.

If there was a bigger fish in Sunnydale than a
childe of the House of Aurelius, Darla wanted
to know what it was.

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

Something plummeted from a tree and bore Angel
to the ground, something familiar. He wriggled
in her grasp and tried to grin up at Gunn, who
was brandishing his axe and looking for an
opening.

"Don't hurt her," he said. "It's Drusilla."

"Drusilla. She do a lot of this knocking you
down and beating the crap out of you?"

"Yeah, she kinda does. It's okay. What is it,
Dru?"

"What have you done with him?" she demanded.

"Who, me? Who?"

She drove both fists against Angel's chest, and
something cracked.

"What have you done with my Will?"

"With Spike? We were coming to check out the
scream. Was that him?"

"You should know!" Drusilla tangled her fingers
in Angel's hair, lifted his head and slammed it
down into the gravel. "What have you done with
him?"

"Hey, hey, calm down!" Gunn hunkered down
beside them, and Drusilla snarled at him.
"Damn, girl, you do have a set of teeth on you!
You got a nose, too?"

Dru's nose twitched. This was a good sign. Her
nose always twitched when reality started to
sink in.

"Wha' about my nose?"

"You smell this guy on us? On me, or on
Angel?"

The gold faded from Drusilla's eyes, and her
face relaxed into human form.

"No," she said.

"Then why don't you let the big guy up, and
let's find the other one before something else
happens to him."

"All right." She looked up and Gunn, and
placed her hand in his. "Thank you," she said.
Gunn pulled her to her feet and led her away
down the path. Angel stood up and followed
them, shaking his head.

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

Giles wandered among the moonlit tombstones,
the shotgun broken over his arm. There were
parties of young men in the cemetery, young men
who had not passed through Sunnydale High
during Giles's tenure. He hid from the first
group and it went past, but there was a noise
that drew the second batch into the stones.
Giles saw their quarry first, staggering among
the monuments, bleached hair caked with dark
blood. He wasn't even trying to avoid his
stalkers. Perhaps he couldn't. Well, Giles
knew his share about how to bait the
authorities, although he wouldn't have wanted
his prot?g?s to know it. He scooped up a
handful of gravel and threw it at the nearest
soldier, and then pounded away down the path.
The entire party sprang after him.

They were young men, all men as far as Giles
could tell, but they couldn't know this
graveyard as well as a Watcher who'd been
hunting here for years. He lost them as soon
as he dared, and circled back toward Spike.

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

The door crashed open, and the room was full of
young men with automatic weapons. They pushed
Cordelia down on one bed and Wesley on the
other. When they were satisfied that no one
else was in the room, one of them dragged
Cordelia's head back by the hair and leaned
down until his face was very close to hers.

"All right," he said, "where are the vampires?"

"I'd let her go if I were you," said Wes.
Something hit him in the back of the head.
When he regained consciousness, Cordelia was
hanging off the side of the bed and the rude
young man was wiping vomit from his face.

"All right," the boy said, "all right. Lyle,
take these two to headquarters. The rest of
you, follow me."

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

"Buffy?" A blond girl turned back down the
path toward them, smiling at Angel and Gunn.
She paused when she saw Drusilla.

"What's going on?" she said.

"We're looking for Spike."

"He was headed home the last I saw of him."

"Was that before or after the scream?" asked
Gunn.

"What's that?" Drusilla pointed at Buffy's
hands. Angel's nostrils flared. Gunn stepped
toward the girl.

"I let a vamp get too close," she said. "I had
to mess him up a little before I dusted him."

"What vamp was that?" asked Gunn. "Was it
before or after you saw what's his name?"

"After. Why?"

"You quarreled with him," said Drusilla. "You
fought with our Spike. I can't see, though.
It's all curdled, like spoilt milk. You fought
with him, though, you did."

"So what else is new?" asked Buffy.

"You put your hands on him," said Gunn,
pointing.

"Yeah, like I told you." Suddenly her hands
felt sticky, and she pulled some leaves from a
shrub to wipe the vampire blood away.

"Where was this?" Angel asked. "Where did you
see Spike last?"

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

Okay, so humans who had been stalking the
cemetery were now raiding a flophouse. Well,
Darla imagined most of Sunnydale's living poor
were as desperate as the undead population.
Maybe the goon squad didn't know the
difference.

Then she saw who the goons were dragging out of
the motel. Those two were haunting her. A
truck came for the Watcher and the Seeress, and
the soldiers headed back into the cemetery.

The pickup stopped at a red light right in
front of the lamppost where Darla was leaning
in imitation of her original profession. The
Watcher looked out at her, blinking. Darla
blew him a kiss. When the truck moved on,
there was no one on the sidewalk.

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

Giles found him huddled beneath a miniature of
the Washington monument, head bowed to his
knees.

"Spike?"

"Whadya want?"

"Are you all right? I heard someone scream."

"This is Sunnydale, innit?"

"So you are all right? Look at me, Spike."

"I'm fine. Go away."

Giles slid a hand along the sculptured jaw and
pulled, but Spike jerked away.

"What is it, Spike? What's happened?"

"Please, just leave me alone!"

Giles sat down beside him, laid the shotgun
aside and slipped an arm around the slender
shoulders.

"You don't have to look at me," he said, "but
I'm jolly well going to sit here until I'm
satisfied that you're all right."

"Bugger off."

"Spike?"

"They said it was a message."

"To whom?"

"Dunno."

The vampire turned to face him, and Giles
fought down a surge of nausea.

"Oh, God, Spike!"

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

Cordelia jerked awake when the truck stopped.
They were in a turnaround at the end of a dirt
road, the sort of place where houses were going
to be built but hadn't been yet. Wesley's
shoulder pressing against her cheek was hard
and sharp. He probably thought it was all
Harlequin Romance. Maybe Cordelia should barf
in his lap just to disillusion him.

Maybe Cordelia should avoid thinking about
anything like that. She should avoid it at all
costs. She sat up, her hand pressed to her
mouth. The driver snorted and climbed out of
the truck. Cordelia started to follow him,
only to discover that her other hand was cuffed
to Wesley's, and the chain was looped around
something beneath the seat of the truck.

The man turned and laughed at her, and then
disappeared upward, landing on top of the truck
from the sound of it. There was a crunch, and
his lifeless body slid off to the ground.
Something landed beside him, something small
and blonde and... and so not Buffy.

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

Spike lay on the bier in his crypt, his head in
the Watcher's lap, gentle hands pressing a wet
cloth against his swollen face.

"Try again," Giles said. "You were walking
down the path."

"I was bloody pissed, wasn't I? I probably
couldn't remember what happened if I hadn't
taken a proper beating."

"It's important, Spike. We need to know who
hurt you."

"Dru's in town. She'll do her Crowley act,
with her cards, and tell us what he had for
breakfast." Dru was good, particularly if one
dropped some not-so-subtle hints. Giles,
though, was shaking his head.

"Humor me, love," he said.

"What'd you call me?"

"Love. I called you my dear, my precious, my
beloved."

"Bollocks."

"Yes, I love those too. Those in particular."

"What about your Caribbean bint, eh? You...."

"I had to see her, to tell her about you. It
wouldn't have been fair, Spike, to do it over
the phone, or by letter...."

"We could have just fed her to the sewer gang."

"Don't say such things, love. I care about
Olivia. I just don't love her, not the way I
love you."

Warm lips pressed against Spike's forehead, and
then his mouth.

"I love you," the Watcher said again. "I love
you, and I want to know who hurt you. Now, did
you see anyone on the path?"

He loves me, thought Spike. On top of all the
complications in his pitiful unlife, the
Watcher actually loved him. Giles cared about
him, cared that he'd been hurt.

He cared, and because he cared, Spike was going
to make bloody sure he never heard anything
that might break his heart.

"Nobody," he said. "I didn't see nobody on the
path."

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

"Don't wriggle so much." Darla was lying in
Cordelia's lap, attempting to manipulate the
key to the handcuffs into close quarters. It
would have been simpler just to bite someone's
hand off, but she didn't suppose the humans
would agree to that.

"Darla? I'm going to be sick again."

"Okay."

"You should probably move."

"Just do what you need to, honey. I've seen
lots worse... got it!" The chain gave, and the
Watcher almost flew out the truck's door.
Cordelia leaned over the side, retching.

"She's been doing that for an awfully long
time," Wesley said. "Longer than just from a
binge."

"I'll be okay," said Cordelia. She sat up and
patted the hands that had held back her hair,
and seemed shocked to find that they were
Darla's.

Well, let her be surprised. Darla climbed out
of the truck and looked around the isolated cul
de sac.

"Pretty isolated for a headquarters," she said
to Wesley. "Are you sure...?"

"That's what they said."

Cordelia climbed out of the truck and gazed
away into the trees.

"There's something down there," she said,
"something evil."

"Vision?" Wesley asked.

"Not exactly. It's like I'm trying to have a
vision and I can't, like there's something down
there that... it's not stopping it, but it's
clouding it...."

"Then let's see what it's all about," said
Darla. "Which way is this thing?"

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

They walked in silence back to the cemetery
gate, with Angel keeping Buffy at arm's length
and Gunn staying between her and Drusilla,
whose eyes sparkled with golden fury.

"He was right here," Buffy said. "I... I told
him some things, about how I didn't like the
way he was acting, and he told me to 'sod off,'
and I pushed him, and we fought."

"Who won?" asked Gunn.

"It wasn't like that. He can't fight back
because of the chip. I came at him, and
he...."

"He what?" Angel asked.

"He got out of the way. I fell over the crypt
and down the bank and knocked myself silly for
a while, and he called me a name and sauntered
off before I got my breath back. Then the
others were here."

"Others?" asked Gunn.

Angel was gamefaced, his nostrils flared.
"Lots of others," he said. "Humans and
vampires both."

"Strange vampires," said Drusilla. "Little
fledgekittens on leashes, following the
monsters around."

"Fledgekittens," said Gunn.

"She gets that way sometimes," said Angel.
"What happened then, Buffy?"

"I staked most of them, but some of them got
away. Then I met Giles. He was going to see
Spike."

"Well," said Angel, "maybe we'd better go see
if they found one another."

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

"It's a cave," said Cordelia.

"No kidding," replied Darla.

"Actually I think it's an old mine," said
Wesley. He struck a match and peered at the
shoring until the tiny flame scorched his thumb
and he dropped it. "I think it's safe," he
said.

"It must be," said Darla, "if the soldiers are
using it for a headquarters. Come on."

"You keep calling them soldiers," said Wesley.
"How do you know that?"

"I used to have a lot of contact with military
men. These guys act like soldiers."

"Maybe it's some kind of paramilitary group,"
said Cordelia.

"Let's find out," said Wesley, and started into
the cave.

"Wesley, there might be somebody down there,
with like guns or something!"

"I don't smell anyone," said Darla. Cordelia
spun on her.

"And is there some reason we should
particularly trust you, Miss Fang, Bang, thank
you, Gang?"

"The same people who were after you were after
my family. I... this body isn't old enough to
survive alone. I need my family."

Wesley smiled.

"And the enemy of your enemy is your friend?"

"Didn't Churchill say that if Hitler invaded
Hell he would at least make a favorable
reference to the Devil in the House of
Commons?"

"Which of us are you casting as the Devil?"
Wesley asked her.

"The ones who live in there," she answered, and
led them into the cave.

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

"Who's there?" came a voice from within the
crypt.

"Giles? It's Angel. Have you seen Spike?"

"He's right here. Lie down, love. Come on,
Spike, lie down. It's all right."

"Spike?" Drusilla pushed past Gunn and Angel
and plunged into the crypt. Angel followed.
Gunn stared at the girl for a moment, until she
moved inside ahead of him, and he followed.

There were two men on the bier in the crypt, a
white man with piercing green eyes holding a
little guy and daubing at his battered face.
Drusilla was sitting on the side of the bier,
blubbering, and Angel stood beside her shaking
his head.

"What happened?" asked Buffy. "Spike, what's
wrong?"

"This is him?" Gunn asked Angel.

"Yeah, Giles, Rupert Giles, this is Charles
Gunn. And this is Spike, my grandchilde."

"Pleased to meet you," came a growl from the
bier.

"You okay, man? They was worried about you."

"I'm fine."

"He's not, you know," said the one with the
emerald eyes.

"What happened?" Angel asked.

The human guy tipped the small vampire's face
toward them, and Angel lifted the light.

"They put out his eyes," Giles said, and Buffy
covered her face with her bloody hands, and
then pulled them away, staring.

"Buffy?" said Giles. The girl didn't answer.
She bolted through the door, and they heard
retching. Gunn started to follow her, but
Angel cut him off.

"Wait here, okay?" Angel followed Drusilla and
Buffy outside.

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

"Mr. Pryce?" called Darla. In the cave, past
the pallets and the stacks of supplies, her
vampire's nose had led her to a makeshift
altar. There was a spiral-bound notebook on
it, and a chalkboard with a list of names, and
a dish containing something strange.

"That's...." Cordelia was standing well back,
pointing at the bowl.

"This thing?" Darla asked. She scooped it up
and threw it against the wall, and what seemed
to be a dish of herbs gushed blue flame that
sheeted across the floor, disappearing before
it touched their toes.

"Let's be a bit careful in here," said Wesley.
"Cordelia, are you all right?" The girl was
leaning against the wall, her head cradled in
her hands.

"Buffy," she gasped. "They're after her!"

"Who?"

"Angel... Angelus, and Drusilla. They've
backed her up against a tombstone...."

"Right, come on." He scooped up the notebook
and the chalkboard and started down the tunnel,
but Cordelia didn't move. "Cordelia?"

"I can't... it hurts!"

"Bother!" He shoved the items into Darla's
hands, swept Cordelia into his arms and led the
way out of the mine.

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

"You think I ought to go out there with them?"
Gunn asked Giles. The Watcher twisted a curl
of Spike's hair between his thumb and one
finger.

"If she did this, if she really did this, then
no, I don't see any need for either of us to go
out there."

"They're vampires, man."

"I know, and Buffy is the Slayer. She's
supposed to be the protector of the helpless."
His hand traced Spike's cheekbone.

"I don't remember her doing it," said Spike.
"She was there, and she knocked me around, but
I don't 'member her doing this."

"Who did?" asked Gunn.

"Don't know, but not Buffy. Please, don't let
it be...." Then his tears touched the raw flesh
of his eyes, and Spike moaned and buried his
face in Giles's lap.

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

"I told you," Angel said to Buffy. "I told you
to leave my family alone, didn't I? Didn't I?"

"Angel, I didn't hurt him! I wouldn't hurt him
when he couldn't fight back! I just knocked
him around a little bit!"

"When he couldn't fight back?" said Drusilla,
her eyes glowing golden in the dark.

"Okay, maybe I was out of line. Maybe I was
wrong. I have been having a pretty bad time
myself lately, you know."

Angel stepped closer, pushing her back against
a tombstone.

"Remind me to get you a puppy to kick," he
growled.

"Now that is so unfair!"

"Hey, Angel? Ma'am?" Angel's new friend was
standing in the crypt door. "He's worse. They
say you'd better come."

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

It was almost a sacrament, Giles thought,
almost holy, the blood flowing from Drusilla's
wrists down to Spike's face, healing wherever
it touched. It was an unbearable intimacy,
when Spike's mouth found his Sire's flesh,
wounded in his behalf, and from it drank strong
sweet blood that healed and nourished him.
Drusilla's crooning voice could have been a
house full of nuns chanting, praising some dark
god for the miracle that was passing under her
hands, through her blood.

There probably wouldn't be enough to heal Spike
all the way, not unless Angel leant a hand, and
Spike had vehemently opposed that suggestion.
The elder vampire had stepped back outside, and
Buffy had gone with them. Young Mr. Gunn was
standing near the door, where he could
presumably keep an eye on the pair outside as
well as watch the proceedings.

And it seemed obscene, to have someone watching
the slow drip of black blood from a slender
white wrist. Spike should not be exposed like
this, not in front of a stranger. It was as
if... no, it was worse, it was far more
intimate than the way Spike's eyes widened when
he felt Giles inside him, or the wild moan when
two fingers pressed his prostate against the
Watcher's intruding manhood. They could
probably sell the video to Jerry Springer
without embarrassing Spike, and Giles... well,
Giles would have done a Chippendale's number at
a Sunnydale High pep rally to avoid having poor
Spike subjected to this.

Drusilla leaned forward and pressed her lips
against Giles's cheek. He blinked.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"For caring. Don't fret. It's all right."

"Is it?"

"'Course it is. Next time, though, I want to
watch, especially the part with the hair
dryer."

Spike's sputtering reaction sprayed blood all
over the three of them, and Giles found himself
laughing for the first time that horrid night.

"Pipe down," said Gunn from his place at the
door. "We've got company."

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

At least Cordelia seemed to feel better, or so
Wesley thought as the truck roared back toward
the cemetery. He himself did not feel well at
all, but that was probably a reaction to being
knocked out, or perhaps to having a previously
hostile vampire perched on the middle of the
truck's seat, giving directions in between
reading the notebook.

"Oh, shit," she said at one point.

"What?" asked Wesley.

"Nothing. Just hurry. Make a left up he...
no, back there."

Wesley made a U turn and screeched around the
indicated corner.

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

"Vampires," said Buffy. "My Spidey sense is
doing flip-flops."

"There's humans, too," said Angel. "I can feel
their blood."

"Humans and vampires together? That doesn't
make sense."

"It makes perfect sense, as long as no one
involved is a helpless victim!"

"Spike is not a helpless anything!"

"Then what happened to his eyes?"

"I don't know, Angel. I. WAS. NOT. THERE!"

"Buffy, will you... look, everybody makes
mistakes...."

"Look out!"

Angel spun around to find a small man with an
automatic weapon standing behind him. Bullets
might not hurt Angel, but they would do a job
on Buffy.

"Hey," said the newcomer, "can we chill a
little, here?"

"What do you want?" growled Angel.

"Just to, uh, warn you. There are some outlaws
running loose in the graveyard, and they...."

"Outlaws?" Buffy was actually snickering.

"Ma'am, I think you know about the Initiative.
These are ex-Initiative members."

"Ex like in how?"

"Like in we found a way... we're now able to
help certain vampires... not all of them, but
some of them... we can help them to be useful
members of society."

"Useful how?" growled Angel.

"We can pair them with a human partner that's
able to control the vampire's behavior."

"You make them slaves," said Buffy.

"We're reintegrating them into society."

"What do you have them doing?" asked Angel.

"They're soldiers."

"A slave army," said Buffy, "hunting their own
kind."

"And so are you," said Angel to the man. "Some
of you didn't like working with vampires.
Isn't that it? Some of you went rogue, and you
want our help hunting them down?"

"All we want from you is to know if you've seen
any of these deserters."

"We haven't seen anybody." Angel snapped.

"But we did," said Drusilla. "Look in the
houses at the back of the cemetery, the ones no
one will buy. You may find your people there."

"Dru...."

"The fog's lifted, Daddy. I can see ever so
clearly now. There's six men in the houses,
and one who was killed near the cave."

"What cave?" asked Angel.

"Thank you, ma'am. I don't suppose we could
interest either of you in the new...."

Angel threw back his head and roared. The
moonlight glinted off fangs two centuries old,
and the young man staggered backward and
scrambled away. Around them Buffy could here
the other humans withdrawing, feel the vampires
pulling away.

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

"There they are!" said Cordelia, pointing.
Angel was towering over Buffy, who glared up at
him. As Wes and Cordy and Darla piled out of
the car, Drusilla grabbed Angel's arm.

"She truly didn't do it, Daddy," they heard Dru
say. "She's done a lot else, and she'll live
to do more, but she's not the one who hurt
Spike. I saw the fledgekittens lead her away,
and Spike was laughing at her, and then the
other ones came."

"Others?" asked Angel.

"Vigilantes," called Darla. "It's all in
here." She held up the notebook.

"Deserters from a military unit dedicated to
fighting vampires," said Wesley. "I believe
they call them the Initiative."

"What do they care about Spike?" asked Buffy.
"They neutered him."

"They were out for revenge," said Wesley, "at
least from what Darla read us out of their log,
there." He held up the chalkboard.

"These are the names of Initiative members
killed by vampires. The members of this new
order were sworn to destroy the creatures
responsible for those deaths. Their activities
in Sunnydale were supposedly retribution for
the death of Riley Finn."

"But Riley was killed in Central America," said
Buffy.

"I think I'd best check on our Spike," said
Drusilla.

"Yeah," said Darla, "I'll help you." Both
women vanished into the crypt, ignoring the
look Buffy was giving them.

"Uh, Buffy, I'm sorry," said Angel. "I jumped
to a conclusion, and I was wrong."

"Those two...."

"If it were your child, wouldn't you? If he
tortured your baby?"

"It was just Spike!"

Gunfire sounded from the rear of the cemetery,
the ratatat-tat of automatic weapons. Once
they were all safe behind the walls of the
crypt, Angel turned to Buffy again.

"I know you don't understand," he said. "Maybe
it's part of being the Slayer. Maybe you can
never understand, but Buffy, this can never
happen again. No one lays a finger on Spike,
or on poor mad Dru, or on Darla or Harmy until
they're old enough to take care of themselves.
No one. Do you understand me?"

"So I'm supposed to let them rampage through
Sunnydale killing whomever they like just
because they're your family?"

"They wouldn't be the only ones," said Angel,
cocking his head to listen to the gunfire.

"I don't know if I can accept this, Angel."

"I don't know if you can, either, but that's
the way it is. Look at them." At the other
end of the room Spike was sprawled across
Giles's chest with Dru and Darla on either side
of them. "Buffy, they deserve a chance. They
deserve a lot better than they've ever had."

"They deserve a quick stake where it'll do the
most good."

"Well, I guess we understand each other, then."

"Angel, don't push this. I love you, but I
have to do my job."

"No," he said, "you only love who you think I
am." Angel climbed to his feet, smiled down at
Buffy one last time, and went to sit with his
family.

* * *