Not Long to Wait

Ch 53 – Great Googly Moogly

Xander heard giggling and whispering coming from the dining room. He put down the piece of drywall he was about to hang in the living room and peeked around the corner. All eight girls were clustered around his laptop, blushing and giggling at something on the screen.

He walked quickly into the dining room then stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth dropping open when he saw the image they were giggling over. His eyes trailed slowly over the sculpted cheekbones and down the chiseled torso then screeched to a halt at the… *Holy Twinkies!* He snapped his eyes shut but the image flared brightly in his mind so he wrenched them open again and focused on the china cabinet across the room. He took a deep breath and managed to say in an almost normal tone of voice, "Where'd you get a picture of him?"

A dark-haired girl with flashing green eyes looked up at him. "You know him?"

Xander stammered, still staring at the china cabinet, "Uh… yeah… that's Spike. Where'd you get a picture of him naked?" *And not just naked, either. Great Googly Moogly, that's quite the Mr. Happy he's got there. No wonder he makes the Dawnster scream.* He shook his head and ran his hands through his hair. *And I so did not just think that!*

A petite girl with flame red hair clapped her hand to her mouth and squealed, "Spike? Like The Spike? William the Bloody? Slayer of Slayers?"

Xander nodded, yep, still staring at the china cabinet. "Yeah, that's old Fang Face."

The dark-haired girl looked over the picture and smirked. "Now we know why they call him the Big Bad."

Xander yelped, "Jackie!" *And I was not just thinking the exact same thing.*

She looked up at him, the perfect picture of innocence. "What? I'm just saying. I mean, WOW."

*WOW does not even begin to cover it.* Xander sighed, "Where did you get this picture?"

A tall blonde girl stood up from the table and put her hands on her hips. "My cousin. She works in a hotel in some dinky little town. She took the picture with her phone and emailed it to me."

Xander reached out and closed the laptop. *There. Now maybe I can think about other things, like about where all these thoughts are coming from. Oh yeah, the picture of the ridiculously sexy vampire.* "Don't you girls have some training or something to do? Besides, you're all too young to be looking at pictures like that. Regina, you're a full-fledged Slayer now. You should be setting a better example." *Yeah, like I am, because I am so not lusting after any vampires.*

Regina ducked her head in embarrassment and whispered, "Sorry, Xander."

The blonde stood as tall as she could and huffed, "I'm almost eighteen! I've seen naked men before! Besides, he's totally hot! I mean, did you not see his hard abs and his hard… uh… abs?"

*Yeah. I saw the abs and the… abs. So entirely not the point.* Xander ran his hands through his hair. Again. *I'm gonna be bald before this is over with.* "Donna, you're supposed to be staking vampires, not ogling them." *That's my job.* He mentally slapped himself. *Not my job. Not my job.*

Donna muttered under her breath, "I'd let him stake me."

*And oh the bad, lusty thoughts that statement digs up.* Xander shook his head. "He's taken. He's with Dawn." *And I am not jealous of sweet little Dawnie getting to rub her hands all over…* He clenched his hands and gritted his teeth. *This is a road I am so not even going to go down. He's a guy. I'm a guy. And hey, me so not being with the gayness here. Not that it's bad or wrong or anything, but… not gay!*

Donna sneered. "So? It's not like vampires are monogamous."

Xander chuckled, "Well, this one is. I've seen them together. He wouldn't notice another woman… *or man…* even if she… *he…* was on fire. He loves Dawn." *And that's as it should be. So lusty wrong thoughts about pale, chiseled, sexy as hell vampires will cease immediately. I mean it. That's the end.*

Donna laughed, "Oh, he does not! Everybody knows that vampires can't love! They're evil and they don't have souls!"

Xander dropped down into the empty chair in front of the laptop and sighed, "You know, Donna, I used to believe that, but I was wrong. Most vampires can't love, but Spike does, even without a soul. Don't ask me how or why, but he does. And not all demons are evil. I know I haven't really been teaching you that, but from here on out I'm going to." He looked up at the girls. "Now go do whatever. I've got drywall to hang."

Donna moved to open the laptop and Xander put his hand on it. "No. I'm going to delete that picture and that's the end of it." *Completely the end. Out of sight, out of mind. At least I really hope so.*

Donna whined, "But it's mine! You can't delete it!"

Xander glared at her. "I can and I will. He's my friend and although he probably doesn't give two Twinkies who sees him naked, I'm going to protect his privacy. So, out. All of you." *And if I looked like that, I'd be naked all the time.*

They all grumbled as they walked out of the dining room and Xander heard Donna tell them in a not very quiet whisper, "Don't worry, I sent it to the printer. I'll go get it and meet you outside."

He shook his head as he opened the laptop. The screen flickered back on and Xander leaned back and tilted his head. *If that's what a diet of blood does for you, then I'm gonna start biting people.* He shook his head then clapped his hands to his eyes and scrubbed furiously, trying to erase the image from his brain. *Ok, that's never going to go away. Great. It's going to be a world of fun the next time I see him. Especially if lusty wrong thoughts… or other things… pop up. Can you say awkward? *

He was about to delete the email when he had another idea. He hit forward, typed an address and a short note, then sent it out. He momentarily debated with himself about deleting the picture, then quickly deleted both copies of the email before he could change his mind. He leaned back in the chair and dug his phone out of his pocket. *Should be getting a phone call in a few minutes.*

X

XXXX

X

Dawn cracked one eye when she heard her phone vibrating in her duster pocket. She lifted her head off Spike's chest and slid toward the edge of the bed, trying not to wake him. He shivered a little then rolled into her warm spot and relaxed. She smiled and pulled the blankets over him then shrugged into her robe and walked over to her duster. *I really need to get him another electric blanket.*

She pulled her phone out of the pocket and flipped it open. *An email from Xander?* She opened the message and read the note, Saw something interesting today. Thought you might like it. She opened the attachment and gasped then looked it over closely and smiled. *Wonder how Xan got this?*

She punched Xander's number and fished her smokes out of her duster, stepping outside while she waited for him to pick up. She hit the speaker button and set the phone on the railing then shook a smoke out of the pack and lit it.

"Hi, Dawnie."

"Hi, Xan. Nice picture. Didn't really need it, though, I've got the real deal right here. How'd you get it?"

Xander chuckled, "Apparently the girl that took it is the cousin of one of my girls."

Dawn laughed, "Wow, small world."

"Yeah. So… um… why exactly is Evil Dead walking around all not with the clothes getting his picture taken?"

Dawn chuckled, "There were some girls peeking in our hotel room window and he caught them."

"Well, could you tell him to put something on next time? A towel, a robe, the room service menu, just about anything would work."

Dawn laughed, "I really like him without clothes or menus, but I'll try, Xan."

Xander laughed, "TMI, Dawn. TMI. I've gotta go. The girls printed out the picture and are currently in the back yard drooling over it and now I've got to go out there and take it away from them. I'm about to have a houseful of pissed off slayers and I've still got drywall to hang. Tell Fang Face I said hi, and if I end up in the hospital, he's got to come finish the drywall."

"I will. Let me know how it goes. Bye, Xan."

"Later, Dawnie."

She flipped the phone closed and stubbed her smoke out on the railing then glanced around at the little town. Sunlight was glinting off something behind the trees at the back of the parking lot, so she stood up on her tiptoes and peered over them. *A Target! Haven't seen one of those in a while. Cool. I can go pick up a new blanket later.* She turned toward the door and jumped when her phone rang in her hand. She flipped it open and hit the speaker button.

"Hello?" She set the phone back on the railing and opened the room door.

"Hello Dawn, it's Giles. Are you and Spike enjoying your holiday?"

"Oh hey, Giles. Yeah, it's been fun so far. Got a place for me yet?" She pulled a chair out of the room, closing the door quietly, then dropped down into it and put her feet up on the railing.

"Yes, it would seem so. How does Las Vegas sound?"

Dawn sat up in the chair. "Vegas? No way! Spike is gonna love that! But why? There's no Hellmouth in Vegas, is there?"

"As a matter of fact, there is, although it's been dormant for close to fifty years. Apparently, it's recently become active, and we're getting reports of vampire activity and demon sightings. Well, more than the usual amount, at any rate. The Council would like you and Spike to make your presence known in the Las Vegas demon community while we investigate a way to permanently close that Hellmouth."

"Yeah, ok. We can do that, but how does a dormant Hellmouth suddenly become active?" Dawn shook another smoke out of the pack and leaned back in the chair as she lit it.

"There's been a lot of construction going on and from what we've heard; a workman was killed deep in an underground cavern. We think his blood activated the Hellmouth. What we don't know is if his death was accidental or deliberate. There might be someone or something vying for control of Las Vegas."

"Something like The First or Glory?"

"Very possibly so. Las Vegas would be an ideal place for a demon or Hell God to set up housekeeping. How soon do you think you can be there?"

"We're not too far away, maybe three or four days, a week tops. I'll call you when we get there."

"That would be satisfactory. I'll have lodging ready for you when you arrive."

"Can you make sure it's vampire safe? I don't want Spike to be blowin' in the Vegas wind, and sewer or tunnel access would be a plus, so he can move around during the day if he wants to."

"Yes, of course. I'll make the arrangements."

"Thanks, Giles. Talk to you soon. Bye."

She flipped the phone closed, stubbed out her smoke and walked back into the room, dragging the chair behind her. Spike moved a little, burrowing deeper into the blankets, and she smiled over at him as she sat down at the table. She lifted the lid off one of the plates and picked up the burger. It was cold, but still tasted wonderful. Probably helped that she was half starved. She ate the other burger and most of the fries before her stomach felt full, then leaned back in the chair, sipping a glass of lemonade and watching Spike sleep. *He looks so cute when he's asleep. Love those curls. He'd probably shave his head if I told him his curls make him look cute. Mr. Big Bad Vampire. Big Bad Completely Stubborn Vampire is more like it. You're cute, Spike. Deal with it.*

She grinned as she imagined them walking down the Vegas strip like a couple of tourists from Iowa or somewhere. *He's probably been there dozens of times. I'm still gonna be a tourist, though. At least for a little while.*

She finished up her lemonade then slipped out of the robe and crawled in beside Spike. He snuggled up against her, wrapping his arm over her, then murmured sleepily, "Love you."

She kissed him gently and whispered, "Love you too, Spike," then closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.