Xander quickly counted the group of vampires blocking the old car's path. "Only six," he mumbled. "Geez, I'm only worth half a dozen? I should be worth at least a whole dozen. Maybe even a baker's dozen."

"Xander, this is no time to joke," Giles chastised the boy.

"Sorry, G-man, it's what I do," he stared at the approaching demons. "Can you just floor it?"

"I don't think she'll make it," Giles muttered, slightly embarrassed.

"Well, do you have any weapons?" Xander asked, growing frantic.

"There's a bag in the back," Giles replied, trying to devise a plan.

"Like a kid in the candy store," Xander laughed dryly, pulling the bag into the front seat and rummaging through its' contents. Giles shook his head. He never could understand the joy Xander could find at the most inopportune of times. But maybe that misplaced joy would keep the two of them alive.

"Perhaps we should stay," Giles began.

"Take this," Xander interrupted, handing Giles a crossbow. "Now aim and shoot."

"I know how to…" Giles started to defend himself, but Xander interrupted him once more.

"This paper important?" Xander asked, holding up that day's newspaper.

"Well I was going to reread…"

"Too bad, buy another," Xander said, crumbling up the paper. "And reverse this car, buy me more time." Xander reached over and pushed in the car's cigarette lighter.

Giles threw the car into reverse and began to back away, putting distance between the car and the vampires. "I can turn around…"

"Nah, they'll just come after us there. Might as well get rid of them now…Stop!" Xander cried. He reached over and grabbed the lighter as Giles slammed on the brakes. "Now start shooting!"

Before Giles could stop him, the young man jumped out of the car and took off running toward the vampires, the wadded up newspaper in one hand and the lighter in the other.

Giles muttered something incomprehensible and climbed out of the car. 'Careful, Rupert,' he coaxed himself. 'Aim and…fire!' Giles smiled slightly as the bolt hit its mark. But the satisfaction was only temporary as he quickly reached for another bolt.

Xander smiled as the first vampire disappeared in a cloud of dust. But he knew the fight had just begun. 'Steady,' Xander told himself. 'Just wait.' Now was the time to be patient. 'Give them a moment and…'

The five remaining vampire stared at their fallen comrade for a moment before turning to face Xander and Giles. "Get them!" The largest vamp, presumably the leader, hollered to the others. They all raced forward.

Xander forced himself to remain still as the vamps gained momentum. He brought his two hands together. The first demon approached and Xander nailed him in the chest with his heel.

"Not so fast," the boy said. The vampire stumbled backwards. 'Come on,' Xander silently cried.

A small whoosh followed by a quiet poof bought Xander the precious seconds he needed. The vampire, almost to Xander, turned toward the sound just as the paper in Xander's hands began to smoke.

Xander raced forward and pulled the vampire's shirt out. Seconds later, the vampire burst into flames. With a scream of tortured agony, the demon became nothing more than ashes.

"Now these are odds I like," Xander said, approaching his next target.

"Bloody hell!" Giles cried and threw the crossbow to the ground. The trigger mechanism was stuck, rendering it useless. He, too, raced forward.

The next vampire was ready for Xander. He stopped the boy short with a right hook. Xander's head fell back and he could feel his teeth rattle. Then he quickly got back in the game by delivering a few quick punches to the vamp's midsection.

The vampire motioned to one of the other vamps and before Xander could react, he was knocked from behind onto his knees.

In one fluid motion, Xander grabbed the heel of the demon in front of him and tugged hard. The vamp's legs gave out and he found himself on his back. Wasting no time, Xander pulled a stake from his back pocket and buried it deep in the vampire's chest. Then he jumped back to his feet and turned to face the next one.

Giles tossed a quick glance Xander and saw the boy was doing fairly well. But the Watcher soon found himself faced with an opponent of his own. He fell into attack mode and the only thing that mattered was the elimination of the opponent.

'Left, right, duck, kick.' Giles could think of nothing more than those simple commands. Both man and vamp traded blows, landing a few here, missing others there.

Giles felt something solid against his back and realized he was once more at his car. He glanced in the backseat of the car and got an idea. The Watcher quickly flung open the rear door, slamming into the vampire's midsection. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

"S'ok," the vampire snarled, regaining his balance once more.

"Not you, you bloody fool," Giles growled. "I was talking to my car." He reached into the seat and pulled out a plain white can.

"What's that? Hairspray?" the vampire laughed.

Giles pushed down on the nozzle and sent a quick, burning spray of liquid into the demon's eyes. The vamp howled in pain. "Starch, actually," the Watcher replied, casually pulling a stake from his jacket pocket. "Never leave home without it." Giles struck his opponent with the last fatal blow and removed his glasses. The faint sounds of a scuffle reminded him that there was one last vampire to go.

Xander struggled to his feet just as the vampire he was fighting planted his foot in the boy's side. Xander doubled over in pain, desperately trying to catch his breath. He could see Giles' hurried approach out of the corner of his eye. Though it hurt, Xander jumped back to his feet.

The demon before him smirked and leaned in closer. "Looks like the Slayer is gonna need a new boyfriend," he sneered. "Maybe Mistress will allow me to fill that position."

"Stay away from Buffy," Xander growled.

"Or you'll what?" the vampire leaned in and Xander could feel it's hot breath on his face.

"I'll give you two simple rules for life, or unlife, as is your case," Xander grinned. "First, try breath mints, they do wonders."

The vampire snarled angrily and swung at the boy.

Ducking under the flailing arm, Xander silently motioned to Giles. His gaze never straying from the vamp's, Xander caught the stake and slammed it into the demon's heart. "And never mess with a guy's girlfriend. It ain't pretty."

Exhausted, Xander slumped to the ground. Giles finally reached the boy and fell down beside him. "I must say you fought remarkably well."

"Well, I've been training with Buffy a lot lately," Xander explained. "How about you? You were fairly vicious there."

"Um, well, I…" Giles stammered. "I am a Watcher. I must be skilled enough to train my Slayer properly."

"Good point," Xander mumbled, climbing to his feet. He extended a hand to Giles. "But speaking of Buffy, I want to get to her. Now."

"Indeed," Giles agreed. "Let's go."