The way back to the Mansion was conducted in silence. Both Angel and Xander were relieved that their duty was done. The difficult part was over, but they still had to face the future. They had to decide where to go and what to do. Though both men realized that they no longer fit in Sunnydale.

For Angel, one of the hardest parts of returning to Sunnydale was facing Buffy. He no longer was in love with the girl, but had no desire to face the girl every day. Her face showed her feelings quite clearly every time he saw her, and while he admitted that he had hurt her quite badly, he had made his apologies and more than amends during his time in Hell. He also knew that his remaining in Sunnydale while still with Xander would be a punch in the face for the young girl. He had not only broken her heart but started a relationship with one of her best friends. Buffy would not see how many years it took for him to get over her, but would only see the results and feel that a short time had passed for her. It would be best to leave town soon.

He turned to look at Xander, who had a pensive look on his face. Angel knew that originally Xander had wanted to leave as well. But what now? He had spent time with his friends and Xander had missed them greatly while stuck in Hell. Would Xander want to stay and renew his relationships with the Scoobies? Angel knew that the only power that would keep him in Sunnydale would be Xander.

Xander, meanwhile, was having similar thoughts to his vampire's. He had no problem working for TPTB; in Hell, he and Angel were known for doing what was right. It had caused them numerous problems, but neither man could just lose their sense of right or wrong. Being brought back to Sunnydale had shocked the former Scooby. It was the realization that it was no longer his home. While he still carried affection for the Scoobies, he no longer needed them. Time and distance had given him the knowledge that they had treated him as the inferior fighter. They had expected him to fail and he had.

But years of training with Angel and other demonic creatures had created a warrior. Xander no longer was the Zeppo. He could fight with the best and keep up with even the Slayer. And he had for many, many years. He knew that Buffy would not be able to accept the fact that he, Alexander Harris, was now a better, stronger fighter than she was. Her watcher would have the same problem. Giles was convinced that Xander was the wink link and would not trust the boy with anything important. Xander could not live in that type of atmosphere.

Willow was another matter all together. She had tried to control him and when that had failed, tried to kill him and Angel. While he thought that the corner had been turned that evening, he didn't want to stay and face his once closest friend. The betrayal had hurt too much. By staying in Sunnydale, the chance of running into the girl would be too great and Xander wanted away. He could only hope that Angel would feel the same.

Before either had realized it, they had approached the large building that Angel had once called "home." Both deciding that they needed to get clean, they reached the bathroom at the same time, and with some half-hearted shoving, decided to conserve water and shower together.

In almost ritualistic motions, they gently washed each other. First Angel, taking a soft cloth and soap, gently rubbing the grime and dirt off of his lover. While sensual, Angel's motions were more comforting than arousing, though Xander did moan at the sensations. Angel's administrations were slow, gentle, but were given with a purpose of reassuring himself that Xander was alive and well.

Angel had almost panicked when one of the creature's claws had come within millimeters of cutting Xander. He could have lost him so easily.

Xander reached up and started wiping the tears away from Angel's face. "Hey, no crying. We're both here and we're both fine. No one got hurt tonight."

"It was close, Xander. I saw how close it came to cutting you and you know there isn't any cure if you had gotten injured by that thing!" Angel's voice broke on the last word. He couldn't lose his mate. He'd go with him, one way or another.

Xander sighed. He knew what was going through Angel's head at the moment. He didn't want his lover to give up if something would happen to him and he knew it was only a matter of time. He was human. Even if he wasn't killed by one of the big bads they fought, time would do the job just as easily. He had no idea why or how he survived in Hell. He had initially lost time when they had first arrived and when he once sat down and figured out how long they had been there, was shocked at the fact that he hadn't seemed to age. He had hunted down all records he could find, but found no record of any situation like his. He could only assume that now, since they were back in the right dimension, that he would start to age again.

While still physically the age he was when he left, he was harder and the weight of the things he had done and experienced, hung on him, aging him past the 18 year old he was when he left. He could only expect to start aging now that he was back and he had some fear that since he was back, he might age the years he had amassed in the other place.

"Angel, I will do everything in my power not to leave you." Xander noticed that Angel had stopped his motions and took the cloth from his hand. He started washing the vampire, imitating Angel's motions on him. "I can't prevent something else from hurting me, but I won't leave on purpose. I can't just stand by and let you go fight on your own, either. You know that. It's just not in my nature." He paused and added more soap to the washcloth. "We go through this every time I have a close call. I realize that you feel the need to fight and let you do it. All I ask is that I be by your side. How do you think I would feel if I heard that you had been killed without me there?"

"I, I." Angel stammered.

"I would wonder for the rest of my life if I could have prevented it." Xander let his tone reflect his depth of feeling. "You know you would feel the same thing. Be glad that I'm by your side and not off on my own. I don't understand how Giles can let his Slayer go off by herself every night and not go crazy with worry that she'll come back unharmed."

Xander went quiet and finished up with the washing. Angel turned off the water and they took turns drying the other off with a towel. Neither spoke until they had put on some night clothes left behind from the last time Angel had occupied the house. It was then that Xander spoke up, "Are you hungry? I got some blood and put it in the kitchen. I could use something to eat as well."

Angel smiled a faint smile, "You? Hungry? Will wonders never cease?!"

Xander just hit him and glared. "Hey, at least my diet isn't a liquid one."

"I could arrange that if you want?" Angel snapped back, relieved that the odd contemplative mood both of them were in seemed to be finally broken.

"Naw, one blood drinker in the family is enough for me." Xander smiled and took off for the kitchen. He was rummaging through the refrigerator when Angel entered the room. Xander looked up, "Hey, I put some blood in the microwave. I wasn't sure how long to nuke it for, so I left it for you."

"I don't remember how long either," Angel shrugged. "I'll play it by ear." He opened the door to the microwave and saw the blood was still in the packet. "Since it's still in the packet, I'll just warm it up on the stove. That way I don't have to play with it. I can keep a closer eye on it. When we settle down somewhere with a good blood supply, I'll figure out the timing again. I don't really want to have to go back to Willies to get more tonight."

Xander laughed. "No, I don't really want to see him either and I highly doubt he wants to see either of us any time soon." He quieted down and went back to thinking about their future. "Angel?"

"Yes, Xander?"

"Where do you want to settle down?"

Angel wasn't sure how to answer this question. He really didn't want to stay in Sunnydale, but if his mate did, he would. "I don't know. Where do you want to stay?"

Xander was conflicted. Should he just come out and say he wanted to move? He looked down at the sandwich he had made while talking with Angel, "I don't want to stay here. I mean here as in Sunnydale, not here as in Mansion here." He didn't look up as he wasn't sure how Angel would react.

Angel let out a huff of air in relief. He was relieved that Xander would be okay with moving. "Love, where you go, I go. I don't want to stay here either. There are too many memories, none of them good, here. We can head for a big city. Get lost. Maybe help out some people. Whatever you want to do."

Xander smiled in relief, "Cool. I want to go as soon as possible. I don't want to get stuck here and Sunnydale has a way of sucking you in and never letting you go. I don't want to be here any longer than possible. But." Xander hesitated.

Angel's face quickly changed from showing relief to showing fear. "But what?"

"But I don't think we're the only ones that are stuck here."

"Huh?" Angel was honestly confused.

"Oz. Willow really fucked with his head and I think we're the only ones that can help him."

"How do you want to do that?"

"I want to take him with us."

"Take him with us? Why?"

"I think he needs to get away from here as much as we do. If he stays, he'll be eaten alive. Willow needs too much from him and he already has enough to worry about. Giles has given him no help in controlling the wolf. You know that we can help him. The Hellmouth only feeds the animal and if he can get away from it, even a little ways, he can gain some control. With help and practice we can give him full power over the transformation and leave Oz in full charge of the mind during the full moon.

"Willow will only continue to use him and you know she will. As it is, I'm surprised he still has some free will left." Xander paused, swallowed heavily and looked away. "If it wasn't for him dating Willow, I doubt I'd have been able to break away from her. She couldn't keep control of both of us and it weakened her enough so that I could lock her magic away. He deserves more than to be left to her will when we leave."

Angel kept quiet for several minutes. He thought about the stoic boy and realized that he had drastically changed in the time they had been gone, and considering that Oz had only experience a few months, the changes were stunning. He realized that Xander was right and Oz would be a good addition to the two men wherever they went. "You're right. We owe it to the boy to help him out."

He would have continued but Xander returned briefly to the carefree boy he had been before he traveled with Angel to Hell. The man threw his arms around his lover and squealed, though he'd deny that fact to his dieing breath. After a few seconds, Xander removed his arms and blushed, looked down and started to straighten his clothes, ignoring the fact that he had just acted like an eighteen year old he should have been.

He decided to ignore his behavior and started to talk again, "I asked him to stop by tomorrow afternoon. I know he mentioned finishing school and getting his GED and then traveling with his band. Perhaps he'd rather come with us, especially since we can help him with his wolf."

Angel just smiled and let Xander forget that he acted cute for a second. "Of course. That'll be fine, Xander." He reached out and placed his open hand on Xander's cheek. "Did you know I love you?"

Xander blushed again. "Yeah. Did you know I love you?"

"Yeah. Let's get some sleep, okay?"

Xander just nodded. Angel noticed that his eyes became just a little brighter and his pupils seemed to expand. Xander suddenly grabbed Angel's arm and started dragging him into their bedroom. Angel knew this would be a good night.