Playing unconscious came naturally to Spike. He had no pulse or breath to give away his ruse. Soon, he heard new noises in the corridor. 'Two pairs of shoes and wheels. Probably a stretcher.'

His deception relied heavily on the assumptions that a) they wouldn't shoot a tranq dart in him before entering his cell, just to be sure, and b) both came into close proximity. And, sure enough, his gamble paid off. The glass door slid aside, four feet entered the cell and two persons started carrying him out. He was laid down on the stretcher, and just when he was about to be strapped to it, he lashed out and caught the one handling the straps in the throat.

He grinned evilly at the man's shocked look and threw him to the floor. Rolling over the stretcher he was just about to punch the other lab-coated man in the face when he almost collapsed as a sudden, sharp pain flashed in his head. That gave the man time to grab him and push him against the glass door next to his former cell.

"Get the serum!" the man holding him shouted to his counterpart who was still gathering his bearings. Behind him, in the cell, another vampire shouted urgently. "Let me out!" Spike recognized the voice immediately as the "Rat" who had spoken to him earlier.

"Bit busy here right now," he growled as alarms suddenly started beeping all around them.

"I know where the exit is! You spring me, you're free. You don't, you're dead."

Moving fluidly like quicksilver, Spike pushed his captor's arms apart and threw him at his approaching colleague, who was holding a loaded syringe in his hand. The man wielding the syringe gasped as the needle sank to the other man's neck as they collided. The needled man collapsed immediately.

"Hurry! Hurry!" Rat screamed as Spike judo-threw the shell-shocked man over his shoulder. He didn't get back up.

"Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" Rat kept repeating as Spike went quickly through the fallen men's lab coat pockets. In the last one he found an access card which he rammed into the card reader next to the imprisoned vampire's cell. The door opened, and after Rat had quickly looked into both directions, he pointed to his left and started running. An emergency door was already being lowered at the end of the long corridor, but Spike managed to slide the last few yards and slip under it just as it slammed down.

Rounding a corner, they came face-to-face with a security door which had just slid shut. Next to the closed door an elevator door opened, and three armed guards rushed at them from the car. Behind them the only door left was already closing.

"New plan," Spike suggested and threw the hapless Rat at the trio. He sprang to a long slide and cleared the closing door by a good margin. Just before the door closed, he heard the tell-tale sound of a vampire getting dusted on the other side.

Xander came out of the toilet to a commotion at the club door. Looking closer he saw Anya waving her arms around in clear annoyance with Manuel, their body-builder bouncer, who was effectively blocking her entry into the bar.

"ID," he heard Manuel demand with his trunk-like arms crossed over his chest.

"I'm 1,200 years old, for Powers' sake," Anya almost screamed. "And I'm dating your bartender. Now, let me in you... quite magnificent specimen of the male sex."

"ID."

Xander had to suppress a laughter. It appeared that things were never dull with Anya around. "Manuel!" he called loudly. "You can let her in. She's with me."

Still huffing and puffing in annoyance, Anya came to lean on the bar. Xander flashed her a smile while filling a pitcher from a tab. After finishing the transaction with the customer, he grabbed a rag and sauntered over to Anya. He picked up a lighter from his pocket and flicked it at her face.

"Rough day? Wanna talk about it?"

The frown on Anya's face was... cute. "Xander, what are you doing?"

"I'm the bartender," he grinned. "Got my lighter, my rag, my empathy face. Work with me here. Rough day?"

"Stop flicking at me! I don't even smoke. But, yes, I've had a rough day, on the account that you don't seem to want me anymore."

"Excuse me, what?" Xander blinked, totally lost. "But just last night we..."

"That was last night, almost 24 hours ago," Anya stated with a straight face. "I'm feeling deprived. You didn't even call me the whole day. I stayed in my bed naked waiting for your call to tell you what I wasn't wearing."

Xander took a panicked look around, but nobody seemed to be listening. "Whoa, Anya, timeout!" He made the universal T-sign with his hands. "First of all, you haven't given me your phone number yet. Second, how could I have known you were waiting... the way you were waiting? And third, I do want you. But can't you see that without a deeper meaning, the mechanical act becomes just a repetitive and meaningless task. I want there to be excitement, anticipation... seduction."

"You want me to seduce you?" Anya asked excitedly, all annoyance forgotten.

"Yes, that's something that I'm definitely anticipating happening at some point or another. Women aren't the only ones who need to feel wanted."

"Xander, I want you. Now. Happy?"

"And once again she manages to miss the whole point by the widest margin imaginable," Xander muttered under his breath with a resigned shake of his head. "Thanks, Anya," he answered louder. "That's so sweet."

"So, can we leave now?"

Xander glanced at the clock on the far wall. "My shift ends in a quarter. Where should we go?"

"Your place, your bed," Anya stated the fact as she saw it.

"Whoa, don't you want to like... go to a dinner and then see a movie?"

"Why bother? I've already eaten. I don't care much for movies anyway and this way we'll have more time for sex."

"This whole dating scenario is a totally alien concept to you, isn't it?"

To his surprise Anya looked uncomfortable at the question. "I have never really dated," she admitted in a quiet voice with her eyes held low.

Xander let out a little, sad sigh. Anya was obviously embarrassed by her shortcoming, which made him fall for her just a little bit more.

"Listen, Anya. It's no big deal. So, how about a compromise? We'll go for a walk downtown, get to know each other more and then we can head to my be... place. We'll try the dinner and movie thingy some other time. Ok?"

"You'd do that for me?" Anya asked hopefully fluttering her eyelashes.

"Yes," Xander nodded. "Yes, I would."

Half-an-hour later Xander and Anya were walking slowly across the UC Sunnydale campus with Anya hanging on his arm. Before they were even out of the club, Xander had insisted on the ground rule that Anya refrain from telling him about all the men she had destroyed back in her vengeance days. So, consequently, they were now having what Xander would call 'a companionable silence'. They were getting close to the exit to Broadway when Xander saw a glimpse of a platinum-blonde apparition in a black duster march purposefully across the lawns some 50 yards ahead of them. Xander stopped in his tracks like he had hit a wall causing Anya's ongoing motion almost make her fall to her butt on the ground.

"Hey!" she started indignantly but Xander's hand over her mouth cut off the rest.

"Shhh," Xander hissed and gave her a warning glance. Ahead of them Spike continued his purposeful gait. He never glanced left or right.

Only when he was sure that the vampire was out of both seeing and hearing range, did he take his hand away from Anya's mouth.

"What the hell, Xander?" she demanded, shooting daggers out of her eyes. "What's going on?"

"Trouble," Xander muttered. "Big trouble."

She turned to face Anya fully and laid both hands on her shoulders. "Anya, I want you to listen to me very carefully. I will tell you what's going to happen next, and I don't want any objections, counterarguments or flippant comments. Can you do that for me?"

Taken aback by Xander's suddenly serious demeanour, she surprised herself by nodding in agreement. "I guess..."

"Great. Now, I'm afraid I have to cut our date short." When Anya opened her mouth, he raised a warning finger which had the desired effect. Anya stayed silent. "I want you to take a taxi home, wherever it currently is, and stay there until you hear from me. So, I need you to give me your phone number."

"What about you?" Anya asked in slight consternation once she noticed that Xander was finished. She was already rummaging through her purse for a pen and a piece of paper.

"Me? I'm gonna go see a Slayer."

"You need to relax, Riley," Willow told the poleaxed TA, accentuating her point with a slap on his thigh. "I mean, it's not like you're proposing. You're just making contact, getting a reaction."

"I can't believe it," Riley muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. "I choked."

"You really, really did," she agreed wholeheartedly.

"I don't understand," Riley continued. "I'm good at things. That's what I do. I work hard, apply myself. Get it done."

"Well, on the positive side, you failed extremely well."

"That's a great comfort to me," Riley snorted. "I open my mouth and what comes out? 'Cheese?'"

On the dance floor Buffy was fully enjoying herself. It had been a while since she had really let her hair down. Admiring guys were dancing around her, reminding her of another, similar dance with her sister Slayer. She briefly wondered what Faith might be doing right now. It had been several months since she had seen the brunette, and while she respected her counterpart's privacy, she often wished there was some way to contact her. 'Still got it,' she grinned as she performed a few perfectly synchronised moves when the song suddenly transitioned into a new one with a faster tempo. A song she knew well.

On the couch Willow's breath suddenly hitched as the dance music changed. 'Oz.'

"Are you ok, Willow?" Riley asked in concern, seeing the stricken look on the redhead's face.

"This song... Look, Riley. Go find Buffy. Tell her I went home and not to worry about me. She'll understand."

"Thanks," Riley replied with genuine gratitude.

"At least you now have something to say to her. Don't worry. You'll do fine."

After having escorted Willow to the door, Riley went to search for Buffy. She wasn't on the dance floor anymore, but he found her quickly by the back door, cooling herself and talking to a guy. This time he didn't hesitate.

"Hey," he called quietly and touch Buffy's arm briefly. The guy took one look at him and left hurriedly.

"Hey, where's Willow?" Buffy asked brightly and looked around for her friend.

"Uh, she said to say that she took off."

Buffy frowned at that and tried to get a look at the front door.

"She's ok," Riley assured her. "Kinda blue, but she said not to worry. She heard this song start..."

"Oh, the Dingoes," Buffy groaned. "I should have..."

"Bad associations?"

"Willow's boyfriend was the lead guitarist," Buffy sighed. "He... he died when the high school..."

"I'm so sorry," Riley interrupted gently. "I read about it in the papers. You must have known him too."

"Yes," Buffy nodded sadly. "We spent quite a lot of time together."

Riley realized to his shock and thrill that they were talking. He and Buffy were having an actual conversation. Ok, the subject wasn't the most comfortable one, but the biggest hurdle was now behind them, wasn't it?

Just then an urgent voice from behind Buffy got her attention.

"Buffy! I've been looking all over for you. We need..."

"Xander?"

"... to talk," Xander finished lamely, finally noticing the tall and well-built guy who Buffy apparently had been having a conversation with. "Not here. It's sort of... unfinished business."

"Business? Right."

Riley blinked a few times. Buffy's whole demeanour had changed between two words. There was a kind of... readiness to act in the way she now held herself. Something that...

"Excuse us."

He watched her grab her purse almost absentmindedly and spare him only the briefest of glances before turning around to follow the new guy out of the house.

"No problem," Riley muttered quietly after them.

"Denied," a voice sing-songed from behind him, and then Forrest and Graham were flanking him.

"It's not like she blew me off," Riley protested with a frown. "She just... left with another guy, that's all."

"We need you downstairs anyway," Forrest chuckled and nudged his arm. "Dr Walsh says it's urgent."