"Hey guys," Xander greeted Willow and Oz as he walked up to the dorm's entrance.

"Hey yourself," Willow replied, but cringed when he stood next to them. "What happened to your hair?"

"Oh, that," Xander said and touched his head. "Had a nasty meeting with a flaming sword," he explained. "Where's Buffy?"

"Still in our room," Willow told him and motioned with her thumb in the direction of the dorms. "She couldn't decide what to wear. Well, we two decided. Decided to get out of there and let you deal with her."

"Ah, come one," Xander said with a smile. "It can't be that bad."

"Bad enough for us," she replied and walked arm in arm with Oz down the path. "We'll meet you at the cinema."

"Okay. See ya later," Xander tossed over his shoulder an opened the dorm's door. "Can't be that a hard job to get the slayer out of there."

*****

"Come on Buffy," Xander called out for the umpteenth time since he arrived at their dorm room fifteen minutes ago. The slayer simply refused to let him inside, so he had so wait in corridor for her. "We're more than late."

"Don't be in such a hurry," came Buffy's muffled reply. "We still got fifteen minutes left before the movie starts."

"But I don't want to miss the trailers," Xander whined in a child like manner and leaned against the wall beside the door.

"Oh, poor Xander. I bet Willow will let you watch some on her laptop."

"That's not the same," he declared. "You should hurry or you're gonna have to walk to the cinema."

"Don't you dare," Buffy tossed back. "I had enough of that from Willow. I think she said something about being sick waiting for me before the two of them left."

"Being sick waiting for you," Xander repeated under his breath. "I'm getting there."

"Did you say something?"

"Noooo," Xander replied and continued waiting. Finally the Buffy opened the door and stepped out into the corridor.

"It's about damn time," Xander started and turned around, getting his first look at Buffy. The blonde slayer had really dressed to kill. She wore a pair of skintight, black leather pants with a matching leather jacket and a low cut dark, blue top.

"What's up Xander?" Buffy asked with an amused grin. "Like what you see?"

Xander was finally able to get back his composure. "Faith?" he asked with a grin. "Why did you swap bodies with Buffy?"

Buffy's eyes widened at that. "Oh, you," she exclaimed and hit Xander slightly on the shoulder

"Ouch," he replied and rubbed the sore spot. "Slayer strength, remember?"

"Don't be such a sissy," Buffy told him with a roll of her eyes "You can take harder knocks and still walk away."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry," Xander said. "Truth to be told: For someone who defeated a vampire master only a couple of hours ago you look absolutely breathtaking."

"Thank you," Buffy replied with smile and interlocked arms with him.

"Hey. I thought this wasn't a date," Xander exclaimed as they walked arm in arm down the corridor.

"Xander," Buffy told him. "You have a beautiful blonde hanging on your arm and you're complaining?"

"Yeah," Xander said after realising this himself. "Stupid me."

*****

"Damn," one of the vampires in the black jeep cursed. "We just missed them," he said and pointed at the BMW that just drove out of the dorm's parking lot.

"Calm down," their leader told him from the passenger's seat. "These were only two of them. But we need all four to accomplish our mission."

"And what do we do now?" the vampire asked and drove after the other vehicle.

"We continue as planned," the leader ordered. "The boss said that all of them wanted to meet somewhere. We just follow them and wait until we have them all in one spot."

*****

"Okay, we're here," Xander said and killed the engine. Both stepped out of the BMW and walked out of the parking lot. "Let's find Oz and Willow. And then we'll enjoy this evening."

"Sounds like a plan," Buffy told him with a happy smile.

*****

"Okay, the slayer and the boy are here," the vampire leader exclaimed. "But where are the other two?"

"I got them," the vampire on the driver's seat exclaimed with an evil smile and pointed in the direction of the cinema's entrance. "Seems like the party is complete."

"Alright," the leader said and took his Mp5 out from under his coat. Behind him the remaining two vampires did the same and cocked their guns. They lowered the windows of the cars and peered outside.

"Step on the gas," he ordered.

*****

Buffy and Xander were still on their way to the cinema, when a distinctive sound caught his attention. The sound of a car accelerating. He turned his head and was just able to see something that resulted in sudden action from him. What he saw was a jeep with lowered windows and the muzzles of guns sticking out of them.

He didn't have the time to warn Buffy. He simply jumped forward and pulled the blonde slayer with him to the ground.

The vampires choose that exact moment to open fire. Most of their shots missed, but three of them were lucky enough to hit Xander in the back. He and Buffy hit the ground hard, while another burst of bullets riddled the hood of the car behind them. Satisfied that they had accomplished their mission, the vampires drove down the street and away from the scene of their crime.

It took Buffy only a few seconds to realise what had happened. She instantly crawled out from under Xander and turned him on his back, trying to determine how bad he was hurt.

"Xander," the slayer called afraid out and shook him, only to get no response. Then she realised something. Or better, she noticed the lack of blood. "Xander? She asked again.

"Fuck," Xander suddenly cursed and startled the slayer with his action. He slowly sat up and rubbed his sore back. "That hurt."

Buffy slowly crawled up to him and touched his back where one of the bullets had hid him. "How..." she started when she felt something solid under his shirt. She grabbed the front of the shirt and tore it open only to reveal the bullet proof vest underneath.

"Never leave the house without one," he told her with a slight grin. "But I wouldn't have thought that you would rip my clothes off on the first date."

"You....," Buffy started menacingly, but was interuppted by the scream of a girl. Both stood up an looked over the hood of the car the had landed behind and noticed with shock the other two prone forms that laid a few meters from them.

"Shit," Xander cursed and jumped up, Buffy close behind him. Both had already realised that the two bodies belonged to Willow and Oz.

Xander ran up to Oz, while Buffy checked up on Willow. The witch was unconscious and, as far as the slayer could see, one of bullets had gone straight through her shoulder. She dropped her jacked and ripped of the sleeve of her blouse and used it to stop the bleeding.

"How's Oz?" Buffy called over to Xander.

"Two hits to the chest," he replied and used his own shirt to stop any bleeding. "Maybe the lung," he said and focused his attention back on the barely conscious werewolf. "Don't worry Oz. Everything will be alright," he tried to reassure his friend, trying his hardest to keep him awake. He only briefly looked up when he saw the ambulance at the corner of the street.

*****

The jeep with the four vampires drove all the way back to the docks, where they were already expected by the second vampire team and their new boss.

"So," the man asked after a drag of his cigarette. "How did it go?"

"We hit them," the leader reported. "We aimed high, so they had a chance of survival."

"Good," the man said. "I trust the boy and the slayer to get out of this mess. Its important is that we pissed them off enough."

"What now?" the leader asked.

"You two," the man said and motioned for two vampires. "Take one of the cars and drive to the hospital. They're most likely to be there. I want to know if one of them leaves."

The two vampires nodded and walked in the direction of the second jeep.

"And we," the man exclaimed after a moment. "We drive to a completely different location."

*****

Buffy sat at Willow's bedside and held the wicca's hand. Luckily an ambulance had been in the area and had been there only two minutes after the shots had been fired. They had been able to stabilize Oz and stop the bleeding in Willow's shoulder.

They had followed the ambulance to the hospital, but they were separated shortly after their arrival. Xander had left his blood soaked shirt behind and the bullet proof vest was the only the thing he wore. And since the hits on the vest were clearly visible, it took only a few seconds before nurse caught him, to make sure nothing was wrong with him.

She looked up when she heard the sudden sound of Xander knocking softly on the doorframe. The slayer instantly jumped to her feet and enveloped her friend her arms, trying to get as much comfort out of his embrace as possible.

"How is she?" Xander asked a couple of minutes later.

"She's fine, all things considered." She took his hand and lead him to the Wicca's bedside. "The bullet went right through her shoulder without damaging anything important. The doctor gave her something so she could sleep," she explained. "And how are you?"

"I'll have a couple of bruises, but nothing else. But they took their time to check me through. I had a hard time explaining them, why I wore a bullet proof vest," he told her with a weak smile, that vanished almost instantly. "And Oz?"

"Worse," Buffy said with a shake of her head. "Two bullets went straight through his right lung. He's still in surgery. The doc's been here and said that he'll be okay. But it'll take a lot of time for him to recover completely." The slayer sat down with a heavy sigh and buried her face in hands. "Damn, why didn't his werewolf healing kick in?"

Xander didn't answer. He simply took a small gleaming object out of his pocket and held it up for Buffy to see. "Silver?" Buffy asked with wide eyes and took the plated bullet in her out of his hand.

Xander nodded. "Those guys sure did their homework. They made sure that they could get all of us."

"But who's behind the attack," the blonde slayer asked. "Some of Sanchez's men?"

"No," Xander shook his head. "They are too busy killing each other for the leadership in his organisation. Its doubtful that they could have pulled something like this off," he declared and paused for a second. "That leaves only Carver."

"Shit," Buffy cursed under her breath. "That damn bastard."

"With us dead there would be no one to stop him from controlling the Hellmouth," Xander agreed. "We should have never trusted a vampire."

"And now?" Buffy asked after a silent moment.

"Well, I called Willow's and Oz's parents. And I called your mom and Giles," Xander said and noted at Buffy's surprised look, that the slayer had obviously forgotten about the two. "They should be here in a few minutes."Xander looked over at Buffy, a grim look on his face. "And then I'll take care of Carver. No one attacks us and gets away with it."

"Good," Buffy agreed and stood up. "I'll come with you."

"Nope Buff, not this time," Xander told her with shake of his head. "You stay here and make sure that no one gets to Willow and Oz." Xander instantly lifted his hands, stopping any protest from Buffy beforehand. "If I'm good at something, than it's kicking people in the ass when they don't expect it. And this one of the times where I have to use that particular skill. But that also means that I have to do it alone."

Buffy finally nodded. "Just be careful, okay?" She told him, the concern audible in her voice. "This evening was already bad enough. I couldn't stand it if something happened to you."

"Don't worry," Xander told her with a grin before he turned in the direction of the room's door. "That bastard won't know what hit him."

*****

Outside the hospital, a jeep with two observers watched as the black BMW pulled out of the parking lot and drove down the street.

One of the two vampires instantly took his radio. "Group one, this is group three," he spoke into the receiver. "Boss, Harris has just left the hospital."

"Perfect," came the instant reply. "The kid's doing exactly what I wanted."

*****

"Ah, Paul," Carver greeted his assistant at the top of the stairs that lead to office building's rooftop. "Is everything going as planned?"

"Yes Sir," the vampire said with a nod and followed his boss outside. "It'll take a few days, but by then all of our personnel should be back in LA."

"Excellent," Carver said and watched as his men prepared the helicopter for the start "Any message from our friend?"

"No sir," Paul admitted with shake of his head. "I wasn't able to contact him."

"Well, if you do, tell him that the offer still stands," Carver told him and took a deep breath. He took a final look at the small town of Sunnydale, before he looked back at Paul. "I have neglected the business in LA fro too long. It time to go back home," the vampire master declared and walked in the direction of the helicopter.

"Yes sir," Paul said and disappeared back into the building.

"Good evening Steve," Carver greeted his pilot on his way to the chopper. "How are you?"

"I'm fine Mr. Carver," the pilot responded with a smile and opened the helicopter's door for his boss. "It'll take a few more minutes for the final checks on the helicopter. I hope that's not a problem."

"That's okay," Carver told him and climbed inside. "I'm not in a hurry."

The vampire had just sat down, when his cell phone started ringing.

"Hello?" he said, when he had finally fished it out of his pocket

"Hey Carver," greeted him a distinctive familiar voice."You still remember me?"

"Of course Mr. Harris," Carver answered with a slight smile. "How are you?"

"I'm fine," Xander gave back with a snort. "But not thanks to you."

The vampire frowned at that. "I don't understand what you mean."

"Oh, come on. Cut the bullshit," Xander growled over the line. "You send a group of your goons to kill us. Oh, just in case you don't know: They failed."

Carve rubbed his temples with his free hand and tried to make any kind of sense of what the young man had just told him. "Mr. Harris, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about," Carver tried to reassure him. "I didn't order any kind of attack against you or any of your friends. I'm a man that keeps his word."

"Yeah right," Xander replied with a snort. "Tell that my two friends who are currently in the hospital."

"I'm very sorry for what has happened to you friends," Carver told him sincerely. "But again, I didn't have anything to do with that."

"You know what? I won't listen to this crap anymore," Xander said. He waited for a few seconds before he continued. "Do you know what I'm going to do? I am going to kill you."

"A shallow threat Mr.Harris," Carver replied confidently and watched his pilot stepped inside the helicopter. A few seconds later the rotors started turning. "I'm already on way back to Los Angeles. You might have a chance of getting me here, but LA is my turf. You should cool down young man and clear your head before you do anything stupid."

"My head is pretty clear," Xander told him calmly. "But why are you telling me that you're already on your way to LA? You chopper hasn't even left the building."

If it was even possible, the blood in Carver's veins became even colder. "What?" he finally asked confused.

"Just look over your left shoulder," Xander told him. Carver immediately turned his head. It took him a few seconds, but finally he could spot a single figure standing on one of the nearby buildings rooftops, pointing a tube shaped object in the direction of the helicopter. Carver instantly recognized the weapon. After all he had sold quite a few AT-4s to South America. "Say goodnight sucker," came Xander's voice of over the cell phone's speaker.

Carve didn't move. He knew that it was useless. Even with his vampiric abilities he wouldn't be able to escape the explosion the rocket would produce. So he sat calmly in his seat and waited for the inevitable.

"Damn," he cursed a millisecond before the rocker hit the helicopter.

*****

As soon as the explosion shook the building, Paul jumped up from his office chair and hurried together with a group of Carver's men to the building's roof.

"Oh shit," one of the guards exclaimed, as he saw the burning inferno that contained the remains of the LA's most powerful vampire leader.

Paul instead quickly regained his composure and rushed back into his office. He was getting paid for this kind of situation after all. He grabbed his phone and dialled a number he knew by heart.

"The boss is so not going to like this," he muttered while he waited for someone to answer his call at the end of the line.

"Lindsey McDonald," came finally the voice through the speaker. "How can I help you?"

*****

Xander waited few seconds, just to make sure that Carver hadn't survived his attack. When he was satisfied with his work, he quickly climbed down the fire escape of the house and hurried to his SUV.

He quickly loaded the AT-4 into the trunk and climbed into the driver's seat. Seconds later his car had left the alley and drove down the street.

*****

On the opposite side of Carver's office building, a black jeep parked in the darkness of another alley, completely hidden by the shadows. The vehicle's occupants had witnessed the explosion of the helicopter first hand.

"I knew I could trust the kid to do the job," Carver's former advisor smiled and watched through his pair of binoculars as some of his former boss's men tried to extinguish the fire.

"What now sir?" the vampire on the driver's seat. "Do we leave for LA?"

"Not right now," the man exclaimed and lowered the binoculars. "We still got a few hours before the news of Mr. Carver's demise will spread. Time enough to visit an old friend of mine," he said and took his radio. "Group three, this is group one. Continue monitoring the hospital. I want to know when Harris returns."

After the confirmation from the other group, the man looked over at the vampire and shrugged. "Like I told Michael, I just hate loose ends."

*****

Buffy quietly pushed open the cafeteria's door's and peered inside. She instantly spotted Xander's slumped form at on of the tables. Silently she walked up to him, which only confirmed her suspicion. She carefully took the now empty Styrofoam cup in front of her and noticed that despite the lack of coffee in it, Xander was snoring.

"He's kinda cute when he's sleeping," she thought, but quickly remembered why she was here. "Hey Xander," she said softly and shook him.

Xander instantly jumped up which startled the blonde slayer. "Buffy?" he exclaimed surprised.

"Yeah, it's me?" the slayer replied and sat down on another chair. "Who did you expect? Santa Claus?"

"No, definitely not Santa," Xander said with a soft smile and rubbed his tired eyes. "Sorry. I just wanted to get a coffee and think about a few things before I joined you guys." He quickly checked his watch. "Well, at least I didn't sleep through the rest of the night."

"Hey, no problem. I mean, you've been up for nearly two days. No wonder you're so exhausted," Buffy told him with a warm smile. "I saw you car in the parking lot a couple of minutes ago and one of the nurses told me where I could find you."

Xander nodded at that. "Carver is dust."

"Yeah?" Buffy asked with relief in her voice. But almost instantly something came to her mind and she frowned. "What did you do this time. Do we have to worry about more 'acts of terrorism' here in Sunnydale?"

Xander rolled his eyes at that. "As far as I know the Highschool and City Hall were explained as gas leaks. And the freighter.....Okay, I don't know how they explained that, but surely not acts of terrorism. I would've read it in the news."

"Yeah right," Buffy nodded, but remained unconvinced. "And the fact that you exposed the Mayor as one of the big criminal masterminds on the west coast did nothing to support this version. Now conspiracy theorist all over the world think that the CIA killed Wilkins, in order to get to his money so they could finance some of their illegal activities. Which is also convenient, since a certain someone raided all of his bank accounts."

Xander pointed his finger at her. "Okay. That's it. You're spending way too much time with Willow and her computer," he told her seriously. "And by the way, I donated nearly half of the money to a good cause."

"Oh, yeah?" Buffy asked with an evil grin. "You think that'll spare you your punishment."

"Punishment?" Xander replied with a leer. "I can already imagine it my mind. You in a skintight leather outfit with the matching whip in you hand." At Xander's description Buffy began blushing furiously. She took the Styrofoam cup again and threw it at Xander's head. "Dominatrix Buffy," he continued, obviously not affected by the attack. "You think you can take this as your major at college?"

"Xander!" Buffy called out with a look of outrage, but the victim of that look simply couldn't take it any more and started snickering at the blonde slayer. A few seconds later Buffy joined into his, which resulted into a full blown laughter from both of them.

*****

Meanwhile a group of five vampires wandered down the corridors of Sunnydale hospital. The stopped at an intersection and four of them waited for further orders.

"You know what you have to do?" Carver's ex-employee asked.

All four vamps nodded and moved in pairs down the corridor, each group heading for another section of the hospital.

Their leader waited a few more seconds before he also moved, following the signs that pointed in the direction of the cafeteria.

*****

"God, I needed that," Xander said and wiped a tear of his eyes. "Life's been a bit too serious the last few months."

"Yeah," Buffy said with a smile, until she realised that she had totally forgotten the purpose for finding her best male friend. "Shit," Buffy cursed and pulled him up from his chair. "Come on. Willow wanted to see you."

"She's awake?" Xander asked surprised, as he was pulled by the slayer in the direction of the doors.

Buffy nodded "She woke up twenty minutes ago," she said. "And I promised her to find you."

"Then let's hurry," Xander agreed with a nod.

They were about five meters away from the exit, when suddenly the Cafeteria's doors were swung open from the other side. Both stopped in mid- step and looked with a mix of surprise, fear and awe at the man in front of them.

He looked different. His hair was now a light brown and he wore an expensive business suit with a matching coat to complete the look, a complete opposite to the more street like clothes he had worn when they had last seen him. But despite all the changes, there was no doubt about the newcomer's identity.

"Hello whelp," Spike finally said with a wide smile, breaking the silence that hung in the room. "Miss me?"