Author's Note: Okay, sorry about the delay. The next chapter is finished, I just haven't typed it up yet, so it won't be too long. This chapter and the next one are just kind of setting the stage for more important things to happen, so that is why nothing big really happens in them. Thanks to all who have reviewed; you guys make my day. Enjoy! -DM

Chapter Three

"So, are we Bronzing it tonight?" Xander asked as he, Buffy, and Willow sat down at their table with their lunches.

"I'm free," Buffy replied. "How about you, Wills?"

Willow took a bite of her sandwich and nodded. "Are you bringing Angel this time? Or is he, uh, working tonight?"

Xander immediately picked up the slight hesitation in the redhead's voice and smiled inwardly. He had been at Sunnydale High for almost four months now and he still had very little information about Angel, Buffy's boyfriend. Willow's hesitation could mean something or nothing, but the young man couldn't take the risk to probe her mind for more details.

He hadn't had much time to discuss his findings with Spike lately; the Master had been busy preparing for Xander's Claiming ritual, which was to be held the following night. The telepath unconsciously smiled at that thought. He had waited for what seemed like forever for his eighteenth birthday, and now it was finally here.

"Uh-oh. Looks like Xan's gone to his happy place," he heard Buffy say teasingly. "Thinking about tomorrow night?"

Xander blushed, absently tucking a lock of hair, which had escaped his bandana, behind his ear. "I can't help it," he admitted. "I've had a crush on Will since I was old enough to know what a crush was." Will was the name Xander had chosen to use for Spike. It was the vampire's actual name, so Xander figured that it would be easiest to use that than any other name.

"At least you two even have boyfriends," Willow grumbled. "The only guy I've had the courage to speak more than a few vowel sounds to is Xander." The young Wiccan vehemently stabbed her fork into her salad.

"Aw, Wills, I didn't know you cared that much about me. I'm honoured."

Both girls laughed. "I thought you had your eye on that guitarist from Dingoes Ate My Baby, Willow," Buffy said. "What's his name, Osbourne?"

"Daniel Osbourne. Oz. And yeah, kinda liking him in the significant other-boyfriendy sense," Willow admitted. "He's not going to notice me though. He's in a rock band; I'm just a computer nerd who can float pencils," she finished glumly.

"I could try to talk to him if you want," Xander offered. He genuinely liked the redhead and it hurt him to see her depressed. "His gym locker is next to mine."

Willow brightened. "You would? That'd be great!" She paused. "Just don't get yourself beaten up again. I'd hate for you to get hurt because of me."

They all fell silent at the mention of The Incident, and Xander felt a twinge of pain from his taped ribs. The Incident had occurred almost three weeks earlier and it marked Xander's first encounter with homophobia in a long time.

He had been walking over to the Bronze one night when it happened. A group of guys in his grade approached him, their leader, the Sunnydale Razorbacks quarterback, Blaine Mall, at their head. Xander didn't sense their intentions until one of them grabbed his arms, pinning them behind his back. They had beaten him into submission, leaving the young telepath dazed and confused as to what had happened until Spike found him nearly twenty minutes later.

The Master vampire had been livid. Xander nearly had to seize control of the other man's mind in order to stop him from tracking the boys down and tearing them to pieces.

As a result, Xander was constantly ridiculed in the locker room. His clothes were stolen fairly often, his locker vandalised, and cries of "cocksucking hippie" were now commonplace. The telepath shook it off, but it had hit him hard. He was completely out of his element among other humans.

A gentle touch on his shoulder brought Xander back to the present. Willow was looking at him with a concerned expression on her face. "Are you sure you're up for the Bronze tonight, Xan? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine, Wills, really." Xander gave her one of his trademark lopsided grins when he saw the doubtful expression on her face. "It's not like my ribs are broken or anything. They're just bruised."

"You should still be careful. Especially tomorrow night."

"Yes, Mother."

"Which reminds me; I still need to give Will the shovel talk."

Xander groaned and covered his face in his hands. Buffy laughed. "Come on, Xan, it's not that bad. She did the same thing to Angel."

"I know. Will just doesn't take a joke too well, that's all. I'd hate to scare him away now."

Buffy snorted. "Trust me; Angel's probably not much better."

"Buffy! Ah, there you are." Mr. Giles, the librarian, came rushing over to their table. Xander picked up a note of urgency in the Watcher's voice and tentatively lowered his mental shields.

"I just received a call from Angel," Giles continued breathlessly, not noticing Xander's presence. "One of his old," he glanced quickly at Xander, "er, rivals, is in town, apparently. He is called Spike, and he told me to tell you to stay far away from him."

Xander's head shot up at Spike's name. So that was why he couldn't get much information on Angel. He was a vampire, and one that used to run with Spike.

The young telepath immediately reached for Spike's mind, blocked momentarily by the vampire's natural shields. Spike had been sleeping and was slightly annoyed at having been woken up. Xander quickly strengthened their link to allow the vampire to 'listen' in on the conversation.

"Spike?" Buffy repeated. "How bad is this guy? Angel doesn't normally make a big deal about other guys like him"

"He's very dangerous, and is rumoured to have brought his entire gang with him. Angel warns you not to underestimate him, as he is far stronger than he looks." He cleaned his glasses on the hem of his shirt anxiously. "Come see me after school today. You too, Willow."

"What about me, G-Man?" Xander asked, feigning confusion.

Giles shot him a glare at the hated nickname, but only received an innocent look in return. "I'm afraid this is a private matter, Xander, but I'm sure Buffy will fill you in later."

"Sorry, Xan," Buffy said. "We could always go to the Bronze tomorrow for your birthday."

Xander shrugged. "It's cool. I've got an English paper due anyway," he said nonchalantly. It was clear that he wasn't going to get any more information, so he let the link go, feeling Spike's mind gradually fade from his own. The vampire had reacted strangely to this revelation. Xander had half-expected their mental link to be severed instantly and Spike to go out in search of Angel as soon as he heard. Instead, the Brit was unusually introspective and Xander could only pick up random stray thoughts.

The bell rang and the trio said goodbye to Giles and headed down to Mr. Campbell's room. All of a sudden, Buffy stopped short, causing Xander to walk into her. Willow neatly sidestepped around the disoriented pair, then stopped short herself.

"Little warning would be nice, Buff," Xander muttered, picking up his cd player, which had fallen to the floor when he had bumped into the Slayer. He straightened, brushing dust off his headphones and slipped them into his back, absently brushing the stray lock of hair out of his eyes.

Buffy and Willow still hadn't moved. The Slayer glared defiantly at someone across the hall and Willow had what Xander knew to be her "resolve face" on. He looked up, seeing for the first time whom his friends were glaring at, and felt his blood turn to ice. Fear was a new emotion for him and he decided that he did not like the feeling at all.

"What are you doing here, Blaine?" Buffy asked scornfully as the quarterback swaggered toward them. "I thought you had been expelled."

Blaine shrugged. "My dad's a lawyer; he pulled some strings," he replied. Willow muttered something decidedly un-Willowlike under her breath. Blaine turned and regarded the tiny redhead with amusement. "So are you two Harris' bodyguards now?" He snorted. "I'm not gonna hurt him, don't worry. I can't afford another expulsion."

Xander angrily pushed his way past Buffy and Willow, stopping directly in front of Blaine. He picked up a flare of apprehension from the quarterback as Blaine realised that Xander was easily as big as one of his linebackers, and he didn't exactly fancy the thought of going up against one of them.

"Leave us alone, Blaine," Xander growled, trying his best to imitate Spike's dangerously calm tone of voice. He didn't normally consider himself to be a violent person, but at that moment, he wanted nothing more than to make Blaine pay for what he had done, for all the mocking and ridicule that Xander had been forced to endure.

A gentle touch on his arm broke through the red mist obscuring anything in his sight but Blaine. Tearing his gaze away, Xander looked at the hand resting lightly on his arm, then up at Willow's face. Concern showed on her gentle features and the telepath could pick up a hint of apprehension emanating from her. Blaine took that opportunity to walk hurriedly down the hall.

"Xan?" Willow asked hesitantly. Buffy too, was looking at him with a mixture of fear and respect. He shook his head, clearing away the last of the bloodlust.

"Sorry, I'm okay," he said, suddenly feeling very tired. He swayed a bit on his feet, but didn't notice until Buffy slipped an arm around his waist. Grateful for the support, he leaned heavily against the Slayer.

"You don't look so good," Buffy said, touching her hand to his forehead in a maternal gesture.

"I'm jus' tired," he mumbled. A dull throb had slowly been building in his head as soon as Blaine had arrived, and now he felt like there was an entire orchestra playing just behind his eyes.

Willow and Buffy exchanged dubious glances. As one, they spun Xander around and pushed him in the direction of the nurse's office, both of them ignoring the young man's protests.

The nurse looked up suspiciously as the three teenagers entered the office, but her face softened instantly when she saw Xander. Rising from her desk, she herded the young man into a chair and turned to Buffy and Willow.

"What classes are you coming from?" she asked, going back over to her computer.

"We were on out way to Chemistry when Xander got sick in the bathroom," Buffy lied quickly. Xander looked up at her in confusion and was about to say something when Willow's hand tightened on his knee. Reluctantly, he closed his mouth and nodded, wincing as the movement sent fresh tendrils of pain through his skull.

The nurse nodded sympathetically and handed Xander an Advil and a glass of water, which he gratefully accepted. "The flu's going around; I wouldn't be surprised if you were coming down with it," she said. "What's your name?"

Xander closed his eyes, trying to will the pain away. "Harris," he managed. "Alexander Harris."

The tapping of the keys on the nurse's keyboard blended in with the sound of the rain hitting the window outside. "Your father is Dalton Harris?" Xander nodded slowly. "Alright, I'm going to give him a call and tell him you're being dismissed. Do you want him to pick you up?"

"No," Xander said quickly. "I can walk, it's not far." The rain-heavy clouds probably would protect Dalton from the sun, but Xander wasn't prepared to risk his foster-father.

Rising, Xander slung his satchel across his shoulder and accepted the dismissal pass from the nurse. He gave his friends a weak smile and a half-hearted wave. "Have fun in chem, you guys. Maybe nothing will explode today," he joked. Buffy smiled and Willow gave him a worried look.

After turning his pass in to the main office and receiving a suspicious look from Principal Snyder, Xander left school and immediately walked as fast as he could bear to the nest. Every step brought fresh pain lancing through his head like razor-sharp knives.

How he managed to reach the nest, he didn't know. He pushed open the heavy iron door with shaking hands and stumbled inside, startling a pair of vampires in the process.

"Liegen," the female, Emma? Emily? said in shock as she and her companion rushed over to help the boy. "Liegen, are you alright?" Ella, that was her name, Xander remembered distractedly.

"Does he look alright to you?" the male, Ben, returned harshly. "Let's get him over to Dalton; only a fool would dare disturb Master Spike right now."

Xander struggled in the demons' arms. "No, I want to see Spike," he protested.

Ben tightened his grip as he and Ella led the telepath toward Dalton's room. "I'm sorry, Liegen, but the Master gave specific orders that no one, not even you, is to enter his quarters until tomorrow night."

The Claiming, Xander remembered. Spike must be preparing for the ritual. Sighing, he relented and allowed himself to be led into Dalton's room.

The vampiric scholar was waiting for them at the door when Ben and Ella arrived with Xander. Taking one look at the boy, Dalton rushed over and helped him to the bed he used when he wasn't with Spike. "Xander! What in hell's name happened to you?" he asked, dismissing the two younger vampires with a wave.

Xander let his head sink into the pillows, relieved to be home at last. The pain in his head made it impossible for him to use his telepathy, so he haltingly explained to Dalton what had happened with Blaine. Dalton listened intently, occasionally writing things down in the notebook that he used to record Xander's progress as a telepath.

"Mental overload, it seems," the scholar mused, more to himself than to Xander. He closed the notebook and placed it back in a cupboard, which contained various other personal items. "It has happened to you before, though you probably don't remember it," Dalton continued, sitting down beside Xander and running a hand through his foster-son's hair.

Xander scooted over and rested his head in Dalton's lap, something he often did as a child when his adoptive father told him stories. He allowed himself to relax and closed his eyes, focussing on Dalton's voice and the rhythmic strokes of the hand in his hair.

"You were about three," Dalton said, "and you were still too young to know how to control your abilities, so you had a habit of broadcasting your emotions. Master Spike was going to fight another Master who had been Challenging him for quite some time. This Master was just as powerful as Spike, but far less honourable and we were all deeply worried about this. You had picked up on our fear for Master Spike and threw an absolute fit when he was about to leave, broadcasting your fear until you finally passed out from overexertion."

"Did you and Spike stay with me?" Xander asked sleepily.

Dalton smiled. "Yes, we did. Spike sent a messenger to the other Master, rescheduling their Challenge. He refused to leave your side for anything." The scholar got up and arranged the sheets more comfortably around the teen. "Now rest. You'll feel better after a nap."

The boy nodded and closed his eyes. Dalton remained where he was for a few moments, but when he turned to leave, Xander reached out and caught his wrist, preventing the vamp from going anywhere. "No. Stay, Father," Xander whispered before giving in to the darkness.