"What do you think you'll get out of torturing me, asking me about the boy? Or is it the boy that you're after? "

She tipped her hand a bit too far for Spike to see. "So he did love Angel, didn't he?"

Spike's voice turned hard. "What does it matter to you?"

Her shoulders shrugged, at least through the blurriness Spike thought it was her shoulders. "Oh, it matters quite a bit to me. You know, you never answered that question about cars, Spike. Tell me, do you know what the ingredients in tire sealant are?"

"Why don't you just go on your merry bloody unhinged way and leave us all to our lives?"

"Oh, I could do that. But then I wouldn't be having so much fun." She turned to her accomplice. "Hold our proud hero against the wall."

William could feel himself slammed backwards into the cavern wall. He was getting more tired of this every second. This splitting headache wasn't going away, and he was chained to the wall. In other circumstances, there could have been many fun scenarios, but he was just not in the mood.

His breath was sour like milk, matched the sour milk Spike imagined her to have. "Now, I would recommend you hold very still because this is really going to hurt."

Will felt the broad side of the sword against his pecs; still cool even in the sweltering heat of the cave. He could feel the sting from his sweat as the sword sliced a stripe from his collarbone to his right shoulder.

"How'd that feel?" She asked as if she didn't know. "You know, I do know how they make tire sealant. It's one of the simplest things in the world." She moved down to the cavern floor. "You start with sand. You know, sand is just such a great catchall. It has this gritty and absorbent property that makes it perfect to help seal things." She grabbed a handful, letting a bit seep through her long fingers with this atrocious red paint on them. "I wonder if it works on wounds too? Do you think we should find out?"

William made out a little pout in her lips before the searing pain of the sand hitting his sliced skin made him grit against the oncoming scream.

"Don't say things like that Angel; things you don't mean. I mean, fuck, I just saw myself almost kill you! So please, save us both from the insults to our intelligence, okay?"

"Xander, it's not an insult. I know we never discussed it, but maybe we should. Maybe we should talk about everything." Angel was hauled to his feet with Oz's help, but he couldn't walk an inch. There was a slight thud that moved Xander on the inside, but outside he remained stoic save for a slight wince Oz noticed.

Xander was more than embarrassed about having to have this out in public. He hadn't even let people that much into his private life back in high school. "Save your strength Angel. I don't think there's much to talk about anyways." Xander turned back to Willow, doing his best to ignore the vampire. "Willow, how are you feeling?"

Willow gave a hearty nod, even though she wasn't really feeling it. "I'm fine. We've gone through much worse ordeals than rogue gems. I'm a trooper."

Xander smiled. "I guess we really are troopers, aren't we?"

Angel didn't want to beg, but he just threw it into the wind. He couldn't deal with a decade long divide. "Xander, please."

Xander's sharp eyeball turned in fury to Angel. "No, Angel! We have nothing to talk about." He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth. With his jaw turned back he stood and faced Angel. There were little creases that formed on the inside of his mouth and a slight scar from a mission a few years back that furrowed. Angel noticed a confidence in his gait that he had never seen before. His boy had become a man. No wonder he was so hurt.

Willow started to open and close her mouth, and Xander took it the wrong way. In reality, he was just looking for a reason to explode. Turning around and giving everyone a feverish eyeball since he'd never gotten a chance to process anything that had happened. "Will everyone just get off my case? One thing happened. It was nothing more. I was a child then, and you, yes you Captain High and Mighty, high-tailed it out of town. Anyone care to know what Captain High and Mighty's powers are?"

"Xander, please don't make this harder than it has to be. If we," Angel struggled and groaned as Oz hopped along with him until he gently pushed Oz away to prove he could still stand on his own-weak or not, "talk this out. Come on."

Angel grabbed him by the elbow but Xander just exploded further. He must have just been due for it. "I don't want you touching me, Deadboy. How long has it been since you've eaten? Maybe you just need another meal; another helpless victim. Or maybe someone to sucker in and use like Buffy."

Those words stung Angel worse than falling on his knees. But Xander had more ammunition. "Or maybe I'm part of your handy dandy redemption plan; your own little pity party for table of one or two."

Years of spite and confusion shot, like bullets, into every word. "Maybe I made you feel better because you thought we mutually cared for each other. Well, I'm not a charity cause that you can just exploit because you think I'm weak. Team, we move out in ten minutes. Our acquaintance seems to be healed; our part of the mission is over. He can make his own way home."

"Xander, please, don't do this. Please listen." Angel didn't have any tears left to cry, but they were there. "I know it's been too long. You have every right to be confused or angry. Everyone struggles. Being a hero makes it worse, trust me. But I look at you now and I see someone who's grown, someone I could still love me even though I hurt him beyond belief."

"It doesn't matter; the gem didn't choose me."

Angel didn't want him to leave again. He couldn't let Xander just walk out like this. Even in a malnourished state, Angel found the strength to block Xander at the door.

"No, Xander, not this time. I'm not just letting you walk out the way that I did. You have to try and calm down and see things the way they are. William and Cordelia might have died to save me, to save us. Do you want that to be all in vain? I know you. You're not that selfish." Angel began encircling him, darting his eyes around every angle of Xander's frame, hardened with years.

"Do you think that you never meant anything to me, Xander? I can't believe that. Why would I have wanted to share parts of myself with you? Don't you think I've wanted to talk to you, to tell you, to hold you all these years? Don't give me any sob stories, because I've got enough of my own to tell."

Xander shook his head as he reached for the door knob. "Don't you ever talk to me like that Angel. You're not my father; you're not even my boy...lover anymore. I doesn't matter what we had. You turned and walked out. So go ahead and leave my life again. See if I care and who needs it."

Angel just spoke his answer quietly. "No." Xander was so angry that he couldn't even see straight anymore. Why was no one helping him? His entire team hadn't said a word or even moved since this fight had started. "Damn you, Xander, did you think any of this has been easy for me? It took me 252 years or so to find someone like you. And I can't take the chance that I could lose someone like you again."