Chapter Twenty-One – Families

Buffy slid her fangs out of the boy's neck and looked around the room. "And now we just wait for him to wake up." She nodded at the four boys each being held by a vampire. Willow had put them all to sleep so they wouldn't struggle or be afraid. "Go ahead and start drinking. Listen to your boy's heart and when it starts to flutter and skip, that's when you feed him your blood. Since they're sleeping, you'll have to open your wrist a little more than you normally would. The blood will have to flow down their throat since they won't be sucking at it. They should still reflexively swallow, though. If your boy doesn't start swallowing, let me know and we'll have to wake him up."

The vampires dipped their heads and sank their fangs. Fred lifted her mouth away first and sliced her wrist then pressed it to the boy's mouth. Buffy nodded at her when he'd had enough and she finished draining him then laid him gently on the floor at her feet.

When all the boys were dead, Buffy stood and picked hers up. "Let's take them back to their rooms."

Spike stood and took the boy. "I'll cart him up, pet. How long does it usually take for them to wake up?"

"Took Travis about six hours. Most minions don't take very long."

They started out of the parlor and headed up the stairs. "How long did it take me?"

Buffy shrugged as she walked up the stairs beside him. "Don't know. I wasn't there when you woke up, remember?"

"How long was I in our room?"

"I came in about thirty hours after I'd killed you, I guess."

"And that was about four hours after I'd woken, so it took me a little over a full day."

"Family members always take longer. No idea why. Took me a day and a half and Faith a little less than that."

Willow asked, "Who's going to watch them? I have a client in an hour."

Anya said, "Travis and I can watch them."

Buffy laughed. "You won't be able to stay off him that long. You and Travis are too new anyway, so I'll be up there to walk them through waking."

They deposited the boys in their beds and everyone except Anya, Buffy, and Spike went back downstairs. Anya disappeared into Travis's room and Buffy smirked at the door. "It's a good thing he's a vampire or she'd have fucked him to death by now."

Spike looked into one of the rooms. The boy in the bed was small and had dark hair. He sort of looked like a smaller version of Xander. "How do you think they're going to take it when they wake up?"

"I think they'll be fine. They all knew what was going to happen. Apparently, Travis has been telling them how great it is to be a vampire."

"So why did Willow make them sleep?"

"Because it's still scary to have a vampire at your neck and some people start freaking out when they realize that they're actually going to die. Having them asleep just makes things easier for everyone."

Spike pulled her into a hug then leaned down and kissed her. "I've gotta go get ready and I wanted to pop down and see the boys for a minute. See how Andy's arm is doing."

"Okay. I'm probably going to watch a movie or something so I don't have to listen to Anya and Travis."

Spike chuckled. "Maybe choose something with lots of explosions."

"That's a good idea. Have fun with your clients and I'll see you after." She kissed him hard. "I love you, Spike."

"I love you, too, Buffy." He gave her a quick kiss then went down to the kitchen. Andrew was washing dishes and Spike walked over and leaned a hip on the counter. "How's your arm?"

Andrew looked over at him. "It's doing okay. Xan won't let me hardly do anything, though. If anything weighs more than half a pound he won't let me pick it up, the dork."

"He worries about you, Andy. I think it scared him a bit when you got sick."

"Yeah, it's just getting kind of annoying, but I know he means well, so I let him baby me, but between him and Tara I'm starting to feel like a toddler."

"What's Tara doing?"

Andrew laughed. "She's like our mom or something. Always cleaning up after us, reminding us to brush our teeth, that kind of thing. She even makes Xan shower every night before bed."

"Bet that's a bit odd for both of you, considering what your homelives were like before you came here."

"Yeah, it's kind of weird, but kind of nice, too. I mean, my mom barely even noticed me, so I know she didn't give a shit if my teeth were clean. She's making us eat stuff besides the nukeable snacks, too. Broccoli and carrots and salad. I think Xan is going into pizza roll withdrawals."

Spike laughed. "The only green thing I've seen Xan eat are those radioactive looking ice lollies."

"Well now he's eating broccoli. He doesn't like it, but he eats it, because Tara can give you this look…"

Spike nodded. "The mum look. Yeah, I'm very familiar with that. My mum was a master at it. She could make grown men sort themselves out with that look." He laughed. "Seems you two have been adopted."

Andrew smirked. "Yeah. We're like the weirdest family ever, since our 'mom' is younger than both of us."

"How old is Tara?"

"She turned sixteen about two months ago."

"She's only sixteen? Bloody hell, I thought she was at least twenty. She carries herself as much more mature than sixteen."

"She had to grow up kinda fast, I think. Her mom died when she was like seven or eight and she became the woman of the house, taking care of her dad and brother."

Spike scowled, "Yeah, and then they made her fully the woman of the house at ten when they started raping her."

Andrew nodded solemnly. "Yeah."

Spike looked at the clock on the microwave. "Balls. Hate to leave the conversation on such a horrible subject, but I've gotta go. My client will be here in about thirty minutes and I still need to shower."

"Okay, Spike. See you later."

XXXX

Spike opened the door and took the cash Xander was holding then stuffed it into his pocket. "Thanks, Xan."

Xander smiled and said, "Later, Dead Boy," then turned for the stairs.

Spike smiled at the woman waiting to shag him and waved her into his room. "Evening, Ma'am. Please come in."

She stepped hesitantly through the door then turned to face Spike as he closed it behind her. She was a bit older than his previous two clients, maybe forty or forty-five, and she was holding a large purse in front of her like a shield. Spike stepped toward her and she backed up an equal measure. Spike stopped and tilted his head then asked, "What would you like me to do, ma'am?"

She was looking at him intently, her gaze crawling over his face, but not moving any lower than his collar bones. He was wearing only a pair of jeans with the top two buttons undone, like usual, but she hadn't looked at his chest or abs or the pleasure trail leading into his jeans even once. It was starting to unnerve him and he backed up a step.

She suddenly opened her purse and started digging in it then pulled out a photograph and held it up, her eyes bouncing from the photo to his face and back. "It is you."

"Pardon?"

"William. You're William."

Spike blinked and backed up another step. "Who are you?" She held the photo out to him and he hesitantly took it then looked at it. It was a picture of his father. "Who are you, ma'am? Why do you have a picture of my Da?"

"I'm his sister. Your aunt."

Spike backed up until his legs hit the desk and he sat down on it. "Why are you here?" He pulled the cash she'd given Xan out of his pocket. "You paid for a shag. Are you here to shag me?"

She shook her head in disgust. "No, I'm not going to… do that. Your father told me he'd found you here and was going to leave you in this disgusting place. That you were serving these things as a pet. A pet! And then I found the website and saw you were offering your 'services,'" She spat the word like it tasted nasty in her mouth. "Having sex with strangers for money. You're a child! But the only way to get in here to see you was to make an appointment, so that's what I did. I couldn't bear to even read your… options… so I just made the appointment without choosing any. I've come to get you, William. To take you home to your family where you belong."

"Does my Da know about this? Did he send you?"

"No, he doesn't know and he didn't send me, but he'll be happy when I get you home."

"No, he won't. He told Buffy as much when he turned up here looking for me. He doesn't want to raise a teenage boy."

"He'll change his mind when you're there. You belong with your family, not these things. Yes, I know what they are, and a pack of vampires isn't capable of providing you with a proper home."

"This is my home, and those 'things' are my family." He pushed off the desk and took a few steps toward her. "You should have read the options, ma'am. If you had, you would've realized that I'm also one of those 'things.'" He brought his demon forward and she jumped back with a gasp. "So, no, I'm not going anywhere with you." He held out the cash. "Take your dosh and go."

"I can't leave you here! I'll call the police!"

Spike stalked forward another step and growled, "You could do that, yeah, but my sire will be a bit brassed off if you do. And my Da is fully cognizant of what she'll do to him if I'm taken from here."

"William…"

"Is dead. My name's Spike. I'm a vampire who shags birds for cash. I like it and I'm damn good at it, and if you don't haul your arse out of here, I'll summon the scourge and you won't like what happens then." He held out the cash again and she slowly reached out and took it. He walked to the door and opened it then stepped back. "Go. And no bobbies better show up here lookin' to 'rescue' me, either." He held up the photo. "Or he'll pay for it."

She hurried out of the room and Spike stepped out after her and watched her quickly descend the stairs, startling Xander as he stepped out of the dining room. Xander watched her yank open the front door and scurry across the porch then he looked up at Spike. "What the hell happened?"

Spike said in a flat voice, "That was my aunt. She came to liberate me from my hedonistic life of depravity." He turned and started walking towards the stairs to the third floor. "You can close the door, Xan. I don't think she'll be back."

He found Buffy in the game room on the third floor and sat down next to her on the sofa. She looked over at him in surprise then noticed the look on his face and turned off the TV. "What happened? Are you all right? Where's your client?"

Spike handed her the photo without looking away from the blank TV. "My no options client was my aunt. Da's sister. She came to take me out of this den of iniquity."

Buffy blinked then looked at the photo. "Is she still here?"

"No. Gave her back her dosh and sent her on her way. She threatened to call the police if I didn't leave with her."

"What?" Buffy started to rise. "I'm going to get his card and…"

"She won't. Told her what you'd do to him if she did. He doesn't even know she came to get me."

Buffy sat back down. Spike still hadn't looked away from the TV and it was starting to freak her out. "Okay. Do you need me to do anything?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't think so. Just thought you should know in case I'm wrong and she does call 'em." He finally looked at her. "Can they take me from here, Buffy?"

"The police? No. I mean they can show up, I guess, but the boy they're looking for is dead."

"How would you prove that? There's no body. There's no record of his death."

"If the cops from this town show up, they won't need a body or a death certificate. All you'd have to do is show them your fangs and it would be case closed. William died. And that would be the end of it."

"What if they're not from this town?"

"Like the feds? I don't think a missing teenager would rate too high on their list, and cops from anywhere else wouldn't have jurisdiction, so they couldn't do anything anyway." Buffy stood up then reached for Spike's hand and pulled him up after her. "Let's go get his card and call him. We'll tell him what his sister did and what will happen if she follows through on her threat."

Spike followed her down the hall. "Should we phone this late?"

"Ask me how many fucks I give about what time it is."

Buffy fished the card out of the drawer of her dressing table and pulled out her phone, angrily punching numbers. She held the phone out and tapped the speaker button.

"Hello?"

"Yeah, hi, this is Buffy, William's Mistress. Remember me?"

"Yes, of course. What do you need?"

"I need you to control your sister. She just showed up here and tried to take him. Threatened to call the cops if he didn't go with her."

A tired sigh drifted up from the phone and he muttered, "Dammit, Tabitha," then spoke louder. "Is she still there?"

"No."

"Is William all right?"

"He's a little freaked out, wondering if the cops are gonna show up and drag him out of here."

"They won't. According to official records, William died two weeks ago."

"What?"

"He's a vampire now, yes? I assumed he must be when I discovered his… profile… on your website, so I filed the appropriate paperwork to register his death. I was afraid she would do something like this and thought having his death recorded would halt any actions by the authorities to recover him."

"Yes, he's a vampire now, and your sister knows that, and she still threatened him with the cops."

"Even if she does call, nothing will come of it because they'll pull his records and see that he's dead. Then they'll pull her records and see her history of confinement in several different mental health facilities."

"So they'll figure she's a loony and won't turn up on my doorstep looking for a dead teenager?"

"Correct. I must also mention that William's death voided his claim to his mother's inheritance."

"So what happens to it?"

Spike spoke up. "Doesn't matter. I don't want it."

"Oh, I didn't know you were there, William."

"Name's Spike. William's dead, as you've mentioned."

"As you say, Spike, but are you sure? It's quite a large sum."

"Earning my own dosh now. Don't need Mum's."

Buffy asked, "Just for information, what happens to it?"

"Oh, um, it would revert to William's estate, but because he was a minor at the time of his death, it would transfer to his parent or legal guardian."

"So you."

"No. At the time of his death, William was a ward of the state, even though they didn't have physical custody of him. I've filed for it as William's closest living next of kin. You'll be around for many years, Spike, and while you may not need it now, it could be useful in the future."

"I suppose." He said to Buffy, "Willow can have it put with the family funds, can't she?"

"Yeah, but I'll have her set up a separate account for you. Like he said, you'll be around for a while and we may not always all be together, so you'll be able to access your own money."

"That'll work, I guess." He spoke at the phone. "You heard her, yeah?"

"I did, and when I have the funds, I'll contact your lawyer to have them transferred."

"Thanks." He turned for the door. "I'm gonna go talk to the boys. Xan saw her leave and probably needs an explanation."

Spike walked into the kitchen and over to the quarters. The three thralls were sitting on the bed and stopped talking to look over at him. "Guess you heard 'bout my little family reunion."

Andrew nodded. "Your aunt paid to fuck you?"

Spike shook his head and climbed up on the bed. "Wasn't plannin' to shag me, but she thought that was the only way to get in here to see me. She's apparently barmy. Didn't know I'm a vamp, either."

"So what's going to happen?"

Spike shrugged. "Nothin'. My Da had me declared dead a few weeks ago, so even if she starts shoutin' about the missing teenager whoring himself out, nothing will happen."

Xander nodded. "Not in this town, anyway. The cops here all know about this place. A few of them are regulars. Showed the freaking Chief up to Miss Fred's room about an hour ago."

Tara asked quietly, "Are you okay, Spike? You look a little freaked out."

Spike sighed. "Am a bit. It's just some of the things she said. Calling them… us… things, and this place disgusting, saying vampires can't provide a proper home." He waved at the three other teenagers on the bed. "You three would seem to be proof to the contrary, but she likely doesn't give a toss about what your lives would be like if you weren't here."

Tara said, "I know mine would be horrible. Those men were talking about keeping me in some cabin somewhere so they could use me whenever they wanted."

"They weren't homeless?"

Tara shook her head. "I don't think so. They brought me to that building in a car. Pretty nice one, from what I remember."

"Where did they get you? I mean, how did they…"

"I was scrounging for food in a dumpster and they grabbed me and threw me in the car. At first, I thought my family had people out looking for me, but they didn't know what I was talking about when I asked if they were taking me home."

"Did you tell this to Amanda or Faith? If those blokes were actual citizens, there could be people trying to find out what happened to them, and if they found their car at that building, it wouldn't be much of a jump from missing to murder. There was blood all over the place in there."

"No. I didn't even really remember the cabin thing until now."

Spike stood up. "We should go find Faith. Come on."

Tara climbed off the bed and followed Spike up the stairs to Faith's room. Spike knocked and Faith called out for him to come in. He entered the room, pulling Tara in behind him. Faith was astride Boy who was cuffed to her headboard. She turned to look at the door while Boy continued to thrust up into her. "Yeah?"

Tara blushed and turned slightly away. Spike stepped in front of her and said, "Tara just remembered some things about those blokes we found her with. They weren't homeless."

Faith nodded. "Yeah, I know. Went through their pockets before I tossed them into the incinerator. One of them was a judge." Her eyes closed and she moaned and rocked her hips then she opened her eyes. "There was also a lawyer, a high school math teacher, and a fucking preacher." She turned back, planting her hands on Boy's chest as she started rocking her hips again. "Went back to the building and found the car. Cleaned up the blood then drove the car to an even worse part of town and left it unlocked with the keys in it. They're officially listed as missing and possible victims of foul play, but since there's no bodies and no crime scene, that's all that'll happen. We're good."

"Oh. All right then. We'll let you get back to what you were doing."

Faith chuckled. "Didn't stop what I was doing. Later, Spike."

They stepped back into the hall and Spike closed the door on a loud moan from Faith. "Guess everything's sorted, pet."

Tara asked, "Should she have said all that in front of a client?"

Spike quirked an eyebrow. "That wasn't a client. Faith doesn't see clients in her room." He motioned to the door on the other side of Anya's room. "That's her client room. The bloke she was riding is Boy, her pet. You've not seen him before?"

"No. He hasn't been down to the kitchen since I moved in down there."

"Yeah, he wouldn't be. Faith keeps him in her playroom when he's not cuffed to her bed."

"He doesn't help the boys like you did?"

"Nope. Don't think I've seen him not restrained in some fashion since she claimed him."

"Did Miss Buffy restrain you like that?"

"Only when we were playing in Faith's playroom or I was being punished. The rest of the time I was free to move about the mansion."

Tara stuttered, "P…punished?"

Spike nodded and wrapped an arm over her shoulders. "I was only punished the once, pet. Boy gets punished a lot. Buffy also never put a cock cage on me like Boy wears most of the time and I had clothes. Boy doesn't."

"Why are your experiences so different?"

Spike shrugged. "No idea. Often wondered that myself. Let's get you back downstairs. I've got another client in a bit."