Thank you all for the great reviews! I'll try to respond to them when I get time.

*whispers* If you keep them coming, they feed my muse and he wants to write more. He eats them up like chocolate cake.

I'm still writing this story, but unless real life rears up and bites me in the backside, I should be able to update it every three days.

Service Unit

Chapter Two - Therapy

A quick word with a nurse down the hall from Spike's room was all it took to secure a syringe loaded with enough sedative to bring down an elephant. Angel pushed open the door and strode purposefully inside, followed by the old man who shuffled in after him and moved to the corner, leaning heavily on his staff.

Spike blinked sleepily at Angel and slightly wiggled his fingers as he mumbled, "'Ello, Peaches. What brings you down? Nurse Ratched out there just shot me up, so I'll probably nod off on you… might want to make it quick."

Angel stepped up to the side of Spike's hospital bed. "Just got a call from Buffy. She knows you're back and wants me to fly you to Rome so you two can… talk."

Spike smiled loopily and shakily raised his heavily bandaged hands. "Not up for much talkin' just now." He dropped his hands gently to the bed and looked up at Angel, trying to keep his eyelids from slipping closed. "Buffy wants to see me? Really?"

Angel laid his hand gently on Spike's shoulder, blinking suddenly when the image of that same shoulder flayed open to the bone flashed briefly in his mind. "She told me that she loves you, and if you don't go there, then she's going to come here." He dropped his voice to a whisper. "If you don't want to see her, I can probably keep her out of the building."

Spike shook his head, groaning quietly as the room spun woozily around him. "No… want to see her… bloody love her, Peaches… you know that, you thick sod… jus' need to rest a bit… then I'll go." His eyes closed completely as his body relaxed into the bed and Angel just barely caught the whisper, "Buffy loves me."

Angel quickly injected the sedative into Spike's arm then turned to the old man in the corner. "That should keep him out for a while… probably until he's healed."

The old man stepped toward the bed. "And you understand that he will bear the full weight of your payment? Everything that you agreed to, he will now fulfill?"

Angel nodded. "Yes. You get him for ten years and I get him back in three days. Right?"

The old man nodded. "He can be brought back here or I can have him delivered to this Buffy that you speak of."

Angel looked over Spike's inert form, seeing shadows of the injuries he'd inflicted on MindSpike. He blinked suddenly as the realization hit that if Spike was brought back here then he definitely wouldn't be in any condition to fly to Rome because Angel wouldn't be able to help himself. The compulsion to drag Spike to the dungeon and chain him was already becoming almost too strong to resist. "She's not expecting him for a week… but I guess he could be a little early."

The old man cackled, "Or I could keep him." He looked Spike over appraisingly. "I'm sure he'll be very popular. Once the ten years has been served and your debt paid, any earnings above that could be split between us."

"Earnings?"

The man cackled again, "Oh yes. I'm sure this one will fetch quite a price, once his training is complete. We could both be very rich."

Angel shook his head. "I've got money. More than I'll ever need, but… maybe something else?"

"What would you like, Angelus?"

What I'd like is to chain him… make him scream for me… but since I can't… "I want to see his training and his service. You do have some way to show me that, don't you?"

The old man's eyes spun with glee. "Yes… yes… I can show you… everything."

"Good. That's what I want." Angel picked up a pad of paper from the bedside table and scratched something down on it then handed it to the old man. "This is where he's to be delivered. No later than one week from right now. And don't worry about making him all pretty for her, just give him to her when the time's up and make sure she knows that he's a gift from me."

The man took the paper and secreted it into a fold of his robe. "It will be done as you have asked." He slipped his hand into his sleeve then removed it and touched something to Spike's forehead. He turned slightly and held it out to Angel. "This will allow you to see."

Angel held out his hand and the man's fingers opened and then Angel was looking down at a small crystal resting on his palm. "How do I activate it?"

"Simply say 'Let me see,' then whatever it is you wish to see, and it will show you."

"What about sound? Will I be able to hear what's going on?"

"Yes. Sound is part of the package, Angelus. I wouldn't want you to miss anything."

Angel nodded and slipped the crystal into his pocket. "All right. Do you need some help out with him?"

The man cackled again and stepped closer to the bed, laying his hand on Spike's stomach. "No. It has been a pleasure doing business with you, Angelus."

Angel nodded. "Yeah. Hope I never see you again." He laid his hand on Spike's arm then leaned down and whispered, "Be 'seeing' you, William. Have fun and tell Buffy hello for me."

The cackling echoed around the room long after Spike and the old man had disappeared.

XX

XXXX

XX

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Yes, Spike, the doorbell works. God, I forgot how annoying you can be." Buffy wrenched open her front door, wearing a blinding smile because she fully expected to see a bleached blond, smirking vampire leaning against the door frame. Her smile wilted and was replaced by a look of confusion. "Who the hell are you?"

The small, yellow-skinned demon standing beside a large wooden crate blinked his several sets of eyelids then stammered, "Buffy Summers?"

Buffy grinned, "Hey, that's my name, too!" The demon's sputtering was kind of cute, but it got annoying pretty fast. Buffy sighed, "Ok… yes. I'm Buffy Summers." She reached down and patted the top of the crate. "What's this?"

The demon blinked again then pulled out a clipboard and flipped a few pages. "One service unit, three cases of sustaining fluid, one case of toys and miscellaneous supplies, the unit's records, and the instruction manual."

Buffy looked over the huge crate. "Unit? Supplies? Toys? Huh? Um… I didn't order anything."

The demon slipped his clipboard under one of his six arms and laid a hand with claw-tipped fingers on the crate. "It is a gift from Mr. Angel. Where would you like me to put it?"

Buffy sized up the demon and the crate then stuck her head out the door and looked for any other demons standing around the hallway. There weren't any. "Um… do you want some help?"

The demon smiled and shook his head. "No, thank you. Where would you like me to unpack the crate?"

Buffy backed up and motioned toward the living room. "Um… I guess in here will be okay."

The demon nodded and tapped the top of the crate with a claw. The crate shuddered and rose several inches off the floor then floated serenely into the living room and landed with a thump on the rug in front of the couch. The demon followed it in then circled it, dragging his claw along the edge. He tapped the top and the lid lifted off then floated over toward the door and leaned itself up against the wall. The demon lifted out the large piece of foam material from the top of the crate and Buffy gasped, her eyes huge as her hand flew up to cover her mouth. "What the hell is that? A person? Angel shipped me a person?"

The demon reached down into the crate and started removing several smaller crates that were stuffed into the space below the person's feet. He lined them up on the floor next to a chair as Buffy looked over the person in the box. He was curled up on his side with his knees drawn up to his chest, and yes, it was easy to discern gender what with the whole completely naked thing happening. His arms were bound behind his back with thick leather wrist cuffs and his head was completely covered in a thick black hood.

His pale skin was mottled with numerous bruises, welts, cuts, scratches, and punctures, some partially healed and some fresh. Buffy looked at the demon in alarm. "What happened to him? Why is he all beat up?"

The demon set down the crate he was holding and looked up at Buffy, blinking several sets of eyelids. "It would seem that the unit's last renter wanted to get as much use from it as he could before his lease was up. I do apologize for its condition, but I assure you, it will be healed in no time and will be ready and eager to serve."

Buffy squeaked, "Serve? Serve what? What the hell are you talking about?"

The demon motioned to the couch. "Perhaps you would like to have a seat while I unpack the unit, then I can give you a demonstration and show you some of its features. I will also need to instruct you on proper care and maintenance."

Buffy nodded slowly and backed up to the couch, dropping down onto the cushion in shock. This has got to be some kind of freaky dream. I must have dozed off while I was waiting for Spike and this is what my exhausted brain came up with. Guess I'll just go with the flow for right now and see what happens, and then when I wake up, the first thing I'm going to do is make an appointment with a therapist… 'cause this is just… really therapy-worthy.