Chapter 2

"It began normally for a night on the Hellmouth. The Scoobies and I were out patrolling…"

As Angel listened to Spike's story, he closed his eyes to better visualize the scene. He wanted to understand everything that had happened.

Spike, Buffy, Giles, Willow, Tara, and Xander had just entered the graveyard for a routine patrol. There were no tremendous bad guys, no prophesied threats. It should have been easy.

"Okay," Buffy began. "Giles and I will take the north and west sides. Willow and Tara will take the east side. Spike and Xander will take the south side."

There were a couple grumbles from Xander and Spike huffed in annoyance, but no one argued. She'd been doing this all summer. Spike wasn't sure if she was pairing him with Xander to annoy him, or because she was concerned about the boy. Xander had gotten pretty good at slaying, but he was still human – a human without magic or Giles' decades of fighting experience. Spike had long since stopped wasting his breath arguing.

As they paired off, Spike could hear the witches talking, their laughter punctuated by the sounds of baddies being taken down. The Slayer and her Watcher were quiet, though that wasn't unusual. What was unusual was Xander's silence. Usually the boy would at least be trying to annoy Spike.

"What's got you so quiet?" Spike wouldn't let the opportunity pass to get more fuel for teasing.

"Nothing. Everything's fine."

"Don't sound fine." Spike barely shifted as he staked a newly risen fledge.

Xander staked another vampire just behind Spike's back.

"You've gotten better at this," Spike said honestly, taking a moment to look Xander in the eyes.

Xander frowned and looked away. "At least I'm good at something, then."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Xander stared at Spike. "Why do you care?"

"Easy whelp. 'm just makin' conversation."

Xander huffed. "Fine. I got fired today."

"Why?"

"They said I was too distracted on the job. Which is a lie! I know coming in to work tired from fighting bad guys all night is frowned on, but it's the hellmouth, and I was always careful. I had fewer accidents on that job than anyone else. I took it seriously!"

"That sucks, mate."

"Yeah. I'm just frustrated, ya know?" Now that he'd gotten Xander to talk, it seemed he wasn't going to stop. Back to normal, then.

Spike listened to Xander rant about his former job, albeit not intently, and offered responses when needed. He'd pulled out a cigarette and had just taken the first delicious draw when he heard the sound.

Tara was screaming. He and Xander rushed toward the sound, arriving at the same time as the Watcher and the Slayer. Willow was on the ground, but Spike's nose told him she wasn't bleeding. Tara was being held back by a vampire as two more advanced on Willow.

Buffy quickly dispatched the ones creeping toward her best friend while Giles took out the one holding Tara. Three more vampires arrived on the scene, and Spike had the thought that it was lucky they'd found a nest so soon into their patrol because he'd been looking for a good scrap when another sound caught his attention.

He turned too late. There were at least a dozen vampires who'd managed to sneak up on them. He could tell most were fledges, but the one that kicked him in the stomach was at least a few decades old. He went down hard, taking a moment to get his bearings before putting on his game face and attacking. He barely registered that the Slayer was fighting five to one, but was winning, while her Watcher and the witches held their own against two to one odds.

Spike grappled with the younger vampire, dusting him with more trouble than he'd expected. He had just turned to rush into the fray, when he smelled the blood. Lots of blood. He followed his nose only to be met with the most horrifying thing he'd ever seen. If he lived to be a thousand years old, Spike didn't think anything could top the horror he felt at that moment as he watched the life drain from Xander's eyes. The boy fell to the ground as Buffy finally dusted the vampire that managed to sneak up on their human friend. Xander's body lay motionless, the blood on his neck outdone only by the blood on his lips.

Spike didn't know what to think. He approached the Slayer slowly as the boy's oldest friend ran screaming toward his lifeless body. Buffy's furious gaze landed on Spike, and he paused, making himself seem as harmless as possible. When her gaze left his face to scan for other vampires, he almost breathed a sigh of relief. He walked toward the body, waiting for Willow to look up from where she'd collapsed at Buffy's side, hugging Xander tightly.

"What do we do, Spike?" She'd already asked Giles, who hadn't been able to answer her.

"Red," he said softly. "You've got two choices." He could see the changes happening already. "You either stake him, or let him turn."

"No! There has to be another way!" Buffy's anguished scream was a threat and a plea.

"I'm sorry." And he truly was. The boy had deserved better than this.

"Giles, do something!"

"I'm sorry, Buffy. Spike's right." It didn't even look like it hurt much to admit it.

"Wh-why don't we take him b-back to the h-house," Tara suggested. "W-we have some t-time, right S-Spike?"

Spike glanced at the sky. The moon wasn't even fully risen yet. Had it really been so short a time? "Yeah. I think we have until tomorrow night. If you want, I'll stay just in case he rises…" Everyone flinched at his word choice. "I mean, I can stay in case I'm wrong about the time."

Spike wasn't entirely sure why he offered. They'd all messed up. It wasn't his fault. Not specifically. He could just leave them to it. Let them make the decision. He should just leave them alone in their grief. But he couldn't. He and the boy had become…well, if not friends, then something close to it. Acquaintances who enjoyed annoying each other, perhaps. He owed Xander…something…for letting him stay in his basement even after they'd decided he was harmless, when it would have made more sense for the boy to throw him out to fend for himself, even though he wasn't really able to fend for himself.

Still, he felt a sense of relief when Buffy and Willow agreed to let him stay. After getting the okay from Willow, he helped Buffy to lift Xander, relinquishing him after her grumbled "I've got him." He stayed close, covering their backs and vanquishing a few straggling vampires before they got out of the cemetery.

When they got back to the house, they laid Xander out on the couch, and covered the windows tightly. With tears streaming down her face, Willow gently cleaned the blood from Xander's mouth and neck, while Tara knelt next to her and held the bowl of water.

Spike sat in the chair, while Buffy and Giles went to the kitchen, presumably to talk about the situation. Thankfully, Dawn was at a friend's house, so they could put off telling her until they decided what to do. When Willow had herself more under control, she and Tara joined them. Spike didn't even have to strain to hear their conversation. Keeping his gaze trained on the boy, he waited. It was going to be a long day.

Angel blinked as Spike's story came to an end. "Is that all?"

"Yes. We got distracted for a second, and it was too late." The remorse in Spike's voice was palpable.

"So, what happened? After, I mean."

Spike looked at Angel like he was an idiot. Angel allowed it, waiting, not making any of the remarks that wanted to come out of his mouth.

"He turned." Spike enunciated each word, as though Angel had lost his ability to grasp even the most basic conversation.

"I know that, Spike."

"Well, then why'd you ask?" Spike rubbed his face. He was so tired, having been up most of the week keeping an eye on the newly turned vampire. He wanted to go check on his charge and get some sleep. He'd have to be awake before Xander. Though the boy had been good so far, he didn't want to tempt fate.

"Come on, Spike. You know what I mean."

Spike sighed, too tired to make this difficult. "I resired him. When they decided to let him turn, because no one could bear to kill him, or have me kill him, I waited 'til he woke, and then we exchanged blood. I removed what that other vampire had given him and replaced his blood with my own. His sire was already dust, so it didn't take much. Guess the boy respected me already too. He's been very…obedient. Almost abnormally so, but I just figured it was a Xander quirk."

Angel nodded thoughtfully. "Could be. Might be worth observing."

"Oi. Don't even think about sticking your bloody nose in. I've had enough of your siring practices for a dozen lifetimes. Won't have you subjectin' the boy to them."

Angel grimaced. "I'm not Angelus anymore, Spike."

"Just keep tellin' yourself that." Spike's eyes were steely. Whatever made Xander so complacent, it wasn't something he was going to let Angelus, or even Angel, exploit.

Angel sighed. "Fine. You're in charge of Xander."

Spike nodded in acknowledgement as he felt their blood accept the claim.

"So why are you here?"

"Well, the White Hats couldn't bear to kill him, so they let him turn. But even with him being all docile and Xander-like, they couldn't bear to have him around either. Alive, but not alive."

Angel nodded in understanding.

"So," Spike stood. "If this conversation's over, and even if it's not, I'm going to bed. It's been a long week."

"What should I tell everyone?" Angel's voice stopped him at the door.

"Tell them the truth." Spike's voice was firm. "Don't lie about this, Peaches. It'll be quite a shock to the little Watcher and the cheerleader, and I don't want to take the chance the boy'll get staked because of a lack of information."

Angel watched Spike stride out of his office. It looked like his life was about to get a lot more complicated.