Chapter 5

A few days later, Xander sat in Angel's office, arms crossed petulantly. He hadn't meant to drink all the blood left in the fridge, but he'd been really hungry, and Spike wasn't there. Xander was supposed to be sparring with Angel while Spike went out to check a lead on getting the chip out of his head, but apparently Angel found it a hassle to get bagged blood, and he wanted to discuss Xander's overindulgence before they sparred. It didn't make sense to Xander. When you were hungry, you should eat. He thought Angel should be happy he'd chosen the bagged blood instead of one of his precious humans. Angel wasn't nearly as much fun as Spike.

Sighing, he sank deeper into the chair as he waited for Angel to stop yelling. Tuning out the older vampire, he imagined what he and Spike would do when he returned. Xander still wasn't allowed to go out on his own yet, but Spike assured him that it wouldn't be too much longer. So, when he and Spike went out later, maybe they'd find some criminals to eat. Maybe they'd find a demon bar and start a fight. They'd done that a few times, and that was always fun.

"Are you even listening to me?" Angel's voice cut into his thoughts.

"Not really, gramps."

Angel barely refrained from rolling his eyes at the nickname Xander had chosen when he realized that calling him Dead Boy wasn't really appropriate anymore.

"Why did you drink all the blood, Xander?"

"Vampires drink blood."

Xander's statement was so casual that it made Angel want to hit him. The boy had no respect. Something he'd no doubt picked up from his sire.

"Yes. But why did you drink all of it?"

"I was hungry." Xander had a habit of speaking in simple, factual statements. Sometimes it was more annoying than when he was deliberately trying to be annoying.

"So you had to drink all the blood?"

"Yep." Xander said, popping the 'p' and scratching his arm. "Maybe if you'd sparred with me two hours ago like you said you would I wouldn't have had time to drink all of it."

He immediately knew it was the wrong thing to say when Angel grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against the wall with his feet dangling a foot in the air. This position brought back bad human memories of his father, and caused his game face to emerge. When Angel didn't drop into his game face, Xander knew he wasn't in too much trouble. He'd been antagonizing Angel since he and Spike had their conversation outside the hotel, and only once did Angel drop into his vampire visage to make the point that Xander had gone too far. Spike had immediately intervened, reminding Angel of some promise, but it had been enough for Xander to learn that he really wasn't ready to cross Angel yet. Maybe when he became a master vampire like Spike it would be more fun, though he knew the fights would never be the same as they were between Angel and Spike.

"You're a pest." Angel was annoyed, but his statement lacked venom.

Xander smirked, something he'd picked up from Spike. "And you're out of practice, old man," he said as he quickly twisted out of Angel's grip.

"I'll show you out of practice, boy," Angel replied, planting a kick to Xander's middle.

Xander growled, as much from the name as from pain. When Angel called him that, it wasn't the same as when Spike called him a whelp. It was meant to belittle, to humiliate, while Spike's nicknames, at least where Xander was concerned, were meant to show affection.

He dodged Angel's punch, landing a glancing blow to his shoulder before ducking a kick to the face, using moves he'd recently picked up from Spike.

They sparred for nearly an hour. Though Xander knew Angel could have ended it within the first ten minutes, he was glad the older vampire held back for the sake of teaching him to fight, though at the moment he was just glad he wasn't dust. Every part of his body ached, and he gasped for air, literally, for the first time since he'd been turned, winded from the last punch.

Angel straightened and Xander collapsed into a chair just as Spike walked into the room.

"Having fun?"

Xander grinned, wiping the blood from a cut above his eye.

Spike knelt to examine Xander's visible cuts and bruises. He felt protective of the boy even now, maybe more so than when he was human.

"I thought you were gonna teach him, not beat him."

"Just be glad I didn't teach him the way I taught you."

Spike growled, but made no other reply.

"If you go out looking like that, people will run screaming before we can get close enough for you to eat them," Spike observed. "Here," he said, offering Xander his wrist.

As the boy latched on greedily, Spike noticed Angel shift uncomfortably out of the corner of his eye. He ignored him. It was Angel's own fault that it had been so long since he'd shared blood with another vampire in his family. Spike offered the boy an affectionate smile as he watched the injuries heal, before gently retracting his arm. Xander let go as soon as he pulled away, not wanting to hurt his sire, the familial bond so strong in Xander that it never failed to amaze Spike.

"Feel better?"

Xander nodded a little drunkenly, eyes glazed, as they always were when he took blood from Spike. Spike ruffled the boy's hair before standing to face Angel.

"Near as I can tell, the only ones who'd have any idea how to get rid of this chip are Wolfram and Hart, and they won't help me so long as they know my connection to you. Any idea how we could get around that?"

Angel frowned. "One of them owes me, but I'd rather not use that if I don't have to. We could try intimidation. That's worked a few times in the past."

Spike nodded his agreement. "We'll head out for a bit as soon as the edge wears off," he said, nodding toward Xander. "Want to come?"

"No. You two go have fun, but remember to be selective about the humans. The others still don't like this."

Spike rolled his eyes as Angel ignored the offering. Clearly, it would take a lot more for the other vampire to remember how to be part of a family. Still, at least he was trying.