Chapter 21

Xander walked stiffly down the stairs. His muscles were still quite sore from the beating Buffy had given him yesterday. He walked past the kitchen into Angel's office and found Spike alone, sitting on the couch, drinking blood from a mug. Shouldn't he have been resting in a bed? He should at least have been lying on the couch with how badly he'd been injured.

"Spike," he called, prepared to scold his sire if necessary.

"Xander," Spike replied calmly, lifting his eyes and catching Xander's look, raising an eyebrow in question.

Xander had opened his mouth to speak, but closed it under his sire's piercing gaze. Spike didn't need a nanny. Xander barely caught himself before he could apologize.

"You okay, whelp?"

"Yeah. Are you?"

Spike laughed at the challenge in Xander's voice.

"I'm fine. I'm made of sterner stuff than people think. Besides, I've killed several Slayers in my time. Not plannin' to let one kill me."

Xander cocked his head. When he was human, he'd heard that Spike had killed some Slayers, but he'd never been interested in the story before. Now, he felt his blood rushing under his skin. If his heart still beat, it would have been pounding in anticipation. The very idea of such a story fascinated him. He swallowed heavily.

"Can you tell me?"

Spike stared at him for a moment, taking note of the curiosity shining in his eyes. "About my Slayer kills?"

Xander nodded shyly.

"Sure. Come here, Xan." Spike patted the space beside him.

Xander happily walked across the room and sat lightly beside his sire. He felt a grin stretch across his face as Spike began his story. He couldn't imagine actually having the strength to take down a Slayer—he remembered far too well the strength of the current one—but the part of him that fed into his vampire ego, assured him that he could, given some time. Spike didn't leave anything out. He told his childe how he'd found the Slayers, how he'd stalked them, and gave him every detail of the fight—what he did, what she did, how he'd countered her moves, how it felt, how she smelled, and how her blood tasted. Xander found himself enthralled. Not for the first time, he felt pride that he had such a strong sire. He knew that one day, with Spike to guide him, he too could take down a Slayer, maybe even more than one. He knew that one day, he and Spike would be as formidable as the Scourge had been, and that whatever they chose to hunt would be as awed by them as they were afraid of them.

As Spike's stories drew to a close, he realized that Xander was practically bouncing with excitement.

"What?"

"Will I be that strong one day?"

Spike smiled, chuckling softly. "Of course. You have to remember that I had more than a few decades of experience bein' a vampire though."

Xander nodded, then frowned. "I know. If I were older, or had more experience, I would have been able to do something about Buffy."

Spike grimaced. "You did the best thing for us, Xander. Don't ever doubt it."

Xander shifted, leaning gently against Spike's shoulder. Spike raised his hand and carded his fingers through his childe's hair. As he tucked Xander's head against his neck, he sighed. He had missed this.

Nothing had been the same with his family when Angel left them. They'd lost the close bonds they'd once shared. Even though it hadn't always been good, it had usually been fun. Spike could remember with clarity all of the good moments, and all of the bad. He could recall every detail of the time he'd spent with the Scourge, the time when they'd all been family.

He could remember standing back to back with Angelus, fighting anyone who got in their way. He could remember how much he'd admired the man who had become his sire, how much fun they'd had hunting together. He could remember sitting in front of a fire with Drusilla in his lap, just soaking up the warmth, and holding her, how her strange way of speaking had only endeared her to him more. He could remember Darla's disdain, but he could also remember how Angelus' influence had softened her enough that she'd somehow come to accept the two younger vampires. He could remember how even her biting remarks were sometimes followed by a tender caress, and how she'd brush Drusilla's hair or listen as Spike read a book. He could remember wreaking havoc with them, the fun they would have getting invited to fancy dinner parties, and then eating their hosts. How they'd all return home bloodied and sated.

He'd really missed having family around, but now he had Xander. He took in the image of his childe curled up against him. It felt nice to hold someone again. It was nice to have someone to spar with, someone to hunt with, someone to feed with, someone to talk with. It was nice to have someone who understood.

Glancing up as Angel paused in the doorway before continuing down the hall, Spike felt a small smile spread over his face. For a vampire family, they weren't quite where they should be, but they were closer than they had been in a long time, and that counted for a lot.