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Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry it's been a while, but we're back on track and close to finishing this puppy up. back in a day or so with Megan's next chapter!
Chapter Seventeen


He awoke some time later to sunshine streaming in the oversized windows and someone nearby humming a catchy tune that was brimming with happiness. Staggering to his one good foot, Xander limped his way after the singing that was coming from the kitchen.

“Buffy?” he yelped at first sight of her. Okay…so the whole Spike turning Buffy and using her as his love slave theory was no longer an option. She was standing directly in a sunbeam with no smoldering in sight, her green eyes guarded as she stared back at him over her coffee cup. Oh, well, he could still hope that there was thrall involved.

“Yeah, Xan. What’s the what? How are things back in Sunnyhell?”

He couldn’t fail to notice that she hadn’t said ‘how are things back home.’ What in the name of The Great and Powerful Oz was going on here?

Throwing his substantial bulk down on one of the rickety wooden chairs, Xander leveled his most censorious look at the Slayers flushed face. “Care to explain the vampire snugglies, Buff?” he asked, neatly evading her enquiries about the status of the Hellmouth. He wanted answers and, by damn, he was gonna get ‘em. Well, as long as the threatening presence of the lethal fangs weren’t an issue. He could be brave guy. He could!

Only...instead of the usual hangdog expression she wore whenever she was confronted with her predilection for pulseless lovers, her firm little chin lifted and she arched an eyebrow in a way that was scarily reminiscent of a certain bleached punk of a vampire.

“Explanations are needed? Gee, Xander, I thought our actions last night pretty much spoke for themselves. You were standing right outside the door. Were we not loud enough to make our point?”

“Oh, yeah! You were loud enough to wake the dead, but…oh, wait! He was already in bed with you!” Xander spat. It did occur to him that he might possibly have gone too far with his jealousy this time, but it wasn’t until he felt a burst of cool air against the back of his neck that he realized that there could be some pretty ugly repercussions to his little speech. Once again, he had underestimated the otherworldly stealth, speed, and determination of the blonde vampire. In seconds he was jacked up against the kitchen wall with a face full of enraged Spike and his pointy teeth.

“You know what they say about people in glass houses, Harris?” The voice was soft and deadly. “Seems to be dead on with you, because I can pick up more than a few demon birds under your usual rank odor of sweat and donuts.”

“Ew with the sniffy thing. Hey, Buff…a little help here?” His eyes widened when she kept her face pointedly averted as Spike’s fingers tightened. “Please? Buff?” he sputtered around the hand squeezing his throat.

Buffy whirled to face him and opened her mouth for a scathing reply, but gave in at the sight of panicked brown eyes. “Let him go, Spike,” she ordered with a resigned sigh.

“Why?” he pouted. “It’s just now starting to get fun.”

“Geck! Glerk!” Xander garbled. His face was an alarming shade of puce.

“Because if you keep doing that his head will explode and my kitchen is a big enough mess, already.” Looking around at the previous night’s devastation, Buffy was nearly in tears.

Xander found himself dropped in an ignominious heap and promptly forgotten in favor of slayer-vamp cuddlies.

“There, there, sweetness.” He was holding Buffy close and running his hand soothingly up and down her back. “With both of us and the human Twinkie here pitching in to lend a hand, we’ll have it spotless in no time.”

“Me?” Xander goggled as the vampire’s splayed fingers came dangerously close to the curve of her rump. He was becoming convinced that he’d somehow ended up in another dimension. One where his friend was definitely being felt up by evil and quite obviously relishing every second of it.

“You’re here, ain’t ya? And uninvited, I might add. Gonna take an awful lot of food to fill you up, I’ll wager, so don’t bitch about earning your keep or I’ll let the pup have you for brekkie,” Spike threatened.

From her basket in the corner, Beauty opened one eye and glared at the interloper, her upper lip lifting delicately to reveal a mouthful of razor sharp teeth.

Xander shrank back against the wall. “What the hell kind of demon is that?” he quavered.

“A Collie, you git!” Spike rolled his eyes.

“Enough!” Buffy finally lifted her head from the shelter of Spike’s shoulder, but she made no move to put any distance between them. “Arguing isn’t helping. Why are you here, Xander? How did you find us?”

Xander couldn’t believe it. He got the impression from the tone of her voice that she wasn’t at all happy about being found. Not that he had actually been looking for her, but still. He had to wonder if Joyce would be so blasé about Buffy’s whereabouts if she knew her daughter were boning yet another member the undead club, especially so soon after kicking the last one to the curb.

“Don’t think he was looking for us, pet.”

Trust the vampire to pick up on his discomfort when confronted about his miraculous presence at the farm. Xander squirmed and refused to meet their curious stares. “I…uh…I decided to take a road trip. You know…a-a summer thing. Sow my wild oats and see what life is like away from the Hellmouth.”

Buffy slapped a hand over Spike’s mouth, effectively silencing what was sure to be a scathing remark about Xander and his wild oats. Of course, he immediately began running his tongue over the lines of her palm in a way that had her nipples standing at immediate attention. She shivered and pressed herself against him to hide the evidence of her arousal from her friend, who was gradually winding down his tale of life on the road.

“Anyway, I was on my way to the next town. I’m running low on cash and I figured I’d be able to find a few odd jobs there to keep myself going, but my truck broke down out on the highway. I saw your lights from there, so here I am.”

“Yay,” Spike mumbled into the slayer’s hand.

“So, no one sent you to find us?” Buffy didn’t bother to hide the relief in her voice.

“I left right after graduation, before Any— anyone could stop me, Buff. Your mom told us to leave you alone, so I decided to do my own thing for a while. Of course, if I had known you decided to trade in your tame pet for a wild one, and then shack up with him, I would have been here sooner.” Xander hoped his sarcastic remark was successful in covering his near slip-up. Anya Jenkins scared him silly. Sure, the sex was amazing. Hell, his ears were still ringing from her passionate screams, but even her name had the power to reduce him to a twitching puddle of fear.

Buffy caught his mistake, but decided that a confrontation could wait until later. Her vampire had grown bored during Xander’s spiel and was currently inching cool fingers up under her pajama shorts.

“Okay, well…great! Spike knows almost everyone in town, so I’m sure he’d be happy to take you in once it gets dark and help you find a job,” Buffy offered perkily.

“But my foot…I hurt it falling down the stairs last night,” whined Xander.

Waving a dismissive hand, Buffy grabbed Spike’s wandering digits with the other and beamed a wide, fake smile as she dragged him towards the stairs. “You can rest on the sofa all day, then. It’ll be fine by this evening. Spike and I will just go get dressed so we can start on the kitchen. Right, Spike?”

Spike was too busy nuzzling his face in her hair and teasing the bite marks on her neck. “You just wanna take me upstairs so I can suck on your gumdrop, don’t you?” he whispered lustily.

Said gumdrop perked to attention at the husky timbre of his voice. Whimpering, she hurried him out of the kitchen, calling a distracted. “make yourself at home, Xand,” over her shoulder as they went.

Xander shook his head in confusion as he got to his feet and went to forage for food. Something funny was going on here, but right now he was too weak from hunger to process the weirdness that was Buffy bumping uglies with Spike. It had to be thrall, he decided as he raided the pantry and retired to the living room sofa to rest and recharge.

A man needed to keep his strength up, after all.

TBC~





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