The Gift

Chapter Eleven

The afternoon found Rodchester sleeping underneath the kitchen table. Willow looked at him curiously, wondering why the minion didn’t sleep in one of the other four bedrooms she had discovered when wandering the house.

Willow had considered leaving and going back to her own apartment, but she wasn’t sure she could face anyone right now, even Tara. She was confused and needed to find someplace that she could sit and meditate in peace.

Opening the refrigerator door, she discovered a bowl of grapes. She picked up the bowl and sent a quick prayer to the goddess that the fruit was still edible. She sat at the table, careful not to step on the sleeping vampire. She grinned. Xander’s life was strange.

Spike stalked into the room, causing Willow to jump in fright. “No worries, Red, just need to get my pet some food. Rodchester!” The minion’s head struck the bottom of the table as he jerked awake. “Xander’s hungry.”

Rodchester scurried out from under the table and began preparations for the morning meal. “Don’t forget that you need to feed Red here, too.”

Willow smiled at Spike’s thoughtfulness, then frowned, remembering. “Where’s Buffy?” Spike shrugged and glanced around the kitchen as if she was hiding in the corner.

“Have no idea. Angelus put her up somewhere.” He looked at the young woman closely. “I remember you. You were dancing with Xan and the Slayer. Was temped to taste you that night, you looked so sweet and inviting.”

Willow blushed and stammered. She wasn’t real sure how to take that. “Um, thanks?” Spike nodded and strode from the room. Willow followed behind, intrigued by the vampire.

Spike threw himself down on the couch and lit a cigarette, blowing the smoke away from Willow. “Sit, Red. Food’ll be ready soon.” Willow sat down next to Spike, confused as to why she felt so comfortable with him. He was a vampire, a killer; he was… really cute with his hair all messed up.

Xander walked into the room and Willow blushed. She just thought that her best friend’s boyfriend was cute. Xander apparently agreed, because he grinned at Spike and climbed into his lap, wrapping the dark blond hair around his fingers.

“Look at you.” Xander leaned in and kissed Spike on the mouth. Willow watched, amazed as Spike carefully held his cigarette away from Xander. “All sleepy and curly headed.” More kisses were exchanged. Xander finally climbed from Spike’s lap and wandered into the kitchen. Rodchester approached him with a plate full of food and Xander returned to Spike’s lap, plate in hand.

“Hey Wills. How did you sleep?”

Willow jumped when the minion appeared at her side, offering her a plate. She accepted it with a wary smile and began to eat. “Slept fine. This is wonderful!” She shoved more into her mouth.

“I know. That’s why I picked him. He was the chef –slash-concierge at this hotel we stayed at in Vegas. Man, after all the crappy food we ate there, I wasn’t letting this one go.” Willow shrunk back. Her Xander would have never allowed something like that to happen. Her Xander wouldn’t have chosen someone and had him turned just to serve him.

Xander glanced at Willow, almost reading her thoughts. “I’m different, Willow. I am the consort of Spike, William the Bloody. I’m different.”

Spike proved Xander’s point by leaning in and piercing his consort’s neck, allowing the blood to flow. He kept an eye on Willow as he licked up the length of Xander’s throat, collecting every drop of the precious fluid.

Willow shuddered and returned to her food.

*****

Angelus pro out out of his room, disgusted with the clothing he had been provided. He flung the cotton fabric at Spike, who was sitting on the couch with his consort in his lap. “What is this shite? Send your man out to get me some real clothes!”

Spike grinned up at his sire. “Rodchester! Give my sire his clothing!” The minion arrived with leather pants and a silk shirt in hand.

“Much better,” purred Angelus. He dragged on the pants before turning to look at Spike and Xander. Xander was asleep on Spike’s lap, his head lolling back on his lover’s shoulder. Angelus could see dried blood on Xander’s lips and knew that Spike and Xander had exchanged blood, again.

At the end of the couch, Willow lay curled up in a ball, moaning in her sleep. “Where’s the Slayer, Angelus?” Spike questioned his sire.

“Garage. Couldn’t find a decent place to chain her so I stuck her in the trunk of the DeSoto. Why do you still have that piece of crap anyway?” Spike looked offended and Xander growled in his sleep, turning his face towards Angelus.

“He always like that?” Angelus pointed at Xander.

“Yeah,” Spieplieplied proudly.

“Lock the witch in the bedroom and have your minion keep an eye on her. Let’s go get this fucking thing out of me.” Angelus pulled on the shirt and stormed down to his room. Spike roused Xander and the two went into their bedroom to dress and prepare for the battle.

*****

The Initiative had not changed anything since their successful rescue of Angel. Spike and Xander led Angelus directly to doordoor hidden in the depths of the drainage system. Xander stunk of fear and Spike pressed his lover into the wall, piercing his throat in a swift move, calming his mate with his touch.

Angelus twitched when the scent of Xander’s blood reached him. The boy was absolutely delicious. He was going to have to find himself a pet, soon. He wanted to feel that warmth again.

Angelus growled and pulled Spike away from his consort as their embrace became more passionate. Xander stayed against the wall, panting, flushed from his lover’s kisses.

“Later,” Angelus growled. Spike stalked down the length of the pipe, licking Xander’s blood from his lips. He fiddled with the wires that were still hanging from the doorway, glancing back at Xander when the door slid open.

Xander walked up to Spike’s side and Spike leaned in to clean the last of the blood from Xander’s neck. “Finish that later, love.” A final lick and the two lovers followed Angelus into the pristine hallway.

“What’s the plan?” Xander’s muttered question rang out loudly.

Angelus hissed back, “Get this fucking thing out of me, then burn the place down.” Spike quirked an eyebrow at his consort and Xander laughed, slapping his hand over his mouth to contain the laughter. Spike grinned back and Angelus snarled at the pair. “Shoulda’ left you both at the house.”

They found a stairwell that Xander and Spike had missed their first time in the complex and silently treaded down to the bottom floor. Angelus pushed the door open, extending his senses, testing the air for anyone who might be around.

He moved forward, uncertain as to what he should be looking for. “Psst!” Xander’s hiss caught his attention and the young brunette waved both vampires over to him. He pointed at the window embedded in a solid door. Spike peered through the glass and nodded. Counting silently, Spike and Xander rushed through the door, grabbing the white-coated man before he even knew they were in the room.

Spike held the man firmly as Xander tapped out commands on the computer lying on the counter. Angelus looked around the room, wondering what his childe’s consort was doing. He could see nothing in this room that could get rid of the tracer in his body.

“Here!” Xander exclaimed. Angelus peered over Xander’s shoulder atictuicture of himselt wat was a close up of his beaten and bruised face. Xander scrolled through several pages before stopping and pointing at a diagram. “It’s in your hip.” Angelus slapped a beefy hand over the indicated area. “I can cut it out,” Xander commented confidently.

Spike smirked at the expression on his sire’s face. His consort was doing an excellent job of intimidating the older vampire.

“Spike, knock that guy out or eat him or something and get over here and help.” Xander sd And Angelus out of the way and began preparing the room for surgery.

“Do have any idea what you are doing?” Angelus asked uneasily.

“My consort can take apart and put together just about anything. It’s his gift.” Spike’s pride was obvious in his voice. Xander grinned and walked over to Spike, kissing his mate passionately. Spike pulled away long enough to smash the panicked technician over his head and reached out for his mate, allowing the white clad tech to drop to the floor.

Xander clung to Spike, pulling back long enough to slice Spike’s neck with his ring, before latching onto the wound. Xander swooned as Spike’s powerful blood passis lis lips, the taste offering comfort and reassurance. Angelus growled, but was ignored by the other two men. He got the message, understanding that he was not their priority and would have to be patient if he wanted their help.

Finally, the pair broke apart and Xander turned to Angelus. “Strip and get on the table, face down.” Angelus dropped his pants and climbed onto the table, wondering what was going to happen.

Spike walked over to the door, keeping an eye out for anyone who might need to come into the room. Xander found a scalpel and began cutting into Angelus’ flesh, drawing out a howl the the vampire. “Shut the fuck up, Angelus! Do you want someone to find us?” Xander slapped the vampire on the ass before returning to his task.

Five minutes later, Xander had found what he was looking for. He pulled out the small silicone chip, holding it in front of Angelus so that he could see it. “Here’s your problem.” Angelus snarled at the chip, grabbing it out of Xander’s fingers.

Xander rolled his eyes at Spike and began sewing up his mate’s sire. He slapped Angelus on the ass once again, drawing a warning growl from the chest of the older vampire. “All done. Let’s get out of here.”

Angelus climbed off the table, wincing at the pain in his hip as he pulled up his pants. He was sure that Xander had done more carving than was actually necessary to get the chip out. Spike looked back from where he was standing with Xander.

“You’re not bringing that with you, are you?” Spike indicated the bloody chip in Angelus’ hand.

Angelus looked down at the small chip and shook his head. “No.” He dropped it to the floor and crushed it beneath his boot.

“Let’s go.” Xander’s nervousness has reappeared and he was eager to get out of the complhe nhe needed to get his mate away from the psychotics that ran the place. Spike purred quietly and pulled Xander close, knowing that his mate was worried.

Suddenly, a shape passed by the window and Spike and Xander hit the floor. Angelus heard them drop and immediately reacted, hitting his head on the table as he fell to the floor.

Angry voices filtered through the heavy door. “What do you mean you lost them? You went all the way to Texas and you lost them?” Spike caught the scent of the people outside the door and looked at Xander. Xander sniffed the air, understanding what Spike was trying to tell him. Four soldiers, all of whom had participated in the attack in Fredericksburg, and one female stood outside the door.

Spike nodded to the back of the room, and Xander began creeping across the floor. When he reached Angelus, he grabbed the stunned vampire and dragged him along behind him. Spike followed, keeping his eyes and ears focused on what was happening outside the room.

A groan caught his attention and he cursed himself for not killing the tech when he had a chance. The voices outside the door paused and Spike cursed again. “Fuck!” He scrambled across the floor and grabbed his mate and his sire. “There has to be another way out of here.”

Xander looked around and finally pointed at a door half-hidden behind a row of filing cabinets. The mated pair moved across the room and began shoving the cabinets out of the way, giving them access to the door.

Spike forced it open and peered through it, seeing nothing but an empty hallway. He nodded and dragged Xander out the door, seeing his sire struggling to his feet behind them.

The three raced down the hallway and found themselves at an open entrance to the cavernous room that held the demon prisoners. “Shit!” Xander muttered under his breath and looked around the room. Armed guards stood in various positions around the room, all obviously on alert for anything out of the ordinary.

Spike looked around the room and finally decided on a plan. “Let’s go.” He grabbed Xander’s hand and began walking confidently across the room. The guards turned and focused their weapons on the pair, but Spike simply ignored them.

Shots rang out, piercing cool and warm flesh alike, but the pair kept moving forward. When they reached the other side of the room, Angelus roared and the soldiers spun to focus on the new threat.

Spike quickly ran his fingers over Xander, checking for serious injuries. Xander’s warm eyes burned into Spike’s cool ones and the pair nodded in synchronization. They released each other and raced to the closest soldiers, snapping necks each time they reached one. Angelus joined in the fray, limping as his hip split open under the stress.

When all of the guards were subdued, Xander looked around for an escape route while Spike hunted for a distraction. “We should go out the same way we came in!” Xander shouted and pointed towards the hallway that was somewhat visible several floors up.

Spike nodded his agreement and laughed aloud. He had found his distraction. He grabbed one of the dead soldiers and frisked him, coming up with a card key. He ran the key through the station that he had found and hit a button. The walls trapping the demons in the cells flickered and then disappeared.

The demons that were capable left their cages, looking for prey, seeking revenge. More soldiers entered the room at the same time and the two groups immediately attacked. Spike raced over to Xander and looked around for his sire. Angelus raced towards them, an evil glint in his eye.

“Found a small armory.” Angelus held up a handful of explosives. He triggered them and the trio sped out of the room, heading towards freedom. They almost made it to the door to the tunnel when the explosives went off. Angelus howled in triumph and the mated pair laughed at the elder vampire’s exuberance.

They raced back into the drainage tunnel and Xander jerked Spike to a stop. The adrenalin rush from the surgery and escape was overwhelming. He had to possess his mate.

Xander fell to his knees in front of Spike, drawing out the vampire’s swollen cock and sucking hard. Spike dropped his head back against the wall and thrust into his lover’s mouth. His orgasm quickly rushed from his body and Xander stood, closing Spike’s jeans.

“Let’s get out of here.” Spike leaned in and licked a trace of himself off of Xander’s lips and they both laughed.

*****

Willow watched the news on the TV in her bedroom. There were fire engines, police cars and ambulances all over the campus. Lowell House had burned to the ground, falling through the ground into an apparent natural crater underneath the fraternity. Willow knew better.

She chewed her bottom lip, hoping that Xander and Spike had made it out of the complex alive. She knew that it had to have been them that set off the explosions that had brought down the Initiative.

She looked at the locked door and back at the TV. Goddess, she hoped they had made it out in time.

*****

Buffy woke slowly, unaware of her surroundings. Finally, she figured out that she was trapped in the trunk of a car. She wiggled around in her makeshift prison, banging at the walls, trying to find a way out. After about fifteen minutes, she gave up. She was weak and thirsty and couldn’t remember what had happened.

She remembered going to find Angel and finding him with Spike and Xander. Xander! Her friend had disared red without word, running off with a vampire. Buffy began losing consciousness, drifting back into the darkness.