Vikings, Sires and Siblings

part 12

Willow had shown up 40 minutes later with a still sleep-rumpled Tara in tow. They had worn themselves out setting wards all over the house and surrounding property. Nothing was getting inside the house without an invitation, and if anyone managed to get on the grounds, there were wards to alert them. Spike had thanked the girls, and Xander had grumbled about not needing to be coddled and protected like a fledgling. He understood that his mate and his friends worried about him, but this just reminded him too much of when he was still human, when he was the weakest link in the Scooby gang.

He'd never realised how much he enjoyed the benefits that being undead gave to him; the strength and confidence seemed second nature to him now. When he had been alive, he never realised how much of a liability he had been to his friends; being the only one without some kind of supernatural talent to fall back on, he was surprised he hadn't been used as a bargaining chip more often, or killed outright.

Spike took his lover’s grumbling in stride, fully understanding why it was chafing him so much. He wouldn't want to be treated like he was made of glass either, but he was older and wiser and knew when to swallow his pride and accept help and protection. Xander’s sire would have killed him otherwise. It had only been because he had the help of the Scoobies and Angel that he was still among the undead and not dust blowing in the wind.

"Xan, love, I understand that you don't like this, but you know what the cheerleader saw. I'm not taking any chances that it'll come true. Trust me, I know how it feels to be ripped open and have someone play around with your innards. It isn't fun."

Xander sighed and hung his head.

"I know, Spike. I don't want that either, but this... It just reminds me of being the zeppo. I'm better than that now. I shouldn't need anyone to fight my battles for me anymore."

Spike blinked and then rolled his eyes at his mate.

"That what this is about? You think because you need protection that you’re weak? Useless? Not demon enough?"

"Sort of, yeah."

"Piffle. Did you think I was weak when Thor was hunting me? That I was useless 'cause I accepted help from you lot? Maybe I wasn't demon enough? Then again, perhaps because I worked with the slayer and her white hats, you thought that beforehand."

"No!"

Xander pulled Spike toward him and held him tightly to his chest.

"I never thought that. I may have disliked you..."

Spike snorted and Xander chuckled.

"Okay, hated you. But I never thought you were weak or useless. I mean, even with the chip you managed to weasel your way into our lives. You got us all fighting with each other when ADAM was after Buffy, you saved our lives on patrol more than once; I thought you were a bastard, but I never thought you were useless. And as for being demon enough, you shouldn't even have to ask."

"So, if this is all true, then why should any of this bother you? These are your friends, Xan, your family. They want you safe; so do I. If things were reversed, if this chit was coming for me, wouldn't you do the same?"

"Yeah, I would. You're right, I'm being an ass."

"No worries, love. I won't hold it against you."

The lovers fell silent and just held one another while they waited for the others to show up. Angel and Cordelia were driving down from LA as soon as the sun set, and Buffy and Dawn were coming over after they finished their classes.

~!~

Spike, Xander, Willow, and Tara all sat around the kitchen table chatting amiably and pretty much ignoring the reason they were all there. The girls both knew that even though Spike had talked to Xander, he still wasn't happy about being cooped up in the house - regardless of the fact that it was still daytime and he wouldn't have been able to go out anyway.

The indoor pool that had been an addition to the house before the two vampires moved in, was finally heated to the temperature that Xander wanted, so they had all gone for a swim earlier in an attempt to soothe Xander’s demon. It had worked well enough that he was no longer looking at the door and growling every few minutes. Spike's insistence on lacing the hot chocolate with whiskey probably helped, too.

Willow was wondering what was taking Buffy and Dawn so long to get there. They were both finished with classes by 3:15 and it was currently 4:30; they should have been there almost an hour ago. The phone rang and Spike got up to answer it.

"Harris Bloody residence. What's that? No. No, she isn't here. Settle down, slayer. We'll find her. Look, come here - I'll have the witches meet you at the gate and let you in. I know, luv. We'll work it out. See you soon."

Spike hung up the phone and turned to see three worried faces looking at him.

"Dawn's missing. She wasn't at the school when Buffy went to pick 'er up. Turns out, she didn't show up for her afternoon classes. Slayer was hoping she played hooky and was hanging out here."

Xander closed his eyes in grief and then snarled softly.

"This is all because of me. If anything happens to her..."

Yellow eyes met yellow eyes in a silent vow of bloody retribution to whoever had taken Dawn - be it Drusilla or this new mystery woman. Spike nodded and then turned to the two women and graced them with a sad, soft smile.

"Buffy's on her way. Why don't the two of you go and meet her at the gate so's the wards don't get triggered."

Willow nodded her head, and taking Tara's hand in hers, left the kitchen. Once they were out the door Spike gathered Xander into his arms and comforted the now-sobbing souled vampire.

"Hey, love. Shh; not your fault. We'll find her, and then we'll bloody kill whoever it was that was stupid enough to take her."

"It has to be our mystery woman. I mean who else could it be?"

"Dru. She has a way of getting in your head; she'd know what the bit means to me. Wouldn't put this past her, bloody loon."

Xander sniffed and then pulled away from his mate’s comforting embrace.

"As soon as it's dark enough, we're going out."

He held up his hand to forestall whatever Spike was going to say.

"I know, but Dawn is out there. I won't sit here inside all safe and sound while she is missing. You wouldn't do it either, so don't even start on me."

"You’re right, but we stick together. You and me. Buffy and the witches can team up. Deal?"

"Yeah. Better call Angel and tell him what's going on. Have him and Cordy start looking around when they get here."

Spike nodded and picked up the phone. Xander turned his back to Spike as a hate-filled glare swept over his face. He would make Dawn’s abductors pay for this. Demon or human, they were going to die.

~!~

Angel was pacing the hotel lobby. He had been packed and ready to go since Cordelia had called that morning and told him of her vision. He sometimes wished that he hadn't destroyed the Gem of Amara. It would certainly come in handy today.

He had just gotten off the phone with his childe and he could tell by the way Spike spoke that he was barely hanging on to his own rage. Dawn was the closest thing to a child Spike would ever have. Being a vampire, he was unable to reproduce; and being mated to a souled vampire, he would never make any vampiric childer of his own. His heart went out to him.

He could have ridden the two hours or so in the trunk of his car, but he had loaned it to Gunn and Wesley when they went after a lead on a case the previous night. The two of them hadn't come back yet, nor was he able to reach them on their cell phones. Therefore he would be travelling in Cordelia’s car - with her driving. There was no way he was curling up in the trunk of a Neon. Even if he did manage to get in there, he'd be a vampiric pretzel by the time they got to the hellmouth.

~!~

Dawn blinked open her eyes and scanned her surroundings. It was dark wherever she was, and she couldn't see very much. She knew she was in trouble - she remembered walking back to the school after sneaking out at lunch to go to the mall and two guys in a van grabbing her and dragging her inside. There was a sharp pain in the back of her head and then darkness. Now... Now she was tied to a chair in a dark room. A noise of to the side alerted her to the presence of someone else.

"Hello... Is, is anyone here?"

"Hello, sweet. Aren't you a pretty thing, all green and sparkly inside. I should like to see if you taste sparkly, too."

Dawn watched in horror as Spike's loony ex-girlfriend walked out of the shadows towards her. She screamed as loud as she could, but Dru only giggled and spun in circles.

"Such pretty music. I could dance all night to it."

She bared her fangs and lunged toward her throat.

"Do it again."

Dawn screamed and screamed.

~!~

As soon as the sun went down, Spike and Xander set out. Buffy, Willow and Tara had left as soon as Buffy had filled the others in on what she knew. Willow had tried a locator spell but it didn't work - she figured whoever it was that took Dawn had cloaked her with magic. There was no way Buffy was sitting around waiting for the vamps when she could be out there searching, so she headed out. The witches agreed and the three set off together.

Knowing Dru's preference for finer things, Spike and Xander headed for the mansion first. When there was no sign of anyone having been there in a long time, they began searching the surrounding neighbourhood. They went back to the Westhills area, checked around Thor's old place - which still stood empty, as Xander still owned it and hadn't decided whether to sell it or rent it out for profit.

They checked out the house itself and then made their way around to the guesthouse out back. Both smiled at the remembrance of their first kiss after dusting Thor’s minions, but then quickly got back into tracking mode. Xander growled in frustration and turned to look at his mate.

"There's nothing here."

"I know, love. But we have to keep looking."

"And we will. I just wish we knew where she was."

There was a brief blinding light, and then Anya appeared.

"I can find her."

~!~