What If? - WttH/TH

Darla made her way deeper into the sewers, cursing softly over the loss of her prey. She felt a tingling between her shoulder blades, and glanced behind to make sure she wasn't being followed. Sensing nothing there, she turned back, shrieking when she collided with the large man in front of her. "Luke!" She gasped, and a hand flew up to rest over her chest. "I hate it when you do that!"

"Darla," Luke responded disapprovingly as he looked her up and down. "You were supposed to bring an offering for the Master. We're almost at Harvest!" With arms folded, he glared at her.

Darla withered under his burning yellow gaze. "I-I had someone, but then...there were others. They attacked me...they had weapons...stakes!" She gazed up at him beseechingly.

With a sneer, Luke dismissed her. "You go. I'll see if I can't find something...suitable." He watched her dart off, then carefully exited the maze of tunnels, emerging in a darkened alley. Cocking his head, he listened closely. With a predatory grin on his face, he followed the faint sound of shoes slapping against pavement.

He hid in the shadows until his chosen prey drew close. Snarling, he pounced on the unsuspecting man.

Luke laughed, amused at the fight the human put up. He quickly subdued him, and tightened an arm around his neck. "You are strong," he hissed in the terrified human's ear. "But I am stronger."

The man whimpered and continued his futile struggles, clawing frantically at the immobile arm that was slowly cutting off his air.

"You can't stop us. Nothing can stop us." Luke squeezed harder, smiling as the man's jerky movements grew weaker. A look of almost religious ecstasy passed over the vampire's face as he waited for the man to lose consciousness.

"And like a plague of boils, the race of man covered the earth." He began his recitation with a look of disgust that soon grew to one of anticipation. "But on the third day of the newest light will come the Harvest. And the blood of men will flow as wine...and the Master will walk among them once more. The earth will belong to the Old Ones, and hell itself will come to town."

He released the human, who slumped to the ground, only his faint breathing betraying the fact that he still lived. Luke easily hoisted the limp form, and started back toward the sewers. "Amen."

~~~~~~

Jesse peered intently at the doors to the library, then straightened and walked inside. He glanced around curiously, wrinkling his nose at the musty smell. There didn't appear to be anyone around, so he leaned up against the counter, arms folded.

"Can I help you?"

Jesse jumped back with an aborted scream, wheeling around frantically.

"I say, are you quite all right?"

"Don't do that!" Jesse held a hand over his pounding heart as he glared at the librarian.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. Er...was there anything I could help you with?" Rupert squinted. "I say, is there something the matter with your neck? Perhaps you should go see the nurse."

"No, no, I'm good." Jesse slapped a hand over his neck and backed up a step. "Everything's good. Just, you know, waiting for some friends. To...study." He managed not to cringe as he said the word. "With the...book things..." He blinked and stepped quickly over to a table, plopping himself down in a chair. After tugging his collar up further, he folded his hands and attempted to appear studious.

"I...see..." Rupert watched the boy for a moment, then, with a shrug, returned to shelving books.

Jesse drummed his fingers impatiently as he waited. The whole 'library' concept was pretty alien to him, and the place was giving him the creeps. His relief at the appearance of Willow and William was almost palpable.

"Hi Mr. Giles!" Willow chirped brightly as she made her way past him.

"Ms. Rosenberg. Lovely day, isn't it?"

Willow choked slightly. "Um, yeah. Wonderful day." With a fake smile on her face, she groped for a chair next to Jesse.

Rupert didn't notice, however, his attention already having been fixed on his son. "William. Here to study I presume?"

"Um, yes Da. We're...all studying for a...a test." He glanced down, shuffling past his father and taking a seat at the table across from Jesse and Willow.

"Well, good luck." With a nod to them, Rupert disappeared into the stacks.

Jesse gaped at William. "Woah, he's your dad? Isn't that, like, freaky or something?"

"No," William answered with a rather confused look. "Why would it be?"

"Oh. Um...no reason." He winced when Willow elbowed him in the ribs. "Would you quit that?"

Willow blinked at him innocently. "Quit what? And where's Xander?"

Jesse glared at her for a moment before answering. "He had to stop by his locker. He should be here in just a minute."

William grinned briefly at the mention of Xander, then glanced at Willow, resuming what must have been a previous conversation. "So...all that information you found is just...open to the public?"

Willow blushed. "Um...well...i-in a way. I sort of...stumbled on a few things when I accidentally decrypted some of the county's security systems."

"Someone's been naughty." Xander pushed through the doors and strode into the library. He bounded over to the table. "Hey, my buds!" He sat next to William, sprawling out in his chair. "So, what's the what?"

"Ok, first off...keep it down!" Willow fixed Xander with a stern look.

"Oh, sure. Low-key. Gotcha." He made a zipping gesture over his mouth.

"Right. Anyway, William and I were digging around online and stuff, and we found some things out."

"Well, spill." Jesse leaned forward eagerly.

William looked around covertly, then got up and hurried over to a bookshelf. He extracted a rather large volume, which he deposited on the table.

"Vampyr...you're kidding, right?" Xander was obviously skeptical.

William shook his head. "I found this earlier, and skimmed through a few chapters." He visibly went into lecture mode. "According to this, eons ago, demons walked the earth. It was their domain. But in time, they lost their purchase on this reality, and the way was paved for man. Of the Old Ones, all that remained were vestiges...certain magics...creatures. And vampires."

Xander scoffed. "Ok, this is where I have a problem. See, because we're talking about vampires. We're having a talk...with vampires in it."

"Well, isn't that what we saw last night?" Willow folded her arms stubbornly.

"Hey, all I know is that freaky chick was trying to suck my blood out!" Jesse shuddered and reached up to feel his neck.

"Yeah, but--"

"So, vampires are demons?" Jesse interrupted Xander, addressing his question to William.

"Well, the book tells that the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human...mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed...infected by the demon itself." William cleared his throat and handed the book to Xander. "He bit another, and another. And so they walked the earth...feeding. Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind." He paused, then went on hesitantly, "Waiting for the animals to die out...and the Old Ones to return."

There was silence as everyone digested this information. Then Willow spoke up, "Anyway, after we hit on the vampire thing, I...researched the hospital and morgue statistics. Do you know how many people were either wounded or killed by 'barbecue forks' in the last year?"

"Barbecue forks? What, did someone's Uncle Pauly get a little too drunk at the annual family picnic?"

"I doubt that was really the cause," William interjected softly.

"Yeah. I mean, how many people even own one, much less go around stabbing themselves or others with them? Anyway, there were over 200 separate incidents like that, with the majority of them being 'cause of death', not just injuries."

Xander held up a hand. "So...you're saying Sunnydale is infested with vampires?"

William and Willow exchanged a look, and Willow nodded. "That's our guess."

Jesse gave a rather weak snort. "And you thought living here would be dull," he told William.

"One more thing," Willow added. "The body in the locker yesterday? Guess what the records list the cause of death as?"

"Lemme guess...Uncle Pauly?" Xander made a stabbing motion with his hand.

Willow nodded bleakly. With a sigh, she folded her arms on the table and rested her chin on them. "I...I think that covers everything."

Xander let the book drop onto the table, and he stood up, pacing in agitation. "Except for one thing...how do we kill them? One of these things attacked Jesse...no way am I letting it get another shot at any of us!"

Jesse nodded emphatically. "Hell yeah. I wanna know how to get rid of these suckers. No pun intended there."

With a frown, William picked up the book and replaced it on the shelf. "Are you sure we should be contemplating something like this?"

"Well, I for one am not anxious to go into dark places full of monsters, but I do wanna help. Like Xander said...no one can go after one of us without a little bit of payback." Willow's expression was fierce.

"All right. Fine. So...more research?"

Willow gave him a determined nod of agreement. Then a thought struck her. "Jesse, is there anything else you can tell us about what happened? Anything that might help?"

Jesse thought carefully, reviewing the previous evening's events carefully. His face brightened. "You know, she was babbling something about offerings for some 'master', and something about a 'harvest'. Think that means anything?"

"We'll see what we can find." She moved over to where the computer was, and logged on to the Internet "William, c'mere."

William pulled a chair up next to her, looking at the monitor over her shoulder.

"So..." Jesse began backing out of the library. "Does this mean I can go now?"

Willow waved a hand distractedly. "Meet after school. By the fountain." She pointed out something on the screen to William, who pulled out a pad of paper and began taking notes.

Jesse yanked on Xander’s arm. "Man, let's get outta here before we get sucked into that evil researching thing!"

Xander grinned at him, and the two boys quickly walked out of the library.

~~~~~~

"Are you guys sure we wanna do this?" Willow looked around for confirmation.

"Hell yeah," Jesse replied emphatically. "I'm not gonna sit inside like a scared little kid...I wanna be able to go out and have fun!"

"Besides," Xander added, "we've never had any problems at the Bronze. Ouch! Damn it!" He glared at Jesse.

Jesse glowered back at him. "Thank you ever so much for jinxing it there, Xan! Geez, why don't you just advertise for trouble!?"

"I so didn't jinx it! Tell him, Willow!"

Willow just sighed. "I'm not getting involved in this...again!" She handed a squirt gun to William, who stared at the object curiously. "Holy water," she explained to him, then passed out similar items to Xander and Jesse.

"Hey Wills, do we wanna know where you got this from?" Jesse snickered at the mental image of Willow sneaking into some church and siphoning out the containers of water.

"Oh, hush," Willow scolded. "Did you guys bring the stakes?"

"Yep." Xander unzipped his backpack and let a pile of the sharp objects clatter onto the table. "See Willow, I told you me and Jesse would learn something useful in that shop class!" He grinned proudly.

"Great. That about does it. Except...William, got your stuff?"

William nodded and produced three lighters, which he passed to Willow. "Da always has extra of these. He says he's quit smoking, but he still has a fag occasionally."

Xander choked. "A-A what?"

Willow rolled her eyes. "A cigarette, Xander. That's what they're called in England."

"Oh." Xander chuckled nervously. "I just...um, I thought you meant...never mind." He took one of the lighters, flicking it on experimentally. "So," he said loudly in an attempt to cover his embarrassment, "What good are these little things gonna do?"

William smiled and took out another lighter. With his other hand, he pulled out a travel size bottle of hair spray. He backed up a few steps, flicked the lighter on, and spritzed the tiny flame.

"Woah!" Jesse and Xander jumped back, gaping in awe at the ball of fire that was produced.

"The only problem," William explained clinically, "is that it takes both hands to do." He shrugged. "It's the best I could come up with this quickly, though."

"Works for me." Jesse snatched a lighter and held a hand out for a bottle of hair spray. He stared at the items with just a tad too much excitement on his face.

"Don't go pyro on us here, Jesse," Willow said with a fond grin.

"What???" Jesse gave her an innocent look, then stuffed the lighter and hair spray into his pocket.

Willow sighed. "Boys," she muttered softly as she shook her head.

"Geez Jesse, way to make like the homicidal maniac." Xander punched his shoulder lightly. Then, he ever so nonchalantly grabbed his own lighter and hair spray and tucked them away. He cleared his throat. "So, let's get going!"

~~~~~~

"See? I told you nothing would happen there. And you guys were worrying!" Xander threw an arm around Jesse's shoulders as they walked down the alawayaway from the Bronze.

"Willow!" Jesse whined. "He's doing it again! At this rate, we'll be lucky to get home alive!"

"Well, it probably doesn't help that the two of you are advertising our presence to anything that might be out there! Stop making such a racket!" Willow glowered at the rambunctious boys, who pouted at her, but fell silent.

"You have a lot of experience with that, don't you?" William spoke quietly to her as they quickly made their way down the street.

Willow snorted. "They're just a couple of big kids, really." Then she smiled softly. "I love 'em, though. Wouldn't know what to do without them."

William glanced ahead. They'd managed to fall back a little from the other two, so he took a chance and asked her quietly, "You...you really like Xander...don't you?"

Smiling sadly, Willow answered, "Is it that obvious?" She sighed. "I...I've had the biggest crush on him for years now. But...he never notices. I mean, I know he cares about me. It's just, I think he sees me like a sister, you know? And...I don't know how to ever get him to see me as, well, me."

"It...it must really hurt. To think about him ever being with...someone else." William stared fixedly at the pavement as they continued walking. Willow was fast becoming one of the closest friends he'd ever had, and no matter how deeply he felt about Xander, he couldn't bear the thought of hurting Willow by being with him. Not that he though he stood much chance anyway, no matter what Jesse had said.

Willow sniffed softly. "Yeah. A little." She shrugged. "Ok, a lot. But...he's my friend. And, no matter what, I just want him to be happy. Even if it i-isn't with m-me." She wiped at her eyes, then continued brightly, "I just hope that whoever he ends up with can love him like he deserves."

"Yeah," William agreed under his breath.

A high-pitched shriek wrenched their attention back to their companions. They immediately reached for their weapons when they saw Jesse sprawled out on the pavement. Over him was a man -- vampire? -- who had his arm around Xander's throat, and was glaring at them with yellow, glowing eyes.

The vampire merely laughed when they pulled out their stakes. "I'm so scared," he hissed, and he held Xander in front of him to block any of their attempts. He began to drag Xander back into the shadows with him.

Xander struggled, slamming his elbow back forcefully. The vampire merely grunted in annoyance and tightened his grip.

Carefully, Willow and William stepped apart and started to circle the vampire from either side. "Let him go," William demanded, eyes narrowing in anger.

"Why should I? He'll make a wonderful offering for the Master. He's smells so young and sweet." He growled softly and licked up the side of Xander's neck, making the boy shudder in disgust.

From his position on the ground, Jesse managed to reach into a pocket and pull out his squirt gun. His actions went unnoticed by the vampire, who was concentrating on what seemed to be the more imminent threat of the other two humans. With a vengeful grin, Jesse aimed and sent a stream of water into the vampire's eyes.

Howling, the vampire flung Xander away and clutched at his burning face. He stumbled back blindly, groping for some defense against this unexpected attack.

"Stay down!" Willow shouted at Jesse. She ran forward, flicked on her lighter, and sprayed the hair spray through the flame towards the vampire. Then she too dropped to the ground.

The vampire's agonized screams reached a crescendo as his clothing caught on fire, burning fiercely. With one last shriek of impotent fury, he exploded into a cloud of dust.

Panting, the four stared in shock at the small scorched mark left on the pavement. "Woah," Jesse whispered. "Way rad."

"Is everyone ok?" Willow stood and brushed Xander off, checking for injuries.

Xander groaned pitifully. "I think me and this wall got a little too intimate," he grunted, holding a hand over his forehead.

William rushed over and pried his hand away, gasping as blood began to stream from the cut. "We-we have to get you someplace where we can clean this up." He replaced Xander’s hand, hoping to stem the flow.

Willow and Jesse crouched beside him and stared at Xander. 'That's bleeding a lot," Willow said in a worried voice. "But I-I'm sure you'll be ok," she hurried on, hoping to reassure Xander. "Head wounds always bleed a lot, it's totally natural. But, um, yeah, we should get a bandage or something on it."

"Dude, you live closest," Jesse said to William. "Got anything at your place to fix him up with?"

William nodded. "Da has a first-aid kit in the lavatory, it should have whatever we need."

Jesse stood and helped Xander to his feet. "Ok then, here's the plan. You take Xander home with you, get him fixed up. I'll walk home with Willow, since she lives across the street from me." Taking in Xander's pale, shaking state, he asked, "Will your dad be ok with Xander staying the night? I don't think he's gonna be able to make it all the way back to his place. Especially not alone."

"I-I think so. But...what should I tell him?"

Jesse blinked. "Oh. Good point. Um...can you sneak him in? If he leaves just after sunrise, no one will ever even know he was there."

William swallowed nervously. "I...suppose so."

"Are you sure we should separate?" Willow asked, not wanting to leave Xander when he was injured.

"I think we need to get off the streets as soon as possible, and this is the best way." Jesse slung his arm around Willow's shoulders. "Don't worry, he'll be fine in William's capable hands. And I, my dear lady, will protect you."

Willow gave him a wan smile. Stretching up on her tiptoes, she kissed Xander's cheek quickly. "You be safe, ok?"

Xander nodded, then clutched at his head with a whimper. "Sure thing, Wills," he whispered.

"Ok. We'll meet tomorrow during lunch in the library again. Is that good?" She waved goodbye as William slowly led Xander away.

To distract her, Jesse groaned loudly. "The library? Again? I'm gonna catch something if you keep making me go there."

Willow looked at him, a smile playing about her lips. "Libraries are fun," she told him firmly. "There's books, and learning, and--"

"No more!" Jesse clapped his hands over his ears. "Make it stop!"

Giggling, Willow punched his arm playfully. "Come on, give 'em a chance," she cajoled. "I'll give you chocolate."

Jesse brightened. "Chocolate? Well, why didn't you say so? Lead on!"

Their joking banter continued as they walked, and the emotions left over from the vampire attack slowly began to fade. Then, Jesse stiffened. He cocked his head, then jerked Willow into a shadowy recess. "Shh!" he hissed when she t to to protest.

They stood in absolute stillness, listening to the faint footsteps grow louder as they approached their hiding place. When the footsteps paused, Jesse let go of Willow, readied his squirt gun, and jumped out.

The man whirled around. "Is there a problem here?" he asked, eyeing the plastic gun closely.

Willow stepped out and joined Jesse. "Yeah, there's a problem. Why are you following us?"

The man held up his hands. "Don't worry, I don't bite." He studied Willow closely. "I thought you'd be taller. More muscular and all that."

Willow gave Jesse a confused look, wondering what the man meant by that.

"What do you want?" Jesse asked, taking a step forward to place Willow behind him.

"The same thing you do." He kept staring intently at Willow.

Frowning, Willow tossed her hair out of her face. "And what's that?"

The man leaned forward. "To kill them," he said in a low voice. "To kill them all."

Jesse began backing up, herding Willow behind him. "Look man, we don't want to kill anyone."
e mae man gave a humorless laugh. "Didn't look like it earlier."

They froze, gaping in astonishment. Then Willow found her voice. "He came after us first. W-We just want to be left alone."

"Do you really think that's an option?" He snorted. "You're standing at the mouth of hell...and it's about to open." He gave another quiet laugh. "Don't turn your back on this. You've got to be ready."

"What for?"

"For the Harvest."

"Quit with the cryptic bullshit, man. Who are you?" Jesse fixed the man with his most intimidating stare.

"Let's just say...I'm a friend."

Willow spoke up over Jesse's shoulder. "Yeah, well maybe we don't want any more friends."

A bitter smile was directed at them. "I didn't say I was yours." In near silence, the man spun around and strode quickly away.

Left alone again, the two stood close together. "Can we go home now?" Willow asked in a tiny voice.

"Yeah." Jesse stared off in the distance to where the man had disappeared. "Yeah, let's get you home."

~~~~~~

William struggled to hold Xander upright as he fumbled for his key. Finally, he managed to open the door without Xander sliding to the floor, and he pulled them inside. He seated Xander on the couch, then ran for some paper towels, which he urged Xander to hold against his forehead. Then, he went back to the kitchen to read the note he'd seen on the refrigerator door. He breathed a sigh of relief.

A hiss of pain dragged him back to the couch, and he knelt beside Xander. "I'm going to get the bandages and things, I'll bring something for the pain too."

"God, thank you. You are a kind, wonderful person." He slouched down into the cushions. "Should I go hide somewhere now?"

William shook his head. "Da left a note, said he had to go to some meeting at the school. Something about the...the body in the locker. He won't be back until late."

"Oh. Good. Drugs? Can I please have drugs now?"

"Right." William left, returning quickly with the first-aid box. He gave a couple of aspirin to Xander, grimacing when the other boy swallowed them dry. Then he sat next to Xander and turned on the lamp by the couch. "Lean this way," he instructed.

Xander shifted sideways, practically falling into William's lap. He looked up with a goofy grin. "I didn't know you were twins," he mumbled insensibly. His eyes flickered back and forth. "You both have really pretty eyes, though."

William gasped and went rigid. Then he shook his head. "You're hurt," he said quietly. "Let me see that." With a clean cloth, he dabbed at the cut, apologizing when Xander flinched. He was relieved to find that, although the cut was rather long, it was shallow. By this time, the blood had slowed to just a sluggish trickle now, and William soon had Xander's face cleaned up.

"Mmmm, soft hands," Xander whispered almost inaudibly as he inched in closer to William.

Panting softly, William applied the antibiotic cream with shaking hands. He really, really hoped that Xander didn't move just a few inches closer.

The front door swung open, and the main light was switched on, brightening the room considerably. "William, are you still up? I was -- good heavens!"

Stricken, William gulped hard and stared up at his father. "Da! I, ah...it...it's not what it looks like!"

Xander reached up a hand and covered William's mouth. "Shh," he told him. "Loud noises bad. Quiet now."

Rupert removed his glasses to give them a quick polish. He replaced them, sighing when nothing about the scene had changed. William was still sitting on the couch, Xander curled comfortably in his lap, open first-aid kit and bloody cloths littering the neighboring cushions. Concerned, he bent over Xander. "Xander, are you all right?"

Xander smiled up at him. "M'good Mr. Giles." His eyes flew wide, clearing abruptly. He jerked himself out of William's lap, almost falling off the couch in the process. "Mr. Giles!" He glanced over at William. "I...um...that is..."

"What happened?"

William flushed. "Um, see, there was...actually...um...he fell?" He bit his lip nervously.

"He fell?" He looked at Xander. "You fell?"

Xander gave him a weak nod, smiling half-heartedly.

"I see. William? Is that the truth?"

William shifted awkwardly under his father's disapproving stare. "Sort of? I mean...um...no?"

"Mm-hmm." Rupert peered at Xander's injury, then affixed a couple of butterfly sutures to it. "Would you like to me me the real story, then?"

"N-not really." He cringed at the harsh look that provoked.

Rupert shook his head in disappointment. "Xander, what is your parent's number?"

"555-3920" Xander whispered, giving William a look of sympathy.

Rupert left to use the phone. When he returned, he almost smiled at seeing Xander listing to the side, eyes once more glazed and heavy-lidded. "You'll stay the night here, I've already told your parents." He wasn't sure if Xander would really understand him, but the boy nodded before curling up against the arm of the couch. "William."

Hesitantly, William stood. He watched as his father got out an extra blanket and pillow, tucking Xander in. Then he followed him into the kitchen.

"I don't like b lie lied to," Rupert informed his son in a hard voice.

William stared at the floor. "I'm sorry."

"I'm assuming something happened while you were out with your other friends this evening?"

William gave a jerky nod.

"All right then. I want you to go to bed now. We'll talk tomorrow." He stared at him meaningfully. "All of us. And I don't want to hear any more lies."

"Yes, Da." He swallowed, fighting back tears as he backed out of the room. He paused by the couch, a hand reaching out to brush tentatively through Xander's hair.

"William. Bed. Now."

William heaved a sigh and trudged to his room.

~~~~~~

Willow and Jesse walked into the library. They stopped in their tracks when they were confronted by the librarian's level stare. "Um, hi Mr. Giles," Willow offered. She edged past him and took a seat at the table.

Jesse hurried after her and sat next to Xander. "Dude, what's up with him?" he whispered.

"Busted," Xander whispered back. "He wants to know. Everything."

"Oooh." Jesse winced. "We telling him the truth?"

"Have to. Have you seen William try to lie to his dad? It's not a pretty sight."

"That's gotta suck. How's your head by the way?"

"Still attached. Not sure if that's a good thing though. Remind me not to introduce it to any more brick walls."

"Gentlemen...if I may?" Rupert stood at the head of the table, arms crossed as he examined the group of youngsters. "I know something happened last night. I want to know what," he told them sternly, "and I want the truth."

No one spoke, and Rupert sighed loudly. "Ms. Rosenberg?"

"Me?" Willow squeaked. "Why me?"

Rupert just stared at her.

With a reproachful glare at her silent companions, Willow started.

~~~~~~

Rupert looked up from his examination of Jesse's neck. "You're being absolutely serious?"

Willow nodded. "Cross our hearts."

"Yeah, don't these look serious to you?" Jesse poked at the partially healed fang marks on his neck. "Let me tell you how not fun it was trying to explain that to my parents."

"Plus, you know, we have some research we did." Willow pulled out a notebook and offered it to him. "Just some preliminary stuff, we've only been looking into it for a day or so now."

Rupert sank down into a nearby chair. "This is unbelievable," he muttered. "My god." He stared at his son in horror. "What kind of place have I brought you to?"

"The mouth of hell." Jesse flinched at the glares sent his way. "Hey, it's what that guy said last night, not me!"

"What guy?"

Jesse frowned. "What, we didn't tell you?"

Xander drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "No. No, you didn't. Would you please tell us now?"

"Well, Willow and I met up with this seriously weird guy on the way home last night. He seemed to have a real yen for Willow. Kept eyeballing her."

"Seriously creepy," Willow chimed in. "And he saw us with the vampire earlier."

"Anyway, he said we were on the mouth of hell, and had to be ready for the harvest." Jesse frowned. "That chick from before was talking about a harvest too. Think it means something?"

"And this master guy. Both the vampires were talking about a master. And I really didn't like the sound of being an offering for whoever 'the master' is." Xander blanched as he remembered the inhumanely cold tongue snaking up his neck.

"I think there's really only one thing we can do at this point." Rupert shook himself and stood purposefully. "I had wondered why there were so many books dealing with magic and other arcane subjects in this library. I'm sure one of them must contain something of use."

Jesse groaned and let his head thump down on the table. "Not more research!" he wailed. "It's not fair!"

~~~~~~

"How do porcupines have sex?" At the strangled fit of coughing that followed this query, Jesse looked up from his book to see a group of bemused faces studying him. "What?" he asked defensively. "It's a valid question!"

Rupert managed to recover his composure. Steadying himself with a deep breath, he asked, "Is there...some particular reason you ask?"

Jesse shrugged. "I just wondered."

Xander leaned across the table, a mischievous grin o his face. "Tell me, Jess-man. Do you often think about the mating habits of various animal species?"

Glaring, Jesse retorted, "Sorry Xan, I try not to ever think about you like that." He slanted a glance over at William, giving him a naughty wink that drew a faint blush from the flustered boy.

Xander noticed the brief exchange and felt a twinge of...worry? ...jealousy? ...anger? He brushed it off uncomfortably, resloved to believe it was just a lingering result of his head injury.

"Besides," Jesse continued, "you can't tell me it doesn't make you wonder too. I mean, think about all those quills! Ouch! I feel sorry for the guy porcupines." He frowned and gave Willow a stern look. "You realize this is all your fault, don't you? You drag me into this...book-filled place that has all these brainy vibes practically beating at me, and see what happens? I start thinking! Seeking actual...knowledge!" He shuddered.

Willow rolled her eyes. "Be brave, Jesse," she said solemnly. "It's good for you. Builds character."

Jesse stuck his tongue out at her.

"The female lays her quills down flat against her body during the a-actual act to keep from impaling her mate." William felt his cheeks heat up again as the group transferred their bemused gazes to him.

Rupert removed his glasses and asked in a subdued voice, "Do I want to know how you acquired that bit of information?"

"I read it in the 'National Geographic'!" William defended himself. He glowered at Willow and Xander, who were giggling softly. "I did!"

A bell rang loudly, signaling the end of lunch period. There were groans as Rupert loaded everyone down with books to take home and study, but they left with a minimum of fuss. Rupert stopped William on his way out. "I still think you and I need to have a little chat," he told him firmly. "Your behavior last night left something to be desired. I wouldn't make any plans for going out this evening."

"Yes, Da." William sighed and trailed out after his friends.

~~~~~~

William sat nervously, shifting as the unyielding wood began to numb his backside. He nibbled at his bottom lip, watching as his father paced silently in front of him. Kitchen, turn, pace, living room, turn, pace, pause and glower, pace. Back and forth.

Finally, he couldn't stand it any more. He sat up straight and tried to look as determined as possible. "Father, I understand that you're upset, but I couldn't very well leave them to fend for themselves! I think that--"

Rupert held up a hand, interrupting William's impromptu speech. Very quietly, he said, "I am not upset that you felt the need to help your friends. I am not even too terribly upset over the fact that the four of you decided to-to arm yourselves and venture out even when you knew what could very well happen. What I am upset about is that you felt the need to lie to me!"

"But I--"

"William Alastair Giles, you will sit there, and you will listen to me, is that understood?"

Eyes wide, William nodded.

"I will tell you right now that there are few things you could do that I would consider to be worse than lying to me. Now," he pulled a chair over and sat next to William. "I understand that you must have thought it would be easier not to tell me the truth. Certainly, you must have thought I wouldn't believe you anyway. But...you didn't even try, William." Rupert sighed and combed his fingers through his hair.

"With all honesty, I must admit that I would have found the truth difficult to swallow. I'm just disappointed that you didn't give me a chance." He faced his son seriously. "What the four of you did was dangerous, and poorly thought out. Someone could have been seriously hurt. You could have been hurt." Rupert removed his glasses, setting them carefully on the table. Head bowed, he rubbed his eyes. "I couldn’t stand it if you were hurt, William."

William swallowed. Taking a deep breath, he slid out of his chair and knelt next to his father. "I'm all right, Da. Willow's terribly smart, and she and I found out as much as we could before we went out. We weren't defenseless. And now that we know what goes on around here at night, we'll be able to stay even safer."

"That's what you thought last night, too, wasn't it?" Rupert shook his head. "Even then, with all your precautions, your friend Xander managed to get injured. Can you honestly tell me that won't happen again?"

William shrugged. "No, but--"

"William, tell me something. When you saw that Xander had been hurt, that he was bleeding and you had no idea how badly off he was...how did you feel?"

William blanched. He swallowed hard, his hands shaking as he brushed his hair out of his face. "I...I felt..." He struggled for words, finally admitting in a forlorn whisper, "It hurt."

Rupert reached out and pulled William to him. "How do you think I'd feel if anything happened to you?" he asked fiercely, holding William tight.

Shuddering, William wrapped his arms around his father. "I'm sorry, Da," he said miserably. "I didn't...I didn't think about..."

"Hush. I know." Rupert rocked his son tenderly. "I just want you safe, that's all."

They sat together in silence for a while, until finally William spoke up again. "Am I still in trouble?"

Rupert snorted. "Yes you are, young man."

"Oh."

Rupert gently set his son aside and reached for his glasses. He put them on and stood, arms crossed as stared at William thoughtfully.

"Are you...you're not going to thrash me...are you?"

Rupert winced at the slightly tremulous tone. "No. I'm not. However, you are grounded for a week." He held up a hand, ticking off each point on his fingers while he spoke. "That means no television, no phone calls, no going out with your friends. It also means that during your lunch and free period at school, you will come straight to the library to study. You will also come to the library after classes are done and wait for me to take you home. When you are home, you will either be in your room studying, in the living room studying, or at the table studying." He'd run out of fingers by now, but that didn't deter him in the least. "If you manage to run out of schoolwork, I'm sure I can find something else to keep you occupied. Do I make myself clear?"

William shut his mouth and nodded. "Yes, Da."

"I also expect you to be in bed, lights off, by 10:00. That goes for the weekend as well."

"Yes, Da."

"Once the week is over, I fully expect you to tell me explicitly where you and your friends intend to go. You will keep reasonable hours, and you will not, under any circumstances, go anywhere alone after dark. If necessary, I will come pick you up, or I will give your friends a ride home. Understood?"

“Yes, Da," William agreed.

"Good." Rupert gazed at his son, who was sitting miserably on the floor. "William, stand up." When he had done so, Rupert pulled him into a fierce hug. "I just want to keep you safe, son," he said in a suspiciously husky voice.

William hesitated a moment before burrowing into his father's embrace. "Are...are you still mad at me?"

Rupert sighed. "No, I'm not mad. But if I ever find out that you've lied to me again..."

William shook his head. "I won't. I promise."

"Well then." Rupert cleared his throat. Pulling away, he clapped William on the back. "Let's see about dinner then, shall we?"

~~~~~~

Jesse caught up to William in the hallway. "Hey man, how'd it go with your dad? Were you, like, in major trouble?"

William brushed a lock of hair aside as he shrugged. "I'm grounded," he confessed.

"How long?"

"A week."

Jesse winced in sympathy. "Well, cheer up. That's not so bad. I mean, you've still got us! You and me and Willow and Xander can all hang here at school. We'll share your pain."

"We'd have to, um, 'hang' in the library. Da says that's where I have to go during lunch and free periods. After school, too."

Jesse cringed. "Ok, that's harsh." He shuddered, but smiled bravely. "I can handle it. Don't worry, we'll keep you company."

William offered Jesse a small grin. "He said I have to study while I'm there," he added.

There was a choking noise, and Jesse stopped to lean against a locker. His eyes bulged in horror as he stared at William. "Are you serious?"

William nodded.

"The whole time?"

He nodded again.

Jesse swallowed. "What about at home?"

"There, too."

His mouth gaped open for a moment before Jesse let out a gasping breath. "Dude. Your dad is evil."

Xander came up behind Jesse, Willow in tow. "Who's evil?"

Jesse let out a loud squeak at the question, whirling around to glare at Xander. "Would you not do that?! Geez!"

"Do what?" Xander looked at his friend in baffled innocence. He shrugged and transferred his gaze to William. "So? How'd it go with the parental unit?"

William smiled shyly at Xander. "Grounded for a week."

"Well, it could be worse," Willow piped up cheerfully.

"Worse?" Jesse asked, aghast. "It is worse. He's confined to the library and his place. And he has to study. The whole time!"

"What's so bad about that?" Willow frowned slightly in confusion.

Xander sighed and slung his arm around her shoulders. "Wills, we love you. You know that, right?"

"Well, of course I know that, silly! What's that got to do with studying?"

Jesse and Xander just shook their heads.

"What? Come on, guys!" She scowled at the boys as they continued to gaze at her in pity. "Stop it!"

Just then, the bell rang for class. William sighed. "I have to go," he told the others.

"Sure." Willow fixed Xander and Jesse with a stern look. "We'll come to the library to study...and to keep you from being too lonely. Won't we, guys?"

There was a moment of hesitation before Xander nodded. "Yeah, sure we will."

"But--" Jesse grunted when Xander elbowed him. "I mean, yeah. Wouldn't miss it." He grimaced.

"Ok. Um, See you later then." With a wave, William hurried off to his class.

~~~~~~

"But it's math. Why are there letters in it anyway?!" Jesse scowled down at his Algebra textbook. "And my parents wonder why I'm failing this class. It's stupid! Who thought this stuff up?"

William glanced up from his own book and gave Jesse a sympathetic smile. He scooted his seat closer to the other boy and leaned over his shoulder. "Need help?"

"God, yes!" Jesse shoved the book towards him and pointed accusingly at the page of problems. "What, am I supped to be doing a word search here or something?"

William giggled softly. "Here, let me see." He studied the first problem. "All right, this is an easy one. What you're trying to do is get the numbers on one side of the equation and the letter on the other side."

"So, can't you just move 'em?"

"In a way. See, you have 4x/3+5=13. Now to get then thn the other side, you have to subtract it."

Jesse frowned. "Why?"

"Because five minus five is zero. That gets rid of it on the side with the letter. But you have to subtract from both sides, so thirteen minus five is..." he trailed off, looking at Jesse expectantly.

"Um...eight. So...that makes it 4x/3=8...right?"

"Exactly. Now, how do you get rid of the three?"

"Uh...it's under one of those slashy things so...you times it?"

William nodded. "Yes, you multiply both sides by three."

Jesse cocked his head and looked at the paper. "So then I'd have 4x=24. Oh! And then I divide, and have x=6. Is that what I'm supposed to have?"

William beamed. "Yes! See, the whole idea is to figure out what number the letter stands for."

Jesse blinked. "Well why didn't the teacher just say so?"

With a roll of his eyes, William directed Jesse's attention to the next problem. "Here, try another."

Xander peered up from the book he was pretending to read and watched as William guided Jesse through several more problems. A frown flitted across his face as he watched the two heads drift closer together. His leg jerked spasmodically when Jesse laughed quietly at something and reached up to brush a lock of William's hair behind his ear. No! He's not allowed to do that! Stop it!

Shaking his head to dispel that thought, Xander forcibly tore his eyes from the two boys. Determined not to think about why the scene upset him, he returned his attention back to not-reading his book.

~~~~~~

Rupert groaned as he straightened up, stretching to work out the kink in his back. He looked at the clock and sighed. He hadn't intended to stay this late, but he'd found an entire section of books that had been horribly misfiled. Once he'd gotten started sorting them out, the project took on a life of its own and the hours had flown by.

His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he'd skipped lunch today. He did hope William had left him something for dinner. The few other times when he'd stayed late at the school William had -- good lord! William!

Dropping the book he held, he rushed out from the stacks, pulling up short at the sight that met him.

William and Xander sat alone at the table, pressed close together as they leafed through an oversized book. Rupert felt an indulgent smile creep across his face as he watched. He cleared his throat.

William looked up in distraction. "Oh, hello Da. Are you finished?" He tried not to notice that Xander had sprung away from him, scooting his chair away awkwardly.

"I'm afraid I lost track of time. I wasn't aware that is was so late. Where are the others?"

Xander let out a forced chuckle. "The pressure got too much for Jesse and he bailed after about an hour. Wills stuck around longer, but she had to be home by 5:30."

"Ah, I Wha What about yourself? Didn't you have to get home?"

"Oh." Xander shrugged. "My parents don't care much where I am. As long as they don't get any calls from the police, I'm ok doing whatever."

"Hmm."

William bit his lip, glancing at Xander out of the corner of his eye. "Um, Da? Can Xander stay for dinner with us?" He turned to Xander fully. "That is, if you want. You don't have to or anything," he added quickly.

Xander flushed a little and stared down at the table top. 'I...I wouldn't mind," he told the other boy in a soft voice.

William beamed. "So, is that ok, Da?"

Rupert frowned and removed his glasses, giving them a quick polish. "Well, you are still grounded," he reminded his son gently. At the utterly desolate expression that fell over William's face, he decided to relent a bit. "However, I don't see as it will harm anyone if he comes for dinner. Have the both of you finished your schoolwork?"

Both boys assured him that they had.

"Well then, I suppose we should be going. It's already starting to get dark. Xander, I'll drive you home after dinner, all right?"

"Sure, Mr. Giles." Xander and William grinned at each other, glad they were going to be able to spend more time together.

~~~~~~

"So, how are your classes going, Xander?" Rupert asked as he delicately dissected his chicken with knife and fork.

"Well, they haven't kicked me out yet," Xander responded with a laugh. He picked up his own chicken and started nibbling on it, licking away the drips of grease that ran down his chin.

William stared at him unblinking. He finally tore his eyes away when his father cleared his throat. Looking down at his own helping of fried chicken, he smiled and looked up at Rupert with a gleam in his eyes. Forgoing the use of his own silverware, he picked up the chicken and took a large bite out of it.

Rupert rolled his eyes at this display but said nothing.

"This is really good, Mr. Giles," Xander said after hastily swallowing another bite. "Way better than take-out."

"Thank you, Xander. Cooking has always been something I enjoyed."

"Yeah, I could get used to this. I'm surprised Will's so skinny with food like this around all the time." He blinked. "Um, not that you're scrawny or anything, Will. More like...compact. I mean, you have a pretty nice...I'm just gonna shut up now." He blushed and stuffed his mouth with another large bite of chicken.

William smiled and blushed, averting his eyes from his father's knowing gaze.

~~~~~~

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Giles." Xander grinned at the older man as he opened the car door. A loud crash from the house made him pause, hand gripping tightly to the handle of the door.

Rupert looked from Xander to the house, then back to Xander again. Raised voices could clearly be heard cursing and hurling insults, and as they got louder, Xander shrank further back into his seat.

"I-I'll see you tomorrow I g-guess," he mumbled, edging slowly out of the car.

Rupert sighed and reached out, laying a hand on Xander's arm. "Xander," he started softly, "you don't...you're welcome to come back and stay the night with William and myself if you like."

Xander offered him a weak smile. "Thanks Mr. Giles, but I'll be fine. I just--" he fled back as the front window shattered and a toaster landed on the lawn.

Rupert leaned across Xander and pulled the door firmly shut. Without another word, he started the engine and backed out of the driveway.

After a long moment of silence, Xander spoke softly, "It's not always like that. Dad just drinks a lot sometimes."

Teeth gritted, Rupert forced himself to calmness. "Do you...that is to say...do they ever...hurt you?"

"No! They just...they yell a lot and fight. Mostly they just ignore me." He shrugged. "I have it better than a lot of kids," he said defensively.

"I see," Rupert voiced noncommittally.

The rest of the drive was finished in silence. When they arrived back at Rupert's apartment, he turned to his passenger. "Xander, if you ever need to just...get away for a bit, you're always welcome to come and visit with William. I'm sure he'd be delighted to have you over."

Xander gave him a tentative smile. "I'd like that, thanks."

~~~~~~

William looked up from his book as his father returned. "Da, I got the dishes done and--Xander?"

"Hey." Xander waved.

"Xander will be staying the night again," Rupert informed his son before making his way to the hall closet and fetching some blankets.

"Oh." He looked at Xander in concern. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, well, the folks were having a kind of loud...discussion, and I didn't want to interrupt. Um, it's ok that I'm staying, right?"

"Of course! If you like, you may stay in my room. I'll take the couch."

"Oh, I don't want--"

"It's no bother. I'm smaller than you. The couch couldn't have been very comfortable last time." William grinned. "Even Da complained when he had to sleep on it a few times."

"Well, if you're sure..."

"Completely."

"Everything settled?" Rupert set the blankets on the sofa.

"Xander's going to take my room. I'll sleep out here."

"Good then. I'll be heading to bed. Sleep well, boys. You can stay up and talk for a bit, but I want you both in bed by 11:00. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

The boys watched him go, then Xander turned to William. "Your dad's pretty cool. You're lucky."

"Yeah. I know."

~~~~~~

"Hey."

The touch on his shoulder barely penetrated Xander's sleep. It was nice, though. He pressed a little closer to the spot of warmth. "Mmmm."

"Xander?" The hand shook a little.

Xander sniffed. "Wazzt?"

"It's time to wake up. Da's getting breakfast ready; we'll be leaving for school in less than an hour."

"Hmmmm."

There was a breathy laugh. "Xander!" came the whispered exclamation.

Xander opened his eyes and blinked sleepily. He smiled at the lovely blue-eyed angel hovering over him. He petted the hand still touching his shoulder. "Soft," he murmured.

Will once more cursed his fair skin as he blushed faintly. Reluctantly, he withdrew his hand. "It's time to wake up," he repeated in a louder voice.

Xander yawned and levered himself up. He rubbed his eyes and stretched, twisting his neck until it popped faintly. "Will?" He looked around, vaguely confused.

"You spent the night here, remember?"

Xander blinked some more, his eyes finally clearing. "Right. Sorry. Not too good in the morning."

Will eyed Xander, sitting there in his rumpled t-shirt with just an inch or so of his belly showing, and bit back a comment that refuted that statement. "It's all right."

Xander sniffed the air. "Breakfast?" he asked hopefully. "Tell me that's breakfast," he pleaded with Will.

Will grinned. "It should be just about ready."

"Thank god. Did I tell you I really love your dad? He is deeply cool. Like, extremely."

Rupert picked that moment to walk up behind them. "Very kind of you to say so. Now get washed up. We do need to leave soon. Xander, would your friends mind staying after school today? I thought we might try and research these vampires and their 'harvest'."

"Can do. We can probably lure Jesse in with the promise of chocolate," Xander said with a chuckle.

"Wonderful."

~~~~~~

Will nudged Xander. "I'm going to get a drink. Would you like something?"

Xander smiled. "No thanks, I'm good."

"Ok." Will shoved his chair way the the table, nearly upsetting the stack of books balanced precariously beside him. "I'll be back in just a moment."

Xander nodded and turned his head a little, watching Will cross the room and go out the doors.

Abruptly realizing what he had done, Xander checked quickly to see if anyone had noticed where his attention had been. When he saw that no one was watching, he forced his eyes back to the book in front of him. After a minute, he groaned and closed the heavy volume with a thud, raising a small cloud of dust. "Nothing in this one," he choked out, waving the dust away from his face.

"I'm coming up blank, too," Willow said. "How 'bout you, Jesse?"

"Hmm?" Jesse flipped a page, intent on the book he was browsing through.

"Jesse?" Willow craned her neck to see what Jesse was studying so intently. "Did you find something?"

"Yeah, sure. Be with you in a sec," came the absent reply. Another page was turned, then flipped back as Jesse seemed to compare the pages.

Willow managed to catch a glimpse of what Jesse was looking at, and she turned pink. "Jesse!"

Jesse slammed his book shut and bolted up in his chair. "What?! I wasn't doing anything!"

"I saw those pictures, mister! What do you think you're doing?" Hands on hips, Willow fixed her friend with a very stern glare.

"He gave me the book!" Jesse protested, poking an accusing finger at Rupert. "I was just looking like he said!"

"There were naked people in that book!"

"Naked? What?" Xander leaned forward in his seat. "Who's naked?"

"I was researching! It's not my fault!"

Rupert cleared his throat. "Perhaps I should take charge of that particular book. I'm sure there are more...suitable volumes for you to study." He turned away from the computer he was trying to do research on and held out his hand.

Still giving Jesse a frosty look, Willow grabbed the book away from him and took it to Rupert. "We'll have no more of that sort of thing, understand?" She narrowed her eyes further.

Jesse sighed and slumped down in his seat. "Yeah," he agreed sullenly. Once Willow's attention was off him, he glanced at Xander. "Just when I found a book I could enjoy," he said with a half-grin playing about his lips.

Xander snickered. "Only you could manage to find nudie pictures while doing boring research in a musty library."

Jesse shrugged, his grin turning into a full-fledged smirk. "Yeah, well, it's a talent." He folded his hands behind his head and tipped his chair back on its hind legs, stretching out in what was supposed to be a suave manner.

After a moment of suitably appreciative silence, Xander asked, "Was there anything good?"

"Eh, not bad. Half-naked chicks, mostly-naked guys. Orgies. That sort of thing." He eyed his friend carefully.

At the mention of the mostly-naked guys, Xander flushed a little and glanced away. "Oh, really?" He was proud that the squeak in his voice was barely detectable.

"Not to interrupt what I'm sure is a fascinating conversation, but I did manage to find a short piece on this 'Harvest' affair," Rupert interjected drolly.

Both boys immediately pasted on attentive expressions.

"Enlighten us, oh wise one," Xander intoned formally.

Rupert raised an eyebrow, but went on, "It seems to be some preordained massacre; rivers of blood, hell on earth. Quite...charmless, really."

"Oh." Willow swallowed weakly, her eyes huge. "Ummm...was there anything about how to stop it? Maybe?"

"Unfortunately, it was a bit fuzzy on the details." Rupert scowled at the computer as it beeped loudly at him. "Infernal machine," he muttered, tapping a few keys. Nothing happened, and he glared harder. "Could any one of you possibly manage to wrest some information from this contraption?" he finally asked when his glare provoked no response from the computer.

He glanced up when no one answered, finding himself the subject of three confused stares. His lips quirked. "Can someone get on the Net?" he clarified.

Willow beamed, bouncing in her seat. "Oooh! Me! I can do that!" She took Rupert's place at the computer and began typing quickly.

Will returned just then and took his seat at the table. He looked at Jesse, then at Xander. "Did I miss something?" he asked.

"Nah," Jesse replied flippantly. "Orgies, harvest, massacres, bloodbath, the usual."

"I...see. How fascinating." He resolved never to leave the room during a research session again. It was too confusing.

"Isn't it though?"

~~~~~~

Willow walked down the hallway, flanked by Xander and Will. She consulted the checklist she carried. "Ok, murder, death, disaster. What else?"

Will thought a moment. "Paranormal, unexplained, did you get natural disasters?"

Willow nodded. "Earthquake, flood." She made a notation next to them on her list.

"Rain of Toads," Xander offered.

"Right."

Xander grinned "Rain of Toads! Do you think they'd have that on the Internet somewhere?"

Willow grinned at him. "I'll put it on the search engine. If there's something online, it'll turn up. Anything that'll lead us to vampires."

"Do I want to know how a rain of toad leads to thoughts of vampires?" Will questioned hesitantly.

"You'll understand when you've lived here for a while," Xander told him. "Trust me, a rain of toads is not a fun thing. Very squishy. Lots of 'splat'."

Will shuddered. "I have no desire to know."

"Good plan."

The three of them stopped walking outside of their classroom.

"This is seriously weird. A couple weeks ago, our lives were like, 'Uh-oh, pop quiz.' Now it's 'Rain of Toads'." Xander shook his head in bemusement.

Will looked around at the crowded hallway. "Everyone else thinks it's just a normal day."

"Exactly! Nobody knows what's going on right under their noses. It's like we've got this big secret."

Willow blinked and cocked her head as she looked at Xander. "We do. That's what a secret is, when you know something other guys don't."

"Heh. Um, right."

Willow giggled. "We should get to class. Oh! Jesse has a lunch detention with Mr. Gerard, and I'm helping Ms. Watson tutor some of her Science students. You two gonna be ok for lunch?"

"Sure thing, Wills. We can hang in the library together." Xander draped his arm over Will's shoulder and tugged him close. "We'll do some male bondage. Bonding! Male bonding!" He coughed, flustered, and very carefully pulled his arm away from Will.

"Um. Right." Willow eyed him with concern. "Ok. Well then. Class." She nodded firmly and walked into the classroom.

~~~~~~

"Man, what is taking her so long! We were supposed to meet William back at the school ten minutes ago!" Xander tapped his foot impatiently as Will and Jesse waited on Willow's front porch.

Jesse grinned. "Anxious to get back, huh?"

"What? I mean, no, just...you know. Research." He gave a weak chuckle, not meeting Jesse's eyes.

"Uh-huh." Jesse narrowed his eyes, adding mischievously, "So, William's pretty nice. It's hard not to like him, know what I mean?"

"Um...I..." Xander let out a nervous chuckle. "Yeah, he seems ok."

"Hmm. Kinda cute, too. I wonder if he's se any anyone yet." He leaned casually against the porch railing, surreptitiously watching Xander out of the corner of his eye.

Xander blinked. "C-cute?" he squeaked. "You think he's cute?" For some reason, his heart started racing.

Whatever Jesse was intending to say in response was lost when Willow finally bounded out her door.

"Sorry," she gasped out breathlessly, "I was finishing up this report, and kinda lost track of time. I'm good now. Are we late?"

"A little," Xander replied weakly, still trying to recover from Jesse's little revelation. "The sun's going down soon."

"Oh." Willow stared out to where the sun was hovering just a little above the horizon. "Um, sorry," she apologized again. "We can still make it though, right?"

"If we hurry." Jesse took hold of Willow's hand and pulled her along. "Come on, Xander!" he called. "Don't want to keep William waiting!"

The trio hurried down the streets, nervously watching the lengthening shadows around them. They were only a few blocks from the school when it happened.

The sun was nothing more than an orange glow sinking completely below the horizon, and they were just passing one of the many cemeteries scattered throughout Sunnydale when a pair of grubby hands reached out and snatched Jesse.

Jesse let out a shocked yell and began struggling. His cry of alarm immediately drew the attention of Xander and Willow, who fumbled for the stakes they had taken to carrying with them.

"Let him go!" Xander shouted, leaping forward.

The vampire struck Jesse heavily on the temple, dazing him. He ducked Xander's uncoordinated attack, and shoved Willow away when she came after him as well. With a growl, he hoisted his stunned victim over his shoulder and sprinted off.

"Xander! He's getting away!" Willow struggled to her feet and raced after them, Xander close behind.

Through the deepening twilight they followed the vampire. "Man," Xander panted heavily, "how fast can these suckers run?" He dodged a low-hanging branch, nearly tripping over an exposed root.

Finally, they came to a halt just inside the crypt the vampire had vanished into, still carrying Jesse. Gasping for breath, they frantically scanned the gloomy tomb.

"Where are they?" Willow stepped further inside, squinting. "Xander! They not here!"

"They have to be here," Xander insisted. "There's no other way out!"

It was no use. They spent several terrifying minutes searching the crypt, but it was empty. And getting darker.

A rustling outside caught their attention, and they both wheeled around, clutching at each other. "W-we should go for help," Willow stammered.

"We can't just leave him!" Xander protested.

The rustling came again, louder this time. "We'll come back," Willow promised. "We'll get William and Giles and come back. We will find him, Xander."

After a moment's hesitation, Xander nodded reluctantly. "Right. Let's go."

~~~~~