Reginald read the last sentence again and again. If they did not act soon, Buffy’s blood would be on his.

“What does Mr. Dewey report from the hospital?”

“The Watcher is still there with his girlfriend. They’ve moved her from intensive care to a private room. Her recovery is astounding her doctors.” Shackleford reported dryly. He felt like a news reporter, reading off a teleprompter the headlines of the day.

“No doubt one of her friends has implored magic to speed along her recovery. What else?”

“Harris left the hospital in a hurry. Dewey wasn’t able to follow him, but he said it looked as if he was upset. He’s going to try to coax him to the bar tonight.”

Travers grinned. “Good thing, Mr. Harris is so amiable to drinking. I would hate to have to deal with a teetotaller during this crucial time. I guess it would be too much to hope that he’s discovered the truth about his friends.”

“Dewey doesn’t know. He followed the Slayer and her husband home. I told him to make sure they were in for the night.” Shackleford closed his notebook, and shoved it down into his pocket.

“I doubt we have anything to worry about from Ms. Summers and her husband. They are too worried about Warren to venture out and do anything stupid. No, we have time, gentlemen. We have time to finalize our plans. First thing in the morning, I’m going to visit our young friend. I must commend him on his work. I have one final project for him, then we can prepare to leave.”

Reginald turned to face Travers. “If you don’t mind me asking, sir, what project? I thought everything was in order.”

Travers rocked on his heels. “Everything is, but I need to insure that Ms. Summers will be incapacitated, and unable to follow us. I’m sure Warren will be able to help with that. Mr. Mears‘ special skills will assist us with that.” Travers grinned, but said no more. He was obviously going to keep his own council. “I do believe I will call it a night. We will talk in the morning, Mr. Shackleford. Of course, contact me immediately if that foolhardy girl tries anything.”

“Yes, sir.”

Shackleford watched the elderly man leave the room with his trusted aide behind him. “Trusted aide, my ass.” He sneered. It was his opinion that subordinates didn’t question their superiors. It was a practice he employed, and it kept mistakes and other errors from happening. Why did Reginald have to know what Travers had planned? Whatever the plan, it didn’t affect him. Shackleford had a feeling Reginald wasn’t part of the team, and if he wasn’t, well, he’d have to be cut.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Poor Xander. Poor dumb as a brick Xander. He wondered if he had that painted on his forehead. He tried to wipe the memory of their faces out of his memory. He didn’t want their false pity. He didn’t want their false sympathy. They didn’t care. He would have expected Spike to lie to him, but Buffy and Willow? They were his friends. They were the only women who loved him unconditionally, and they’d betrayed him without hesitation.

Anya and Giles. Giles and Anya. What the fuck? How? Why? When? All questions he desperately wanted to know, but he didn’t. Xander sunk to the floor, his pants and hand blackened by the soot covering the floor.

He looked around the mangled room, and felt his heart twist in a macabre version of this place. He felt destroyed, abandoned, alone.

He knew Willow was probably looking for him. His phone probably was overloaded with her calls, but he didn’t want to talk to her or see her or listen to her pathetic excuses. He wanted to be angry. Anger hurt less than realizing the people he’d give up his life for had betrayed him in the worse way.

He chucked the bottle across the room. Damn whiskey. Making me all philosophical.

“Fuck you!” He screamed. “Fuck all of you. I don’t need you. I don’t need any of you.”

Xander pushed off with his injured arm and yelped in pain, falling back to the ground in a cloud of dust. He lay on his back, his hand covering his face. He felt his tears on his fingers, but didn’t care.

“Why?” He cried. “Why did you do this to me?”

Tara stood off to the side and watched with a heavy heart and sad eyes as Xander cried. She wanted to embrace him, put her arms around him and tell him everything would be alright, but she doubted he would believe her. He probably wouldn’t allow her or anyone to comfort him. For now, he was safe, and she would stay hidden until he pulled himself together and went home. No matter how long that took. But first, she’d call Willow and let her know she’d found him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saturday

“I’m going, Spike. I feel fine, and I need to see Anya.”

Spike crossed his arms over his chest, blocking the door. “No. You were unconscious.” He said, flabbergasted at her stubbornness. “That ritual took you through an experience which could only be described as a rebirth, and you ran a fever for most of the night. If you think for one minute, I’m letting you out of this house, much less, out of this room, then the dye has really started to effect your brain.”

Buffy glared unsuccessfully at Spike.

“I’m fine. Better than fine. I’m super fine.” Buffy quipped, batting her eyelashes at Spike.

Spike shook his head, breaking the hold of those hazel orbs. “Not going to work. You need to rest. Your body went through a lot last night.” He said, running his fingers through her hair. “I don’t want you to overdo it.”

“Spike, I’m fine. Really. Besides, that was no more strenuous than sex with you.”

“Just what every father wants to hear.” Giles commented, coming into the room. He heard them arguing from the steps, and thought he might be of some assistance. That’s what he got for trying to mediate.

“Buffy, I hate to say this, but Spike is right. That is why I came over. I wanted a full accounting of what happened last night. Thank you for allowing me to stay with Anya. She’s doing much better. They are going to move her to a private room later today.”

“Please don’t thank me. Nothing would keep me from Spike’s bed...bedside if he were sick.” She heard Spike’s snicker, even if Giles didn’t.

Spike moved aside and allowed Giles to take Buffy’s hand and guide her back to bed. He stuck his tongue out at her, and her eyes narrowed in frustration. Spike grinned cockily before heading downstairs to call Willow and Tara.

“Are you alright? I know how stubborn you can be with Spike.”

Buffy rolled her eyes. Why did everyone know her so well? She was still trying to figure herself out, and everybody else had her down pat. “I’m not being stubborn. If it was just me, then yeah, I’d lie to him. He’d know I was lying and let me get away with it. But with the baby, I wouldn’t do that to him or her. He worries about us every hour of the day.”

Buffy pulled the sheet over her stomach. “So to answer your question, I’m tired, but feeling out-of-bodyish. It was an unique experience Giles. One I will tell you about later. Have you spoken to Willow? Xander?”

Giles looked down at his hands. Buffy stared at him. Was that guilt? God, she was torn.

“Yes, I spoke to Willow last night. She told me what happened with Xander.” Giles pulled his glasses off, but didn’t clean them as he normally did. Instead, he smiled weakly at Buffy.

“I want to feel guilty about lying to him, and I do, but... I can’t apologize for loving Anya. She is a breath of fresh air, Buffy. She makes me feel alive.”

Buffy grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know the feeling. I don’t know what to say to him. Anything I say will come across as meaningless. I’m sorry he’s hurting, but I’m happy you and Anya have found each other.” She shrugged. “It’s a catch-22. If I’m happy for you, I’m betraying Xander. If I’m hurt for Xander, then I… It’s just too confusing, and I really can’t afford to stretch myself any further. I feel totally self-absorbed because I can’t muster any concern about this. Does that make any sense?”

Giles nodded his head, breathing deeply. “You have other priorities, Buffy. Your friendship with Xander, your relationship with me has to take a back seat to your husband and your child. That’s what happens, my dear, as you grow up.” He nipped her chin lightly with his fingers. “But enough about this. We still have Travers and Warren to deal with, and a pesky piece of government hardware to remove. If you’re up to it, I’d like to discuss our plans for Monday.”

Buffy bit her lip. “Xander knows what we’re planning. We’re going to have to change our plans. I wasn’t too keen on Xander being involved in the first place, and I’m definitely not now.”

Giles crossed his leg and rested his hands on his knee. “Yes, we’ll definitely have to rethink some aspects, but Buffy, we can proceed with the rest. We may have to move the location, but everything else should be okay.”

Buffy stared at him, weighing the alternatives. She couldn’t make a decision without consulting Spike, but she wasn’t comfortable with Xander being privy to what he knew. “Someone will have to stay with us. Spike won’t go through with the operation if he thinks we’re not safe.”

“You know me so well, wife.” Spike commented from the doorway.

“I would hope so. So what do you think?”

Spike shrugged, walking into the room. “You need to be someplace safe. Someplace where Travers can’t easily get to you, but someplace where your presence there won’t raise suspicions.”

The three were silent as they thought about locations in Sunnydale that could be considered safe.

“What about the hospital? We could go and stay with Anya.”

Spike and Giles both shook their heads. “No, too big.” Spike answered.

“We could increase the magicks used on the house, making it totally impenetrable.” Giles suggested.

Buffy reached for Spike’s hand and used it to pull him down next to her on the bed. “Dawn, Tara, and I will be safe here. I know Willow and Tara can come up with something strong enough to keep Travers’ people out. My main concern is with you.” She said, turning her head slightly to look at him.

“Pet, I’ll be fine.” Spike assured her, planting a kiss to her nose. “Since the mansion’s out and the warehouse is destroyed, that leaves Clem’s place. We can take the lower level. I had chains there and if not, we’ve got some in the basement.”

Giles shook his head, red staining his cheeks. “I don’t even want to know why you still have those chains after all this time, Spike.”

Buffy grinned. I guess he wouldn’t want to know about the handcuffs either.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anya winced at the bruises and cuts marring her face. Giles had told her she was beautiful, but she didn’t feel very beautiful at the moment. She felt more like a grape, squashed beneath someone’s shoe. She put the mirror down and sighed. Her appearance didn’t matter to Giles. He loved her anyway. He told her so, and she finally, finally believed him.

She hadn’t realized till the tears came to her eyes that she’d doubted him. Only Giled had never been anything but honest with her about his feelings. She had to remember he wasn’t Olaf or Xander. They didn’t love the real Anyanka, only their image of what she was supposed to be.

Her eyes drifted closed as she thought about Xander. He knew. He knew she and Giles were lovers, and had been for the entire time he’d been trying to woo her back. The blame for his broken heart rested solely with her. She was his ex. She should have told him, but she was a coward. She wanted the warmth and the love she’d experienced in Giles’ arms to last. She’d been so afraid he’d see reason, and dump her because it was the right thing to do. She knew now that wasn’t the truth. Giles was an honorable man. He would never lie to her about something so precious as love. He wouldn’t use her or abuse her. He’d love her for as long as she let him.

She felt the presence in her room, but was too afraid to open her eyes. Afraid, she’d see Warren or that evil Mr. Travers.

“Anya.”

Anya’s eyes flew open, recognizing the voice.

“Hello, Xander. How are you?”

Xander eased into the room, closing the door behind him. His walk was slow and guarded.

“How do you think I am, Anya?” He sneered. “My fiancée and my friend are fucking behind my back. My best friends have known about it, and didn’t tell me. Buffy’s married to a man who once tried to kill her, but I’m the one she looks at with suspicion. So I’d say I’m having a bad day, Anya.” Xander pulled the chair closer to the bed and sat down.

Anya reached under the sheet for the nurse’s call button.

“What nothing to say? That’s a shocker. You’ve never been one to hold your tongue. Or much else from me.” Xander flinched from the strength of her blow. “I guess I deserved that.”

“What do you want me to say Xander? I’m sorry. Well, I am. I’m sorry you got hurt, but I won’t apologize for moving on, and finding someone who could love me.”

“I loved you.” Xander told her, staring at her with eyes red with lack of sleep and too much alcohol. “I loved you.”

Anya shook her head. “Not enough to marry me.”

Xander laughed mirthlessly. “I told you why I couldn’t. I tried to explain to you my feelings. You wouldn’t listen to me. I wanted to marry you again.”

Anya laughed, holding her side as she did. “I wouldn’t listen. You wanted to marry me. What about what I wanted? What I deserved, Xander? For three years, I played second fiddle to Buffy and Willow. For three years, I put up with your little snide remarks and put downs. For three years, I allowed you anything, just so I could love you. And you didn’t respect me enough to tell me before our wedding that you had issues with me and Buffy. You could share your bed, your anger and disappointments, but you couldn’t tell me that someone else had your heart, that you couldn’t look at me and not see my demon past. You had the problem, Xander. Not me.”

Xander shook his head in disbelief. “So you did all of this to get back at me? You go after Giles to hurt me? Well, congrats, Anyanka. You got your vengeance.” Xander pushed the chair back, the screech it made, sounding loud in the quiet of the unit.

“This wasn’t about vengeance. I’m not that person anymore. I fell in love with someone else, Xander. I’m sorry you are hurting, but I won’t apologize for it. Giles loves me. Me, and you’re just upset that he could do it, and you couldn’t.”

Xander watched her with wide, angry eyes, and backed out of the room. As soon as the door closed, Anya broke down, sobs racking her bruised and battered body. Her heart broke for him, and ached for what they could have been.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From all outward appearances, the small house with the wraparound porch was unassuming and innocent. Well, as innocent as anything could be in Sunnydale. The neighbors had no idea the man most wanted by the Sunnydale police department and the Army was inside, sprawled across his bed, newspaper clippings littering the floor.

Warren’s favorite picture was of the firemen carrying Anya’s nearly lifeless body out of the store. He would have liked it if Harris had been a little bit closer to the blast area, but he contented himself with the knowledge that they all knew how powerful he really was. How helpless they were. He had real power backing him, and there was nothing Buffy or Spike could do to stop them.

So caught up in his visions of glory, he didn’t hear the car pull into the drive until the door slammed. He pushed the curtains back, trying to see if it was the one man that truly terrified him. Warren sat up, desperate to get the clippings and the other items off his bed and stashed away before he arrived. He wasn’t alone as he heard the voice of the mystery Englishman in the outer area.

Mike gave a short nod of understanding to Travers, and went to fetch Warren.

“Once Warren accomplishes his last task, let the proper authorities find him. Of course, I want there to be no record of our involvement.” Travers said, giving Shackleford a tiny smile. “You know what is expected, Mr. Shackleford.”

“Yes, sir.” Shackleford answered, stepping aside to allow Travers the seat at the table.

Mike shoved Warren down the hallway and into the small kitchen.

Travers crossed his legs and smiled warmly at his young captive. “Please, have a sit.”

Warren eyed him warily, but took the seat offered. Mike stood behind him, his hands clasped lightly behind his back.

“You do very good work. I was very impressed with the bomb the other day. I have one more job for you, then you may go.”

Warren sat straighter, pondering the truth of his words. “Really. You’ll just let me go.” He said, gesturing to the door. “I can just walk out of here, and I won’t go to jail.”

He didn’t believe them, and rightfully so. “You don’t trust me. I understand. But believe me, the service you’ve done for me and my organization will not go unappreciated.”

Warren relaxed a bit, but not completely. These men were ruthless and he had knowledge of them committing a crime, several in fact. There was no doubt in his mind that they had other plans for him. He needed to play it safe, and see how far he could take this before he needed to bolt.

“What do you need me to do?”

Travers smiled, motioning with his finger for Reginald to come forward. Reginald placed Travers’ briefcase on the table and stepped back to stand beside Shackleford, who flicked him the strangest look.

“I need a small explosive for this.” Travers handed Warren a surgical blade, one that directed a laser ray through it.

“Um… This is a scalpel. Surgeons use them to cauterize wounds.”

Travers nodded. “Yes, it is. Someone is going to be using this to operate. I need this to explode while that surgery is going on. Do you think you can do this for me?” Travers looked into Warren’s eyes. Warren had to suppress a shudder. He thought himself amoral and heartless, but this man took that to a whole new level.

“Yes, I can do it. No problem.” Warren would have said or done anything to get out of this man’s presence. He thought his resident torturer was evil, but the sight of the two of them together was enough to make him piss his pants.

“I knew we could count on you, Warren. I told my friend here that he wouldn’t have to persuade you. Well, I’ll be going and let you get to work. I‘ll see you in a few days to pick that up.” With that said, Travers got up and his entourage left Warren to his thoughts.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As Xander exited the elevator, Willow was waiting.

“Xander.” She said, smiling her relief that he was alright. Willow wanted to see him last night. She wanted to be with him, to help him, but Tara was right. He needed space from her, from all of them to sort out his feelings. “Xander, please talk to me.”

Xander snorted loudly, daring curious glances from people passing by. “Talk to you? Like you talked to me. We’ve been friends forever, and you couldn’t tell me she was with Giles. In all the time you were preaching to me about being Buffy’s friend and accepting her choices, you couldn’t tell me that Giles was sleeping with my fiancee.”

Willow didn’t flinch, but stood her ground. “I didn’t want to hurt you. None of us did. There was never a right time to tell you.”

Xander stepped close to Willow, till she felt his breath tickle her ear. “Anytime after the first kiss would have been nice, Will. Anytime.”

He stepped back, his eyes red-rimmed, but hard. “I’ve tried so hard to understand so many things about my life in the last 4 months. I’ve tried to understand how Buffy could love Spike. I’ve tried to understand how everyone else gets a happy ending, but I don’t. I’ve tried, and I’ve gotten nothing for my troubles.” He spat.

Willow reached out to grab his arm, but he ripped it away from her. “Don’t touch me.” His eyes watered with fresh tears and he looked so young and disillusioned that it broke Willow’s heart.

“I needed you, Will. I needed you and Buffy to be honest with me. To tell me the truth, and you couldn’t. And...and I don’t know if I’ll ever forgive you for that.”

“What do you want me to say, Xander? What do you want me to do? I’ll do it, gladly.” Willow begged. “Please don’t shut me out.”

“How can you stand there and ask me for anything, Will?” Xander shook his head, trying desperately not to cry. “Were you ever going to tell me? Or was this going to be some big secret until they got engaged or something?”

“She can’t answer that question, Xander.” Giles voice seemed to take on god-like qualities. Even though, they were surrounded by people walking to and fro through the lobby, his words echoed loudly. Behind Giles, Buffy stood.

Xander turned around, his face lit up unnaturally with a smile. “Giles.” He said with a sense of finality. “I wondered when you’d pop up. I hoped to find you huddle with Anya, so I could get the two for one special, but alas no.”

Worry flickered briefly in Giles’ eyes, but it was gone, unnoticed by Xander. “You wished to speak to me. I am here now. You want to hit someone, hit me. You want to be angry with someone, be angry with me. Willow does not deserve your anger.” Giles said, sparing a glance to the redhead.

“Why, for a moment, there I thought you might let one of your golden girls actually take the blame for something. My bad.” Xander said, staring not at Giles, but at Buffy, who had her hand resting on the top of her stomach.

“Hello, Buffy.”

“Hi, Xander. Do you want to get something to eat? You don’t look like you’ve eaten today.” Buffy took a step towards Xander, stopping when she saw him tense. That was stupid, Buffy. He doesn‘t need food. He need apologies. “We never meant to hurt you, Xander. You have to know that.”

“Buffy is right, Xander. Anya and I struggled with how to tell you. We just didn’t know how, and then, with everything else that was happening. I’m sorry. We should have told you ourselves.” Giles admitted solemnly.

“It’s a little too late for apologies.” Xander walked over to Buffy. “I bet Spike got quite the laugh out of all of this. He’s hated my guts for years, and now here’s the perfect opportunity to stick it to me. I bet he’s happy.”

Buffy raised her chin defiantly. “You’d be wrong. No one is taking any pleasure in your pain, Xander. Not Giles. Not Anya. Not me. Not Spike. No one. You’re hurt and you’re angry. You have every right to be, but don’t do something stupid.” She pleaded. “Stop burying yourself in a bottle. We love you, Xander. You should know that by now. We didn’t want to hurt you. That’s our only fault.”

Xander rolled his head back. “It probably would have hurt less if you had told me, then I wouldn’t have to deal with your lies on top of their lies.” He said, pointing to Giles as he backed away from them. He turned around and headed out the door. Willow made to run after him, but Buffy stayed her.

“When he’s ready, Willow. He’ll come home.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Spike rubbed his hand over his face. Buffy had called from the hospital with an update on Anya, and to tell him about Xander. Spike empathized with the man. He understood what he was going through. Hadn’t he witnessed the loves of his life with other men? He had, and at the time, he thought he’d never recover from the pain. But he had, and Xander would too.

The instant she stepped foot into the house, Buffy was in Spike’s arms. She held on to him tightly, reveling in the fact, that he was here, good solid, loving support. She was tired, mentally and physically, and it was great to have a partner who understood what she needed without her having to tell him. Take that Riley. She thought bitterly of her ex. Exes… She wished she could help Xander, but he didn’t want her help, and she couldn’t afford to waste time on someone who pushed her away.

Tara pulled Willow into her arms, administering her own brand of TLC. Willow kissed her softly on the lips, burying her head into the crook of Tara’s neck.

“Bad day?” Tara asked, stroking Willow’s day.

“The worst. I can’t fix him, Tara.”

Tara smiled knowingly. “I know, but you’ll keep trying until you do.”

Giles brought up the rear of the group, and Spike spared him a nod of support.

“Tara ordered pizza. We figured no one would want to cook tonight.” Dawn informed them.

Buffy looked over at Willow and Tara. “Thanks. I guess we should get started. At least map out some of the plan for Monday before one, I fall asleep or two, the pizza’s get here and I fall asleep.”

They all laughed, grateful to have the ice broken. Spike took the big chair, pulling Buffy down onto his lap. “How’s Anya?”

“Oh, she’s good. Doing much better today. She was obviously upset after Xander left, but Hallie stopped by to see her, and they were talking when we left.” Giles had to smile. Hallie had come in like a whirlwind, demanding this and that, crying on cue, and generally making a scene, which caused the rest of them to be booted out. Anya rolled her eyes at the dramatics, but nevertheless, patted Hallie on the back, while blowing kisses to Giles. He would go back later, once he was sure Halfrek was gone.

Giles nodded at Willow, who nodded back surprised. “Oh, you want me to start? Well, okay.” She took a few deep breaths, earning grins from Spike and Buffy, and a snicker from Dawn.

“First things, first, the protection spell is going to be the same one we used during the army heist. It was very effective on that large convoy, so I see no problems with covering this house.” She looked expectantly at Buffy and Spike. “Okay. Next thing on the agenda is the actual operation.”

Buffy winced as Bitty took up soccer drills on her kidney. She felt Spike’s hand on her back, and sighed gratefully. See, her mind said, he knows where we need his touch without words. Buffy’s heart and body were thinking the exact same thing.

“The rest is a bit more complicated.” Willow offered apologetically. “I don’t know if you remembered me saying this, but we’re going to have to remove a small portion of Spike’s skull to get to the chip.

Dawn and Buffy both felt their stomachs lurch.

“Sorry.” Willow said, grimacing at the paleness on Buffy’s face. “I…I… sorry.”

Buffy took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “I’d be sick anyway, Willow. It’s the baby. Certain things make me sick, and that must be one of them. I’m fine. Go on.”

“Are you sure, luv?” Spike asked, tracing his finger across her cheek.

“Yep.”

“Okay, well, the next thing I’ll do is attach a small battery to the wires, creating a new circuit for the chip. That way when we cut the wires, the chip will still think it’s attached to its power source. It’s actually quite fascinating.” Willow said, finally noticing the blank stares she was getting.

“Okay, once the wires are gone, we’ll use the Srhcrak to pull the chip free. Once we close, it’ll be a matter of time before Spike wakes up. Probably about an hour. Once he’s awake, we’ll come back here. That’s it.” She said, clapping her hands lightly together.

“So how long will the whole operation take, do you think?” Dawn asked.

“Probably, no more than three or four hours.” Willow looked to Giles for confirmation.

“Yes.” He said. “We don’t expect any problems with the operation. Since we have the Initiative’s own diagrams, we don’t have to wonder where we’re operating or how big the chip is. We have all of this at our disposal.” Giles stood and walked over to Buffy and Spike.

“Spike, I want to know. Are you sure you still want to do this? This is foreign territory for us, but I know we can bring you through this safely. If you have any doubts, we can search for another means to remove the chip.”

Buffy and Spike stared into each other’s eyes. There was no discussion needed. They were one on this particular subject. “I have no doubts, Rupert. Thank you for asking. This is our best shot at getting me back in the game. I want to do this. It’s the only way I can sleep at night without worrying.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dewey checked his watch. He figured Xander had had enough time in the apartment to brood, which was he apparently was doing. Dewey didn’t need binoculars to see that. It was time for him to come out and play.

Xander opened one eye, staring bleary at the door. He didn’t want to talk to Willow or Tara or Buffy. He wanted to sleep. He wanted to drink. He wanted to forget everything that had happened in the last 48 hours.

“Xander! It’s Dewey. Open up. I know you’re in there!”

Dewey slammed his fist, repeatedly against the door. Xander rolled off the sofa, stumbling his way past his shoes and empty beer cans.

“I’m coming!” He shouted.

Dewey took a defensive step back, when Xander yanked the door open. He didn’t waste anytime, getting to the point. “Man, you look like shit. All the guys have been worried about you. We saw you on the news.”

Xander shrugged. The pain hit him, and he grabbed at his arm. “Come on in. The place’s a bit messy, so watch your step.”

Dewey wanted to tell him the smell wasn’t so sweet either, but he kept that to himself. The guy had enough trouble without body odor news. Dewey pushed a pizza box off a chair and sat down.

“How ya doing? Did you break it?” He said, pointing to Xander’s arm.

“Nah. Fracture. They put it in a soft case for a couple of weeks.”

“Man, you were lucky. That bomb took out the front of the store. Your girlfriend… man, everyone’s saying they don’t know how she survived.” Dewey saw Xander stiffen at the mention of Anya, and deduce the truth of the situation.

“So how is she? And why aren’t you at the hospital with her right now?”

Xander liked Dewey. He really did, but the man had a way of unintentionally rubbing salt in the wound that was irritating as hell.

“She’s recovering. And to answer your other question, let’s just say, I’m not needed there. Someone else has already taken that position.” There was no mistaking the anger in his voice or the sadness.

Dewey’s eyes widened in apparent shock. “Well, that settles it. You’re coming out with me. My treat. We’re going to have some burgers, some beer, and some baseball. If by the end of the night, you haven’t forgotten about your ex, then we’ll do it again tomorrow night.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anya looked at the clock next to the TV and tried not to roll her eyes. She was tired, but more than that, she was ready for Halfrek to go. Giles wouldn’t come back as long as she was here, and Hallie didn’t seem to have any intentions of leaving. Anya wondered if she faked a cardiac arrest, if the nurses would shoo Hallie out of the room. After another 10 minutes of non-stop chatter, Anya decided her lack of tact was going to come in handy.

“Hallie! Stop! Please! I’m tired. I want to go to sleep. I want Rupert to come back and hold me until I fall asleep. He won’t do that as long as you’re here. I’m fine. Please go and come back tomorrow.”

Hallie’s entire countenance showed her hurt, and with as much dignity as she could muster, she gathered her things. Anya was immediately contrite.

“I’m sorry, Hallie. It’s just been a long day, and seeing Xander just made it longer.”

Hallie preened a bit, before shifting her wounded gaze onto Anya. “I understand. You can’t help it. Being around these humans has made you irritable and soft. And I might add, put your life in danger. A bomb. Really now.”

Anya counted to ten, then added another twenty. “I know you’re concerned Hallie, and you’re right I am irritable. Forgive me?”

Anya held out her hand. Hallie took it and squeezed it gently. “Only for you Anyanka. I’ll be by tomorrow. Ta ta.”

When the cloud of smoke dissipated, Anya threw her head back and screamed silently. She reached for the phone, calling Buffy’s number.

“She’s gone. You can come back. And Rupert… Hurry. I missed you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sunday

“Why am I just hearing of this now?!” Travers shouted.

Reginald cowered in the corner, unable to believe the shocking turn of events. They were almost successful. Damn Xander Harris.

“Dewey called me from the bar. I met him over there, and we took Mr. Harris back to his apartment and plied him with more alcohol. We just finished our interrogation.” Shackelford offered no apology. It would have been pointless anyway.

“They actually thought they could get away with this.”

Reginald could only stare. The audacity was all on Travers. Buffy and Spike were trying to save their child. Travers only wanted more power, and he wanted to rip a child from her parents to do it.

“Well, that definitely accelerates our timetable. We must make plans to take the Slayer and the Key. Let Mr. Spike have his chip. While he’s busy undergoing what I hope will be a very painful procedure, he will lose his family. Reginald!” Travers shouted.

“Yes, sir.” Reginald said warily.

“Call, Dr. Benjamin. Tell him to get ready. We will be bringing Ms. Summers in on Monday. He must have the baby ready for travel by Tuesday morning at the latest.” After giving the order, Travers turned away to talk to Shackleford.

Reginald nodded, his heart in his throat. He had to warn Giles. He had to get to them before it was too late.

“Don’t stray off, Reginald. We have much to do in a very short amount of time.” Travers directed him. Shackleford stared at him intently. It put Reginald on edge. Did Shackleford suspect him?

“Yes, sir. I’ll be in my room making that call to Dr. Benjamin. Is there anything else you need.” Reginald’s eyes took in Shackleford’s hard stance. He would have to be extra careful. The penalty for what he was doing was probably death, but he swore to protect the Slayer line, and he would.

“No, Reginald. If I need you, I will call.” Travers said absently.

Reginald closed the door to the other suite and sank to the floor. I’ve got to get out of here and contact Mr. Giles. But how? And when?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author’s note: I’m going to go ahead and prepare you for the next chapter. It’s going to be sad and angsty for Buffy and Spike, for all of them.

TBC