POV: Cordelia

Xander had been the only one not surprised by Devon�s revelation of being a healer. Cordelia through about that as she made her way through the evening traffic. Her ex-boyfriend had really changed. Xander had grown up during their time apart. Cordy was seeing a side of Xander barely glimpsed during high school.

His calm determination in the storm of all he faced. His capacity for un-erring loyalty to his friends, and his quiet strength. It was crystal clear why Spike cherished him. It hurt her to remember how she had treated Xander so badly for almost four years. She was just thankful that Xander was the kind of young man he was and didn�t hold it against her. That he had given her a chance to really get to know and discover the *real* Xander Harris.

Xander was a special kind of guy and he deserved to be cherished. Cordelia found herself remembering why she had been attracted to Xander in the first place so she could understand Angel�s growing attraction. In fact, Cordy could totally understand the sexual tension between the three men. Xander had always been attracted to Angel even while supposedly *hating* him. As if. Cordelia wasn�t blind. She�d figured out that Xander was bi-sexual, with strong homo-sexual tendencies, and that it wasn�t something he was comfortable with accepting about himself. It was hard for him to admit that he was attracted to guys. It made it harder when the guy was Angel. Now she understood.

And yeah, she could see the attraction between Xander and Spike. Spike really was kinda hot under all that �I�m the Bloody Big Bad Ass� bullshit. It was his defense against being hurt, pretending to be so hard and uncaringly evil.

Just like the other Scoobies, Cordelia had read the secret diaries and confidential Watcher files that were in Giles� possession, so she knew a few things about vampires. Enough to put two and two together and come up with Angel and Spike.

~Why doesn�t that mental image gross me out?~

Angel, Xander, and Spike. Cordelia could see it easily, could even understand it. What she didn�t understand was why they didn�t, or, maybe they did. One could never really tell with his broodiness. Like the way Angel reacted to Devon and Nikolas. If she didn�t know any better, and right now she wasn�t so sure she did, Cordy would swear that Angel wanted to get groiny with the spicy southern boy; she had to admit, she wouldn�t mind jumping Devon herself. But she did know better. Shaking her head, Cordelia parked her car in her space and entered her apartment.

�Dennis! Honey, I�m home,� She called, she just couldn�t resist. The fridge swung open and a can of diet Coke floated out and followed her into the bedroom. �Thanks,� Cordelia tossed as she kicked off her shoes before taking a healthy swallow.

Moving toward the closet and pulling out a small suitcase, Cordelia began to talk to her ghost. �Okay, you are so *not* going to believe this...�

~~~~~
POV: Angel
~~~~~

Angel went to his apartment and began packing. He let his thoughts wander while he moved about, doing what it was he did best at times like this � brood. He still didn�t understand what was happening, all he knew for certain was that Cordy had had a vision involving trouble in Sunnydale. That meant they were headed back to a town rife with hell-mouthy danger. And Buffy. Angel wasn�t looking forward to dealing with her; he knew how the slayer�s mind worked, how *Buffy�s* mind worked.

And then there was Devon. The boy made the dark haired vampire nervous. More so than either his Childe or his Childe�s lover. Yeah, Angel could admit that he wanted both Spike and Xander. Spike knew it as well, and it didn�t bother the blonde. In fact, Spike had told his sire that not only was he flattered, but that it meant more to him than Angel would ever know that his grand-sire still loved him and considered Spike his favorite childe. That was truly overwhelming.

Angel had sensed that there was something different about the young Creole boy from their first encounter. It was that difference that got under his skin. The feeling was akin to the one he had for Xander, only better, or worse � it all depended � it was a tangible vibration along his nerves, an itch. Today it had been worse. Devon�s scent, his very presence, seemed to sizzle in the air; like heat-waves on an extremely hot day.

Angel had been aware of Devon the moment the younger man entered the Hyperion that afternoon. Devon�s scent was slightly different, it was still his and Angel could smell Nikolas all over the boy, but Devon�s own personal scent was slightly different; fragrant with undertones of sex and ozone. The dark haired vampire wasn�t sure if it was Devon or the smell of Nikolas, but which ever it was, it aroused the hell out of him and made it sort of difficult to concentrate. But then he�d noticed the marks and what he was sensing clicked. Bite marks. Two perfect little puncture wounds on the boy�s cinnamon brown throat.

~Consort. Mated.~

The realization that Nikolas had claimed Devon made Angel feel strange, torn. Part of him was happy for the vampire and his mate; he respected that sacred bond and would never consider infringing. The other part of him was attracted more than ever, now. And he wondered if the difference wasn�t because of the fact that Devon wasn�t completely human. He had that same tingle of raw power that emanated from Willow. But where hers was tainted with darkness, the boy�s seemed transmutable.

And he knew Devon was keeping something from them, he had seemed shaken after helping Cordy, and from her comment about the strange quality of her vision Angel had the belief that Devon had shared the experience with her. Yeah, he�d helped Cordy and that was of the good, but Angel had a very strong impression that there was more to Devon Dexter than he revealed. Today Angel had been able to see the distinct similarities between Devon and his strange vampire lover. And Devon *felt* more like the vampire-mage than before. It was normal for Consorts� auras to commingle, meld, but this wasn�t the same and it was but infinitely more.

~~~~~
POV: Willow
~~~~~

The phone rang once, twice and then, �Hello, this is Elliot.�

�Elliot, hey. It�s Willow.�

�Hey there, rose-bud,� And the young woman smiled at the endearment. Elliot really was a nice guy. Willow felt bad about having to break their date-plans for Friday, but there was an emergency back home and she and her brother would be leaving that very evening. She was really sorry. Elliot was sorry as well, but he understood about emergencies and stuff, so he wished her the best. Willow promised to call him as soon as they had a handle on things and the young intern was left with a small measure of security in knowing that there was still a chance for him to get to know the beautiful young red-head better. Having finished her short conversation, Willow turned her thoughts toward packing, Sunnydale, Giles and Buffy.

The young witch wasn�t looking forward to their reactions, she still had vivid memories of her last meeting with the slayer and there was the fact of Angel in Sunnydale. Buffy would see it as him coming to her rescue. Again. Her hero; Willow knew exactly how Buffy perceived things, her ability to twist reality to her liking.

And there was the slayer�s �Stake first ask questions later,� attitude that truly worried Willow more than anything. There was no doubt of how Buffy would react to Nikolas. And she knew that the vampire could kick Buffy�s ass. And he was a mage. Like Willow had discovered of herself. She also realized that Devon was a mage as well.

Willow had been able to sense flickers of some kind of power from the young man and now she knew that it was because he was a Healer. She had thought that was it, but today Devon had seemed different. There was more power around him. It called to Willow. The young witch recognized him as another kindred spirit. What confused her were the variances of his energies. They were more like the vampire-mage�s than before. Devon�s *power signature* had closely resembled Nikolas�, a reflection or near duplicate. But now they were almost identical. Devon was more like Nikolas than herself.

~Mages. The Nine Traditions.~

Willow was growing closer to Devon in ways that reminded her of her relationship with Xander. Their easy friendship. She hadn�t lied to Elliot or the hospital staff when she�d told them that Xander was her brother. As far as they were concerned, they were brother and sister. So what if fate screwed up and they wound up with the wrong parents and different families. They were *family*.

She could feel herself growing toward Devon in the same way. So, okay, a lot of it had originally been because of the association with magic, but now there were a multitude of other reasons that Willow liked Devon. She didn�t want anything to happen to him and she had the strong feeling that something really bad was waiting for them in Sunnydale.

Willow had guessed by the things that Cordelia had said that Devon had seen her vision. She also guessed that Devon had sent Cordy the vision that led them to the pair in the first place.

~Xander.~

Even though Nikolas had told them he�d come because of Willow, she was certain that Devon had come because of Xander. A Healer. It made sense now, the way Xander�s memories just seemed to come back over night and how he was instantly healed. It had been Devon. She and Xander had always shared things with each other, so it was only natural for them to talk about the strange similarities in their dreams, or nightmares. That strange haze of bluish-green that allowed them to deal with their most traumatic memories with a sense of safety and comfort.

For Xander it had been the hate-crime that locked away his memory. For Willow it had been loosing Tara and her spiral into the dark and near world-endage. She was still a bit wary but no longer terrified of her magical abilities. Now Willow had a better understanding of her grasp on the energies that flowed through her � mage-energies � and how the nearness of the Hellmouth had warped things. A witch with mage potential, and untrained. It was dangerous and she was lucky to be alive. When this was all over, Willow knew she would be leaving California for warmer climes. When Devon returned to New Orleans, she would be going with him. Nikolas had told her that in New Orleans there were people he knew and trusted who could teach her about her true abilities. Willow was looking toward the change that possibility was going to make in her life. She had never lived anyplace except Sunnydale; was looking forward to the mystery and allure that Devon spoke of. If what she suspected about Devon was true, then they were going to be doing more than attending the same college.

~~~~~
POV: Wesley
~~~~~

After dropping off Xander and Spike, Wes headed back to his condo to prepare for another trip to SunnyHell. He really hated that place. It held nothing but bad memories for the ex-watcher. First there had been the fiasco with Faith, his first slayer. And then Buffy had pretty much ignored him when he�d been assigned as her watcher. The rest of the Scoobies had treated him with varying degrees of contempt and it had taken a lot for him to get beyond his past with Xander and Willow. Spike was a factor he really knew nothing about, but from the horrendous stories Cordy told, the man was a true psycho.

The time that the three Scoobies spent in LA had given the demon-hunter a different perspective. They were no longer children, but young adults with a sense of responsibility and maturity that far surpassed their years. He was impressed. Buffy and Giles were different matters. The relationship he had with those two continued to remain coolly distant. No, Wes wasn�t the bumbling idiotic amateur he�d been upon his arrival in the States, not by a long shot. And because of that he felt confident about their ability to deal with the situation in Sunnydale, whatever it may be. What worried him was Buffy and her attitude toward Angel. The souled vampire had told him about the face-off between Buffy and the AI team; yeah, Xander, Willow and Spike were integral parts of their team, their family, now. Wes just hoped that Giles was able to exert some kind of control over his slayer or she was going to really discover what they were capable of.

Wes quickly packed a bag and then contacted Gunn at his hotel to let him know about the change in plans. Gunn told him not to worry, he always had his boy�s back, and would meet them in Sunnydale. He was looking forward to meeting Xander, Spike and Willow; Angel, Cordy and Wes had spoken of them. The young demon-hunter was also looking forward to meeting this healer-guy and the vampire he traveled with. Gunn was not looking forward to going to Sunnydale or dealing with its kooky residents. Cordy had given him the lo-down on the Scoobies way back, so he knew all about Angel�s demented ex-girlfriend.

Wesley and Gunn had developed a pretty strong friendship, and during the time the young ex-watcher found his feelings for the other man changing. He really wasn�t too surprised by the fact, after all, Gunn was *fine* as hell, as the sista�s put it. After this mess in Sunnydale was over, Gunn would return to LA with them and Wes was intent on finding out how the other man felt about him.

With his bags packed, one for the clothing and toiletries, and one for the more important things, like weapons, Wes tossed his stuff in the trunk and set off in the direction of the Hyperion Hotel.

�As Cordelia succinctly put it, SunnyHell, here we come.�

*****
Part 30:

Nikolas stood on the dark street and considered Xander�s car. He tried not to laugh, really, but after five times around the heap, Nikolas just sat down on the hood of the car and let go; and this was supposed to be one of the better neighborhoods in LA. He just couldn�t believe this. Xander�s car had sat abandoned and untouched for months (?) in one of the not so good areas. It hadn�t been a good thirty minutes and now it was stripped.

�Oh well, dere�s noting for it.� Nikolas rose and backed away from the car. Wondering why he was even doing it cause he had a feeling about the thoroughness of the stripping job, Nikolas gestured and the hood rose up. �Knew dere was noting.� He shook his dark head in disgust as the hood rose to reveal an empty engine cradle. Nikolas sighed and closed his eyes as he let the hood fall softly shut. Pulling up memories of Logan working on his motorcycle while he and Remy sat in the cool shade drinking beer, Nikolas was able to recall everything Logan had said and done. Using that as a foundation, the vampire-mage did something he�d seen those two witch kids from that funny looking mountain do. Tony and Tia and rebuilt a totaled mini-bus from practically nothing, if they could do it, the armatures, then so could he. He was, after all, a Vampire-Mage. The *Ascension* vampire-mage.

The air around the vehicle shimmered. The spare tire popped out of the trunk and rolled around the tire-less heap of metal and fiberglass. It paused at each exposed wheel drum, leaving a bit of itself behind to form a brand new tire before moving on. While the tires were replacing themselves on wire-spoke rims, the scratches, gouges, dings and dents marring the car�s body, smoothed themselves out. The broken head and tail light encasement re-assembled with sparkling newness and the old, cracked, and dingy leather seats faded into fresh, white, unblemished, leather. A spare thought provided a permanent stain-guard, those seats would never age under the sun�s harsh rays and they would resist any and all stains, no matter what. The windows glowed darkly as they polarized with U.V. protection and the remaining smears and flecks of chipped paint stretched itself out into a smooth shimmer of swirly, powder-blue. The low clinking, rumble, and hiss noises rising from under the vibrating hood, faded away into the night air and the refurbished car purred to life. The brand-spanking new, white, convertible hood folded itself back and vanished into its special storage areas even as the last of the shimmering mage-energies vanished. As a final measure, Nikolas made several warding gesture in the air over the car, sketching several Tradition glyphs, to ward the car against tampering by anyone except Xander, Spike, Devon or himself. With that bit of satisfaction under his low-slung belt, Nikolas turned and scented the air, searching for a bit of excitement in order to give Spike and Xander time to complete their bond-mating.

~~~~~

Devon drifted away slowly to find himself alone in the main room of the suite. He looked around and discovered he was lying on the couch and figured he must have passed out again. It looked as if he would be attending another type of school when he returned to New Orleans. He had a fairly good grasp of his healing abilities but was sure that he would fare better with proper training. He was going to need training anyway, now that he potential had been awakened by Nikolas. Not only that, but he was a direct descendant of the Egyptian vampire-prince and another Ascension-heir. He didn�t doubt the things Nikolas had told them about the Nine Traditions, or the power he was now heir to. Nikolas was going to make him get training whether Devon wanted to or not. And oh boy did he want that training. He just knew he was going to need every available resource if he was going to survive.

Devon turned his awareness inward, shutting out the sound of the shower running in the bathroom figuring that would be Xander and Spike. He performed a quick self-scan to test for any lingering adverse affects, he�d expended more energy than he could ever remember doing, in his efforts at healing Spike. At times, when the damage was deep and far reaching, Devon couldn�t help but being drawn in; his desire and innate wish that no living being should suffer, calling him to do all that was within his power to restore the balance. What he�d done for Spike had come from deep within, tapping and draining his own personal reserves. That was one of the dangers involved in healing; healers were prone to over extend their abilities in their fight against sickness and wrongness, throwing themselves into the battle with their entire being. That could explain why they were so rare and so few of them, they burned themselves out when they were unable to pull back, exhausting their own life-energies. He was lucky to have Nikolas, who was able to bolster his energies as well as shut him down when it was necessary. As a general rule, Devon did most of his healing from within the dream realms, that was changing, had changed with his association with Xander and his friends. Even though the encounter had blasted his horizons wide open, Devon did not regret having met and befriended Xander.

He was just coming out of his light trance when the sound of water stopped and the two finally emerged, Devon cast them a knowing grin as he got up and made his way into the bedroom. Xander trailed along behind him, watching as a pre-occupied Devon moved around the room, gathering things he planned to take with them. The smaller black and crimson bag he�d left in the living-room, contained their toiletries so Devon focused on the other essentials, clothing. From the closet, he began tossing items of over his shoulder, onto the bed. After several minutes, Xander looked around the room and located another black carry bag. He began to gather up and folded the clothing growing into a nice heap on the bed, and placed them inside. He noted that there were a lot of clothes in that closet, considering Devon had arrived with only the clothing on his back and no luggage, but Xander had learned that his friend was not only rich, but he *was* an expert shopper who excelled beyond anything Cordelia could fathom. Xander just knew there was no way Devon could be planning to take it all, and was confirmed when the tri-color-haired youth finished picking out a few of his most favorite pieces. Xander didn�t say anything until Devon slid the closet door shut and turned to survey the room. He met Xander�s smirk with a raised eyebrow. �Quoi?� Devon questioned.

�Think you packed enough, I mean you did leave a lot in there, but...� Xander teased as he hefted the bag, pretending it weighed more than it actually did.

�Oh, yeh, most of dat is for Niko, de boy dresses out of my closet anyways. This just makes it easier, non� he grinned as Xander rolled his eyes.

�Really?� Now that he thought about it, Xander was curious as to how Devon did it. Maybe, he could get his lover to wear something else besides those faded black jeans and t-shirts. Not to say they didn�t look good on Spike, but Xander was almost absolutely one hundred percent positive that the sleek blonde would be uber-hot in black leather, and a vest. Yeah, *tight*, black leather pants and vest and *NO* shirt! Yummmmm, *Spike*. Somehow, Xander just didn�t see Spike wearing slacks, like Angel did, at least not on a regular basis anyway, but he could imagine that sublime body draped in linen and silk � all clingy, as it slithered against the pale, hard, muscled planes and; Xander had to force himself to stop thinking for a second and take a deep breath.

�Hmm, oui,� Devon said, breaking into Xander�s walking wet dreams, as he moved about the room gathering a few last items � socks, underwear, and shoes. They could hear Spike out in the main room, where he was surfing the multitude of cable channels on the TV. Devon froze and inhaled, his eyes going distant, slim nostril flaring and his heart beat increasing.

�What? What�s wrong?� Xander asked in concern. He didn�t know much about Devon and his type of *magic*, even less than he knew about Willow and hers and he�d grown up with the young Wicca. Xander had no knowledge what so ever about what Nikolas referred to as backlash, but could imagine it was like really harsh pain, if it made the young man pass out. Devon hadn�t been out very long, but still.

�Hmmm,� Devon shook himself and blinked at Xander with owl-eyes that had shimmered down into deep lavender.

�Hey, are you okay?�

�Yesss,� Devon purred. His voice was sultry and full of spicy heat. Then Xander heard that golden, gong shimmer that he recognized as Nikolas� laughter and smirked as he realized what was going on with his friend.

�Heyla, Ch�r, hurry up so we can blow dis pop-stand!� Nikolas heckled.

�Yeah, right, been ready, me,� Devon breezed into the room and winked at Xander who went over to sit in Spike�s lap. �Did y� plan on packing anyting f� ya�self?�

Nikolas was looking around the room, �Hmm? Oh, non, ch�r. Wot ever ya got is bien,� he said absently. Xander shook his head at the face Devon made at the distracted vampire.

�Well, soon as y� done doin� whatever it is ya doin�, ya put up dat toy and we go, oui?�

Nikolas stopped looking around the room, silver eyes wide. �Non, Niko�s gonna take him �long. Where ya at, Snoopys? C�mere padnat,� he called. Nikolas cocked his head to the side and then grinned. He moved across the room and quickly snagged the Snoopy doll before it could dash from behind the TV stand, and make it to the bedroom. �Gotcha!�

�Un-uhhnn. You don wanna take dat. Put it in de box, ch�r, and lets go.�

Nikolas shook his head vigorously, setting braids just a swinging. He clutched JoeCool tightly to his chest. �Non,� he fixed a pout on his face and Spike rolled his eyes. Xander snickered, making Spike wonder what he knew. Xander knew who was going to win this face off, and he was gathering material for his arsenal; from both sides.

~Oh boy, Spikey, you are so not gonna know what hit you, baby.~

Spike shifted, narrowing his blue eyes at Xander as the boy squirmed around in his lap and focused his attention on his two friends.

Devon huffed, �Quit playing, boy, and put dat ting �way and lets go.� Devon put his hands on his hips and fixed Nikolas with a *look*. Nikolas put the toy behind his back and took a step back. Devon�s head tilted to the side, his eyes turned sly and he smiled *that* smile; the fang-smile sans the fangs. �Ya sure bout dat, Peanut?�

Nikolas blinked, then he swore. �Oh merde! Not y� aussi!?� he went into full six year old mode, stamping his foot and wheedling a mile a minute, �don call Niko dat, Bronze,� he pouted. �B�sides, its my toy so I can take it if I wanna. And I wanna, so there too!�

�Kay, be dat way den. If ya toys mean *more* t� ya than ya lil dragon-prince... ya send dis boy home. *Now*.� His eyes were flashing.

Nikolas� jaw dropped. His eyes went over-puppy-dog wide and his bottom lip and chin trembled, on the verge of tears, �Don leave me, ch�r. Niko love�s y�, he�ll do anyting ya want, just don� be hurtful and leave me by myself.�

�Den, ya put ya toys �way like a good little vampire-mageling, Peanut, and Bronze won�t go home. He�ll stay and play wit ya, if ya really want m� to...�

�Oh, Niko does, ch�r, mon coeur, trust, dis boy does,� Nikolas swore as he quickly located the magicked dog-house. It was white with a bright, red, roof. �Kay, in y� go, J. Coolio, ya be a good lil pup an� Niko will let ya bite something later, kay?�

:{�If ya really good, I�ll even let ya bite my pet human.�}:

The Snoopy doll clambered into the little dog house and shut the door. Nikolas grinned and placed it inside of the protective box it had arrived in. The box was shiny white with a deeply colored, blood red ribbon and bow.

�Y� gonna so owe Niko for dis, Bronze,� the vampire purred as he picked up their bags and started from the room. �Warned ya not ta call me dat, boy.� Devon giggled and stuck his tongue out at his vampire�s retreating back.

~~~~~

Spike turned the corner and fell in lust. One look at Xander�s refurbished wheels and Spike was in car heaven. In a daze, he moved over to the car and began to inspect it, pale hands stroking the smooth surface covetously. Xander�s cock got hard just watching Spike, who was now inspecting the backseat. Spike was so involved in fantasies of what he could *do* to Xander on that wide expanse of flawless white leather, he missed when Nikolas broke Xander from his own intense contemplation of Spike�s denim clad ass, by handing him the car keys.

Xander managed to pull his thoughts out of lust-land and claim his car keys. He murmured a softly, awed, �thank-you,� and clutched them tightly in his fist as he turned back toward Spike. �Hey, bleach-boy, don�t drool on it,� Xander called.

Spike stopped his stroking and caressing to turn and lock in on Xander. He inhaled, scenting Xander�s arousal and quickly moved to invade his pet�s personal space. �Xan-pet,� Spike purred sending tingles across Xander�s skin as he breathed on his bite-mark. Spike settled his pale hands on Xander�s waist and let them slide along the top of his waistband, until they found that small gap between denim and skin. He wormed his clever fingers into the tiny space, seeking the tattoo with one hand while cupping Xander�s ass with the other and pulling him closer.

�No, Spikey,� Xander moaned, �you�re not driving.�

�Xan-der,� Spike purred in his ear, gently rocking his hips against Xander�s.

�Nooohh, and there will be *no* Xander-sex in the backseat later, if you don�t stop doing that sometime soon.� Spike sighed, pouted, and stopped rubbing himself against Xander�s hardness. Xander grinned. He gave Spike a quick peck on the lips and then wiggled free. Turning to face Nikolas again, Xander cast a quick look at Devon. �Merci, Nikolas,� Xander thanked him again with heartfelt gratitude vibrating in his voice. People just didn�t do nice things for him, or at least they didn�t used to. That, and a lot of other things, had changed over the months Xander had been living in LA. He was very happy with the majority of them. With a mischievous twinkle in his brown eyes, Xander moved in on the startled vampire-mage, placing a closed-mouth kiss on the Egyptian immortal�s lips, and then quickly stepping back to flash his trade-mark, lopsided, Xander-grin. Nikolas blinked.

:{�Ya learn fast, Xan.�}:

Xander nodded, a small smile acknowledging he�d heard the private thought, and then with a boyish giggle, he turned and scampered over to his shiny new car to test out the horn. Liberally. �Hey, you guys, lets go!�

~~~~~
POV: Rupert Giles
~~~~~

The line went dead and Rupert Giles returned the receiver to the cradle. He wasn�t exactly sure how to take the information he�d just received. If it wasn�t one apocalypse, it was another, of some sort, and so went life on the Hellmouth.

Rupert sighed deeply and removed his glasses to pinch the bride of his nose between thumb and forefinger. He could already feel the twinges of what he was sure would become a full-blown, killer, migraine headache. Deciding to hold the news until morning, Rupert moved across the living area of his condo, and made his way to the kitchen. There was nothing that could be done until the others arrived and he wasn�t looking forward to telling Buffy that, not only was there another *event* on the horizon, but that the knowledge had come from Willow. Because of Cordelia�s vision, the AI team would be arriving in Sunnydale within the next twenty-four hours. He could use the time to prepare himself for having to, not only inform Buffy that her ex was coming to town, but having to face Willow, Xander, and Spike. And there was Angel, and Wesley as well. Things between he and Cordelia had always remained amicable, if coolly distant. Thinking about facing Xander, a new and different Xander, by Buffy�s account, was more than un-nerving.

Rupert was running on auto-pilot as he moved about his small, but neat kitchen, gathering the makings for tea. The kettle was on the stove and would come to a boil soon. He sat out a cup, saucer, and a spoon before turning towards the cupboard in search of a teabag. �Hmmm, Earl Grey, I think,� he muttered to himself as he rummaged around. His hand bumped a bottle, tipping it over to roll from the shelf. Rupert caught the bottle before it fell on the counter, and his face lit up with a wide grin. In his hands, he held on of Spike�s stashed bottled of Jack Daniels. The blonde vampire had always kept some form of hard liquor stashed for the quick nip, when he thought Giles wasn�t around. The ex-watcher could have cared less, right now he was just happy with this windfall. Turning off the kettle, Rupert let his blue-grey eyes appraise the amber liquid as he closed the light and moved out into the dimly lit living-room. �Tomorrow, I�ll call Buffy tomorrow.�

~~~~~
POV: Angel
~~~~~

Cordelia beat Wesley back to the Hyperion. Surprising, to say the least, but once the demon-hunter arrived, they would all be ready to leave for Sunnydale. Willow had called ahead to inform Giles of the situation and their imminent arrival. Since her parents had moved away from Sunnydale, the Rosenberg home stood empty, and Willow planned to house the AI team there, instead of their trying to find semi-decent motels close enough for everyone.

Wesley finally made it back and now the group was waiting on Xander and the others to return. While they continued to wait, they decided that dividing up into groups for the trip would be the best method. They would take three vehicles. Wesley had the Range Rover, and they could all store their gear and weapons in the spacious back compartment. Of course, Angel would take the Mustang and Xander�s car would make the third. Between the three, everyone should be reasonably comfortable. Angel was pretty certain Nikolas wouldn�t let Devon take the motorcycle � he made a mental note let the young man know his bike would be safe inside the garage. Xander, Spike, Devon, and Nikolas would mostly likely wind up in Xander�s car. Cordy would want to keep Wesley company on the drive, and avoid any possibility of broodiness from her employer, so that meant Willow would ride with Angel. Now they were ready to hit the road.

Or at least that was the plan until the four-some returned. Angel could smell it the minute they entered the hotel. Spike had claimed Xander. Two things immediately came to mind � Spike *claimed* Xander � claiming meant violence and biting. Spike hadn�t claimed Xander before, because of the chip. What did this mean?

While Angel was struggling with these thoughts, his demon raised his head and scented the air. The smell of his Childe�s claiming of his mate went straight to his cock, and Angel wanted to growl. No, actually he wanted to howl. First he�d had to deal with Devon and now it was Xander.

~Damn it all, Spike!~

It was all he could do, not to throw a temper tantrum � the break things and scream while jumping up and down type. Those ones you just let go and loose your last bit of mind.

:{�Shit, need to get laid soon. No, I mean *soon*, soon.�}:

The thought made Angel blink and look around, wondering if he�d said that out loud or if his demon was just being overly vocal. He could smell the vampires all over their mates. Mates, the thought struck a chord in Angel. He envied Spike and Nikolas, and was happy for them too. He�d never been mated. Not once, during all two hundred, forty plus years of his existence, and he was feeling a bit jealous at the moment.

Spike caught his Sire�s look as Angel sniffed the air. Their eyes met. The blonde�s flashed yellow and he growled deep in his throat. Angel�s demon growled back.

�Something you want to tell me Childe?�

Spike tightened his grip on his pet, it was never far from his mind that as his Sire, Angel held Sire�s Rights and could literally take Xander from him. It also crossed his mind that as a member of House Aurelius, there were traditional ceremonies involved in claiming a mate. One of the most important was getting approval from one�s Sire before-hand, since said Sire would join with the mate in acceptance to the *family*. There were a lot of things that had slipped his mind, Spike realized, but done was done, and he�d kill anyone who tried to take Xander from him. The Big Bad was *back* with a vengeance and in full effect.

Sensing an imminent explosion, Wes quickly intervened to head it off, �Well, now that we�re all here, I think it would be best if we got started. We�re going to be cutting it rather close for those of us who are U.V. intolerant as it is.�

�Right,� Cordelia agreed and grabbed her bag and followed Wes out.

�Devon, you can leave the motorcycle in the garage, it�ll be safe there. Unless you planned on riding it down...�

�Non, Ang�, Devon won�t be riding dat bike. Merci for de offer of storage, Niko will put it �way while de pet-human helps de fiery femme and ya�self wit ya gear.�

Angel nodded as the others turned and filed out. He caught up to his Childe and growled in his ear. �You and I are going to have a really *LONG* talk about your disregard for the traditions of the Aurelius line, boy,� and then he stalked out to open the garage.

~~~~~

Devon pouted as he watched Nikolas wheel the motorcycle into the garage. Willow�s exclamations over Xander�s car were more interesting than watching his toy being stored away, and Devon really didn�t mind, since he�d had no intention of trying to ride the BMW to Sunnydale with Nikolas anyway. He didn�t think he could take the torture of having all that power vibrating between his legs and the vampire pressed against his back, or him against Nikolas. It was a given that like Spike, Nikolas would try to take over the driving when it came down to going anyplace with his human. Always thinking safety and protecting what was theirs.

They stored their gear � clothing went into their own trunks and weapons and other supplies, like coolers of high quality human blood, went into the Range Rover. Angel pulled the Mustang out into the open and waited for Nikolas to park the bike, before sealing and locking the garage. He turned to admire Xander�s car, impressed with the purring of the engine, among other things.

Xander and Devon were sitting in the front seat peering at the dashboard. �That can�t be right,� Xander was saying. He looked over at Devon in question. Devon leaned in closer to examine the newly digitized displays.

�Mais, Devon�s not sure, Xan. It looks legit, and if Niko did it, then...�

Angel, Spike, and Nikolas drew closer. �What�s that?� Angel inquired as his eyes took on that glazed look returning to Spike�s covetous blue gaze.

�Oh dat, course it is, p�tite,� Nikolas informed him with a small grin. Xander blinked at Nikolas, rubbed his eyes and re-focused. Devon eyed the three vampires watching them. Xander swore under his breath in amazement when he realized nothing had changed. The speedometer dial had been replaced by a digital readout bar, it started at 0 and went all the way up to 360 mph. And each of the speed markers was denoted by tiny bars of flashing color. The 360 was a vivid crimson and the colored bars were the same color.

�Ohhh,� Angel drooled as he leaned in over Spike�s shoulder to get a closer look. Even Wesley was intrigued, and moved to join the vampires in their lustful examination of the car. Xander and Devon left them to it, going to help Willow and Cordelia get their luggage stored while the three males drooled and Nikolas took pleasure in expounding on the virtues he�d installed in the bang-buggy.

�Men and their silly toys,� Cordelia smirked as she and Willow watched. Spike was making another attempt to get his hands on the keys. Angel was hiding his smug satisfaction over the fact that his gloating Childe wouldn�t be doing the driving; at least he was still one up on Spike in that arena.

�Oh. Hell. No.� Xander stated firmly as he backed away, moving to stand behind Willow and Devon. The car keys clutched tightly in his fist, which was behind his back; Cordy was laughing at the sight of Xander doing major head action, stubbornly shaking his head, *no*, to emphasis his point.

�Oi, Pet, don�t be like that,� Spike was saying.

�No, Spike. I love you, but you are not driving.� Xander stated emphatically. He favored Spike with a dark, mock-scowl before going on to explain exactly why he wasn�t letting the blonde menace drive to Sunnydale, �besides, the last time you drove, I wound up with no clothes.�

�No clothes? Wot happened?� Devon just had to hear this.

�Oh, the bleached big bad there,� Xander nodded at Spike who had a pout fixed on his handsome face, �decided he didn�t like my wardrobe, said something about it being detrimental to the eye-sight or something, and gave my clothes to the freeway as soon as I fell asleep.�

�Thank the powers,� Cordelia intoned. Devon stared at Spike; Nikolas, Willow, and Angel snickered. �It was about time,� the seer continued, unable to resist a perfect opportunity to tease her ex-boyfriend. She and Xander had developed a much stronger friendship during the period when he�d lost most of his memories of Sunnydale. She still felt extremely bad about the way she had treated both Xander and Willow when they had been in high school, and was very thankful for the chance to discover the people they really were; the personalities that had been overshadowed by the glaring presence of Buffy.

�She be a frisky lil ting, Chrissie, her,� Nikolas stated as he tossed their bags into the trunk along with Spike and Xander�s.

�Chrissie?� Angel questioned, not really sure if he wanted to know. There was something about the way Nikolas referred to the car � giving it a name � that made him slightly nervous.

�Oui, Chrissie, short for Christine.�

�No-no,� Xander interjected forcefully, �no Chrissie. Sorry no, can�t do that one. Do you know what that damn car did? Don�t tell me I�m the only one who read the book. Christine is so not a good name for a car, major wiggins here at the thought of it.� He had a very vivid mental image of Nikolas� toy Snoopy doll, of his car having some of those same magical traits that allowed the toy to move about as if it were *alive*. �Sorry, Niko, but the name Christine and the Xander-mobile do not mix. Not at all, no interlocking there, and boy am I glad for that.�

Nikolas and Devon shook off the daze induced by the flow of words. They�d never been exposed to Xander-babble and wondered how anyone could talk non-stop with only a minimum of breathing.

�You, mates, have just been Xander-babbled,� Spike informed them with a smirk as he took in their incredulous looks.

�Xander-babble?� Xander challenged with an arching of one dark eyebrow.

�Yeh, Pet, Xander-babble. That thing you do, like Red here. Willow-babble,� Spike shot a teasing look at Willow and then looked back to the dark-skinned young men. �Just wait, you haven�t heard anything yet, you should hear it when they�re all in the same room, even Angel and Cordy get in on the Scoobie-babble,� Spike informed them.

�Scoobie-babble? Now dis boy is really getting confused.�

�Non, ch�r, ya �ways been puzzled-up,� Nikolas teased him. Devon smacked him on the back of the head and stuck out his tongue. �Is dat an invitation, lover?� Nikolas was moving in on him.

�As cute as all of this is, we really should be getting a move on,� Cordelia informed them, �Really not looking forward to going back to Sunnyhell, but if we gotta go, then I want to go and get this over with,� she finished as she climbed into the Range Rover and pulled the door closed.

Angel couldn�t help the snicker that escaped when his pouting Childe turned to climb into the passenger seat while muttering under his breath.

�What was that, Spike?�

�Said I guess this means we won�t be knocking down the *welcome* sign on the way in, a shame innit.�

�Knockin� down de sign?� Nikolas asked as he pulled Devon into the backseat and let his hair have its way with the boy. Devon suppressed moans and tried to get the braids teasing his nipples out from under his shirt. Xander gave Spike a mysterious look.

�Maybe, we�ll just have to wait and see, now won�t we, Spikey?�

*****