Spike hung back at the front of the store with Giles while Xander bounced through the magic shop. The Watcher offered Spike his lighter as the two smoked one last cigarette before joining the boy. The witches had called a few minutes earlier to say that they'd be just a few minutes late-Miss Kitty had decided to take a little walk and they were in the process of chasing her. Buffy, of course, was sure to be late.

Xander glanced quickly around the shop, looking for any big changes. He didn't spot anything new or interesting-certainly nothing that he hadn't tried to break at some point in the past. He took a seat at the research table, knowing that Spike wouldn't join him for another few minutes. Giles had put several cups on the table that caught his eye-he'd made kool-aid for the meeting? Ever the opportunist, Xander went for the cup-hey, work was sweaty business, and he was always thirsty.

He grimaced at the cloying, slightly stale-tasting drink. < Must be one of the new flavors, > he thought as he finished up the glass. Still, it was refreshing. Once he was done, Xander looked around for a pitcher to refill the cup, but saw nothing. < Maybe the others would like some more as well, since we're likely to drink more than Giles had made, > Xander said to himself. It might even forestall a trip to the donut shop. Picking up the tumbler, he went into the back room. He didn't find any more of the nasty stuff there either, but he did find some instant lemonade, which he made up for the others. By the time he was finished, the witches and Buffy had arrived and eagerly took up more of the drink, having finished off their own. Spike took one sniff of the lemonade and turned up his nose with a sneer. Xander ignored him and drank another glass of liquid, batting the vampire's wandering hands away all the while.

"Can't you NOT paw at him all the time?" Buffy pleaded as Giles handed her a book. She was very much over the whole 'two guys' thing, and the 'Spike as boyfriend to Xander' thing, but the public displays of affection were.well, even she and Austin were more circumspect than that.

Spike smirked. "I suppose so. Wouldn't do to get you all hot and bothered, with no one to work it out on." They all knew that Austin was away at some football-related trip across the country, leaving Buffy without her boy-toy. Willow giggled at Buffy's expression, which was somewhat.aggravated.

"Do pay attention," Giles snapped as he dropped books on the table with a loud thump. "I would much rather spend the remainder of this evening anywhere but here."

Xander rolled his eyes at the Watcher even as he took up a book. Once again they were updating the group's information database. If this night went as the previous ones had, Buffy would exit after about an hour-as soon as the sun was down-to go patrol. He and Spike would stay for perhaps another hour after that, before going home for some quality alone time before Xander had to get some sleep. Willow and Tara would stay to research until Giles kicked them out-which might happen earlier than normal today, if Giles' behavior was anything to measure by.

Barely fifteen minutes after they'd begun, Xander blinked and placed a hand on his stomach. He was getting a headache, and the rest of him didn't feel so good either. He looked around, but no one else seemed to feel bad-or notice that he was-

"What's wrong, pet?" Spike whispered into Xander's ear. His mate smelled a bit off-and was far too tense. He was also sweating, something that shouldn't be happening in the well-cooled climate of the shop.

"Headache," Xander said. "Maybe I'm more tired than I thought." Spike nodded grimly. It had been unusually hot today, and Xander had been outside for more than eight hours. He sometimes forgot how such things would affect the human.

"Let's go," Spike said, hauling Xander to his feet. He quieted the boy's protests by slapping a hand over his mouth. Buffy stood up; intent on stopping Spike from doing.whatever it was he was doing.

"Spike, what the hell are you doing with Xander?" Buffy asked, scowling. She didn't brandish a stake only because Willow was there, and the witch didn't like for her to threaten Spike.

Spike turned back to look at the others, who were staring in shock, anger, or both. "He's overworked himself and he feels bad. Has a headache. You can research without us for one bloody night. I'm putting him to bed." He stomped out of the shop without waiting for an answer. When they got to the car, he expected Xander to round on him, but he didn't. Instead, Xander got into the passenger seat obediently, not even complaining when Spike started to drive. That made the vampire even more worried-Xander hated his driving and never let him near the car keys.

"Still awake?" Spike asked as they pulled into their parking space.

"Think so. Head says I am," Xander muttered as he pulled open the door. He started to say something when Spike picked him up, but the way his vision blurred and swirled as he was moved around made him shut his mouth. He knew that Spike wasn't moving that fast, but he still couldn't focus on anything. Maybe he was a lot more tired than he thought. Funny, but he'd felt fine just an hour before.

Spike's frown turned positively grim as he stripped Xander and laid him in the bed. He knew that he should force at least another glass of water down him before he passed out. Unfortunately, by the time he got back to the bedroom, Xander was already asleep. Sighing softly, Spike stripped down and sat on the bed, picking up the book he'd been reading earlier. He wasn't really tired-hells, he'd only been awake for about four hours-but he couldn't just go out when Xander was so obviously ill. So instead of a spot of bloody good violence, he was left with Nathaniel Hawthorne. Bloke wasn't so bad once you got used to all that inane description.

���...�...�...�...���

By the time dawn was approaching, Spike had drifted off twice, lulled to sleep by the razor-sharp wit and nonstop action of 'The Scarlet Letter'. He set the book aside and dug under the covers to join Xander. He'd been monitoring the young man all night, and it was obvious to him that he wouldn't be going to work in a few hours. He'd fallen asleep so deeply that he hadn't so much as turned over all night. He had also started to sweat again, and was warm-although when Spike had taken his temperature it hadn't registered as a fever. He thought about his options for a moment before picking up the phone to call Xander's boss. The man would just have to do without his best employee for at least one day.

Xander didn't stir during the brief conversation Spike had had with his boss. The older man expressed genuine concern for the boy, and Spike assured him that his 'roommate', who worked evenings, would take very good care of him. After promising to keep the site updated as to Xander's condition, and to take the stubborn ass to the emergency room if he got worse, Spike hung up the phone and curled around Xander for a day's sleep. The fact that Xander was still asleep-after almost ten hours of straight rest-caused the blonde even more worry.

The boy did respond to skin-to-skin contact with Spike, turning and burying himself in the vampire's arms. Spike felt a soft kiss being pressed to his shoulders, just before Xander relaxed again and fell into another deep sleep. Spike draped one leg over Xander's, wondering if perhaps the boy had caught something-this was more than a headache, to be sure, even though he couldn't smell any particular illness on him yet.

Spike was woken next when he felt Xander struggling to get away from him. He opened his eyes to see a panting, red-faced and bloodshot Xander trying unsuccessfully to extricate himself from the vampire. "Easy, pet. Let me help you," He said, trying to get control of the flailing youth. Xander ignored him and leapt out of bed, stumbling toward the bathroom. Spike followed him, pausing briefly at the sounds of retching. The brunette had nothing in his stomach, so he did little besides make his throat raw. "Xander?" Spike murmured as he leaned next to the quivering boy.

"Leave me alone, Spike," Xander said into the toilet bowl. How humiliating was this-puking in front of Spike? It couldn't get much-ok, maybe it could. Xander stood up and with one hand pushed at Spike. Then he sat down on the toilet very quickly and reached for the garbage can.

Spike jumped up and held Xander's head when he realized just how ill the boy really was-this wasn't just a headache, or a touch of exhaustion. Xander was dry heaving constantly, and if Spike was correct, he was also suffering.intestinal distress. The vampire ran one hand gently over Xander's face, soothing the boy. Once the retching slowed, Spike ran a glass of water and handed it to him. Xander took it without looking up at Spike and sipped the liquid slowly.

"Can!" Xander moaned piteously. Spike pushed the garbage can back into Xander's hands as the water he'd just taken in came right back out. The blonde tried another tactic and damped a washcloth in warm water to wipe on Xander's face. It seemed to help a little, to if nothing else take away the tears that streamed down his face. "Work." Xander moaned in between heaves.

"I called them a while back, Xander. They know you're sick," Spike said softly. "You need to see a doctor," He added in a firmer voice. He was trying to hide his quickly growing panic. He didn't get sick, and other than the usual colds, neither did Xander. He had no idea how to handle this kind of thing-was it serious? Could Xander die from this? That thought just made him more worried.

"No doctor. I'm fine," Xander mumbled. Another spasm of pain raced through him. What god had he angered this time? He was in so much pain he barely registered Spike picking him up and leaning him against the shower wall. In fact, the agony was great enough that he couldn't even muster humiliation at having to be cleaned up by his lover.

Spike finished drying Xander and wrapped him in his robe. Once he'd put the boy back into bed-staying horizontal seemed to lessen the nausea-the vampire pulled out the phone book and called the hospital's help line. In brief, clipped tones he described Xander's symptoms and was told to get the boy to the emergency room as soon as possible, or have an ambulance come to get him. Spike cursed softly. It was well into the day-how was he supposed to get the boy there? Every one of Xander and his human acquaintances were either at work or in school. Unless, of course, Giles would be willing to close the shop. The ambulance method wasn't going to work-he couldn't ride alone and Spike would fry while trying to get into the ambulance.

Calling Giles was beginning to look like a good idea. Spike glanced over at Xander, who was shivering to violently that their steady iron bed was quaking. He reached for the phone, still standing over Xander. "Watcher," Spike growled when Giles answered the phone in his usual, cheerful shopkeeper's voice.

"Spike. Whatever do you want?" Giles wasn't used to hearing from the vampire during the day, on the phone, or very much at all outside Scooby business.

"Xander's sick. Needs to go to the hospital," The blonde spat out. He caught a whiff of the scent Xander was giving off-pure pain and fear. "Right now!" He growled menacingly.

Giles was taken aback by the tone of Spike's voice. If he wasn't mistaken, the vampire was panicking-he certainly sounded like it. Thinking quickly, the Watcher grabbed his keys as he finished his phone call with the blonde. "I'll be there in five minutes. Have him ready."

Spike slammed down the phone and ripped open a drawer in Xander's dresser. He quickly located a pair of pajamas. Getting them on Xander was a challenge. While he struggled to get the clothes on the boy, he noted that his temperature was increasing, but he'd stopped sweating. That wasn't good-he wouldn't cool off if he didn't sweat. By the time he'd pulled on his own clothes and carried Xander to the main room, Giles was pounding on the door.

"What are you wait-" Giles stopped yelling at Spike when he got a good look at Xander.

"Grab that blanket," Spike snapped as he walked out the door. Giles understood and picked up the large, cheap blanket that Spike and Xander kept for day cover. He draped it over the vampire as they ran for his car. Spike slid into the tiny back seat, clasping Xander to him as they made for the hospital.

"How long has he been that way?" Giles asked as he drove. Spike was impressed by how fast the man was driving.

"Had a headache last night, threw up this morning, then started shaking. He's in a lot of pain. Fever, no sweating. Smells off," Spike added as an afterthought, noticing for the first time that there was, in fact, something underneath all the pain and fear. He couldn't tell much more than that it wasn't a normal Xander-smell, but it could have been anything, including whatever nasty had caused this bout of misery.

Luckily for them, the emergency room entrance was a covered pull-through. Spike wrestled out from under the blanket and carried Xander inside while Giles moved the car. The nurses took one look at Xander and started moving with frightening efficiency. They completely bypassed the wheelchairs and had Spike put Xander on an exam-room bed. The vampire was shoved to one side-the only thing that kept him in the room was the fact that he was the one person who knew anything about the boy's condition.

The doctor had just arrived when Xander went into convulsions. Spike barely caught himself in time to keep from slipping into gameface as the doctor started barking out orders. The vampire winced as the doctor intubated his lover while a nurse inserted an IV in his left arm.

"Who is that?" The doctor barked while simultaneously ordering Dilantin in the boy's IV solution.

"I'm staying," Spike said shortly. There was no way he was taking one step away from Xander.

"He carried him in," One nurse said. Spike ignored her, watching as Xander began to relax and the convulsions dissipated. Another nurse came up to the vampire with a clipboard, obviously wanting some information.

Spike answered the questions without taking his eyes from Xander. He was somewhat aware of the nurses' surprise at the accuracy of his statements. Of course, they had no idea how sensitive he was to minute changes in the human's body. The vampire's nose twitched as the nurses drew an amazing amount of blood, all in a series of tubes with multicolored tops. The doctor inserted another drug into the IV line. When one nurse began to move Xander's bed, Spike's hand shot out to stop her.

"He has to go to ICU," The doctor explained, more than a bit frightened at the intense look in Spike's eyes.

"I'm going," Spike insisted. The medical staff wisely not to argue with Spike. The trip to intensive care was not pleasant. Spike snapped and stared at everyone. Once they were there he stepped back again, watching as the nurses put ice packs around Xander and monitored his temperature. Several more drugs were given to the boy. The blonde saw Giles out of the corner of his eye, but the Watcher couldn't get past the other hospital staff. That didn't matter to Spike. He held watch over Xander while the doctors did their job.

He was startled out of his sentry when a nurse handed him a sponge. He stared blankly as the man told him to use it and a saline solution to help cool off Xander. After a moment, Spike shook off his stupor and did as he was instructed. The vampire ignored most of what the staff said to each other about Xander's condition-he could tell what was going on with the human. He had a high fever, one that wasn't going away. He guessed that the drugs they'd given him were for that.

Hours passed, although Spike didn't bother to count them. Xander's temperature dropped back to simply 'high', instead of 'deadly,' so the nurses wheeled him in to have a CAT scan. Spike watched that procedure with the same intensity that he'd had for everything else done to Xander since he'd arrived in the hospital. No one had given him much useful information, but perhaps this test would yield something. Giles had left to go back to the Magic Box; someone needed to be there, if nothing else than to tell the others what was going on.

"Well?" Spike hissed as the doctor came up to him. The nurses had just brought Xander back to ICU.

"The CAT scan was negative, and nothing showed up in the blood tests other than dehydration. Do you have any other information that could help? Was he involved in any drugs, or other activities?" The doctor asked.

Spike growled at the idea of Xander using drugs. "No. He went to work, came home, took a shower and we went to meet his friends. He started to get a headache, so I made him come home and go to bed. He woke up this morning throwing up, diarrhea, and the works."

The doctor frowned. "We'll have to wait until he regains consciousness, then. You should probably get some rest."

"I'm fine," Spike muttered. He stared at Xander for a minute. He wasn't leaving the boy's side, not until he absolutely had to. Somewhere along the way he'd snag a pint or two of blood, probably when the Watcher, the Slayer and the others showed up to get mad at him for letting Xander get sick. A chair appeared behind him and he sat down, still watching Xander. The nurses tried to get him to get some rest, but he ignored them.

Before long he was left alone with Xander, surrounded by the sounds of medical equipment. The odors of antiseptics and medications offended him, but he didn't care. It was times like this that Spike was grateful he didn't have to breathe, that his heart didn't beat-both functions would have stopped had he been human. This was worse, infinitely worse, than seeing Xander get pummeled by a demon when they were out on patrol. Those minor bruises and scrapes were petty annoyances, and he could take out his anger on whatever unlucky being had touched the boy. Now, though, he didn't have an enemy to kill. Whatever had caused this was out of his grasp. The doctor had said something about additional tests, and had asked if they used protection. Spike wasn't stupid; he knew that the doctor was asking about AIDS. The thought almost made him laugh. Of course, when Spike, snarling, had informed the doctor that they were very careful about such things. The doctor backed off immediately.

*****
Part 4:

"Spike?"

The vampire looked up. Buffy was standing some distance away, as close to them as the nurses would let her get. Spike took one last look at Xander, and then went to the Slayer. He was expecting some sort of diatribe, but when he reached her, and the others, all he found were concerned faces. Dawn's eyes were red, and Willow was trembling. "What's going on?" Buffy asked impatiently. Spike could see, though, that it was caused by fear.

"They don't know. The fever's down and they're running tests. He hasn't woken up yet, though," Spike muttered, rubbing his forehead. "They ruled out the usual suspects, though-meningitis, the like."

"Where are his parents?" Giles said quietly. Spike looked around to make sure there weren't any nurses around.

"Wherever they happen to be. I didn't tell them about his parents. They wouldn't care anyway," Spike snarled.

Giles frowned. "But.they may know something about his family history."

Willow shook her head. "I probably know more than they do."

"Oh," Giles murmured.

"Have you fed?" Buffy asked suddenly, looking closely at Spike.

"No," Spike replied, looking a bit confused. Why was Buffy asking about that?

"Why don't you grab a.bag somewhere?" She suggested. "We'll watch out for Xander."

Spike looked like he was going to protest, so Willow scowled at him. "Don't leave him," He warned. He'd have refused, except that after Buffy mentioned it, he realized that he was starving.

Once Spike had stalked off to find something to eat, Buffy relaxed a little. "Why did you do that?" Dawn asked. "He wants to be with Xander."

Buffy turned toward her sister. "He needs to feed. Vampires, even chipped vampires, get edgy when they're hungry."

"He'll be back soon anyway," Giles added. Willow looked over at Xander. They weren't allowed close to him, since they weren't relatives. She could only imagine how Spike had convinced the nurses that he should be allowed near Xander and that the boy had no other relatives. Joyce showed up a few minutes later, to take care of Dawn and worry about Xander with the others.

Spike wasted no time in finding a storage room full of blood. In deference to Xander, Spike looked through the room until he found three pints of outdated blood-just a day too old, that someone had failed to discard. His lover would get mad if he took usable blood, perhaps depriving a patient of it. To Spike, the only patient that mattered was Xander, and he might need it.

Less than ten minutes later, Spike was back in intensive care. He paused briefly to reassure Dawn that everything was being done for Xander. "We just have to wait for the rest of the test results," Willow told the teenager.

Spike left them to return to Xander. His temperature was back to normal, due in large part to the drugs coursing through his system. Spike could tell that he was simply asleep now, instead of buried in the unnatural stupor of fever. He reached onto the bed and took up Xander's hand. He hated waiting.

���...�...�...�...���

Xander hurt. He ached all over, like he'd been pummeled by an unusually efficient torturer. Once he managed to get his eyes open, he realized that he was in a hospital. The nasty hospital bed, IV in his arm, and very institutional setting confirmed it. He tried to reach up with his free hand to scratch his nose, but found that it was restrained by a familiar weight. Xander turned his head to see Spike leaning against the bed, his head propped on their joined hands. He wondered how long he'd been there, if Spike had managed to fall asleep in a hospital. His nose was really itching, though, so he tried to extricate his hand, but Spike had him firmly caught.

Spike felt a pull on his hand and jerked his head up. Worried blue eyes met tired, glassy brown ones. "Pet?"

"Hospitals suck," Xander croaked as he rubbed his nose. "How long have I been here?"

Spike looked up on the wall. "Twelve hours."

"Um." Xander frowned. When had he gotten here?

Spike knew what he was thinking. "Remember being sick in the bathroom?"

"Uh." Xander thought for a moment. He vaguely recalled intense humiliation. "I think so."

"That was this morning, about ten. You got here at ten thirty," Spike filled in. Stood up, stretching to alleviate the kinks that sleeping as he had had caused. He leaned over to ghost his lips over Xander's. "The nurses are going to want to cluck over you now." He didn't really want them to, but then again they might be able to fix him. He pushed the call button with great regret.

"What happened to me?" Xander whispered while they waited for the nurse.

"Fever," Spike said, leaving the details for the nurses. He stroked Xander's limp, damp hair and looked over the boy for any sign. He still smelled off, but he couldn't place it-it wasn't a cold, or pneumonia, or any of the more nasty diseases he'd encountered.

The nurses arrived and immediately pushed Spike back while they did their mysterious nurse-things. The doctor showed up a few minutes later, obviously pleased that Xander was awake and coherent. The vampire's mood plummeted when the odious little man started asking Xander embarrassing questions, obviously trying to scare the boy.

"Well, we can't find anything in your blood," The doctor admitted finally. "And there aren't any signs of heat exhaustion or food poisoning."

"When can I go home?" Xander asked after the doctor had finished. Yeah, he felt bad, really bad, but the guy had just admitted that they couldn't find anything wrong with him.

The doctor frowned. "We need to monitor you for at least three more days, and I'm not satisfied with these test results." Xander grimaced.

"One day," He said grumpily.

"We don't operate on the barter system," The doctor said angrily.

"Two days?" He tried hopefully. Three days for them to poke and prod, for Spike to sit in that horrid plastic chair-and he knew that the vampire wasn't going anywhere.

"Three," The doctor said as he walked out. Xander scowled at the man's back. The nurses disappeared a few minutes later.

"You should rest, pet," Spike said as he sat down in the chair. Xander smiled weakly and leaned his head back on the pillow. "Buffy, Giles, Joyce, Willow, Tara and Dawn are worried about you."

Xander's eyes popped open. Did Spike just call his friends by their proper names? When did that happen? "Where are they?"

Spike cocked his head backward. "Willow and Tara are in the lobby. Joyce was here for a few minutes but she took Dawn home. Buffy and Giles went on patrol." The vampire fell silent for a moment. "You might be angry with me, though."

"Why?" Xander asked tiredly.

"Your parents don't know," Spike replied.

Xander laughed weakly. "Good. They'd just cause problems. Don't like them anyway."

Spike smiled. "You should rest," He repeated softly. Xander shook his head, but the vampire could tell that he was nearly asleep. Once Xander was sleeping quietly, Spike stood to tell Willow that Xander had been briefly conscious.

Willow was red-eyed and bundled into Tara's arms when Spike found them. "Anything?" She asked as Spike sat next to her.

Spike smiled. "He woke up."

Willow tried to get up, but Spike reached over and tried to hold her down without hurting her. It didn't quite work and his chip gave him a bit of a shock. As soon as his hands went to his temples, Willow stopped moving. "Sorry! Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Willow chanted as Spike tried to banish the pain.

"He's asleep again now," Spike muttered. He glanced up at Willow, who looked guilty.

"Oh. Is he."

"Fine," Spike replied. "Well," He qualified, "Better. He's going to stay here for three more days while the doctors guess what's wrong with him."

"They don't know what it is?" Willow asked. Spike shook his head. "Oh."

"You need to sleep," Spike said, seeing how drawn and tired both witches looked.

"As if you don't?" Willow shot back.

Spike shrugged. "I slept some earlier. Besides, vampire, remember? Sun's down." Tara smiled and nodded. They did need to leave, and everyone was safe in the hospital. Spike wouldn't hurt anyone and wouldn't let anything happen to Xander.

"Come on," Tara said, pulling Willow to her feet. The redhead followed reluctantly, obviously not wanting to leave. Spike watched them go before returning to Xander's bedside.

���...�...�...�...���

Xander slept for most of the next two days. The pain receded a little, due in large part to the painkillers the nurses shot into his IV. The doctors were confounded, since their tests showed nothing. Spike almost killed the doctor, chip or no, when the man told Xander that he was HIV negative-but that he should be retested in six months. Xander ignored the guy and went back to sleep. Spike didn't blame him one bit-it was an easy way to pass the time, and Xander needed to rest. Spike was surprised to find himself not bouncing off the walls or scaring the other patients. He just stayed with Xander, cataloguing each breath, each movement. He slept a lot as well, since he had no reason to be awake for most of the day.

"It's been two days," Xander whined to Spike. "I want to go home."

Spike shook his head. "You need to rest."

"And I can do that at home. They took me off the IV since I can take pills and swallow water. I hate the bedpan-even if it is better than the catheter," Xander said.

"They're not going to like it," Spike said after a minute. He wasn't sure if it was a good idea, but then again he didn't see what good the doctors were doing for him.

"I don't care," Xander said, struggling to sit up. He knew that they would protest more if he didn't leave under his own steam. "They've got enough of my blood to feed a vamp for a week, not to mention all the other fluids they've been collecting. Hand me my clothes."

Spike did more than that, putting Xander's clothes on him. The boy was too weak and tired to care that he was being treated like an invalid. As Spike had warned, the nurses and doctor were furious and tried their best to make him stay. Xander's limited temper was lost when the doctor said that he wanted to study this mysterious illness for the sake of science.

"No," Xander shouted, as best as he could. Spike shuddered at the loathing contained in that single word. He tried to move faster, and Spike held him up so that he wouldn't collapse. They made it to the waiting room, where Giles was waiting with Buffy.

"We're going home," Spike said shortly. Giles looked at Xander, who was furious, and the doctor, who was apoplectic. After a moment, he nodded and preceded them down the hall. Buffy followed behind, ignoring the sputtering doctor.

Giles drove them home, grateful that it was late enough that Spike didn't need a blanket. "What do you need?" He asked Spike, assuming that the vampire would continue to care for Xander. After all, he'd been the one to talk to Xander's work and pay for the hospital care.

Xander tried to answer, but Spike ignored him. "Fluids, soft bland foods, refills on the medications. Some books to read."

Once Buffy and Giles had helped Spike situate him in the bed, they left to get supplies. "Can I have a bath?" Xander pleaded. "A real bath, not those nasty sponge things?"

Spike smiled. "After they get back, of course." He figured that Xander would fall asleep soon, but the bath could be arranged later. Sure enough, the boy dropped off, so Spike busied himself moving things around to make them more convenient for Xander. Now that Xander was asleep, Spike could let his worry show. He was frightened that he might lose Xander, before they'd even had much time together. He was nearly to the point of tears when Giles and Buffy returned, this time with Joyce. The ultimate Slayer mother had taken over the supply-getting, which resulted in a truly comprehensive collection of things that Spike had no idea how to use. He didn't say that, though, because he wanted everyone to leave. Yes, they were worried about Xander, but he.

"He'll be fine," Buffy told Spike when she noticed that he was clawing his palms bloody.

"How do you know that?" He snarled under his breath.

"Because I said so," Buffy replied calmly. She caught his eyes and smiled. "So he'll be fine."

Spike nodded but said nothing. He knew that Xander meant a lot to her, and to the others. He couldn't isolate him from that support, even if they occasionally abandoned him. "I'll call if anything changes."

"Yes, and we will be back here in the morning," Giles said as they stood in the doorway. Spike nodded and closed the door behind them.

"Are they gone?" Xander called from the bedroom. Spike followed his voice, grinning when he saw an unrepentant Xander looking at him. He'd known that Xander had woken up, but he hadn't let the others know that. Apparently Xander hadn't wanted company either. "You promised me a bath," He said petulantly, unable to repress a grin.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you felt better," Spike said as he helped Xander back out of his clothes.

"I do feel better. I told you that I hate hospitals," Xander replied. Spike went into the bathroom and warmed the shower. He stripped off his own clothes before carrying Xander to the bath.

"Don't fall asleep on me now," Spike admonished as he helped Xander bathe. The boy fairly hummed with pleasure when Spike lathered his hair, tickling his ears in the process. Of course Xander did fall asleep before they were finished, but Spike didn't mind. He just put the boy back in bed and tucked him in. The vampire spent a few minutes figuring out when Xander needed his next dose of medication and how to use the various things Joyce had provided for them. Half an hour later he joined Xander in bed. It was heaven to be that close to Xander again, where he could touch his skin. Spike pulled Xander to him, rolling onto his back. Xander moved around, moving himself until he was comfortable. Spike rubbed his back until the boy fell asleep again. The vampire stayed awake for a long time, listening to Xander sleep. It eased some of his fears, even if he was far too worried to actually sleep. He couldn't take the chance that something might happen to Xander while he wasn't watching.

���...�...�...�...���

Xander watched as Spike carried away a tray of empty glasses. He almost laughed at the vampire, but decided that maybe it wouldn't be a good idea. The boy wasn't sure who was more affected by his recent illness. Sure, he was tired and weak, and still felt like he got sent through a meat grinder. Spike, though, hadn't been himself either. Gone was the snarky, sarcastic vampire who snorted in derision and smoked whilst hanging out the window. This weird Spike smiled these gentle smiles and carried him to the bathroom with nary a comment. Xander was fairly sure that Spike wasn't sleeping much, since he was awake whenever Xander was, watching him. He didn't like being the source of such distress.

"Stop worrying." Spike was leaning against the doorframe, watching Xander frown.

"Only if you do too," Xander returned. He swore he saw dark circles under Spike's eyes, even though he knew that it wasn't really possible. Spike scowled and walked over to the side of the bed.

"I'm not sick," Spike murmured. He couldn't stand seeing his vibrant boy like this, all weak and wan. It made him want to kill something. Xander reached over for him and Spike sat down so that he didn't have to reach.

"You look like hell, and that makes me feel bad," Xander insisted.

"You're trying to make me feel guilty," Spike whined. "And it's working, damn it."

Xander sighed. "Look, yeah I feel bad, but I'm getting better. I actually got out of bed today, remember?"

"It only took three days after you got home to do it, too," Spike reminded him.

"I know, I know," Xander said. He hated missing work, hated being weak, hated seeing Spike look at him with pity and worry instead of hunger and lust. It didn't matter that right now Xander couldn't get it up if he wanted to; he hated feeling like a useless lump of flesh-that smelled bad. He'd seen Spike sniffing oddly now and then, like he smelled something sour.

"You need to-"

"Rest, I know," Xander growled. "I heard you talking to the doctor."

"Nothing new, no more painkillers, no more antibiotics, don't work for another week, go in for a check up in five days," Spike summarized as he got up to strip off his clothes. He hated sleeping at night, but it was best for Xander, so he endured.

"Don't you want to go out? Doesn't Buffy need help on patrol?" < Aren't you bored to tears sitting around here all day, watching me be sick? >

Spike shook his head. "Nothing interesting happening now and I don't want to go out."

"If you're sure," Xander murmured, not wanting to be the reason that Spike spent the night inside. He knew that the blonde would rather be beating something up, but there wasn't anything he could do or say; Spike had proven himself invulnerable to any type of persuasion.

*****