"How are you feeling, Angelus?" Xander asked worriedly as he locked the door of his apartment.

Spike arched his eyebrows at the human's tone. He had never heard Xander sound so loving and worried at the same time, not even with the ex-demon. It appeared that Xander truly cared for Angelus, confusing as that may be.

"Angry, anxious and aroused." Angelus replied honestly.

Xander smiled noticing the vampire had told the complete truth without hesitating, "Thank you for telling me. We'll do something about that later."

"Sit down, Spike. Angelus isn't going to bite." Xander said with a grin as he sprawled out on the sofa, reaching up to pull Angelus down next to him.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Angelus?" Spike drawled to the older vampire not commenting on the fact that Xander was running one hand up and down Angelus' arm. It was safer that way, even if he did want to rip off Angelus' arm and hit him with it.

Angelus smiled, "Alex told me what happened. I wanted to tell you that I consider you my childe and that I'll always be here for you."

"Whatever (!) Now tell me about my alternate." Spike said ignoring the glare from Xander at the hurt look on his sire's face.

Angelus smiled fondly, "Will came to Sunnydale when he heard I was with Lex. He was worried Lex would take advantage of me."

"What happened when Will met Lex?" Xander asked with a grin, knowing his alternate's first instinct would be to destroy anything that threatened his chosen.

Angelus shrugged, "He tried to kill Lex, and I stopped him. I think Will was a little shocked when I did, he didn't think I would do that to him."

"You mean Lex went to save Will after that?" Spike commented arching an eyebrow.

"We are *family*. I love both of them but Lex will always come first." Angelus said knowing the pair would understand.

Spike smirked, "Do they know that Lex is more important to you than Will?"

"Yeah, they understand. Will is with Faith so I don't have to worry about him being alone." Angelus said smiling widely.

"What about Dru?" Xander asked confused that she hadn't been mentioned.

Angelus said sadly, "She took a walk in the sun. She told Faith that the stars told her she had to die so that her family could be together and that Faith had to look after Will."

Xander said quickly realising a change of subject was needed, "How did Faith know Dru? In this dimension they know of each other but they aren't close."

Feeling like he had let his master down with his explanation Angelus said, "She is Dru's child. Dru found Faith after the stars told her to turn the Slayer. She makes a great vampire, and is very powerful."

"Thanks for explaining everything, Angelus. Anything you want Spike?" Xander said grinning.

"Why did you attack Slutty earlier? That's not like you, pet." Spike said confused as he had always felt Xander would never attack his friends.

Xander snarled, "No one is allowed to hurt what's mine! She broke the rules so I had to deal with her."

"You staying tonight, Spike?" Xander asked changing the subject.

Spike smirked, "If you want, pet."

"You can sleep on the couch." Xander said leaving the room to get the some bedding.

"Don't even try to take him from me!" Angelus snarled to his childe a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

Spike gasped out, "He's not yours. I'm just going to show him what I have to offer."

"He is mine as much as I am his." Angelus replied calmly letting go of the blonde when he heard Xander approaching.

*******

*Wishverse*

Lex sighed as he looked over at his childe who was angrily pacing around the room. His beloved had disappeared from the room, and no one had any idea how to get him back. All Will wanted was to go and destroy whoever had taken his sire. Lex wanted to kill whoever it was but right now that wouldn't help.

"Have you found anything yet?" Lex asked looking up at the blonde.

Tara looked up, "Yes, sire. He is in an alternate dimension."

"How did he get there?" Spike snarled in confusion and anger.

Tara said seriously, "I think there was some kind of spell on him." Smiling she continued, "You want me to get him for you, sire?"

"No. Faith and I will go, if he has been captured we might need her skills." Lex said with a small growl of anger.

"There may be some other spells on him. I will accompany you, Sire. If I may," Wesley said looking at the ground.

Lex nodded and started giving out orders, "Will and Tara are to stay here and look after everything. I need you to find out who put the spell on Lus. Do anything you want to them. Don't kill him, that's my job."

"Of course." Will said with a bloodthirsty smirk.

"Let's get going." Lex ordered.

Tara started creating a circle, the spell would simple transport them to the same plain as Puppy. She would have to take care not to accidentally send them to the wrong dimension. She waited for the three to enter the circle and started chanting, feeling the power course through her.

There was a flash and the three disappeared. The remaining occupants of the room simply smiled and started on their duties.

*******

Lex growled as he took in his surroundings, he was in Sunnydale Park. He knew immediately that he was in another dimension from the absence of the vampires and demons that were present in his own world.

Lex asked looking at his family, "Is everyone okay?"

"Five by five." Faith said with a smirk.

Wesley said quickly, "Yes. The hellmouth is closed, there must be a Slayer here."

"If she has hurt him, I will make her beg for death." Lex said growling at the idea of someone hurting his love.

Lex froze when familiar feeling flowed through his body, "The Slayer is coming. You two get out the way, I can deal with her."

"Are you sure we should leave you, Sire?" Wesley asked nervously.

Lex nodded, "Go to the white hats. If they have Lus, they will kill him. I'll meet you at the mansion in two hours."

Faith quickly pulled Wesley in the direction of the high school ready to find her grandsire and bring him home. She nodded respectfully at Lex as she left, knowing he was risking his life in the hope that they could save Puppy.

*******

Buffy said angrily, "Xander, I hope you are going to apologise! Why did you attack me over him? He should be dust."

Lex stayed silent figuring he should let the Slayer talk, figuring he might be able to find out something from her.

"I hope you've tied him up! Angel said if we don't stake him, Puppy will hurt you!" Buffy ranted oblivious to the growls from Lex.

"Where is Puppy?" Lex snarled grabbing the Slayer by her throat and squeezing.

Buffy gasped in horror, "You're a vampire! Don't worry we will do the soul restoration for you! I will save you, Xander!"

"My name is Lex, not Xander. Where is my mate?" Lex said throwing her across the park.

Buffy smiled seeing the chance to get rid of Puppy get everything back to normal. Standing she said sweetly, "If you let me live, I can take you to him. I just want you to take him back where he belongs."

"Fine but if you betray me, I will kill you." Lex said with a shrug. He would kill her once Lus was safe, no matter what she did.

*****
Part 5:

Lex allowed the Slayer to lead him to a small apartment block; he inhaled and immediately detected the scent of his mate and Will's alternate. Hidden from sight the vampire watched amused as the Slayer paced up and down before stopping at a door.

As she banged on Xander's front door Buffy shouted, "Open up, Xander! I need to talk to you!"

There was silence before a growling Xander opened the door, a sword in his hand. He looked at her expectantly, scenting the air he glared at Buffy as he realised just what he was detecting.

Xander froze saying, "I know you're here, Lex. You may as well show yourself."

Lex turned the corner and looked at his double with a smirk, noticing the Slayer looked shocked at the behaviour of his alternate.

"How did you know he was there, Xander?" Buffy shouted shrilly both worried and angry.

Xander silenced her with a look and spoke to his alternate, "I guess you are looking for Angelus. He's inside. If you even look at him wrong, I'll stake you."

Lex's judgement of his alternate changed, he was impressed that the man would treat him in such a way. He knew his alternate would know exactly what he was capable of. Maybe he should turn his alternate before leaving?

Knowing how hurt his mate had been before his disappearance Lex asked anxiously, "Is he okay?"

"He's healing, Buffy attacked him earlier." Xander answered opening the door for his double to enter.

Lex roared in outrage, "She WHAT?"

Xander smirked, "I've dealt with it. Come inside, Lex."

Lex walked inside, kicking the door shut. He waited to see what the situation was, knowing it wouldn't be safe to attack without knowing about the enemy. This Xander had said Lus was safe and that was all that mattered.

Angelus ran out intending on ensuring Xander was safe and gaped at the pair. Now that both Lex and Alex where here, how could he chose which one to be with? He loved both of them, and didn't want Alex to be lonely.

"Are you okay, Lus? I've been so worried about you!" Lus shouted as he tightly hugged his vampire. He growled when he realised that Angelus wasn't returning the embrace, breaking the hold he looked at the vampire.

"Who else has come here?" Angelus asked trying to delay the inevitable.

Lex narrowed his eyes recognising the tactic for what it was as he answered, "Faith and my new childe, Wesley. He's still a little clingy so I couldn't leave him behind."

"Slutty the Vampire Layer will bloody kill them!" Spike exclaimed walking into the room.

"Not if we go and save them." Xander countered, it would give his alternate and Angelus the chance to talk.

Knowing what his double was up to Lex grinned, "Thank you. Tell them you are there to retrieve them on behalf of Lex the Master of North America, they will listen to you then."

"Master of North America? You did good, pet!" Spike said admiringly.

"Thanks, Spike." Lex said seriously as the pair started to leave.

*******

"How are you?" Lex asked his mate once the others had left.

Fearing Lex's reaction Angelus answered, "Alex has been taking good care of me. I'm fine. How did you get here?"

"Tara did a spell and Wes is going to cast another spell so we can go home."

"I don't want to go back yet." Angel answered looking at the floor.

"Why not?" Lex questioned, thinking that if someone had taken his lover away from him, he would kill them.

Angelus shrugged, "I like it here. Can we stay for a couple of days? I want to make sure Alex is okay before I leave."

Lex grinned. "We'll have to find somewhere to stay. I'll talk to my alternate about it when they get back."

The pair fell into a comfortable silence too caught up in their thoughts to speak. They spent days without talking to each other; they didn't need to talk. A look was normally enough to convey their thoughts and feelings.

*******

Xander sighed knowing Buffy had followed them. He hadn't reacted simply because he wanted her to see that there was a whole family of vampires willing to destroy her if she hurt one of their members. He was sure Wes and Faith would want to kill Buffy after they found out what she had done to Angelus, vampire clans were close that way.

Xander whispered, "Stay close, Fangless. Buffy's not too happy with either of us at the moment."

"Nice to know you're worried about me, pet." Spike retorted with a grin, thinking that maybe Xander did have feelings for him.

Xander shrugged, "Who else would listen to me rant about Buffy?"

Buffy waited until they entered the mansion before leaving to tell Angel and Giles what she had found out. They would be *so* happy that she had managed to get rid of Puppy and that she had managed to find out where some vampires were hiding.

Silence descended as they entered the dark mansion, both immediately detecting the two vampires hiding. Xander always knew when a vampire was nearby; the scent of death clung to them.

Stopping Spike with a look Xander held his hands up in the air to show he wasn't armed as he said, "I've come to retrieve you on the behalf of Lex, Master of North America. I know you are here Faith and Wesley. Angelus or Lus is with us. He's safe with Lex now but the Slayer is on the rampage and I want you to come with us to safety. Lex and Lus are staying with us."

Faith walked out from the shadows one arm around Wesley, the four slowly assessed each other as they waited for someone to make the first move. Getting tired of the posturing Xander started to walk out with Spike at his side, leaving the others with no choice but to follow.

"Have you fed recently or do we need to go hunting?" Xander asked as they walked down the street.

'I like this human,' Faith thought with a grin as she answered, "We had a bite on the way here. Is Lus okay?"

Xander nodded, "He was injured when he first came here but the cuts have healed. It was only that bad because he hadn't fed for a couple of days."

"What is the Slayer like?" Wesley asked Spike, not wanting to talk to the human.

"Very gung-ho about killing vamps. She still slept with two of us though," Spike said with a shrug.

Xander commented, "Maybe she just has a thing for dead guys?"

"Sounds like an interesting girl." Faith observed before the four stopped at an apartment block.

Xander laughed, "That's one way to describe her."

Opening the door of his apartment Xander said, "I invite you inside, Faith and Wesley. We're home, everything okay?"

"Hi Alex." Angelus said hugging Xander with a wide grin, not noticing the murderous rage in Lex's face.

Xander broke the hold and placing his jacket on a coat hook he said, "Hi Angelus. Have you fed yet?"

Angelus shook his head, "No, I was about to heat some blood."

"I told you to drink to make sure the cuts heal properly. I guess you should heat enough for everyone." Xander said as he walked into the kitchen taking a raw bloody pigs heart and eating it calmly.

"Why are you eating that?" Angelus asked stirring the pan of blood heating on the stove.

"Oh my hyena likes to eat bleeding raw hearts. Actually its better if you can eat them fresh out of a corpse but I don't kill. My soul wouldn't let me, this will do."

Angelus nodded in understanding, "Don't you miss it? The thrill of the hunt? Chasing and catching your prey?"

"I hunt the vampires and demons who attack my Pack. I just kill them, not experiment on them like the Initiative."

Angelus nodded and asked the group of vampires watching them closely, "Anyone want some heated blood? We couldn't go hunting in case the Slayer found us. She's already out for my blood."

The vampires all shook their head while Lex voiced the question the alternate dimension vampires wanted answering, "Why is she trying to kill you?"

"The Angel in this world lost his soul and the Angelus that emerged was insane."

Xander smirked, "She thinks he is going to be like this version of Angelus and try to kill us all. She even said Angelus would kill me."

"She never has been clever, pet." Spike said with a laugh.

"What makes you say that?" Faith questioned confused at their reactions.

Xander explained with a grin, "He was going to *turn* me, not kill me. Apparently he thinks I'm capable of true evil, I took it as a complement."

Spike nodded, "He wanted to turn you because he's wanted you since he first saw you. He always said he was going to make you into one of us so that he could have a mate as cruel as him."

"Why are you not with this Angel then?" Wesley asked knowing how great Lus and Lex were together; he could have thought their alternates would be the same.

Xander shrugged, "He's so broody, it's annoying. He's always so serious and maudlin."

An idea forming in his mind Angelus answered, "Maybe he just needs the right person to make him see how great life can be."

*****
Part 6:

"What're you planning, babe?" Lex asked his lover with a grin as they watched Xander and Spike arguing about whether the Spiderman was better than Gambit.

Angelus smirked, "I thought we could get Alex and Angel together. I love you and you love me, who's to say they can't be as happy together as we are?"

Seeing the flaws in that logic Lex grinned, "Its not that easy and it looks like Spike has feelings for the human. He's not going to just let Angel steal the man he loves."

"We'll just have to make it work. I'll make a play for Alex and then Angel will act. Jealousy is a great motivator!" Angelus said seriously already formulating a plan.

Lex gave a dramatic sigh, "I'll resist tearing Xander to pieces then for even looking at you. Although if he thought Xander was in danger, Angel might be forced to reveal his feelings."

"Thank you. Do you think we should talk to the others about it?" Angelus asked as he looked at his lover.

Lex just nodded knowing his childer would find out anyway, and they could never resist the temptation to cause trouble. Maybe it would be fun? He knew the whole family deserved some downtime after the fiasco with Willow.

"What're you planning?" Xander asked seriously noticing the hushed talk.

Lex did his best to look harmless, "Just talking about the differences between this world and our own. I've noticed that people have the same personalities as in my world. The only difference is that the majority of people who are vampires in my world are alive here."

"You're not planning on changing that are you? Buffy'll be out for blood and I would like you to get home safely. At least one version of me will be happy that way."

"Not really. Aren't you worried that we're going to attack you while you sleep?" Lex said amused.

Xander shook his head, "No. I trust you. I haven't done anything to warrant you killing me, yet. I know only minions go around killing indiscriminately. If you try to kill me, I will fight back."

"I wouldn't expect any different." Lex said with a smirk.

There was a loud knock on the door causing Xander to roll his eyes in annoyance. Who was it now? Whenever he had the chance to relax there always seemed to be some sort of chaos and he was tired of it. Surely the others could handle everything once in a while.

When Xander opened the door Angel said, "Hi Xander. Can I come in and talk to you?"

"No. You've already upset me by trying to kill people I care about and totally ignoring Spike."

"Please. It important." Angel said desperately.

Xander sighed, "Fine. Come in but don't even think about attacking anyone."

Angel followed the human into the house stopping in shock as he took in the fact that five vampires were sitting in Xander's lounge talking. He was amazed Xander was still alive was this an hallucination?

"What is he doing here, Alex?" Angelus asked pasting himself to Xander.

Looking at Lex to make sure his vampire counterpart wasn't about to freak Xander answered, "He said there's something he needs to tell me. Probably about how dangerous you are."

"Actually I need to talk to you in private." Angel said quickly wanting to get his alternate away from his Xander. He was shocked to see that Lex hadn't attacked, the behaviour was certainly strange for a vampire.

"I don't think so Peaches." Spike said angrily.

"Chill. We're going for a walk. If I'm not back in forty minutes track Angel down and kill him."

"With pleasure, Pet." Spike said with a smirk as the two walked out the apartment. He waited for five minutes before grabbing his duster intending on following them.

"That won't work. He'll sense you before you get anywhere near them. You should just wait here with us."

"Wait? While Xander is with my poof of a sire?" Spike shouted in outrage.

"Yeah. I'll go and make sure he's okay." Angelus said with a smile.

"That's a good idea." Lex said with a nod seconds before his mate left the house.

*******

As they walked through Sunnydale park Xander asked curious, "So what do you want to talk to me about? In case you haven't realised we've never been close Deadboy."

"I know. I just wanted to make sure you are handling everything okay. It's a lot to take in."

"Since when have you cared about me? In case you've forgotten you've always hated me."

"I don't hate you." Angel said quickly unable to believe Xander still felt that way.

Xander said wryly, "What would you call it? You always ignored me or treated me like I was worthless."

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure you don't let your guard down with Puppy. He's still a killer."

Xander said with a small grin, "So are you. We're all killers. He won't hurt me. Neither will any of the others."

"Why are you letting them stay with you? They're still soulless vampires."

"I know but you don't need a soul to be capable of caring and loyalty. Just look at Spike."

"Yeah. Are we ever going to talk about what happened after I lost my soul?"

"Not much to talk about. I took it as a complement, that he was interested in me."

Angel shook his head at Xander's naivet�, "He wanted to turn you. That isn't a complement."

Xander countered, "It is because he wanted to make me his childe. You know how rare that was."

"You're not involved with Puppy are you? It's just Lex might not be too happy with it."

Xander laughed at the understatement, "I'm not really involved with him. Lex wouldn't come after me. He's promised not to although he's thinking of turning me. In his place I would probably do the same."

"You don't realise how fucking stupid this is! Get them as far away from you as you can." Angel shouted as he shook Xander trying to make the man understand.

There was a loud growl as Angelus appeared gripping a stake in one hand. The vampire quickly approached his counterpart looking angry and bloodthirsty. Xander stepped in front of Angel, figuring he should at least find out why Lus was ready to kill.

With a smile Xander said, "What's up, Angelus?"

Angelus said calmly, "I thought you might need some backup. He doesn't appear to be treating you very well. He shouldn't have grabbed you, I'm going to kill him for it."

"I was just trying to make him understand." Angel protested weakly.

"You can't kill him, he's needed here. I'll come back with you, what did the others say about you following me?"

Angelus shrugged, "Spike wanted to come but we decided he should stay in case there were any more of those soldiers about."

"Thank you for looking out for him. Lets get back, Spike's going to be restless by now."

Angelus said with a smile, "Yeah. I'll join you in a second, Alex."

Xander nodded and started walking towards his home slowly grinning when he imagined the look on Angel's face when his doppelganger started stacking. He knew Angelus was protective of him and that the vampire was attracted to him. The problem was Xander didn't know if the vampire was truly attracted to him or his counterpart. He wasn't going to deny he was attracted to the vampire but he wasn't going to let himself be hurt because of some unrequited love. He wouldn't let himself be used again.

*******

Angelus snarled at his counterpart, "Don't *ever* touch Alex like that again! If you ever hurt him, I will make you pay!"

"Don't call him that! His name is Xander. Since when have you cared about him? I thought you'd be happy now that your Lex is here?"

Angelus laughed lowly, "It doesn't concern you. Alex is very special to me. So special I am going to ask him to come back to my dimension with me."

"NO! He would be killed there and he belongs here!" Angel said both angry and afraid at the possibility of losing the mortal.

"He would be one of the most respected people on my world. Why would he stay here? Here he is unloved and treated like shit!"

"He isn't! We look after him. He's happy here!"

"You know I really think you believe that (!)" Angelus said pityingly as he looked at his counterpart. How could the vampire be so clueless?

"Even if you take him with you won't your Lex kill him?"

"No. He likes Alex. I'm going back in two days and taking him with me."

"Not if I can convince him otherwise." Angel said angrily as he walked in the direction of Xander's house.

Angelus watched the vampire go with a grin. It was going to be interesting watching the inevitable fall out, now he could go home sure Alex would be happy. Spike and Angel obviously had feelings for the mortal so there would be someone there for him.

Angel wondered just what he was going to say when he found Xander. How could he explain he had always been attracted to the mortal but hadn't pursued the relationship for fear of Xander getting injured? The answer was simple, he couldn't.

There was no proof Xander would even return his feelings although the pain in Xander's voice when he spoke about Angel hating him showed the mortal had some feelings towards him. With that in mind he headed back to the hotel, to practice everything first. He didn't want to mess up possibly the only chance he was ever going to have with Xander.

*******

"I'm back." Xander said with a smile as he opened the front door.

"Hey Pet. Did you have a nice little talk with my Sire?"

"Yeah. He said I'm an idiot for letting everyone stay. He seems to think you're all going to torture me or something."

Spike smirked, "I'm honoured. Did your Angelus find you?"

"Yeah. He's dealing with Angel." Xander said as he sat down wondering where all the others were hiding out.

Spike said worried, "Why? That poof didn't hurt you, did he?"

Xander grinned, "Nah. He was just trying to convince me to believe him, he seems to think I'm incapable of thinking for myself."

Spike said determined, "I'll take care of it, Pet. The chip only stops me hurting humans so I can deal with him."

"Don't worry about it, Angelus is sorting it. I like Angelus, he's a lot more relaxed than Angel."

Spike stilled for a moment to get his thoughts in order before saying, "It's because Angel broods too much. He's too focused on trying to atone that he forgets the good things that make existence worthwhile."

Xander mused, "Maybe someone needs to remind him. If it wasn't for all the brooding, he would be very attractive."

At Spike's look of shock he continued, "Don't even try to pretend you don't know I'm gay. You knew I was into guys from the minute you walked into this place after spending that weekend with Lindsey."

"Enhanced senses make it impossible to hide anything like that." Spike said with a shrug knowing the man had figured that out years ago.

Still caught up in the memory of his and Lindsey's time together Xander said with a smile, "Are the others in the spare rooms?"

"Yeah. How come you've got two spare rooms, Pet? I didn't think you made so much money."

Xander shrugged as he passed Spike the bedding, "Good properties are always available for very good prices in Sunnyhell. One of the few benefits of living on the Hellmouth. You can sleep on the couch, it folds out into a sofa-bed."

"Night, Pet." Spike said as the human walked into his bedroom leaving Spike alone to contemplate how he was going to make Xander his.

*****