"Come on!" Xander shouted from the kitchen. "We're gonna be late!"

Wesley smirked. "I seriously doubt we can be late to something that is open all day, Xander."

The Raphe grinned. "But I want to get there as soon as it opens. Cordy!" He yelled. "You look perfect, great, and generally wonderful! Get out here!"

Five minutes later, Cordelia exited her and Gunn's bedroom. "Xander, when was the last time you successfully rushed me?"

Xander thought for a moment. "Er."

"Exactly. Now, if you're still serious about this little torture-excursion, let's go," She replied. Fred, Gunn and Oz joined them from the computer room and the six investigators left, with Xander calling out one last farewell to Wil and Angel.

"See ya later, guys. We'll pick up a t-shirt!"

���...�...�...�...���

"They're gone?" Angel murmured from under the covers.

Wil stared at the door. "I think so. I heard the front door lock."

The dark vampire sighed unnecessarily. "How did Xander convince them to go to the Children's Museum?"

Wil shrugged. "I'd go with extortion."

"Pessimist. Maybe they actually wanted to go," Angel commented.

"Fred? Of course, which means Wes would tag along. Oz would go just because Xander wanted to. Gunn and Cordelia? Explain that one," Wil remarked. "Hells, you and I are more likely to want to go than they are."

Angel shook his head. "I do wish we could go, but it's only open in the daytime. Too many windows. And I think that maybe Cordelia was the most excited about the trip."

Wil looked skeptical. "What on earth gave you that idea?"

Angel sat up, pushing the covers back. "You haven't been her as much as I have lately, Wil. She's."

"She's what?" Wil pressed.

The brunette struggled to find a good way to word it. "She's a healthy, female werewolf with a mate. What do you think?"

Wil's eyes widened comically. "You. you think Cordelia is getting maternal?" He squeaked. He couldn't picture her as a moth-actually, now that he thought about it, he could definitely see it. "How did I miss that? Yes, I've been busy, but not that busy."

"Yes, but you haven't been the one going out with her to the grocery. She stares at babies," Angel murmured. "Fred too, but not as much."

Wil slumped down on the bed. "Gods, that makes me feel horrible. And old."

Angel looked over at Wil curiously. "Why?"

"Why horrible, or why old?"

"Both," Angel replied.

Wil fiddled with the sheets. "Horrible because we're in no position to accommodate children, and I can't help but."

Angel growled. "Wil, we've discussed this before. This is not your fault. None of it is." The blonde was getting better, but he still went through periods of depression and angst over their difficult lives.

"Maybe," Wil hedged. "Regardless of blame, it still makes me feel bad."

"I know," Angel agreed. He'd like nothing more than to see Cordelia with a family, but now was the worst possible time for it. "And what about the other?"

"Other?" Wil murmured. "Oh, the old?" He fidgeted some more. "I'm older than all of them, and I don't have any children-never have, of any kind."

Angel heard what Wil didn't say-that he would have loved to have had children of his own. Unfortunately he'd been turned before he'd ever married and had human children, and hadn't turned any childer before getting chipped and ensouled. Now Wil wouldn't turn anyone, which pretty much ruled out having offspring, even of the demonic sort. "I'm sorry for that," Angel said after a few minutes.

"What is it like?" Wil asked softly.

"Having children?" Angel asked. "They're the most glorious suffering in the world." That was his conclusion, after having sired several childer and living through Connor's birth and death. "And I wouldn't trade the experience for anything."

"Oh," Wil whispered. He didn't press the issue further. "We should get some sleep."

Angel nodded. "You're right. I'll go turn off the lights Xander left on." The dark vampire rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of sleep pants before heading upstairs. As he was walking across the room, something brushed against his hair. He stopped when he felt the sensation. There was nothing in the unfinished basement ceiling low enough to hit him in the head.

When Angel looked up, he found the source of his confusion. One of the insulated, soft sided air conditioning shafts was drooping down into the room. He studied it curiously, wondering why it had fallen down from the ceiling proper. He and Wil had anchored them up when they'd first moved down into the basement, so he hadn't given them much thought after that. "Wil?"

"Yeah?" Wil answered groggily from the bed.

"Did you mess with these things?" Angel said pointing to the metallic tubing.

"What things?" Wil inquired, peering over the bedclothes. "No, I haven't touched them," He replied when he saw what Angel was pointing to. "Why is it down like that?"

"I don't know," Angel said. He reached up to poke the thing out of the way, only to find considerably more resistance than he'd expected. The tube felt heavy and.swollen? "Wil, could you come look at this?"

Wil grumbled and got out of bed. "What now?" He strode over to where Angel was and reached for the tube. "Bloody hell, what is that?" He squeezed the tube experimentally. "Angel, it's full of water."

"Water?" Angel murmured. "How the hell did it get full of water?"

Wil followed the tube from where it split from the main shaft to where it disappeared into the ceiling. "This one goes to the bathroom."

Angel groaned. "Please tell me the bathroom's not flooded."

"The bathroom's not flooded," Wil said. "The air conditioning shaft is flooded." He blonde looked around the basement. He spotted their laundry hamper and went to retrieve it, grabbing a knife on the way back. When Angel gave him a speculative glance, Wil explained. "We have to drain out the water, or the thing's going to fall apart. The insulation in it isn't made for holding water."

Wil positioned the plastic bucket under the tube and used the knife to split the material. A heavy stream of straw-colored liquid poured out, splashing down into the hamper and dowsing both Wil and Angel in the process. "Angel," Wil began, "Would you go upstairs and fetch the garbage can?"

"Why?" Angel asked, staring up at the ceiling.

"Because this hamper is almost full and if you don't, the basement is going to flood."

Angel immediately ran for the stairs. He was back with the kitchen garbage can, sans garbage, in seconds. He held the can under the flow of water while Wil moved the now-full hamper out of the way. "We're gonna need another container," He muttered, noting that the water flow hadn't slowed.

"Ok," Angel said, turning towards the stairs once again.

"And maybe you should turn the water off to the bathroom," Wil suggested. "It might help."

Angel nodded and went upstairs. First, he entered the bathroom. Sure enough, the floor was covered in an inch or so of water-not really that bad. Unfortunately the reason why there wasn't more water on the floor was because it was all pouring through the floor-mounted air vents. A cursory glance showed Angel that the water was pouring out of a hole in the wall, right between the toilet and the shower. There was no way to shut off the water from here. He left the bathroom and fetched a couple of five-gallon buckets from the pantry before returning to the basement. When he got there he found Wil catching water in their rather small trash basket, looking quite worried.

"Hand me the buckets," Wil ordered. "Didn't you shut off the water?"

"Can't. A pipe broke in the wall. I'll have to go outside," Angel muttered.

"Daylight," Wil warned. Angel grimaced and pulled on a shirt and some shoes. "Take Xander's raincoat."

Angel went back upstairs again, this time fetching Xander's lemon yellow rubber raincoat from the hall closet. It was better than a blanket, covering everything from head to toe in thick yellow material. The dark vampire also picked up a pair of gloves before going out the kitchen door. Once outside he didn't waste any time in finding the correct valve and shutting off the water.

By the time Angel returned to the basement, Wil had started hauling water upstairs, dumping it into the kitchen sink. The flow of water through the air conditioning shaft had slowed to a trickle, so Angel helped Wil dispose of the waste water. It didn't take very long, between the two of them.

"I suppose we should call a plumber," Wil remarked as he and Angel studied the damaged wall and pipes in the bathroom. "We can't fix this."

"I'll call the landlord first. We didn't cause this break," Angel replied. He sighed tiredly. So much for spending a quiet day alone in the house with Wil.

Will mopped up the bathroom while Angel called the landlord. He could tell from the tone of Angel's voice that the discussion wasn't going very well. The look on Angel's face when he stormed into the bathroom confirmed it. "I take it he was not amenable to paying for the repairs?"

"No," Angel grated. "Actually, he threatened to evict us for property damage. Said that he'd forgive us, if we fixed it ourselves and didn't mention it again."

Wil swore. "And how are we supposed to do that? I don't recall any of us putting 'plumber' down as a skill we'd picked up through the years."

"Me either," Angel muttered. "But there isn't much we can do about it now." As long as the sun was up, they were very limited in terms of mobility. Besides, the others had both cars.

"We should get some rest," Wil said. "There's no reason to ruin the others' day over this. We'll tell them when they get back."

Angel nodded and let Wil lead him back to the basement. Their room smelled damp and held the odor of wet insulation, but it wasn't so bad they couldn't stand it. Wil started a fan to circulate the air and climbed into bed with Angel. The dark vampire pulled Wil close, wrapping around the blonde like a second skin. The last thing he heard was Wil cursing the fickle gods of water pipes and promising retribution.

���...�...�...�...���

"We have so got to do that again!" Xander said as he bounced out of the car, pulling Oz along with him. Cordelia smiled indulgently at the hyper young man. The six friends had spent the entire day at the Children's museum, letting Xander drag them from exhibit to exhibit. Actually, they had all had a great time, even Cordelia. She didn't say anything, of course, but it had been fun.

"I suppose we could," Wesley replied sedately as he got out of the other car. "Although not right away." He'd liked the place well enough, but having all those children crowded around him made the faun a bit uncomfortable, particularly when some of them took an interest in his hat. He really didn't want to have to explain his horns to a bunch of screaming midgets.

"I just wish Angel and Wil could go," Xander commented sadly. "They'd love it, I'm sure."

Oz smirked and held out a brochure. Gunn took it before Xander could. "What's this?" He asked, reading the front. "A benefit concert?"

"It's at night," Oz said quietly. "Well after dark."

"And no one would think twice about a bunch of adults playing around the exhibits," Wesley said brightly. He quite liked that possibility.

"When is it?" Fred asked.

"Not for a few months," Gunn replied. "Come on, we should get inside."

The others nodded and followed Gunn into the house. None of them were fond of being out in their neighborhood in the evening. When they got inside, they found Angel studying the phone book while heating up blood. "Oh, good. You're back," He muttered, glancing up from the yellow pages.

"And you seem so happy to see us," Cordelia commented.

"Was the museum nice?" Angel asked as he set the phone book aside and retrieve his and Wil's dinner.

"It was the best! And we've got great news for you and Wil," Xander babbled excitedly.

"Maybe it will offset the bad news we've got for you," Angel retorted.

"Bad news?" Fred asked. "As in 'someone's trying to kill you'?"

Angel shook his head. "No, more of the 'a water pipe broke in the bathroom wall and almost flooded the basement, and the landlord won't pay to fix it, so we have to do it ourselves,' bad news."

"Oh, shit," Xander muttered.

"Actually, no," Angel said. "We had to cut the water off to the entire house."

"What?" Gunn squeaked. "You mean there's no water at all?"

"Not a drop," Angel confirmed. "Wil's online now, trying to figure out the mechanics of fixing this mess."

Xander nodded and headed for the bathroom, Fred following behind. "It shouldn't be too bad, really. Just a matter of replacing the damaged pipes, then plastering over the hole in the wall." Angel gaped for a moment before smacking his head. Why hadn't he remembered Xander's experience in construction? It figured that the young man would remember a thing or two about this kind of stuff. Fred, too, knew something about plumbing, from her college prank days.

The dark vampire ignored Cordelia's scathing comments about just about everything and followed Xander into the bathroom. "So?"

Xander peered into the sodden wall. "Eargh. This is a mess-I think the pipes are the original ones. They've got to be a hundred years old."

"Um." Angel hummed worriedly. "That's bad."

"Yup," Xander confirmed. "And the wall's got lots of water damage. Lemme guess, the landlord blamed us?"

Angel nodded. "Yup. Threatened to evict us."

"We don't have the time or money to find a new place, do we?"

"We can't afford to break the lease," Angel confirmed. "So it's fix it, or live without water."

Xander frowned. "We can fix it, it just won't be as easy as I'd first thought." He studied the mess for a few more minutes before leaving to find Wil. The blonde could help him track down the best suppliers in town for what they'd need.

Cordelia eventually wound down and went to find those who were in charge of fixing this mess. "So, when's it gonna be fixed?" She demanded, staring down at Xander.

"Tomorrow night, if we're lucky. If we're not lucky, it could take a week," Xander replied. Cordelia almost fainted.

"A week without water? Without baths?" She screeched.

Xander shook his head. "Nah. We can try to cap off the pipes in the basement tonight. That way the other bathroom will still work. But it will take a few days to fix this problem." Cordelia nodded, somewhat appeased. Sharing only one bathroom between the eight of them wouldn't be fun, but it was better than no bathroom at all.

Xander left with Fred a few minutes after that to procure a few necessities, namely a spanner or two and some plumbing supplies. When they got back the Raphe went down into the basement and located the pipes running to the bathroom. They didn't have shutoff valves on them, so he disconnected them and capped them off. Once he was done, Angel went back outside and turned the water back on so that at least some of their amenities returned.

Fred took advantage of the renewed water by cooking a very late dinner for everyone. They lounged around the table, consuming some sort of stir fry and grumbling about household maintenance.

"So, Angel," Cordelia began, "Where in the saving-the-world-from-insurmountable-evil handbook does it explain how to repair broken water pipes?"

Angel frowned. "I think that's the chapter immediately following the one on 'how to alter sprinkler systems to distribute holy water into a vampire-infested dance club."

"Ah, silly me. I knew I should've read the whole book and not just the Cliff's Notes," She replied.

"A lesson I would have thought you'd learned in high school," Wesley murmured. "Particularly after your less than stellar performance in English class."

Cordelia scowled. "Hey, no exhuming of old embarrassments, Mr. Lusts-after-students!"

"Children," Wil growled warningly. He was really not in the mood for another Cordelia-enhanced catfight.

Xander grinned. "You know, you sound just like a parent when you do that."

*****
Part 66:

Xander took a deep, ragged breath and pushed himself harder. Snow squeaked under his boots and he slid a bit to one side. A quick jerk to the right him before he could fall and he ducked around a few trees. Behind him, too close for his comfort, was the sound of someone else, following him through the woods in the early morning darkness.

The Raphe swore softly and abruptly changed direction, heading for the main path. His pursuer wouldn't be expecting that, and his tracks would get lost among the skiing and snowshoeing trail. As soon as he found the path, Xander began to double back towards his starting point. About five hundred yards along, he swerved closer to the river, running in the dead brush that piled along the banks. He crouched behind a bramble and listened carefully. There was no sign of his opponent.

An evil grin split his face. For the first time ever, he'd lost Oz in a game of chase. Were he not several miles down the Wapahani trail, he'd do a victory dance. Instead, he was going to try something he'd wanted to do for some time now. He was going to hunt Oz. With that thought in mind, Xander ran across the path and re entered the woods beyond.

Actually, there was a sort of logic behind Xander's change of course. Ever since they'd found out what he was, the seer's training had centered on him making the most of a Raphe's abilities to flee. He ran away, fighting only when cornered. When he did fight, he fought to escape, not to defeat. While he very much appreciated honing his natural abilities, he figured it was high time for him to learn how the other half worked. Xander thought that being able to act as both prey and predator would give him an advantage.

He quickly found Oz's footprints in the snow. The werewolf was concentrating on tracking Xander, not on making a stealthy journey through the wooded area. The Raphe sped along the trail, eagerly anticipating Oz's reaction. He didn't have to wait long; Xander spotted Oz a few yards ahead of him, crouched on the ground. The werewolf was trying to figure out where Xander had gone to. The Raphe honestly felt for the werewolf; Xander had used the surrounding trees as launching pads, muddying up his trail.

"You lose," Xander announced, sending Oz jumping straight up into the air. The werewolf spun around, his face a picture of shock.

"Hi," Oz said quietly.

Xander grinned. "Betcha didn't think you'd find me back here, huh?"

Oz shook his head and approached the Raphe. "Nope. You double back and follow me?"

"Yeah. It was a little too easy, actually. You should work on that."

"I know," Ox said ruefully. "It'll get me killed." Xander frowned.

"No talk of death, Dogboy," The Raphe commanded. "Besides, don't I get a prize for capturing the bad guy?"

Oz quirked one eyebrow. "Sure." He leapt on Xander, knocking him to the ground. The two men rolled through the snow, ignoring the pokes and prods of branches partially concealed by the heavy snowfall. Xander didn't stop squirming until Oz insinuated a warm hand under his clothing, seeking out straining flesh.

Xander returned the favor, letting Oz lay on top of him as they slowly jerked each other off, kissing idly. The seeping cold of dry snow contrasted exquisitely with the heat of his werewolf's hands and mouth, making Xander wish they were somewhere where they could strip down. However, while they probably should stay bundled up outside as they were, that didn't mean Xander couldn't have a little fun.

With barely a thought Xander let his control slide, allowing his natural markings to surface. Oz's eyes widened at the sight of dark stripes and speckles gracing the Raphe's exposed face. His hands tightened convulsively, making Xander groan. The two of them had had a lot of fun together once they realized just how sensitive Xander's skin was in its natural state. Oz took advantage of that now, tracing the dark markings over his lover's cold cheeks with a warm, wet tongue. It was more than enough for the Raphe, who convulsed against the werewolf. Only the presence of Oz's mouth on his kept the Raphe from screaming when he came, although the muffled shout could probably be heard on the other side of the river.

"We need to get back," Oz said a few minutes later, still breathless from his own climax. "You have to work."

Xander grimaced. Waffle House called again. "I swear, the next town we live in, I am so not working."

Oz shrugged. "At least not in food service. You always smell like hash browns and eggs."

"Breakfast, you mean," Xander snarled.

Oz tilted his head to one side. "Nah, I prefer yogurt and bananas."

Xander rolled his eyes and stood up, reaching down for the werewolf. "Race you back to the car?" Oz smiled and nodded. They took off at a dead run, the Raphe easily pulling away. It wasn't really a contest, but they liked to play anyway. The run back to the car was exhilarating; frigid air burned in Xander's lungs as he flew through the snow. It was mornings like this that made him almost not regret everything that had happened over the past years. Almost, anyway. As much as he liked the snow, he'd rather be warm year-round. And warm meant California, the one place they couldn't go to anymore.

Oz caught up to Xander at the car, where the Raphe had already regained his breath and composure. "Doughnuts?" Xander asked hopefully as Oz handed over the keys.

"They'll kill us," Oz warned. Xander was officially forbidden from ever stopping in a store that sold doughnuts, due to his propensity for buying them in bulk.

"Nah," Xander promised as he drove them home. "They'd love a box of chocolate cake glazed doughnuts right about now."

"Did you bring any cash?"

"Fuck," Xander swore.

"No doughnuts then," Oz replied. "Sorry."

"Yeah, I can tell you're all broke up about it."

"Sorry."

"Be quiet."

"Sorry."

"Stop that!"

"Sorry."

"Oz."

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

���...�...�...�...���

Cordelia groaned and reluctantly got out of bed. She hated mornings with a passion, and this one was no different from all the others. She worked for and with vampires; why couldn't she get up when they did, instead of when they went to bed? Silently cursing Angel and his blonde bed-bunny, the seer ambled into the kitchen, hoping that someone else had gotten up to make coffee.

No one was in the kitchen, but a fresh pot of java stood waiting anyway. She poured a cup and took it into the living room. A glance out the window told her that someone had taken the other car. probably Xander and Oz. They liked playing in the snow. As long as Wil got off work on time and brought Gunn and the other car back with him, all would be well. Cordelia had errands to run that day and she sure as hell wasn't walking in this cold weather.

Since there was nothing better to do, and she didn't want to start working before the sun even rose, she picked up the remote controller and flipped through the channels. They'd broken down over Thanksgiving and ordered cable, appeasing Xander and Gunn's television needs. Cordelia didn't mind a bit, especially since now she got to watch the soaps she was hooked on.

But it was too early for soap operas, so the young woman was left with cheesy movies, infomercials and early-morning news shows. The Lifetime channel was showing yet another stupid movie about troubled children and their well-meaning parents. The werewolf quickly changed the channel, not wanting to watch that at all. The more she dwelled on kids, the worse her cravings got. Yeah, it was utterly ridiculous-hello, werewolf seer-for her to have biological clock problems, but she did. It made no sense; it wasn't like she was getting older or anything. But that didn't make it go away. She wanted a kid. If she was just your average werewolf, with a nine-to-five (except for three days a month) job, she wouldn't think twice about dragging Gunn down to the courthouse and then tying him to the bed and working on some babies.

That wasn't her situation, so the other stuff would have to wait. She didn't talk about it with the others, not really, and especially not Gunn, but she knew they knew. Hells, she stared at baby clothes and cooed at infants and made a fool of herself at the Children's Museum. Life sucked eggs sometimes.

Shaking herself out of her funk, Cordelia changed channels again, this time to a news station. The story on air instantly caught her attention. "What the fuck?" She turned the volume up high, just to make sure she didn't miss anything.

That action woke up Wesley and Fred, who tumbled down the stairs. "Cordelia, some people actually desire sleep," Wesley muttered as he glared blearily at the young woman.

"Hush and watch this," Cordelia ordered, pointing at the screen.

Wesley's eyes narrowed, but he turned towards the screen. "My word. Fred, come over here."

Fred joined the others and was quickly entranced. "Whoa." She sat next to Wesley and Cordelia on the couch, eager to hear more.

That was how Angel found them when he came upstairs, annoyed by the television's noise. One look told him they weren't paying a damned bit of attention to him, so he turned to the television as well. "When did this happen?" He asked as he sank to the floor.

"Last night," Cordelia murmured. "They did a raid."

"How many?" Angel asked pensively.

"Over a hundred different offices. They've arrested ten so far, and they think they may pick up as many as twenty-three more today," Fred replied. "No one has ever seen anything like it. Ever."

Angel silently agreed. If he hadn't been watching it on television, he too wouldn't have believed it. The government had raided the private offices of several states' Senators and Representatives, seizing evidence in a huge, multi-agency sting. The arrest numbers looked to climb above fifty, all of them on charges of bribery, extortion, insider trading, and numerous violations of federal regulations.

���...�...�...�...���

Gunn was waiting on the sidewalk when Wil pulled in to the convenience store. "Did you hear about it?" The werewolf asked as he got in the car.

"Yeah," Wil murmured as he pulled away. "Unbelievable."

"You think any of that stuff we did, you know."

Wil glanced at the other man. "Had an influence on this? I can't see how it wouldn't. You heard the names, Gunn. There's no way it's coincidence."

Gunn sighed. "You're right. I just wasn't expecting this kind of thing."

"None of us were. We aren't perfect, you know. This raid has been in the works for some time, and it had to be well-hidden, or something would've been done to stop it."

"That's for sure. So I guess we're gonna spend the whole day glue to the television, huh?" Gunn asked wearily.

"I hope not; I could use a good day's sleep," Wil muttered. Not that it would be very good; even if the others let him go to bed, Angel would stay up to listen to the reports. That meant no. oh well, it didn't matter anyway. Work was work.

The pair turned onto their street right behind Oz and Xander. "They went to the park again, didn't they?" Gunn muttered. "You know, they could take Fred, Cordy and I. We need the exercise as much as they do."

Wil smirked. "Are you sure about that?"

Gunn caught the innuendo and squirmed. "Just exercise, Blondie. We don't roam enough."

Wil nodded sagely. All that open space was very tempting for the werewolves, just as urban streets were for vampires. "Ask them sometime. Maybe they'll surprise you."

"I might do that," Gunn said after a moment. "So. how's Angel?" He hadn't really seen the dark vampire much lately, due to their differing schedules.

"The same," Wil replied. "Broody bastard."

"Uh huh," Gunn murmured. "Better than hormonal girl."

Wil grinned. "She'll settle down."

"Yeah, when she's got kids hanging off her arms," Gunn shot back. He groaned and rubbed his hands over his face. "Not that I don't want them or anything. Hells, I'd give anything to."

"But not now," Wil whispered sadly. "I know it hurts."

"Do you?" Gunn snapped. He saw the pained look on Wil's face and instantly regretted his impulsive anger. "Sorry, man. I."

"It's nothing," Wil said firmly. "And we're nearly home."

���...�...�...�...���

Xander waved at Wil and Gunn as they got out of the car. "How was work?" The Raphe asked as he bounded up the stairs.

Wil and Gunn shared a look. It was very obvious that Xander had no idea what was going on. "Boring as usual," Wil answered. "Don't you have to work today?"

"Yeah," Xander muttered as he opened the door. "Hey, you guys are up early," He commented when he saw the group hovering in front of the television. "What gives?"

"Shh," Cordelia hissed. "They're announcing the newest arrests."

Wil and Gunn hurried over to join the group. "Did they get the one from Ohio?"

"Yeah, just a few minutes ago," Fred answered.

"Um. Could someone explain-" Xander started, only to be cut off by Cordelia.

"Hush!"

Xander glared at the other seer. "Fine. I'm getting ready for work." He stomped off towards the bathroom. Oz watched him walk away before returning to the television. He too found himself enthralled by the reports of massive arrests and seizures, of greedy and corrupt politicians with ties to all sorts of unsavory activities. It was more than they could have ever hoped for.

The Raphe was almost finished dressing in his hated uniform when Oz showed up in their bedroom. "The arrested a bunch of Senators," The werewolf said softly.

Xander's head whipped up. "Huh?"

"Some big sting. They're going after lots of people. That's what the gang's watching."

Xander's eyes got very wide. "Like the ones we're after?"

Oz nodded and sat down on the bed. "You'll be hearing about it all day, I'm sure."

"Yeah," Xander muttered. "Sorry about earlier."

"She was being rude," Oz apologized. Cordelia was a lovely person, but sometimes a bit snippy.

"Well, I'd better get going. See you later," Xander said, pressing a kiss on Oz's forehead. He grabbed his coat and left the room for work.

*****
Part 67:

"It's cold."

Angel frowned slightly and rolled over.

"And dark."

The older vampire sighed. "You're a vampire, Wil; cold doesn't bother you and you can see very well in the dark."

Wil flopped over on his back, letting one chilled arm strike against Angel's side. "I still feel cold, and it's still dark. And if it's bothering me, think of how the others feel."

That statement garnered another long-suffering sigh from the brunette. The power had been out for more than a day now, ever since the worst Arctic blast in a century had swept through town. For Angel and Wil, the inconvenience was minimal. Actually, the only thing that bothered them was that they were trapped in Indianapolis. The group was supposed to be moving to another city that weekend. Instead, they were stuck, literally, in the house, with no electricity-and no heat. The breathing, have-a-body-temperature contingent of their group was upstairs, huddled around a single fireplace in the kitchen. Angel and Wil stayed in the basement, ostensibly because they didn't need the warmth, but mostly because the small kitchen was pretty crowded with six people in it.

"Angel." Wil whined. Well, it was dark and cold, even if he wasn't supposed to care about such things.

Angel turned over so that he was facing the blonde. He knew that Wil's petulant antics were just a cover. The blonde was anxious because of their weather-induced delay. They'd been in Indianapolis three years now, and all of them knew their welcome was at an end. A house full of demons and werewolves couldn't stay anonymous forever, and even their best efforts at hiding couldn't prevent savvy computer experts from figuring out that an interesting number of tips and expos�s originated in a plain Midwestern town. It was time to move on. That decision made, they were all antsy and ready to get on with it.

Besides, with a new city came a new phase in their plans. The time spent in Indianapolis had been fruitful; thanks in large part to their efforts Wolfram & Hart had lost more than ninety percent of their hold on elected and appointed officials. The biggest part of that loss had come during a massive, multi-agency raid that had occurred last winter. Cordelia had planned their efforts towards uncovering tainted officials at getting them noticed by controlling agencies. None of them could have predicted, however, that the information they disseminated could have brought down so many people. Apparently the FBI, among other agencies, had taken that information as a starting point, ferreting out more corrupt officials, including many in their own ranks, than had ever been found in the past. Of course, all that uproar caused chaos nationwide, as emergency elections had to be held for hundreds of offices. Fortunately, however, the furor caused an almost paranoid fear of corruption, and everyone who ran was run through the wringer. Oh, there were still corrupt officials, but they were much less blatant.

That victory boosted morale among the gang a great deal; the stresses of living together in a single dwelling, alone and apart from their friends in California, was taking its toll. Pack dynamics did much to keep the werewolves stable; Oz was a master at making sure that his charges didn't suffer and communicated with him when they were troubled.

That didn't mean that everything was rosy, though. Wesley occasionally argued with the alpha wolf because of Fred's position as omega. The faun had a very good intellectual grasp of werewolf pack dynamics, but that didn't transfer well to his own life, as the mate of the pack's omega. The other wolves, Cordelia and Gunn, didn't treat Fred poorly, but it bothered Wesley that Fred was the least powerful and influential member of the pack. Oz and the faun butted heads several times, until Angel had stepped in and had a talk with Wesley.

The vampire explained to the faun that he had no right to take Oz to task over his management of the pack; while Fred hadn't chosen to be a werewolf, she had willingly chosen to be a part of Oz's pack, for several good reasons. Despite her low status, the pack gave Fred a lot of social support, especially Cordelia. They helped her through the sometimes messy and anxious aftermath of her rape and gave her a strong framework in which to recover. Angel also helped Wesley see how part of the faun's problems were rooted in the fact that he was a bit jealous of Fred's reliance on the others-while he was consciously grateful for their help in bringing back the Fred he knew, it pained him that she needed someone else's guidance to get there.

Before she'd been changed, Fred had been a somewhat solitary creature, enjoying spending time alone or with just a few others. Now that she had the pack, she liked doing things with them-practicing, running, and generally hanging out. Actually, the fact that Oz liked doing those things surprised Angel until he remembered that much of Oz's previous isolation had been due to his status as the only werewolf. Ever since Cordelia had changed, he'd been far more social.

Wesley eventually came to accept Fred's role in the pack, and the pack's role in her life. Once he did that, he more fully appreciated how much she'd recovered, and how far she'd come. Now, three years later, Fred showed no obvious symptoms, even when faced with things that used to trigger panic attacks, like large crowds and gangs of thugs.

Perhaps the person who had surprised Angel the most, however, was Gunn. The vampire hunter turned werewolf had struggled only briefly with the change, mostly because he'd chosen it willingly. He and Oz had had a very typical power struggle, which was really only a token effort on Gunn's part to prove his worth to the pack. As Cordelia's mate his place was assured, and he made a concerted effort to hone the new skills he'd gained with the change. Angel had expected more conflict from the young man, who despite his eventual acceptance of the others had never been completely comfortable with nonhumans. The fact that he'd done so well spoke volumes about his maturity, and Angel was very glad that he'd underestimated the man.

It pleased Angel to see the group still a single, working entity after three long, difficult years. However, despite the time they'd spent away, and the various big and little aggravations of house-disasters and degrading work situations, they were antsy to get going on their real job-taking a chunk out of Wolfram & Hart. They wanted to target their financial holdings, and they wanted to do it closer to the east coast banking cities.

But for now they were snowbound. Angel shook off his work-related thoughts and studied his childe. Perhaps Wil would appreciate a distraction from his worries. With that in mind, the dark vampire reached out, stroking a gentle hand down Wil's arm.

"Angel? That you?" Wil asked, smiling into the darkness.

"No, it's that other vampire in bed with you," Angel retorted. Wil turned onto his side so that he could look at Angel.

"Hah, hah," Wil muttered. Angel moved quickly, pulling the smaller man hard against him. Wil jerked in surprise, and then relaxed slightly. Angel tugged at Wil's shirt and slipped his hand underneath it to reach the smooth skin of the blonde's back. He stroked that silky flesh with quick, broad sweeps of his hand, purposefully creating a bit of friction. Soon Wil's back was warm to the touch and the blonde was draped over Angel's body, purring contentedly.

"Better?" Angel asked softly, continuing to warm his childe.

"Mmm," Wil murmured into Angel's neck. The blonde ran his tongue down Angel's neck, more out of contentment than arousal. Well, at least until Angel arched into the caress, growling. Wil repeated the gesture, pressing down on Angel's jugular.

Angel abruptly rolled Wil over, pressing the younger vampire down into the mattress as he devoured his mouth. Wil moaned and opened under the assault, nipping at Angel's lips. Blood welled up from the tiny cuts, staining both men's mouths deep red. Wil licked at the fluid, chasing the taste of his Sire. Angel played with him, dodging Wil's attempts and distracting him with his hands.

Wil growled and pushed off the bed, sending Angel off the side and onto the floor. The dark vampire landed with a thump and a glare, which was totally lost on his unrepentant childe. Angel moved to stand, only to find himself suddenly inundated with a lapful of Wil.a Wil who was significantly less clothed than he had been just a moment before.

Before Angel could do anything about his newfound wealth, Wil pushed the older man down onto the floor and attacked. Angel felt his clothes sliding off, even as merciless fingers found all his ticklish spots. He howled in laughter as Wil ran his hands down the back of Angel's knees, then shrieked when the blonde flipped him over and worked down his back. Wil kept at it, despite Angel's attempts to get away, until the dark vampire managed to capture one of his wrists and reversed their positions.

"You want to play, then?" Angel hissed as he ran one finger down Wil's side, watching gleefully as the blonde twisted and giggled. He knew Wil's body as well as the blonde knew his Sire's, and he knew just where to touch. Soon it was Wil screaming loud enough to crack plaster as Angel teased him unmercifully.

Wil was so caught up in Angel's lighthearted torment that he almost didn't miss how Angel changed what he was doing, from tickling to caressing. The dark vampire ran a flat, soothing hand where he had once scratched and pressed, making Wil moan instead of giggle and scream. The blonde arched into the touch, wanting more of whatever Angel had in mind.

Angel smiled in the darkness and lifted Wil as he stood. The floor was just fine for playing around, but he had no real desire to make either of them suffer rug burns, even if they went away quickly thanks to vampire physiology. Wil murmured happily as Angel laid him back on the bed, letting his childe's sensitive skin slide sensuously across flannel sheets. He'd always figured Wil preferred satin-and the blonde did, most of the time. However, Wil had discovered the joy that was warm, fuzzy flannel and had insisted on having a set. Angel wasn't about to argue, not when Wil would lie there, rubbing himself across the fabric whilst begging Angel to join him. Many things he was, but one thing he wasn't was a fool.

Wil watched Angel as the dark vampire searched their mostly empty room for some lube. After a few minutes Wil decided to show a bit of mercy and reached between the mattress and box springs, locating the tube he'd stashed there. He set it beside him on the bed and waited for Angel to glance his way again, as he did every minute or so. Angel saw the tube soon enough and rolled his eyes even as he joined Wil back on the bed.

"Just how many of these do you have hidden around here?" Angel asked as he set the tube out of the way.

Wil pretended to think. "Dunno, love. At least four down here and two in the shower... Although those are technically community property, since Xander uses them too."

Angel decided not to think about sharing lube with the Raphe and his lover. Instead he grinned at his childe's slightly off-kilter sense of humor and covered the blonde's body with his own. Wil happily accepted Angel's mouth on his for a kiss remarkably similar to one they'd shared earlier. Angel saw the resemblance too, and pulled away briefly. "You didn't do all that just to get our clothes off, did you?" He asked the blonde.

Wil smirked and lowered his hands to Angel's waist, pressing the dark vampire harder against him. "Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Not important now anyway," He murmured, thrusting up slightly.

"Why's that?" Angel asked, running his mouth along Wil's collarbones, tracing the sharp lines just covered by ivory skin.

One slender hand reached further down, cupping Angel's ass and squeezing. "Cause now that we're naked you can fuck me, and who cares how we got that way anyway?"

"Ah," Angel hummed, enjoying the fact that he could discombobulate his very articulate childe's speech. He rubbed himself against Wil, testing the blonde's hardness against his stomach. A minute later he stopped and sat up, pushing his legs apart to spread Wil's. The blonde pulled his knees up onto his chest, opening himself for Angel's touch.

The dark vampire picked up the lube and grinned, although his face was turned so that Wil couldn't see him. The lube was cold, almost frozen, which would be rather. shocking for the blonde. Angel didn't bother trying to muffle Wil's squeal of surprise when one very cold finger slid into his body, pushing icy lubricant inside him. "Angel!" Wil groaned, trembling at the unexpected coldness.

"Hmm?" Angel murmured as he inserted another finger. He twisted them quickly, stretching Wil wide open. The blonde shuddered and pushed back on his hand, clearly urgently aroused. Angel tossed the lube aside and positioned himself, twining Wil's legs around his waist. When Wil stilled, Angel pressed inside, letting the unexpected warmth of his cock further shock the other vampire. While he was preparing Wil, Angel had used his free hand and a bit of friction to raise the temperature of his skin to something approaching blood heat. He knew the effect on Wil would be striking.

"Angel!" Wil shouted, arching up onto his shoulders. The blonde reached for Angel, pulling him down until they were flush. Wil pushed down desperately, taking in more of the searing, stretching heat, even as Angel pulled out and thrust again. The dark vampire ran one hand down Wil's chest, pulling sharply on a distended nippled. Wil quaked and trembled, writhing under his Sire's assault. Angel thrust again, harder, making Wil choke on another shout.

Wil reached for Angel again, trying to gain a little control. Angel denied him even that, using his body to drive Wil insane. The blonde felt like he was burning up; the hot friction of Angel inside him, barely lubricated and artificially warmed, was matched by the heat brought on by him twisting and scraping on the bedding under him. The formerly cold room felt like a furnace, like a fire had been set all around them.

Angel increased both the force and speed of his thrusts, watching with relish as Wil's mouth dropped open and a continuous stream of moans and screams fell from pale lips. The brunette bent his head to Wil's neck, teasing him with his tongue, before biting down sharply. Spicy blood flowed into his mouth, forcefully reminding his body of how close he was to his own orgasm. A thrumming rush of noise flooded his mind as he lost his rhythm and pushed mindlessly into Wil, only dully aware of his childe's screams as the blonde writhed under him, spilling cool seed between their bodies.

Wil felt Angel's fangs slide into him and lost his mind. He screamed and arched, clamping down hard on Angel's cock as climax ripped through his body over and over. He convulsed under his Sire, still in thrall to the dark vampire's bite. The searing pleasure continued to burn through him as Angel drew out the bite, as his hard body continued to rub over Wil's prostate. Wil felt the fluid rush of Angel's seed as the older man came, shuddering and moaning into the blonde's throat. Still the intense pleasure radiated through Wil's body as he twitched and shifted on the bed, held down by his lover.

Angel slid his fangs from Wil's neck even as he gingerly rolled of his childe's body, slipping out of his lover. He gathered Wil against him and pulled up the comforter, waiting for the blonde to recover. Angel himself was almost asleep when he sensed someone approaching.

"Cordelia?" Angel murmured. A figure hovering on the stairs stilled.

"Angel?" Cordelia whispered. "Please tell me that noise was from you two doing the nasty, and not some snow demon who got in the house and tortured you."

Wil giggled against Angel's neck. "Er.No snow demons," Angel replied sheepishly. He'd forgotten that his six closest friends were trying to sleep above them in the kitchen.

"Oh, well. ok, then," Cordelia replied. "But it's not fair that you two get to have fun and we don't, just because you don't have to stay warm!"

Wil growled and lifted his head. He loved Cordelia to death, but she was ruining his afterglow. "Delia, you're up there with your pack. I mean, you sniff each others' asses when you're out in the woods, and have seen each other stark naked more than once. Don't come down here bitching at us because you haven't looked up the definition of orgy in the dictionary, hmm?"

Angel winced at the resulting squeak that Cordelia let out and waited nervously for the explosion. It didn't come. After a long moment, Cordelia simply turned around and walked quietly up the stairs. "Don't say a word," Wil muttered. "Just hold me."

"Hmm," Angel murmured, doing as he was told and not speaking. They lay there, not quite sleeping, until the sun rose, calling them into a day's rest.

Angel was almost asleep-again-when a keening wail roused him. "Wil?"

"Erm?" Wil grumbled from his nest under the covers.

"Did you hear that?" Angel asked.

"Hear what?" Wil asked.

The sound repeated. "That," Angel said. The noise was soon joined by others in a litany of howls, growls, and moans.peppered with the occasional scream and shout.

"Xander," Wil muttered. "And Fred, and Cordelia, and Oz, and Wesley and Gunn," The blonde supplied helpfully.

Angel's eyes widened. "Doing what?"

"Making use of a fine suggestion, I hope," Wil commented sleepily. "That or faking it very well. Either way they're having fun." When Angel didn't relax, Wil hit him softly in the shoulder. "Look, they're fine, Angel. Just let them do whatever they're doing. Regardless, we can sleep through it."

Angel murmured his agreement and buried back under the covers with Wil. Yeah, they could sleep through the noise. Angel wasn't completely sure, though, that he could banish the image of four werewolves, a faun and a Raphe writhing in front of the kitchen fireplace.

*****