~ Fucking hurry up! Ring you cunt, come on, RING! ~

Trying to stop himself from starting to pace, Spike instead took out his worry on the completly innocent phone. He had no idea of just how he was going to explain to the watcher about the flashes. The vampire tried to tap his feet in time to the loud music but gave up after he started kicking at the wall, Xander would not be impressed by a hole in the wall.

~ Ring, ring, why don't you give me a call? ~

~ Oh fuck, the day I start singing ABBA is the day I deserve to be shot. ~

He winced at the memory of a whole nights driving with Xander yelping along to ABBA Gold. The vampire had been ready to jump out of the moving car. Things had gone better when he had 'accidently' crushed the tape under his Doc Martens while on a pitstop for more cheezels and Reeses Peanutbutter cups. He was jerked out of the memories by the phone actually ringing by his side. Snatched up, he had to relax his hold as the plastic creaked and groaned around his hand. With a viscious jab, he connected with the person on the other end of the line.

"Spike, it me. Oh, um. Silly really, it's Giles."

"Yes grunt, eertgk, cough."

"I'm going to ask you questions and what I want you to do is either cough for no or grunt for yes. Do you understant that?"

~ Yes. Mr. Giles. I'm in third grade and understand how to wipe my own sodding arse as well. Fuckwit! ~

"Yes grunt"

"Right, right. Er..ok, here goes then. Is Xander hurt, incapacitated at the moment or in danger?"

"Cough"

"Oh thats so good. Relief actually. Did you call me by accident?"

~ I bloody well wish Mate! ~

"Cough"

"Is something wrong with you? Are you hurt, isn't Xander around to help you?"

~ Nope, off getting more wood so we don't sodding well freeze to death in the middle of the night. Should have taken the Vegas job. Would have made a killing at Blackjack ~

"Yes grunt. Cough"

"Yes and no. Well, which is it? Your'e either hurt or you're not."

Spike banged the phone into his forehead a few times, only stopping when Giles started yelling down the phone line at him. He grunted 'yes' down the phone until he was told to stop and hang up. The watcher was going to do the spell that would allow him to see the vampire. Until the older human rang again, Spike was to sit as still as possible. Relief flooded over the blond as he disconnected from the shop keeper once again.

~ Jesus Xander, just get home qui......Ahhhhh! ~

FLASH

Rolling around the bed in agony, the blond took no notice of the sharp cd cover edges digging in his back as the pain in his head struck again. Both hands were clenched into fists, rubbing at the sides of his aching scalp again. The stars dancing across his eyes bloomed into a fireworks show, there were colours of all hues bombarding his vision. Pink, purple, grey, electric blue, black, gold, the list was endless. Spike could feel himself fanging out, his sensitive canines making contact with a cd, sending him rolling back the other way. Great heaving sobs wracked the pale body as the waves of pain bombarded the vampire.

~ Oh god. Please, bloody fuck. Just strike me down now. ~

As quickly as it had started, the pain dissipated, leaving a sobbing blond curled up on the bed. Not quite daring to stop rubbing above his ears, Spike wondered what was going on. He realised that the stars and colours that had been plaguing him for the past forty minutes were starting to dull. The snuffling tapered off and finally stopped as the vampire took in what had happened. Spike slowly panned his vision around the room before settling on the meowing kitten. He smiled widely as he stared at the image of heat being thrown off the small creature. No humans and only a handful of demons knew that when vampires went into gameface, their whole perception of seeing, hearing and smelling prey changed as well. Before they changed, vampires could smell a single drop of blood from almost a 1 mile radius, hear a heart beating clear across a crowded room and had better taste and sight than the average human.

Once they changed however, then everything got a lot better. They could smell blood from further away, actually seperate and acknowledge different types of heartbeats and even keeps tabs on when someone was moving around. The elongated canines acted as a warning if something was wrong. A little nick before draining told a vampire what sort of blood type their prey was, if the prey had any diseases that would taint the blood if it wasn't detectable by sight or smell. The eyes though, that was the best. The dilated pupils somehow allowed a vampire to see the heat being thrown off other creatures, including humans. Just made it so much easier to see where their latest meals were running off to.

His eyes were back. He could see the subtle flares of heat being thrown off the black kitten as she moved her head up and down, grooming herself. There was no blood to tempt his gameface out, but he could see again in his true vision. Bloody marvellous, thats what it was, bloody marvellous. The elation dropped like the preverbial lead balloon as he realised that he was still useless. His fangs slid back into human guise as his chin shook. With a shake of his head, he tried to put his pupils back into their human disguise only to grunt furiously as it proved that they were stuck in demon state.

~ Fuck! First my eyes come back and now I'm bloody well stuck with them. ~

With that, the phone rang again beside him. Picking it up, he grunted down the phone as Giles informed him that he could now see the vampire. He slowly turned his vision to look up at the front door, all the while listening to the shop keepers breathing. Spike smiled weakly at the door as Giles swore at being able to see the golden eyes looking through the scrying bowl. Having an idea, Spike held his hand up to the door in the universal sign for 'hold on/wait'. Phone put down for the moment, he carefully wrote what had happened in large letters in his notebook. Once finished, he picked up the phone again and with it held to his ear, he held the note pad up towards where he thought the ex-watcher would be able to see it.

At the other males indication, the vampire flipped the page over so that the older human could continue to read. He continued to turn the numerous pages as Giles read about the flashes and how Spikes eyes had returned, leaving out the nightvision talent of course. Just wouldn't do for Buffy to find out about that little gem, might give her an unfair advantage. Spike couldn't help but snort at the image of a Slayer wearing icepacks danced into his thoughts. Cow would be stupid enough to try it as well.

He shook his head when asked if he had had any sort of sexual contact to bring the flash on, leering slightly as Giles stuttered into the phone. Another head shake at the question of any emotional upset or injury. There was not a chance in hell, that Spike was going to tell the other male about Lukas and his fucking brochures. He suspected the embarrassment of what Lukas had suggested had brought on the first flash, his panic probably bringing on the others. Spike nodded as Giles told him that he really didn't know what to think. As he was listening to the ex-watcher babble on about not saying anything regarding Ethan, he felt his pupils return to normal. A few grunts stopped talk, letting Giles see the now blue eyes of the vampire.

Spike tried to get his eyes to go demon again but much to his annoyance, they stayed human blue. A minute later and he was dropping his fangs just to check that he could still do that. A gasp from the phone and he realised that the whelp must not have updated the other man about his condition. He answered the following questions as best as he could, writing an answer when needed. After a few minutes of silence, the arkward goodbyes were said and grunted, both hanging up at the same time.

The vampire was happy, cautious, but happy at the latest turn of events. All that was needed now was his hearing, smell and face ridges to come back. The face ridges would probably come back at the same time as his accelerated sense of smell, Angelus had always had the theory of the ridges pushing down across the bridge of the nose being the cause of the ability. His Sire had waffled on about pressure to the glands and tissues resulting in the ability for vampires to smell better when in gameface. Spike had been in too much pain at the time to really take any notice, his little game of continually asking 'why?' had taken a nasty turn with his Sire, resulting in Spike being whipped for being a pain in the arse.

Jerking himself out of the memories, the vampire cautiously got to his feet to make himself a cup of coffee while he waited for his claimant to come home.

~ Whelp, do I have some news for you! ~

With a large grin, Spike switched the automatic jug on only to find that the electricity had gone off again. During his time speaking to the ex-watcher, he hadn't taken any notice of the music stopping, putting it down to the end of the cd. A shrug and he pulled out the candles, hurricane lamp and stovetop kettle from under the sink. With the cold weather, the two men had quickly discovered that although their cabin was hooked up to the power grid, it wasn't a sure bet that they would always be guaranteed electricity. Henceforth, the candles and hurricane lamp. The third time it had gone off, they had bought the stove top kettle, both unwilling to go through the withdrawal of coffee while waiting for the power to turn on again. The generator out the back was the biggest piece of shit that either of them had seen, Xander had once tried to get it started but after almost catching alight from the sparks coming from it, he had given it up as a bad job.

The company constantly assured them that someone would be out soon to fix it for them. As Xander's workmates had said, don't hold your breath. One of them wasn't and the other couldn't. While waiting for the kettle to boil, Spike tried to make his eyes yellow again.

*****
Part 7:

New Years Eve,

The Vestal Gardens

11.15 pm

The decent sized restaurant was packed to the gills with loud music, singing, alcohol and a multitude of drunken Alaskans. The owners of the Gardens, Helen and Mi Wai as well as Ling Mai and Quong De, were hosting the noisy gathering as an apology for the resteraunt being closed for two weeks over the Chinese New Year. So far, it was the first time it had been hosted in Pennington and all was going well. The half demons had opted for a totally unique Alaskan theme for the night. The Gardens was decked out with various stuffed animals, curtesy of Cecil, and two huge Native Alaskan handwoven rugs.

Both Spike and Xander were huddled close to the trestle table that was so loaded with food, it was almost groaning. There was spam sandwiches, Pilot bread, smoked salmon, chum pate, whale blubber in three forms (raw,pickled and boiled) and lastly, Eskimo icecream, something that Xander had taken to with a relish until Spike had told him what he could smell in the mixture. As tasty as it had been, the brunette hadn't been able to work out why the vampire was horrified each time he had tried to to get the blond to eat some. Finally, Spike had written him that the mixture contained at least four different animal fats and that finely shredded stuff wasn't coconut, it was some sort of meat. Spike was certain that it was caribou, his blood had the same smell. Xander had shoved his half empty bowl onto the nearest table on his way to the bathrooms, displaying his green face for all to see. Spike just grinning and nodding at the queries of if his boyfriend had tried the icecream, the next question was if he had just found out what it contained.

Laughter all around and numerous mutterings of 'cheechako', an Alaskan term for tenderfoot, and the attention was diverted again by Helen setting up a display of towering champagne glasses. Each tier was watched closely, applause thundering around the silk screen panneled main eating room as she placed the last glass, completing the 12 tier stack. Spike glanced around the room, not too worried about where Xander was at the moment. He was still a little nervous about being with such a lot of people even with Xander by his side, his last party experience leading to being shaken by Stan. Thankfully the arsehole wasn't anywhere around tonight.

A few of the gathered were the same people he had been introduced to at Mac�s house on the night of the Auction. Both he and the whelp had gone around the room together, shaking hands and nodding at the familiar faces from the previous party. The vampire was amused that Xander and himself were considered part of Mac's group of friends. The whole group contained the restaraunt owners and wives, the Fitzmaurice brothers (Spit and Fitzy), the two Fijians, Stephanie and now the vampire and his claimant. He was sure that the other humans would die of shock if they knew just what they partied on with on a regular basis. Then again, this was Alaska, home of the weird. They just might take it all in their stride along with an offer of a Spam sandwich.

~ Fucking Spam! Better than that whale shit though. ~

Xander and the vampire had been flabbergasted when much to their horror, everyone bar them, had rushed the table in an effort to get at the traditional food. Thankfully, Helen and Quong De had put out some Spam sandwhiches as a joke. Everyone had just smiled at the two men when they had gone straight for the Spam and bypassed everything else, Xander only going for the icecream in the mistaken idea that it was made only with dairy products. The brunette had dared the vampire to eat some of the boiled whale blubber and Spike had taken him up on his dare, taking two huge bites before placing the still full plate on the floor underneath a chair. Mac had seen the smaller man try the whale blubber and in sympathy for a first winter newcomer, had tried to feed him some Pilot bread to soak up the oil. The red haired man had wandered off laughing when his offer was refused, something that was starting to worry the vampire.

Not quite ill this time, Xander continued to hang his head over the porcelian bowl, just to make sure that he didn't embarass himself by throwing up in the party. After a few minutes, he straightened up and flushed the toilet, proceeding to wash his hands in the unisex bathroom. He was feeling both a little queasy and annoyed. The brunette had really liked the taste of the icecream but had been instantly horrified at what Spike had said he could smell in the combination. He had thought that it really was coconut, still appalled that it was shredded moose meat. At that thought, his stomach roiled again in rebellion of what he had just eaten.

"As if Spam wasn't bad enough. Oh well, at least I didn't eat the whale."

Xander snickered at the memory of what the vampires face had looked like when biting into the gelatinous mess. The youth had been sure that the blond was going to run straight to the bathroom. Spikes face had been a cross between him trying to sneeze and cough at the same time. Two bites and the plate had been discreetly hidden out of the way. Mac had come across with tears in his eyes at the scene and had told Spike to eat some Pilot bread so that the excess oil would be soaked up but after the whale blubber, the vampire was having none of that and had steadfastly refused. It had been then that Xander had started to try and get the blond to eat some of the delicious icecream.

Hands dried, the brunette made his way back into the main room, the noise hitting him full force. Almost wincing at how loud the party had become, he admired the large tiered display sitting in one corner. Making his way back to the opposite side of the room, he glanced at the clock, nearly 20 to 12. He sighed as he reached Spikes side, taking his beer from the other man. The party was loud but somehow it was lacking the 'fun' from last year. He had Bronzed it with Buffy and the rest of the Scooby gang, leaving Spike at the apartment. The blond had been teary all day, in the end Xander had welcomed the opportunity to just get away and forget about him for an evening.

Mi Wai caught everyones attention again as she hollered over the music that it was five to twelve. The petite half demon popped the cork on a bottle of champagne, the room bursting into loud cheers and clapping as the first of the golden liquid was poured into the top glass. Xander rested his right hand just above Spikes buttocks as he watched the flowing fountain. He hoped that it wouldn't taste too bad, the brunette really didn't see what the great fuss was with champagne. It had only ever tasted bitter and smelt little better than urine on the few occasions he had had the chance to consume some.

The vampire pushed back into Xanders warm hand, he liked that his claimant was touching him in public even if it was ever so discreetly. He was also watching the pouring, thankful that at least something moderately interesting was happening. Ever since Xander had beaten up Stan at Mac�s house, the few other people he did know were a bit hesitant to come over and make a conversation with him if Xander wasn't anywhere near. The memory of an unconcious Stan was still fresh in everyones mind, those who hadn't seen it, had heard about it the next day. While the brunette had been in the bathroom, he had almost run from an approaching Lukas and had headed straight for Stephanie and her gaggle of work mates, joining in the conversation about the latest Fisher Paykel toys for toddlers. The vampire had just nodded and smiled along with the various comments, frowning when it was indicated that all should do so.

Almost purring from the feel of the large hand, he hoped that all the 'excitement' wasn't going to set off another flash. It had been hard enough to convince the brunette to go the party, almost two days of pleading and finally, a few lines of how it wouldn't look too good to refuse an employer's invitation. He was flattered that the youth was worried that he would collapse or worse yet, collapse and then get another bit of his game face back in the middle of the party and be unable to hide it again. After getting off the phone to the Watcher, he had been alone in a dark cabin for four more hours until the weary whelp had come home. The dark hadn't bothered him as he had turned off the lights when Lukas had informed him his type of demon was more accustomed to the dark, it had been the sheer time wasting of waiting and wondering if he would have another more serious flash before the youth got home.

Xander had been happy for him and after a phone call to Giles, he had been constantly worrying about another series of flashes. After a thorough discussion with the shop keeper, it had been decided that Spike shouldn't drive and for him to stay out of any stressful situations until all of his gameface was back. Spike had been upset at that until he realised that if he had a flash when driving, he would most likely kill both himself and the whelp. The brunette had decided to get a beeper once the shops were open again so that the vampire could call him if he had an 'episode' while Xander was at work. The vampire had been repeatedly told that if anything happened, he should call, no matter what. The excuse would be complications from the car accident that the blond had been involved in.

The golden waterfall finished after three giant bottles of champagne and Spike wondered if it would taste like crap. During the 'roaring 20's', Dru had developed a passion for the stuff, the blond vampire had never seen the charm himself. The filled glasses were handed around, both men taking a small sip before hurridly joining in the countdown.

8
7
6
5

Xander slid his arm around the slim waist, clutching his adored tightly, pleased and flushing when the vampire nestled against him firmly.

4
3
2
1

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

All glasses were held aloft for a moment before everyone, bar Stephanie, took giant swallows. Xander greedily drank down the fairly pleasant liquid before gently pecking at the pale cheek of the blond. With a grin, Spike clutched the back of the brunettes head, dragging his head down for a deeper kiss. Much to the vampire�s amusement and Xander's embarrassment, the kiss had been watched by about everyone in the room. Lots of catcalls later, the youth felt the heat from the alcohol start to seep away as he once more made the rounds of the room, giving the women a quick peck and shaking hands with the men. A good ten minutes later, he felt like his hand was going to fall off. He glanced at the blond who was trailing behind him, Spike just finishing off his round of well wishing. With a shake of his head, Xander found the sight hilarious. Only two years ago, the blond would have chewed off his own arm rather than go to an 'inter-bred hoedown' as he so cutely termed it.

Xander took in the sight of the vampire smiling and softly grunting in what was his laughter. The brunette was slightly amazed at how much the other man had changed. Away from Sunnydale, he was no longer so weepy and was actually making an effort to get to know people rather than lift the finger automatically. The vampire still had his days of crying but moving away from the Hellmouth had been good for them both so far. With that, he decided that once the snow eased up a little, they should have Mac and a few of the other guys over for a game of cards. Lukas, Josessi and the Fitzmaurice brothers included.

A cool hand on his forearm shook him out of his thoughts. With a smile Xander told the vampire that they would be leaving pretty soon. They wouldn't be the only ones. Mac, Spit and Fitzy were headed off to Chena Hot Springs at 6 that morning. Although both Xander and Spike had been invited to go along for the full four days, the youth had made an excuse of Spike�s work in the restaraunt being the reason for not spending the full time at the camping grounds. The brunette had placated a disappointed vampire with the compromise of an overnight stay. Xander was pretty sure that with him there, the vampire wouldn't get into too much trouble. It would be pretty much a drive through Fairbanks, then almost another hour to the camping ground, a bit of pottering around then a BBQ for dinner, liquid supper with lots of drunken talk. Hopefully they wouldn't be too intoxicated to experience the famous hot water springs.

Spike nodded his agreement to leaving soon, as unexciting as the evening had been so far, he just wanted to get home for a shag and some sleep before leaving in a few hours. It had been nice to just get out of the cabin for a little while. He knew that he was lucky the whelp had even given in about the party and the trip to Chena. The vampire was disappointed that they wouldn't be seeing any bears due to the hibernation of the large land dwellers. A spreading warmth squarley on his buttocks and Spike decided that it was definately time to go. With luck he would get a decent handjob before a nice hard screw. He pushed back into Xanders hand and with a jerk of his head, he indicated towards the front door of The Gardens.

Both men made their goodbyes, telling Mac to stop by their cabin around 6am so that they could follow in the commadore. Promises of people catching up, nights out for beer and a sunday dinner at Stephanie�s, the two relatively sober men made their way into the oppressive coldness of the night air. Xander unplugged the sidewalk engine warmer from his white car and walked around to the drivers side, hoping that his tyres hadn't frozen. Both he and the vampire had almost had a heart attack when they had learned that on some days it got so cold, tires froze onto the road�s surface and actually ripped off the wheel rim if not thawed out properly. With a nod, Spike gave each tire a kick and seeing that they were all pretty much supple, he threw himself into the still cold car interior.

All through the slow drive home, the landscape was painted with a myriad of colours from the Northern Lights above them. Spike was fascinated with them and occassionaly, with a twinge of regret, he thought that Dru would have been in her element in Alaska. He wondered what his dark princess would have heard from the colourfull display dancing above the earth�s surface. He listened to Xanders quiet breathing as the youth shivered in the barely warm car. The vampire could feel the car swerving slightly in reaction to the shaking hands on the steering wheel and hoped that there wasn't too much ice on the road.

Car parked in its usual spot, Xander wrapped his arms around the slender figure, both men sharing a cold kiss before making their way into a chilly cabin. Twatcat flung herself at her parents, trilling and mewling for some attention. Despite how hard Spike was, the first thing to do was to start the wood heater so that they didn't freeze in the early hours of the morning. While he was doing that, Xander fed Twatcat and refilled her hot water bottle, replacing it in her wicker basket. The brunette really didn't know just why he bothered, the kitten was usually found somewhere in the middle of the bed in the mornings. With a grin, he thought back to that morning when the vampire had been asleep with the kitten nestled firmly on his white chest. Xander had felt his heart jump at the cute sight, it had been perfect poster material. If he had only had a camera, he was sure millions of teenagers around the world would have paid to have such a picture upon their bedroom walls.

The next task wasn't so pleasant, emptying the kitty litter tray. Something that the blond flat out refused to do, not that Xander could blame him. Lots of nose holding later, the kitten had a fresh tray full of litter placed in one corner of the bathroom. Almost running to the heat being thrown off the small heater, Xander took in the sight of the vampire laying naked on the bed. Spike gently stroked his hard on, thumbing at the weeping slit. He was waiting for his claimant to tell him what to do, not wanting to make any presumptions that might destroy the youth�s good mood for the night.

Quickly shucking off his own clothes, the brunette crawled up the bed until his face was in direct line of the white penis. After a second of hesitation, he ignored the solid member, preferring to give each erect nipple a kiss. With a smile, Xander thrust his tongue into the cool mouth of the blond, his hand wrapping around the smaller one. He picked up the speed of the strokes on the cool cock, taking over the handjob. The youth continued to lick his way down the smooth neck, sucking on the Adams apple until the vampire started groaning in delight.

Eyes rolled, Spike couldn't decide which was the best, the warm hand around his achingly hard cock or the wet tongue tracing the contour of his throat. He briefly wished that the brunette would bite him, the sensation would make him cum harder than he had for the past months. Spike gasped in shock as his right nipple was rolled between blunt teeth, small sparks of pleasure shooting across his chest. Another harder bite and his stomach was coated with cool semen, fingers shoved into his fanged mouth. The vampire slowly sucked his essence off the warm digits.

Xander was suprised at how quickly the vampire had cum, normally he would have lasted at least a few minutes more. He looked into the gold eyes, his own cock begging for release. The vampire let the last finger slip from his lips and placed his hand at the back of the thick brunette hair, pulling down his claimant for a long hot tongue duel. He felt himself being rolled over onto his left side, looked like it was going to be the 'spoon' tonight. The lazy man�s shag as he liked to call it. Spike actually really enjoyed this position, it was only good for a long slow screw, something he didn't mind at times.

With his eyes closed, the vampire moaned in delight as warm fingers spread cool gel over his puckered entrance. One, then two large digits swirled the gel into his relaxing hole. He sighed as a large blunt head replaced the skilled fingers. His right leg bent forward, he opened himself up for Xander. The brunette pulled away his sticky fingers, guiding his cock to the prepared blond. A fierce thrust and he was buried up to his balls in the cool body. Slowly he drew back, eliciting gasps from both of them.

Spike rocked back to meet each slow thrust, his eyes golden as his prostrate was hit time and time again. Grunting filled the small cabin, Xander pumping into the tight channel, one hand wrapped in the soft hair. His other hand was clencing tightly to the slender hip, a smaller hand holding onto his larger fingers. The vampire had his own two fingers shoved into his mouth, running them along his elongated fangs, a few drops of blood falling onto his tongue.

"Fuck Spike, I'm gonna cum! Gonna cum sooo hard!"

Speeding up his thrusts as much as the position would allow him, Xander pounded hard into the slender body, the small whines of the vampire encouraging him. In one hard thrust, Spike was almost on his front, hissing from the uncomfortable angle. His prostrate no longer being hit, he was finding the thrusting starting to bruise his insides. The hand in his hair tightened roughly as with three more immense pumps, Xander bellowed his release to the room, the vampire's whimpering quietening down into unneeded pants.

"Damn, good as always!"

A kiss was dropped onto the pale cheek as his spent cock slid out of the loosened channel. With his arms wrapped around the slim body, Xander nuzzled into the soft hair, content to just drop off to sleep, relying on the alarm to wake them at 5.30am. Spike waited for the brunette�s breathing to even out before checking his heart rate to make sure he was asleep. This was his own time. For about half an hour after the brunette had fallen asleep each night, the vampire completly relaxed and was free from the constant worry as to when the youth would have another hissy fit and start the slapping. The blond turned his thoughts as to the little adventure beginning in only a few hours.

*****