Xander groaned and tried to stretch, but the cool body laying on his back limited his movement. A warm voice chuckled in his ear, "Finally woke up, Pet? Good." Spike purred, shifting forward, making Xander gasp.

Spike chuckled, "Like that, do you? So do I."

Xander's head was spinning, and his whole body hurt, but at the same time, he felt good. Especially when the vampire pinning him down started moving faster. Xander whimpered, "Spike."

Xander felt a draft on his bare back when Spike pulled away, "Steady, Pet."

Xander groaned again when Spike pulled out, but the vampire didn't give him time to complain. He quickly flipped Xander onto his back and lunged back inside that warm body, making sure he hit the boy's prostrate.

Xander tried to laugh and moan at the same time. "Fuck, Spike, do that again."

Spike slid his hands under Xander's knees, easing the boy's legs up onto his shoulders, before thrusting in, deeper than before. "My pleasure, Pet." Then proceeded to drive Xander out of his mind.

*****

Xander cracked open one eye, looking around blurrily. "Spike?"

Xander heard the bathroom door open and felt a faint wave of heat from the steam escaping the room. "Here, Pet. How you feeling?"

Xander tried to move and whimpered, "Ouch."

Spike chuckled softly, "Thought that might be the case. Here, got something that'll make you feel better." Spike helped Xander sit up and handed him a couple of pills, along with an open can of soda.

Xander looked at the pills, "What are they?"

"Demerol. Two of those and you won't feel a thing."

Xander popped the pills into his mouth and chugged the soda. "Thanks."

Spike sat on the edge of the bed, leaning down to nuzzle Xander's neck. The vampire was impressed when the boy didn't pull away, instead actually moving a little closer. "It'll be dark soon, Pet, want to go into town with me?"

Xander shook his head, "Sleepy." Xander laid back on the pillows and looked up at Spike with drooping eyes. "Hungry. Get me something to eat?"

Spike chuckled, "Bet you are. Anything in particular?"

Xander buried his head back in his pillow, "Don't care. Just no mushrooms. I hate those things. Fungus. Yech."

Spike pulled the blankets up around Xander's shoulder, kissing him gently before turning off the light and going into the bathroom to dress.

*****

Phillip practically drown himself in the shower, reveling in the abundance of hot water and soap. He'd been dirty for so long, Malcom hadn't really been too concerned with hygiene. He was actually happy when Spike killed his sire, at least now he could take a shower without being beaten for it. Finally forcing himself to leave the shower, he dug through the closet, remembering seeing some clothes in there when he'd scoped the shelter out earlier.

The pants were a little big, but the shirts were okay. Maybe Spike would cut him loose long enough to pick up some new things. That is if the Master Vampire could stand leaving his pet alone long enough to get out of bed. From all the moaning and groaning he'd heard last night, not to mention the screams, they'd worn each other out. Even vampires needed time to recoup.

Phillip wandered into the living room, smiling at Druscilla. "Hello, ma'am."

Druscilla giggled, "Hello. No one has ever called me ma'am before, I like it. Are you going out?"

Phillip shrugged, "I don't know yet. I need to talk to Spike first."

"About what, mate?"

Phillip turned and nodded his head, "Hello, Spike. I was wondering if I could go into town. I need some new clothes and stuff."

Spike grinned at him, "Hungry too, I bet. You can go with me and Dru."

Druscilla shook her head, "I want to stay here, Spike. I'm tired."

Spike frowned and knelt at her feet, "You need to eat, Dru. You won't get strong if you starve yourself."

Dru shook her head, "I'm not hungry, Spike. Maybe tomorrow. Where's the prezzie?"

Spike smiled, a smile she hadn't seen in years, "He's asleep."

Dru ran her hand down Spike's cheek, "He's special, isn't he?"

Spike nodded and Dru giggled, "I knew he was. The stars told me. He's the only one, the others all went away. He's all alone, but he has you now."

Spike held both of Dru's hands, "What others, Dru?"

She swayed, listening to music only she could hear, "His pack, his mates, the spell made them leave, but not him. He stayed, but he doesn't know what he is."

Spike tilted his head, "What is he, Dru?"

Dru giggled, an insane sound that made the hair on Spike's neck stand up. "What the Hell was that?"

"Hyena." Phillip said, "At least, that's what it sounded like."

Dru nodded her hair, "Yes. The laughing ones. Possessed. So were the others. But the bad man made them go away. But Xander stayed, he was too strong. He needed it too much. Always alone and lonely, wanting to belong." Dru's eyes lost their otherworldly gleam, "His family is mean, Spike. So mean. But he scared them. They yelled and his eyes glowed. We're his family now, Spike. You and me and Phillip. We'll keep him safe and he'll save us."

Dru's eyes glazed over again and she started humming. Spike got up from the floor, knowing he wouldn't be able to reach her now. He was tempted to go back to their room and talk to Xander about this. But while his Princess might be insane, her visions were always right. "Come on, Phillip. Let's get going. I don't want to leave them alone too long."

*****

Xander woke up again, faintly annoyed when he realized he was alone. He staggered into the bathroom and relieved the pressure on his bladder, happy that the pain pills were still working.

Xander stared into the mirror while he washed his hands, fascinated by the mark on his neck. The mark was still a little sore, but not as painful as it looked. Twelve perfect teeth marks, not at all like in the movies where two tiny little holes were the only sign that a vampire had bitten a person. Xander snorted in bemusement, "I won't be covering that up with a bandaid."

"Covering what?"

Xander had heard Druscilla come into the room, he wasn't really sure how he knew which vampire was heading his way, but he did, so when she spoke, he wasn't surprised. "This mark on my neck."

Dru ran one chilly finger over the marks, "Why would you want to cover them? They're Spike's marks. Now everyone will know that you are part of our family. It's important that everyone knows. Now you'll be safe."

Xander finally turned away from the mirror, it was too creepy to have a conversation with a person who didn't have a reflection. "Safe from what, Dru?"

The vampiress giggled, "From everything and everyone. Spike will kill anyone who touches you." Dru tilted her head to one side and smiled, appearing quite sane for the moment, "Actually, Spike will kill anyone who even looks at you funny. He's a little off that way." She said in a whisper, as if telling some great secret. "Now, tell me why." She demanded.

Xander had obviously lost track of the conversation, "Why what?"

"Why do you want to cover them up? Spike's marks?"

Xander shook his head, "I don't, I was just saying...it's hard to explain, Dru. See in the movies, vampires only leave two tiny little holes, nothing like this." Xander said as he ran his hand over the mark.

Druscilla frowned, "How do they feed? You wouldn't get much blood from that."

Xander shrugged, "I have no idea, but I do have a plan. Let's go check out those DVD's Phillip showed us. Maybe there's some vampire movies in there that we can watch."

Dru bounced and clapped her hands, "I'll get Miss Edith, we'll have a party!"

*****

Spike stepped over the body of the shop keeper, heading into the back of the store, looking for presents for his pet. Phillip was already ransacking piles of clothes, throwing his choices into the large bag at his feet. Spike shook his head, he wasn't sure who had trained Phillip, but the boy was good. Clean, neat, no fuss, no muss. A lot of young vampires tried to act tough and taunt their victims before they fed, half the time their food managed to get away. Phillip didn't bother. He just grabbed them, drained them and snapped their necks in one swift move. The two he'd taken tonight hadn't even had time to scream.

Spike was all for playing with his food, but now was not the time to attract the attention of the Slayer or that bastard Angelus. Not with Dru being so helpless, and now he had his pet, Xander to worry about. Spike had never marked a human before, he found it vaguely disturbing, these feelings of comfort and concern he had whenever he thought about the boy.

Spike shrugged, he didn't understand it, but he wasn't going to fight it either. Not when even the memories of the way Xander had cuddled against him in his sleep made him feel...warm...was the only he could describe it.

Spike found the electronics section and called Phillip over. The young vampire's eyes grew wide, "Can we get one of those?"

Spike grinned, "Of course, mate. I'm thinking maybe Xander would like one, what do you think?"

Phillip nodded, his eyes still focused on the display. "Oh yeah. He'll love it." Phillip smashed the glass doors and started grabbing games, "This one, and this one. Definitely this one. It's a blast. You have to kill everything before it kills you."

Spike read the title off the box, "Resident Evil 2...good one, huh?"

Phillip looked up and grinned, his eyes gold, "It's one of the best. Ooohhh, Diablo 1 and 2, gotta have these."

Spike looked at the ever increasing pile at their feet, "Good thing we brought the car."

*****

It seemed to take forever to unload the car. Once they'd started shopping, they didn't stop until the car literally couldn't carry any more. Phillip had even gone so far as to strip several dolls in the toy section. When Spike had asked what he was doing, Phillip had hung his head and muttered, "Miss Edith."

Phillip showed Spike the freight elevator and they piled all their loot inside, riding down with it. The doors opened into the main pantry off the kitchen. As they stepped out, Spike heard Dru squeal. He ran for the sound and practically tore the doors off the hinges to the living room. The sight that met his eyes was one he'd never seen before.

His Dark Princess and his Pet were sitting on the floor, both of them wrapped in blankets, sharing a bowl of popcorn and drinking something from large mugs. They both stared up at him with wide eyes then burst into laughter. "Spike! You scared us!" Dru screeched happily, jumping up from the floor. She grabbed Spike's arm and pulled him over to the little nest they had made from the cushions off the sofa. "Sit down. You have to watch with us."

Dru pointed to the screen and Spike saw a Hollywood version of a vampire menacing a silicone enhanced bimbo. "See? He only has two fangs! Just two! Xander says they're like needles and they suck the blood through their fangs! Isn't that silly?"

Phillip staggered into the room and dropped a load on the bare sofa, "Oh, good movie. Have they met Van Helsing's great-granddaughter yet?"

Xander nodded, "Yeah, she just took out that Chinese vamp with the chopstick."

"Damn, I like that part. Got any more popcorn?"

Xander nodded and pointed to an extra cushion, "Cop a squat." He said as he handed over the bowl, "Innocent Blood is next."

"Ooohhh, Anna. What a babe."

Xander turned to grin at him, "Oh yeah. She could bite me any time."

Phillip snickered and Xander suddenly remembered who he was sitting next to. "Uh, that was a joke, Spike, really."

Spike pouted at him, "Right. Just for that, no prezzies for you."

Dru grabbed Spike's arm, "Prezzies?"

Spike started laughing when he realized that Xander was looking at him with the same expression Dru had on her face. Spike sighed, "I suppose..."

Dru jumped up and pulled Xander with her to the pile on the couch. Both of them chattering happily. Spike shook his head and picked up Dru's mug, frowning when he recognized the smell of Xander's blood mixed in the chocolate. He looked up into Xander's dark eyes. Spike lifted the mug in salute and drained it. Xander grinned and ripped open the box holding one of the video game units, feeling truly happy for the first time in a long time.

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