Xander stood beside the stretched black limousine, unable to force himself to climb inside. 'This is insane, they can't make me do this.' He was ready to run when he realized he had no where to go. He had no money, his father had made him call and quit his job first thing this morning, and his friends had been no help at all. His face burned when he remembered how they'd laughed at him when he'd asked for help.

He jumped when his new *owner* put a hand on his shoulder, white hot pain flared down his back at the abrupt movement. He bit his lip to hold back a scream, and climbed through the door that was opened for him. Maybe I'll get lucky and we'll be in a head-on collision. Being dead has got to be better than this.

Antony climbed into the limo and told the driver to head back to L.A. He knew Xander was upset, that was to be expected, but he had no idea how to reassure him. Both men were so wrapped up in their own thoughts they didn't see the two girls until they knocked on the window.

*****

Buffy and Willow turned the corner on Xander's block in time to see him get into a limo with an older man. They ran towards the car, determined to find out just what was going on.

Buffy knocked on the window and waited impatiently for it to roll down. The older man looked up at her, "Can I help you?"

"We want to talk to Xander." Willow said hesitently.

Antony turned to look at the silent boy, "Friends of yours?"

Xander turned dead eyes towards the window, and then back to Antony. "I don't have any friends." he said in a monotone.

Antony was troubled, but now was not the time. "Driver, move on." He hit the switch for the window, leaving the girls standing in the street.

*****

Frank Harris waited until the limousine was out of sight before he made the call. The phone was answered on the first ring.

"DiBlasi fell for it. They just left."

"Good, good. Does the boy know what to do?"

"Yeah, he knows. I made sure of it."

"We can't afford any mistakes Mr. Harris."

"There won't be any. The kid knows what will happen to him if he screws this up."

*****

Willow watched as the limousine carrying her friend faded from sight. She grabbed Buffy's arm, "Oh my God, he was telling the truth. What are we going to do?"

"I don't know Will, but he went willingly. I don't think there's anything we can do."

"Buffy, we have to help. We can't just let him go. We have to tell Giles, maybe he can do something."

"Maybe, but I wouldn't hold my breath."

*****

Giles was pacing in his living room, still very disturbed by the events of the previous evening. He was on the verge of calling Xander when Buffy and Willow burst through his front door.

"Giles, Xander was telling the truth. We saw him!" Willow blurted out.

"Calm down, now tell me, what exactly did you see?"

Buffy pushed Willow into a chair and told her Watcher what had happened. "We went to his house to apologize for laughing at him, and saw him get into a limo with an older guy. We stopped them to talk, but Xander said he didn't know us."

"That's not exactly what happened, Buffy. The other guy asked Xander if we were friends of his and he said he didn't have any friends. Giles, he looked dead inside. What are we going to do?"

"I'll go and speak with his parents, this may not be what it appears."

Buffy pulled Giles into the kitchen, "Giles, he went willingly. It's icky, but it's his choice."

"Buffy, please try to withhold judgement until we know exactly what's going on. Now, I want you and Willow to wait here. Call everyone together. If Xander has been taken against his will, we'll need to come up with a plan."

Giles drove to Xander's house and waited impatiently for someone to answer the door. A woman he assumed to be Xander's mother finally answered. "Mrs. Harris? I'd like to speak with you about Xander."

She swayed drunkenly, and drained the glass in her hand. "Too late. He's already gone."

"Yes Mrs. Harris, I understand that. But where did he go?" Giles asked patiently.

"With that guy, the one we sold him to."

"Sold him to?!" Giles couldn't believe this was happening. If only he'd listened.

"Well, traded." she slurred. "Kid was always a pain in the ass anyway."

Giles shook her, trying to get her to make sense. "You can't trade a person, that's illegal."

"S'not. We had a letter from a judge and everything. Said we could do whatever we wanted with him. Not our problem now." She burped and tried to close the door, but Giles stuck his foot in the way.

"Who, Mrs. Harris. Who did you give him to?"

She shrugged, "Some rich guy, likes boys, if you know what I mean. Who cares?" She pushed Giles out of the way and shut the door in his face.

"Dear Lord, Xander. What have we done?"

*****

Antony ushered Xander into his home in Malibu. The boy jerked away from his hand once again and Antony sighed in exasperation, this had gone on long enough. "Okay Xander, strip."

He barely managed to get his arms around the boy before he collapsed. He sat him on the sofa and ran to the kitchen to get him a glass of water.

Xander's hands were shaking too bad to hold it himself so Antony did it for him. A little color had come back into his pasty white cheeks by the time the glass was finished. Antony sat the glass on the table, "Better now?"

Xander stayed silent but managed to nod his head. "Good." Antony fell back into the sofa and laid his arm over his eyes for a moment, praying for strength. Once he'd calmed a little he dropped the arm and regarded the figure perched so stiffly beside him. "Jesus, Xander. I'm not going to rape you. What kind of man do you think I am?"

There was no emotion in his voice, none at all, "The kind of man who would buy someone who didn't want to be sold."

Antony flinched, "I guess I deserved that. I just needed to see how badly you're hurt."

Xander whipped stunned eyes in his direction, looking directly at the older man for the first time since they'd left Sunnydale. Antony raised one brow in inquiry, "Did you think I didn't notice? Xander, I'm not blind, nor am I stupid. I know your father is setting me up for something. I just don't know for what, yet. And I'm guessing from the way you're moving and how you flinch away from the slightest touch that you've been beaten. Fairly badly I'd say."

Xander managed a tiny shrug, "I wasn't too thrived with the idea of being sold." The smile that twisted his lips was far too bitter for such a young man. "He wanted me to see the error of my ways."

Antony stood and reached down for Xander's arm, carefully helping him to his feet. "Come on, let's see what the damage is."

Antony led him into the bathroom and turned on the shower before sitting Xander on the edge of the tub to remove his sneakers and socks. He looked into the pale face and decided to leave the jeans in place.

Antony removed his suit jacket, shirt and tie, lying them on the vanity. After checking the water temperature one last time, he helped Xander into the tub.

"Fuck." The water pooling around Xander's feet was turning red, the damage must be worse than he'd thought.

"Xander, I need to get your shirt off. I'll be as gentle as I can."

Xander was panting now, holding back whimpers of pain, "Do it."

Antony got a good grip on the back of the shirt and ripped it up the middle. Xander slid to his knees with a moan of pain when the warm water hit his bare skin. Antony quickly shut off the water and grabbed a towel. He wrapped both hands around the boy's arms and hauled him to his feet, wrapping the towel around him lightly.

He half carried him into the bedroom and laid him out on the bed, unmindful of the damage the water and blood was doing to the pristine white linens.

Antony saw red when he got his first good look at Xander's back. It was a mass of bloody welts and odd shaped bruises.

"Xander, I need to call a doctor."

"No, you can't. They'll report it. I don't want to have to explain."

Antony kneeled by the edge of the bed so he could see Xander's face. One shaking hand brushed the hair from his sweaty forehead. "I know someone, he's very discrete. He won't say anything to anybody. Just relax okay? No one will ask any questions."

Xander closed his eyes, and slowly nodded his consent. "Good. Try to rest." Antony grabbed the phone on the bedside table and dialed a number from memory. "David? Antony DiBlasi, I need a favor."

*****

Antony paced in the living room, impatiently waiting for his friend to arrive. He practically ripped the door off the hinges at the first knock. He was explaining the situation at the same time he was dragging David down the hall to the bedroom.

David allowed himself to be led, bemused at his friend's actions. Antony was known for being cool and in control at all times. No matter what. This Antony was practically babbling. All amusement fled however, when he got his first look at his patient.

The boy was laid out on the bed, watery trails of blood running down his sides to soak into the mattress beneath. David immediately went to work.

*****

Antony was knocking back a scotch when David joined him in the den an hour after he'd arrived. Antony handed him a glass and the two men sat silently for a moment. Antony finally broke the silence.

"How is he?"

David sighed and a ran a hand through his hair. "I gave him a shot, he's sleeping now. He'll be out for several hours at least. I don't think there's any permanent damage, but there may be some minor scaring in places. Those bruises are deep, it'll be a couple of weeks before they heal. I left some antibiotic ointment and a prescribtion for pain killers. He's going to need them."

David finished his drink before asking the question that had been running through his brain. "So; do you need help hiding the body?"

Antony broke into startled laughter, "Not yet, but I'll keep you in mind." A hard look crossed his face, "There will be hell to pay. Trust me on that."

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