//Hungry!!//

Xander’s eyelids fluttered open, and he turned his head away from the daylight creeping into the room. Ache and anger flared in his sleep-addled brain, and he snarled. Looking into the sunbeam had felt like some sort of sensory overload.  He remembered fighting the demons from the night before, getting stung by the giant bug things, then everything got fuzzy.

Spike’s face floated in and out of the haze he remembered, saying words of love. The human shook the memories off and concentrated on getting off of the couch.

“Note to self: Never *ever* sleep on Buffy’s couch again,” he grumbled as he dragged his aching body to the floor.  Xander rubbed his eyes on the way to the kitchen, thoughts black.

Stomach screaming, he didn’t remember being this hungry since the hyena incident.

//It would be just my luck to be possessed by something else//

Not paying attention to what he was doing, he came back to himself abruptly. Xander was on his knees in front of the open refrigerator. He’d consumed an entire gallon of milk, all the leftover pot roast, and had worked his way through most of a pack of raw ground beef. His face and hands were a sticky mess.

“Xander! Thank Goddess you’re awake--what are you *doing*?”

The squeak in Willow’s voice struck him as amusing and grating at the same time.

The redhead’s pale face was paler than usual, he noticed. “Probably should stop this...” he mumbled thoughtfully to himself, mouth full. He was seriously squicked, but not enough to stop himself from devouring the last of his meal before Willow could take it away.

Licking his fingers, the human slammed the fridge door and stalked back to the living room. The Summers sisters had joined Willow and they were talking to him, but Xander ignored them all. He needed *something*. His heart was racing, and the room was entirely too bright for his liking. Colors leapt off the world at him, but he didn’t let himself get distracted.

//There.//

He’d been too consumed by hunger to register his vampire lying on the floor in the living room.  That side of the room was shadowed, with blankets draped across the windows. Now, the human rushed to Spike’s side, needing to hold him.

The blonde didn’t stir as Xander curled around him. The human breathed in Spike’s scent as though it were a drug.

“Hey! What’s going on? Xander!”

The plaintive wails were getting on his last nerve. He could feel that nerve snap the moment someone laid a hand on his shoulder. The contact felt like bugs skittering under his skin.

With a snarl, he was on his feet, Buffy’s wrist caught in his grip.

“Don’t fucking *touch* me!” he roared at her, tossing her arm away furiously. He dry-washed his face. This wasn’t right. He wasn’t supposed to do this. Taking a few calming breaths, he took a deep breath before looking at them.

“S-sorry.  I woke up feeling like crap. Just--give me a minute okay?”

The stunned Slayer nodded, cradling her bruised arm. Xander took a few minutes to close all the curtains in the room before sitting on the floor next to his sleeping vampire. He tried to gently rouse Spike but got no response. Giles had woken up and he was helping the girls clean up Xander’s mess in the kitchen.

Dawn came in with a mug of coffee. She set it on the coffee table and sat on the other end of the sofa. “You ready to talk?”

“What the hell happened last night? Why won’t Spike wake up?” He stroked the vampire’s face lovingly.

“You don’t remember?”

“If I did, do you think I’d be asking?” He couldn’t control the impatient bite in his voice.  It was all just so annoying. Xander wanted to verbally tear her a new one, so instead, he rose in one fluid motion and paced the room.

He could hear the girls talking in hushed whispers to Riley and Angel in the other room. Their voices felt closer, but he didn’t want to listen.

“Uh...you got poisoned by a demon. Spike saved you by letting you drain him. We didn’t know if either of you would last the night.” The tears glittered in her eyes, and Xander rushed to her, pulling Dawn into a fierce hug.

They separated to get on the floor with Spike, who, on closer inspection, looked like hell. There were fading bruises everywhere, and the skin around his eyes was shadowed. His hair was singed and the gnarly-looking gash on his neck didn’t look like vampire healing had effected it.

Angel staggered in, eyes bloodshot and rubbing his forehead. Riley led him to Spike and they knelt wordlessly at the vampire’s feet, studying Xander cautiously.

“He needs blood, but he’s not drinking anymore.” Buffy’s voice behind him wavered with emotion. “He got hurt helping all of us...”

Xander scooted so she could join them. Willow, Tara, and Giles completed the circle around their fallen hero.

“So, let’s try it now.” Xander fished in his torn shorts for his pocketknife. Willow took it gingerly from him and sliced her hand before he could say anything. She placed the cut to Spike’s lips, and within moments, the vampire was weakly swallowing.

Xander wondered how Spike could still look like a corpse while drinking from each member of their family. When it was his turn, he jabbed his palm and quickly offered the blood to his vampire. With the first gulp, the blonde responded by fastening his mouth to the cut and drawing deep. The human gasped and relief surged through the room.

BLISS TOOK HOLD 32