Saturday night. 10.00pm. Xander sat on the couch watching Spike as he paced back and forth. He'd checked to see that his cell phone was on and working at least a dozen times in the last half hour, and it was making Xander increasingly edgy. Spike had been a bundle of nervous energy all day, and Xander knew that without the blood that Spike had fed him regularly, he'd have been as sore as hell. Spike had seemingly been unable to keep his hands off Xander for longer than half an hour or so, and Xander figured he'd been fucked in just about every conceivable position, and in every possible location in their apartment. But Xander couldn't feel anything coming from his mate. It was like Spike had locked the link down, and when Xander had tried, tentatively, to approach his mate's mind, Spike had looked at him with a strange expression that looked almost like regret on his face, and Xander stopped trying. The whisperings from Spike's blood as he'd swallowed the fiery liquid were nothing but a confused mess of emotions, and Xander found himself growing more and more apprehensive.

Several times Xander had found himself looking at Spike, certain that his mate was about to say something, but the vampire had simply looked away.

Spike had just thrown himself onto the couch next to Xander and reached for him again, when the mobile started tweeting. He jumped up, grabbed it, and listened for a moment. "Good, yeah." More listening. "Fuck! Definitely tonight? Are you sure?" Xander could hear the faint squeaking of the voice on the other end of the phone. Spike sighed heavily. "He'll have eyes everywhere, Damien. He'll know as soon as I get there. Timing is going to be everything. We can't afford to fuck this up - it's a one shot deal." Spike ended the call abruptly and flung the phone hard against the wall.

Spike stalked to the bar and poured himself a whiskey, which he downed in one swallow. He stood with his back to Xander and shuddered, as though trying to rein in his anger. He poured himself another, and then seemed to remember Xander, pouring him one as well. As he handed Xander his drink, he said, "It's on. Midnight. Er, pet?"

Xander caught - something in Spike's tone, but he wasn't sure what it was. "Spike, I..."

"I should leave you here," said Spike, the almost-regret on his face again.

"No! No, you're not doing this alone, Spike. What if something goes wrong..."

"That's what I'm worried about, Xander. There's been a slight change of plan. There's someone in town that I really need to avoid until this is all over. It could be dangerous."

Xander took a deep breath. "Well, you'll need me there then, won't you, to watch your back," he stated.

"No. Not you. I won't put you at risk."

"But..."

"Xander, you're my Consort, and I will keep you safe! Look, this chip isn't common knowledge, pet. But rumours have circulated, and..." Spike sighed again. "There's another Master in town. He's challenged me before, pet, and he's heard the rumours. He'll come after me tonight if he can, and if I can't avoid him... it could get nasty. I have to be able to protect you and my minions, Xander, and if he finds out that I can't even defend myself from a human child, well... So, I have to get the chip zapped and recover before he finds me."

"What's going to happen tonight, Spike?" asked Xander, trying to keep his voice steady and calm. "You've avoided the question up till now, but I think the time has come to tell me, don't you?" Spike nodded slowly.

"We've contacted a demon race, they don't live in this dimension, but they can deactivate the chip. They've done it successfully a couple of times now. One of them will come at midnight. Has to be in a public place, though, they won't come here. Which would be fine, except for fucking Phillip. And no, pet," Spike said as Xander opened his mouth to speak, "trying to keep out of his way or running is not an option. We're not gonna live like that. This is the only way." Xander sat and stared into his whiskey.

"Getting the chip zapped, Spike. Is it... is it dangerous? Will it injure you?" At Spike's shrug, Xander felt anger rising. "Don't shrug at me! Don't brush me off like that. You've had the fucking link locked down all day. Just how dangerous is this?"

"It's never been tried on a vampire before. There could be some… damage, apparently, although it shouldn't be permanent," said Spike, not meeting Xander's eyes.

"Fuck!" spat Xander. "Well, that's it, then. I'm coming with you. You're not doing this alone, Spike. You'll still need me there - just in case. And if you don't take me, I'll follow you." Xander sighed, staring into his whiskey glass, tapping a steady beat on the side of it with his fingers. "Look, Spike. This is really hard for me. There's a part of me that really doesn't want this chip out. It scares the hell out of me, the thought of living with a vampire with no soul and no chip. And I'm angry that you're going to risk everything to do it." Xander slammed back the whiskey, and sighed again. "But it's only a little part, like a little voice in the background. The rest of me knows why you're doing this, why you have to do this, and is cheering you on. So I'm upset, and confused, and angry, and if you think you're gonna just leave me here to sit and worry on top of all that, you're wrong."

And the link suddenly snapped open and Xander was overwhelmed with emotions even as Spike hauled him to his feet and pillaged his mouth. After a moment or two they parted, both panting hard, one unnecessarily.

"Thank you for telling me, love. You have absolutely nothing to be afraid of - living with me, chip or no chip, I'm going to do everything I can to make you happy. And I could never harm you, pet, ever. I love you, Xander. And I want you with me tonight. It wouldn't have been a problem before this. Fucking Phillip." Spike sat on the couch, pulling Xander with him. "OK, Xan, if you're coming with me, there're some things I need to tell you, and you need to remember them, OK? I need to be sure you're safe."

Spike reached across and kissed him gently, then gave his hand a squeeze. "We're going to a demon club, and there won't be many humans there. You'll be safe, though, don't worry. No one will dare touch you. First and most important, you stay with me at all times. You don't talk to anyone else unless I say you can, and they will ask my permission before speaking to you. No one touches you, and you touch no one - I'd hate to have to kill someone for laying hands on my Consort, but I will if I have to. And pet, you do exactly as I say, when I say, OK? If Phillip shows up, I may need to prove..." Spike's voice trailed off, and he rubbed his hands over his face. "Look, no matter what happens, you don't do anything, and you don't say anything. If you're not sure you can do this for me, trust me that much, then you really shouldn't come."

Xander nodded. He felt as though he wanted to throw up, but willed his stomach to back off. He had a really bad feeling about this. But if it all went wrong, he had to be there, not sitting at home, waiting, wondering.

"Spike, I'm worried about you. Suppose it doesn't work. What happens..."

But Spike silenced him by placing his lips against Xander's and kissing him deeply. "Hush, pet. Everything will be alright, I promise. Come on, let's get ready."

*****

Spike looked unbelievable tonight. Black leather and red silk. Xander felt himself growing hard just looking at him. He drank in every detail, burning it into his memory. Spike had dressed Xander in black leather too, but with a cream silk shirt which that showed off his golden skin and dark good looks to perfection. They both wore black leather dusters, and Xander couldn't believe how different he looked. There was nothing of the Zeppo here. The donut boy could never look this dangerous.

Spike poured himself a whiskey and sipped it thoughtfully as he looked at Xander admiring himself in the mirror. The ache in his chest grew. This had to work. "Xander, if it all goes wrong tonight, take the car and drive straight to LA. Go to Angelus. He's your only chance, OK?"

Xander turned stricken eyes on Spike. "Spike, please, can't we just..."

"No, pet. Promise me. Angelus is my blood. He'll be able to take care of you. I don't want you to die, if… Promise me."

"Yeah, ok, I promise," sighed Xander, as the nausea started rising again.

Spike drained his glass, grabbed his car keys and said, "Let's go."

 

*****

The club was in the middle of the warehouse district. Spike rang a bell on a nondescript door, which was opened by something that looked vaguely like a troll. Spike sounded as though he was gargling, then Xander realised he was talking to the creature. Spike put his hand on Xander's back and said, "C'mon, pet. We're here." He led Xander down a long flight of poorly lit stairs to another heavy, wooden door. As Spike opened it a wall of sound hit Xander, almost knocking him backwards. Goth music, he thought to himself, should have guessed. There was something primal about the heavy, driving beat that ran down his spine and straight to his cock. He followed as Spike made a bee-line for the bar and bought them both drinks. Then they made their way deeper into the club, and entered an alcove off to one side, where the volume of the music dropped considerably. They sat on a couch placed against the back wall, and Xander turned to Spike and said, "So what happens now?"

"Now, pet, we wait."

They'd only taken a sip of their drinks when a woman walked into the alcove. Vampire, not human, corrected Xander, surprised that he somehow knew what she was without thinking. She walked up to Spike, and dropped to her knees, taking his hand and kissing it. "Master Spike, we have made the preparations. Master Phillip's minions were seen leaving a moment ago. He will probably arrive shortly. If you and your Consort would please follow me." Xander's eyebrows had crawled up almost to his hairline, and he gave Spike an amazed look. What the hell? "Thank you, Lydia, my dear. You have served your Master well." "Thank you, Master Spike," she said as she rose from her knees and gestured for Spike to follow her. Xander was bursting to ask Spike what was going on, but a quelling glance from Spike ensured that he saved his questions for later.

Spike took Xander's hand, and they ventured even further into the club, down a corridor, until Lydia stopped at a closed door. She knocked and then entered. "Master Spike," she announced, and then stepped aside for Spike to enter, towing Xander after him. Lydia took their dusters and hung them near the door, and Xander took the opportunity to look around the room.

There were two male vampires and a small, blue-skinned demon standing in the sumptuously furnished room. The vampires bowed to Spike, but the demon just stood there, smiling brightly. Xander noticed that it - she had scales rather than skin, but otherwise looked quite, well, human. She had long, silver hair and golden eyes, and was quite pretty, really. "Hello, I'm Amaria, and you must be the vampire with the small electrical problem," she said, in a voice that sounded like a flute playing. Xander noticed the other vampires flinching at the demon's words, and none of them lifted their eyes from the ground. The tension in the room was palpable. Spike, however, burst out laughing, and suddenly everybody seemed to relax. "Yeah, you could say that," he said. "Seems to be a lot of it happening around the Hellmouth," the demon said. "Well, sit down here and I'll see what I can do." Spike sat in the chair which had been placed in the centre of the room, and Xander moved to stand next to him. Spike caught his eye, and Xander slipped to his knees at Spike's side, knowing that this was what was expected of him. Spike smiled at him and patted his shoulder. He then turned his attention back to Amaria. "OK," he said, "I'm ready."

The blue skinned demon stood behind Spike, and placed her hands on his head. She then started to move them around, pressing with her fingertips here and there, until... "Aha, yes, here it is. Now just hold still a moment..." Suddenly, Xander felt all the hair on his body stand up as a massive static charge seemed to build in the room. Then there was a deafening crack and the strong smell of ozone. Spike toppled forward off the chair and Xander lunged forward to catch him. "Spike, Spike, you OK?" cried Xander, frantically. Spike looked even paler than usual, and there was a trickle of blood coming from his ears. The blue-skinned demon walked around and squatted down next to them. "He'll be fine. Just lay him down on the couch over there - he'll come round in a few minutes. There will be no irreversible damage to him, I assure you." Xander caught the demon's eye. "The chip, is it...?" "Permanently disabled. Totally fused into a small lump of silicon, actually, and its nasty little tendrils have been vaporised. No way it can be reactivated, if that's what you're wondering?" Xander nodded, a strange mixture of fear and relief flooding through him as he picked Spike up and laid him carefully on the couch. He turned to look at the demon again. "Is there anything... I mean, do we need to pay..." "Oh, goodness, no. We're only too happy to assist in the disabling of these torture devices," she replied. She waved, and then seemed to - fade into thin air. Xander snapped his mouth shut as one of the vampires who had been hanging back walked up to him. His attention was drawn back to the couch, however, as Spike gave a groan and raised his hands to his head. Xander knelt down and brushed his hand over Spike's forehead.

"Fuck. Me. What the hell hit me?" ground out Spike through gritted teeth. The vampire who was hovering behind Xander gave a sigh of relief. "Master Spike, you're all right?" he asked. "Yeah, Damien, I'm fine. Did it have to hurt so fucking much, though?" "I'm sorry, Master, it was the most efficient method, and time was of the essence..." "It's not a criticism, simply an observation," said Spike, sounding very tired.

There was a knock at the door, and the vampire Spike had been speaking to walked over and opened it. After speaking briefly to whoever had knocked, he came back to the couch and said, "Master Spike. Master Phillip has arrived. He demands to see you now."

"Let him wait. I need to heal first, Damien. I can't let that fucker see me like this."

"Yes, of course. You need to feed, Master."

"Yeah. Bring us some drinks, oh, and some orange juice," said Spike.

Xander felt himself grow cold. He stared into glittering, blue eyes that suddenly seemed predatory. Spike had never fed from him like this before. Biting during sex, yeah, but not as - food. "Spike?"

"I need fresh blood, Xan. Not too much, but enough to repair the damage that's been done. I'm not gonna drain you, pet. You know that. But I need to heal before I face the wolves."

Xander took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, then nodded, acutely aware of the other vampires in the room, watching. He wondered briefly why Spike hadn't sent them away, and then realised that they, too, needed to see Spike feed. Spike sat up, moving so that Xander was kneeling between his legs, then reached over and kissed him. He then began to unbutton Xander's shirt and slipped it back off his shoulders. "Thank you," he said as he morphed into game face. Spike nuzzled at Xander's neck and licked along his throat, before sucking and licking at his claim mark. Xander could feel his heart racing. It's no big deal, he told himself. Spike needs this, and it's not like he hasn't fed before. But not like this, muttered a treacherous voice in the back of his mind. Before, Xander had to want it, or the chip would go off. Now it didn't matter; the chip was gone. Spike's arms tightened around Xander, and then he felt a searing pain as the sharp fangs split the (his) skin and sank into his throat. Xander struggled for a second as some primal survival instinct kicked in, and then groaned as an incredible bolt of arousal shot through him, making him hard in an instant. Spike slipped off the couch onto his knees in front of Xander and began unzipping them both, releasing their erections, only to wrap his fist around them both and begin pumping in rhythm with his sucking at Xander's throat. Xander didn't care that they were being watched. Right at this moment Spike could have fucked him in the middle of the dance floor, and he'd have begged for more.

It seemed to last for ever, and Xander felt himself grow light-headed and dizzy even as his orgasm hit. He must have blacked out for a minute or two. He awoke to find himself lying on the couch with Spike's torn wrist pressed to his mouth. Before he even thought about it, he was suckling at the wrist wound, swallowing mouthful after mouthful of the intoxicating fluid, feeling Spike's thoughts and emotions flood through him as the blood pooled inside him. The wrist was gently drawn from his mouth, and Spike kissed away the excess from Xander's lips. Xander opened his eyes and looked down to find that he'd been dressed again. He looked up to find Spike's blue gaze lovingly searching his face, making sure he was all right. Xander sighed to himself. It was worth it, wasn't it, to be loved and desired and possessed this way. It was worth it, right?

As Spike helped Xander to sit up, he noticed there were two large glasses of juice and a bottle of whiskey and some glasses sitting on a tray on the side table. Spike picked up one of the glasses of juice and gave it to Xander. "Drink up, pet. Need to make up your fluids." As Xander finished the glass, Spike took it and gave him the second one, watching him carefully as he drank it all. "Good," said Spike as he took the second glass away. He placed them both on a tray on the side table, and then poured them both a stiff whiskey. "Go and see if you can find some pizza in this dump, Damien. My Consort needs to eat," he ordered. The vampire bowed his head in agreement and left.

Xander just sat there, feeling dazed. He still felt a bit light-headed and shocky - Spike must have taken quite a lot of blood, he thought idly. "You feeling OK, pet?" asked Spike, sitting next to Xander. He passed him his drink and swallowed a good half of his own.

"Um, yeah, I think so. Just a bit dizzy is all. How are you, Spike, are you OK?"

"Fighting fit, thanks to you. Didn't realise I'd need that much blood, pet. Just sit there, have something to eat, you'll feel fine in a little while," Spike assured him, a grin on his face. "Let that bastard come, Xan, we've got nothing to worry about now." Xander nodded absently. Something inside him was screaming, even while he could feel the demon roaring in triumph at the newly unchipped state of his mate. And the chip was most definitely gone. Xander had struggled, had desperately not wanted Spike to feed for a moment. And Spike had felt it too. Proving himself to Phillip was now a mere formality.

A pizza appeared, and Xander ate it mechanically, trying not to think about anything at all. Spike pressed another full glass of whiskey into his hand, and he drank it without seeming to notice. By the time he'd finished the pizza and his fourth glass of whisky, he was feeling a lot better, physically at any rate. Mentally was a different story, though the whiskey seemed to have dulled most of his conflicted thoughts to a vaguely fluffy confusion. Something was tugging at him… driving somewhere. Wasn't he supposed to drive somewhere? LA? Visit deadboy? Oh, right, not an issue any more. Forgot. Spike seemed happy with his mate's drunken state, and that confused him even more. Xander noticed that there suddenly seemed to be a lot more vampires in the room, but he couldn't be certain when they'd appeared, or even if it only seemed that many because he was seeing double. He giggled.

There was a knock at the door. Spike rose from the couch and then squatted in front of Xander, pulling him forwards to look deeply into his eyes, and said, "Xander, listen to me. I may have to feed from someone else - I'll try not to kill them, I promise. Now, this is very important, pet. Stay on the couch. Do nothing. Say nothing. I love you." Soft lips pressed against Xander's and then they and the hands were gone. As Xander fell back against the cushions, he suddenly understood why Spike had got him drunk. Xander swallowed hard, trying to gather his ragged thoughts. OK, Xan-man - here it is - crunch time. If you can't do this, you might as well walk away now. You told Spike you could live with this. Time to put your money where your mouth is.

Spike strode over and picked up his duster, slipped it on, then walked back until he was standing in the centre of the room. "It's showtime, boys and girls," Spike announced to the room. Then he called, "Enter."

Damien, Lydia, and the other vampires flanked Spike as three men entered the room and stood in front of him. They were vampires too, Spike's demon whispered to Xander, and they were enemies. Xander noticed that, as they all took their positions in the room, they changed to game face.

"Master Spike. We heard you had been indisposed, so we came to check for ourselves."

"Master Phillip. Your concern is touching. I'm quite fine, as you can plainly see."

"You won't mind if we check that for ourselves, of course?" Xander could almost see the sparks flying as the two master vampires glared at each other. The demon he shared with Spike was howling for the other's blood, and Xander was surprised Spike could stand there and appear so calm.

"Show and tell? I thought you were a little old for that sort of kindergarten activity, Phillip?" drawled Spike, as another vampire entered the room dragging a struggling man with him. The man looked wildly around the room, and probably would have screamed when he saw the demons, except that he was gagged. His eyes fell on Xander, the only other human face in the room, and he looked pleadingly at him. Xander felt a rush of shame, and tore his eyes away, focussing on Spike instead.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Spike. I simply thought it good manners to bring a gift. And I'm sure you wouldn't be discourteous enough to refuse it, would you?" The threat implicit in the softly spoken words echoed around the room.

"Of course not. Damien, if you would be so kind..." Damien walked up to the man, took his wrist and slit it with a fang. He smelled and tasted the blood, and then nodded at Spike. Phillip glared at both of them.

"These humans take all sort of drugs, you really need to be careful these days, Phillip," said Spike. "This one is nice and healthy, though, apparently."

"Of course. And now, if you wouldn't mind?" At Phillip's gesture, the vampire holding the terrified human tore off his gag and thrust him toward Spike.

Xander forced himself to watch as Spike caught the man easily and sank his fangs into his throat. Forced down the panic that rose at the man's scream. Forced himself to remain seated as the man's struggles grew weaker. Forced himself not to rush forward as the body was casually dropped to the floor.

"Anything else?" asked Spike.

"You didn't drain him, Spike. He's still alive. I want him dead."

"You want? I'm not a fledge who kills through ineptitude, Phillip. Corpses are messy, particularly with a Slayer sniffing around. And I'm not turning someone on your say-so."

Phillip glared at him, spun on his heel and stalked out of the room, followed by his minions. Once they'd gone, Spike turned and addressed two of the waiting vampires at his side. "Take him out to the club and bring him round. He only fainted. Give him something to drink, OK? I'm feeling generous tonight. And if Phillip wanted him dead, I want him to live." The explanation seemed to please Spike's retinue, who laughed and smiled while making derogatory remarks about the other Master vampire. Two of them hauled the man to his feet and dragged him out of the room.

Spike looked across at the pale, shaking human sitting on the couch. "I'm taking my Consort home, Damien. We need to do some celebrating in private," said Spike, smirking at the other vampires.

"Of course, Master Spike. Can we expect the pleasure of your company again soon?"

"Count on it. You have done well, you have my gratitude. Go, enjoy yourselves." The grinning vampires left, and Spike immediately went to Xander. He gently pulled him from the couch and helped him on with his duster. "C'mon, pet. I'm taking you home. I'm so proud of you, Xander."

"It... it's over, Spike?"

"Yeah, it's over, pet. The human will be fine - I didn't take much, I think he just fainted with shock. Rather ruined Phillip's night, that. What a shame," laughed Spike.

"That's good," mumbled Xander as he stumbled after Spike. The vampire virtually carried him to the car, and by the time they'd got back to the apartment, Xander was fast asleep.

*****

"Wha..." Xander lifted his head and opened bleary eyes, wondering what the hell that annoying noise was. The phone! He stumbled out of bed and grabbed his duster up from the floor, rummaging through the pockets until he found the small cell phone. "Hello," he croaked into it.

//Um, Xander?//

"Willow? Hey, Willow, how are you?" grinned Xander as he made his way out to the kitchen and opened the fridge, desperately hoping to find some chilled orange juice. Yes!! He grabbed the jug and dumped it on the counter top.

//I'm fine, Xander. Um, how are you?//

"Good. Great. Just, er... hang on a sec, Wills," said Xander as he fumbled with the phone, jug and glass. He put the phone down and poured himself some juice, drained the glass and poured another one. He picked up the phone and his juice, and then sat down at the kitchen table.

"Yeah, great. Just a bit of a late night last night, still not quite awake yet. What time is it?"

//It's 11.30. I was just calling to see if you wanted to come to Giles' place for some lunch and a... a chat. I'd like to talk to you, Xander, and I don't really want to do it over the phone.//

"Er, yeah. Yeah, sure. I'll be there soon."

//OK, see you then. Bye.// Xander heard her hang up before he switched the phone off. He walked back into the bedroom, and wasn't surprised to find Spike half awake, watching him. "So, she wants to talk to you?"

"Yeah, meeting at Giles' for lunch," said Xander.

"I'm glad, pet. How are you feeling this morning?"

"Surprisingly good, actually, considering somebody tipped half a bottle of whiskey down my throat last night," said Xander, a small smile playing on his lips.

"Sorry, pet, but I figured it might be easier for you if you were too drunk to react, and it worked, didn't it? And you were never in danger. Phillip's a tosser - knew he wouldn't challenge me. He only tried it cos he thought I couldn't bite. Fucking coward. Anyway, I'm going back to sleep - nocturnal creature here," Spike said, grinning. "You'd better go and get ready. I hope it goes well, Xan," said Spike, before pulling the covers up over his head and falling instantly back to sleep.