Riley carefully moved Buffy's arm and slid out of their bed. Grabbing his clothes, he dressed hurriedly and carrying his shoes, snuck out the door and down the hall. Once outside, he put on his shoes before jogging down the street. He only had a couple of minutes to get to the rendezvous point and he didn't want to miss his check in.

As he ran, he thought about the events of the last couple of days. He knew that taking Spike and the other vampire was a mistake. He also knew that there was no way he could talk Buffy out of her plan without raising suspicions. Riley still couldn't believe that Buffy had hired a couple of half-demons to go with them. And Willow, what the fuck had she been thinking? Releasing that demon was the dumbest thing he'd ever heard of. Damn Buffy. She hadn't told him about that until after it was already done. He hadn't had a chance to warn his contact before the shit hit the fan.

And now a soldier, a good one by everything he'd read, had been turned into a vampire as a direct result of Buffy and Willow's actions. Riley wished this assignment would end, and soon. He didn't really think he'd be able to handle much more of this.

Lost in his thoughts, he didn't see his contact until he was right on him. "Graham. Fuck. You aren't going to believe this shit."

Graham Miller grabbed his friend and pulled him towards the jeep he had stashed in the alley. "We have to move, Riley. There's a warrant out for your arrest. We have to bring you in before the whole op goes tits up. I've already talked to Owens. He's going straight to Marshall and tell him what's up."

Riley tugged his arm out of Graham's hand. "We can't. This is too important. I know who the leak is. I just need a few more days to find out what that asshole is up to."

Graham stopped in his tracks, "Who is it?"

"McIntyre from M.I. God, what a dick. He had a couple of his gorillas kill the driver and the guard on the transport truck. And now he's got the Slayer and the witches working for him. This could get real bad, real fast."

Graham pushed Riley into the jeep and ran around to the driver's side. Turning the engine over, he looked at his friend. "You don't know the half of it. Harris is in critical condition, they aren't sure if he's going to make it."

Riley groaned and thumped his head against the back of the seat. "Shit. That's just fucking wonderful. What happened?"

Graham shook his head, "The details are still really sketchy. That last assault took out somewhere between ten and fifteen members of the Squad. Most of the others are injured."

Riley closed his eyes in defeat. "Fuck. This wasn't supposed to happen. That was the whole reason for me coming back to Sunnydale."

Graham pulled out of the alley and headed out of town. "It's not your fault, Riley. You've gotten some great intel for us the last couple of years. That intel has saved Harris's ass more than once."

"What about Nexus?" Riley asked.

Graham threw him a quick grin, "It's up and running. Marshall left Second Squad here to guard the install techs. They're still doing tests, but it looks like it's working like Harris planned."

"Thank God for that at least. But what about McIntyre and the Slayer?"

"We've got people on them. If they get anywhere near the Nexus, they're going to be terminated. With extreme prejudice."

Riley thought about all the shit he'd put up with from Buffy over the last couple of years, "Good. A big fucking hole in the head would do wonders for Buffy's personality."

"Riley!" Graham shouted, shocked.

Riley shook his head, "You've got no idea, Graham. I don't know what happened to her, but Buffy is plain psycho. I honestly think she'd kill half the humans in town just to get to one demon. She's seriously cracked. And Graham, she's dangerous. Really fucking dangerous. Tell your guys not to take any chances."

Graham glanced over at Riley, his friend had faced down Adam and some of the most dangerous demons on the planet. But now, talking about his former girlfriend, he looked almost scared.

*****

Spike spent every fifth hour in the tank with Xander. He wanted to do more, but that was all Wilson would allow. As it was, Xander was showing some serious improvement. His temperature had stabilized and he was conscious more. Every time Spike slid into the tank, Xander's eyes would open and he would smile at Spike.

They couldn't talk, but Wilson said Xander's vital signs steadied whenever Spike was in the tank, which was great news as far as Spike was concerned. Xander had come to mean a great deal to him in the short time they'd been working together.

Xander had rescued him, given him a job he loved, a job where he was treated with respect. And because of Xander, he had a family again. Spike still couldn't believe that the descendants of his human family all knew about him and couldn't wait to meet him in person. Maggie was on the phone almost constantly making arrangements for a reunion.

Spike grinned when he thought about his niece. Once he'd told her what Rom's family had done, Mags had taken over. When his Childe wasn't with him, or in the lab, Rom was with Maggie. She'd already gotten Rom set up in one of the guest rooms at Xander's house. Spike shook his head, remembering that little argument. Rom had tried to tell Maggie that he was perfectly fine in the barracks. Maggie had given him a look that stated more than words ever could what she'd thought about that idea.

Rom had caved meekly. Just further proof of his intelligence as far as Spike was concerned. Spike had learned a long time ago that arguing with a strong willed woman was a waste of time. They'd just do what they thought was best, no matter what anyone said. Personally, Spike was glad Mags was on his side.

Spike still felt bad about the way Rom had come to be his Childe, but if he'd had to choose, Spike didn't think he could have done any better. Rom was handling the transition better than anyone had a right to expect. Spike had a fleeting thought that Rom's time in the military might have something to do with that, but decided in the long run, it didn't really matter. The only thing that mattered was Rom was his Childe and Spike was going to make sure that he treated Rom right.

Not that that would be hard to do. Spike genuinely liked Rom. He'd liked him before he'd turned him. And the more he thought about it, the clearer it was to him that there wasn't anyone in the Squad that he wouldn't be proud to call his Childe. Even Xander would make a good Childe, their past not withstanding. But Spike hoped like Hell he never had to find out for sure.

The bond between Sire and Childe was deep and intimate. But Spike was going to keep that bond where it belonged. Having sex with a Childe was too much like incest, no matter what Angelus thought or said. And having sex with Xander was one pleasure Spike had no intention of missing. He shuddered as he remembered the smell of arousal wafting off of Xander's body when they'd been talking before everything went to Hell. Oh, yes. He and Xander would definitely get to know each other better.

Spike checked the clock on the wall and hurriedly changed into his trunks. It was time to get back in the tank. Time to get back to Xander. As Spike slid into the green goo, he wondered for a minute if this stuff would work as lube.

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