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The Strength Behind An Enemy	By : caliadragon Category: BtVS Crossovers > Misc - Slash - Male/Male Views: 6878 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-The Strength Behind An Enemy
- 2-2
- 3-3
- 4-4
- 5-5
- 6-6
- 7-7
- 8-8
- 9-9
- 10-10
- 11-11
- 2
- 3
- 4
London and
in route to Miami�

Looking at the attractive man seated in a few feet from her,
Mina Harker was struck by the stillness that suddenly overcame her friend. He was on the phone with Angel the co-leader
of the Sanctuary and the man currently being targeted by Basher�s mate. Mina was curious as to what was happening,
but refrained from eavesdropping. Basher
was by nature a quiet man. While it was
true that he was something of an imp, he also had a deep wellspring of pain and
sorrow. She was one of the few people
that knew what had happened to cause such sadness and felt blessed to be
so. When Angel called Mina braced
herself to be there to comfort Basher through the loss of his mate once again. She was certain that Buffy had finally been
killed hunting a vampire. The tragedy
was that Buffy had once been a sweet mischievous child; she was the perfect
match for Basher. However, once Darla
got through with Buffy the child became a hunter of their kind. Mina only hoped that Basher could stand up to
the pain this time.

�What do you plan to do?� Basher asked drawing her attention
back to him. She watched as Basher
straightened up and seemed to become hopeful.
�I will meet you in Miami. Thank you Angel.� Basher said in heartfelt
relief. Once he hung up the phone Mina
walked over to Basher and took his hand.

�Basher?� Mina asked gently.

�Their going to save her,
Buffy, their going to save her,�
Basher told her with wide eyed wonder.

�What? This is
wonderful, what caused the change of heart?� Mina asked.

�As you know a week ago Riddick, Jack Bauer, and Spike went
to investigate the nonconsensual turning of a young girl. Bauer was tracking them because someone was
searching for Giles. What they found
were the real people behind the characters of Xander Harris and Willow
Rosenberg.� Basher began, everyone in Camelot had learned of the truth when
Harry called back to tell them that Livia was once again on the rise and the
council was ordering a hunt. Mina nodded
in agreement. �Xander decided that
Buffy was falling into madness, something I have been telling people all
along. I know that Angel and Nick had no
choice but to declare her Exile, I also know that there were those who thought
that she should be killed after she attacked Angel and Giles, thankfully that
didn�t happen. Xander has given Angel
the excuse that he was looking for to save Buffy. They have involved Alex Cross and think that
with a little luck, a lot of therapy and protection, Buffy can be healed. I�m going back to Miami;
they think she will show up there looking for Xander.� Basher told her his eyes glowing faintly with
hope.

Mina smiled and hugged him gently. �This is good news, go pack,� she told him as
she pulled away. Basher nodded, kissed
her cheek and went to do as she ordered.
�Good luck my friend,� she whispered.

Basher had left on the jet that night, after saying good-bye
to William, Mina, and Tess who was settling into Camelot easily. He knew that Seth had returned to Sylum a few
days earlier, while Rusty and Danny were sent onto Brazil,
something that amused Basher immensely.
He had no doubt that Nick had used some logical excuse to keep the two
trouble makers away, but still it was amusing and Basher was pleased that his
children were safe.

He was also relieved that he made peace with Riddick when he
did. It would have made this trip a lot
harder than it was already going to be.
Basher didn�t fool himself into believing that just because they were
going to try to help Buffy that it would work.
Nor did he delude himself into believing that if she did heal that she
would bond with him. He hoped that it
worked, that they were able to heal her and that they could bond, but the truth
was, he didn�t expect it to happen.
Basher just hoped that he could be a part of her life in some way, help
her become the woman she was meant to be without Darla�s influence.

Present Time�

Nikko and Tru
looked at the younger vampire that was making his way towards the beach and
felt guilt fill them. His death was
their fault; they had been the ones to get the information to Livia and the
Generals. Nikko and
Tru were the last of the slaves to be turned and had not yet been broken by
them, something that the vampires had not realized when they sent Nikko
on reconnaissance to watch Xander and Willow�s
lab.

Tru had been the one, with Nikko�s
help to get everyone one to escape. They
were also the only ones that had yet to be chosen for a clan. They had been brought to Miami
with everyone else until they could decide where to send them. Nikko
and Tru had formed an alliance and a friendship during the time they had been
imprisoned by the Rouge Army. Nikko
had come to the Army�s attention because of his parents and their ties to Lara
Croft and Indy.

Tru had come to their attention due to her own gifts. Tru�s gift was something that died with
her. Since she had been turned she no
longer saw the dead talking to her and begging her to help them. She didn�t know if it was because she herself
was dead, or if it was because she had mainly been helpless for the last
year.

Like Nikko her
family was dead, something she had tried to stop despite her brother telling
her not to, he had been a corpse at the time and she should have listened. Tru and Nikko�s
Sire was Smith, who was dust now thanks to the real Spike, something that had
thrilled both of his children.

One of the rules that Livia had was that until a childe had
been in their Sire�s care for a year, no one else could play with them. Tru had been reaching her final days of that
year when Smith was dusted and the others had more pressing things on their
minds. Nikko
had only been turned six months earlier.
The fifteen year old had been the youngest among the group, and while
they had both suffered at their Sire�s hands it was nothing compared to what
they other eight had suffered. Two of
them had chosen to be dusted, not surprisingly they had been Bateman�s
children. Those poor souls had lived
nothing but hell at his hands.

Tru and Nikko
shared another look and made their way down to the beach where Xander was
sitting. They could both see one of the
older vampires standing up the beach watching them and they felt safer for it. When they got to Xander, he looked up in
question, smiling shyly. �Hello,� he
said kindly.

�Hi, I�m Tru this is Nikko,
we came to apologize to you.� Tru blurted out, making Nikko
role his eyes at her. She poked him in
the ribs.

�It wasn�t your fault.� Xander said drawing their attention
back to him. They looked at him in
confusion. �My turning, it wasn�t your
fault.� Xander explained at the look.

�But we�re the reason they knew you were back.� Nikko
said shamefully.

�I know, still wasn�t your fault.� Xander assured him.

�Thanks,� Tru said, unable to say anything else.

�You�re welcome. So
I�m sure you have heard this before, but you look a lot like the girl that
played Faith on Buffy.� Xander said with an impish grin.

Tru and Nikko
snorted out a laugh, �Yeah, Sire kept mentioning that. I hated that bastard, I am so glad that he�s
dead.� Tru said with a nasty grin.

�Me too,� Nikko
said whole heartedly. �He killed our
families.�

�I�m sorry,� Xander said gently.

�It�s okay, sorta. So
what are you doing?� Nikko said
sitting beside him with Tru sitting on his other side.

�I�m trying to decide on who to ask
to take me shopping. I want to fix up
the gym and get some play equipment out in the middle of the commons so that
Sandro and any other kids can play when they come over. Want to come with us? That is after I talk
someone into taking me?� Xander asked them shyly. He knew that they had gone through many of
the same things that he had and he felt at ease with them. Nikko
and Tru shared a look and nodded. It
would be good to do something normal.

In the main hall of the compound Eric�s mother had just
arrived. She had learned that her son
had a new step-child; she decided it was time to meet the boy. Eric had warned her that Xander might not
take to her immediately, but she wasn�t worried. Clorinda was a strong woman, who had in her
life dealt with shy and afraid children.
She looked forward to meeting her newest grandchild before he was introduced
to the rest of the family. When she
found out that her son had a male lover and was a vampire a part of her had
mourned the fact that her son would not give her grandchildren, that mourning
had been put aside by the introduction of Riddick�s children. She had been hoping that all of her
grandchildren would arrive soon.
Clorinda never questioned that they were her grandchildren. She was even a great-grandmother now that her
girls had taken in their darling Sandro.

Eric had gone to retrieve her grandchild and Clorinda was
taking the time to meet her newest grandchild�s mate. The man was a strong one; she could sense
that in him. It was good that he was
strong from what she knew of Xander�s past he would need to be.

She looked up when Eric, Riddick, and three children walked
into the room. She stood and smiled in
greeting at the group. �Momma, I want
you to meet my son Xander. Xander this
is your grandmother Clorinda Delko,� Eric said as he pulled Xander up to stand
beside him.

Xander smiled shyly at the older woman and held out a
hand. Clorinda beamed at him in response
and took his hand. Pulling him into a gentle hug, Xander allowed it and when
they pulled away he was smiling at her.
�I�ve never had a grandmother before.� He said shyly.

�You do now and you have a grandfather as well as aunts,
uncles, and cousins. We will have a
family barbeque and you will meet everyone.�
Clorinda decided nodding to back it up.
�You will bring your mate; he is family and must meet everyone as well.�
Clorinda said as well.

Elliot tensed, expecting Xander to become upset at the
reminder that he was there. Instead
Xander smiled shyly at him. Elliot
returned the smile and wondered if he had a chance after all.

�Um�would you consider helping me out with something?�
Xander asked his grandmother shyly.

�Of course, what can I do for you sweetheart?� Clorinda
asked pleased to be a help to him.

�I want to buy play equipment for Sandro and any other
children that come to the compound. I
want it for indoor and outdoor use. I�ve
decided to transform the gym. I�ll leave
part of it for basketball and working out, but I want somewhere that kids can
play. I also decided to turn one of the
rooms near the gym into a play room.
Games, toys, an entertainment center, that sort of thing. However, I don�t really know much about stuff
like that so I need a parent to help me.
I was thinking of seeing if Lara or Indy would go with me as well. I thought we could set up an exploration
area, someplace with jungle gyms and monkey bars. I thought that could be part of the indoor
area. Would you come with me?� Xander
asked her a smile on his face. Then he
frowned and turned to look at Nikko
and Tru. �Grandmother, Elliot, this is
Tru Davies and Nikko Zond, they are going to go with us.� He paused again and looked shyly towards
Elliot. �Would you go with us to
Elliot?�

Elliot looked surprised to be asked, but nodded pleased that
Xander wanted to spend time with him.
Eric however, was smiling happily.
His talk with Xander had brought about a good change after all. He and Xander had talked the night after
Xander�s lab had exploded and he had explained that Elliot was just as worried
and afraid to bond as Xander was. He
also told Xander what Elliot had told them about his turning and what he had
left behind. Xander had gone quiet after
learning what Elliot had left behind in New York and what he used to do for a
living there.

Xander had decided after talking to Eric, that he needed to
stop avoiding Elliot. Though he was
afraid and he knew that eventually Elliot would leave him, he was willing to do
what he could to make life easier for Elliot.
That meant spending more time with the man and getting to know who he
was.

�Eric and I will go too and I�ll go get Indy and Lara.�
Riddick said with a slight grin towards Elliot who smiled in return. They both knew that this step with Xander was
because of Eric and Xander�s trust of his father.

�I would like to come as well. With Lara and Indy with you they will only
want to buy foolish games. The children
will need to have something that is fun, but will teach them as well.� Artemus
said from his place on the couch. He was
enjoying a book taken from Xander�s library.
While not on the scale of Speed�s, Xander had a wide variety of subjects
as well as fictional books. It seemed
the clan had acquired two more book addicts, when he had spoken to Giles the
night before the other man had been positively vocal with joy over the size of Willow�s
personal library. That was not including
the books that the pair shared in common that were now stored in what used to
be the campus library. More than one
person had been in the library over the last few days.

�That sounds great. I
need all of the help I can get.� Xander said with a pleased smile. �I also want to go to the book store and I
need to get a hold of Charlie when we get back.�

�I�ve seen your library Xan, why do you need to go to the
book store?� Tru asked, teasingly.
Actually she and Nikko had
both taken a book from the collection.

Xander smiled slightly, �You can never have to many books.�

His response caused several people to laugh. �Speed feels the same way.� Artemus said to the questioning looks from
Xander, Nikko, and Tru. Riddick merely smirked again and went off to
get Lara and Indy.

When he returned later Lara was grinning widely and Indy
looked interested. �Can Indy and I
really set up an obstacle course?� Lara asked Xander.

�Yep,� Xander answered amused by her behavior.

�Excellent, this is going to be fun!� Lara said with a wild
grin.

�Hey you mind if I tag along?� Danny asked he had been with
Lara when Riddick came to get them.

�Nope,� Xander said with a shy smile.

�Hey I wanna go!� Seth said, smirking.

Riddick rolled his eyes.
�Maybe we should just off to bring anyone who wants to go.�

�Cool, I�ll go pass it around,� Seth said with a cheeky
grin. Eric laughed.

~~~~~

By the time everyone had gathered, Harry and Draco were
among those that had decided to go.
Mostly they were bored and wanted to get for awhile, but they figured
they could help pick out things to keep people occupied. Several other members of the clans had
decided to go as well, since they would also be going to a mall and they were
interested in seeing what Xander and the others would come up with.

Xander had been thrilled to see Alexx show up with her
children and begged for them to come to.
It would do them good to have a perspective from older children and
Riddick had already called the twins to have them meet them at the store that Xander
had found that specialized in playground equipment as well as activity centers
for active children and teens.

Xander also wanted an area where the kids, and the adults,
could have a place to play sports if they wanted. For that he also needed people who knew about
sports since he never really kept up with them. Alexx had been amused and pleased by the
fact that Xander wanted to set up so much for the kid�s sake, however, the
amusement came in when she realized that most of those kids would end up being
the adult vampires.

�Xander I�ve been meaning to ask you if you would mind
making a few more of the game that you made for Sandro. I saw him playing with it and I think the
kids would love it.� Alexx said a little later as they were driving to the
business to buy the equipment.

�Of course, how many do you want?� Xander asked from the
back seat. Alexx, like Riddick, could
ask for anything and Xander would do his best to give it to her.

�Five? I want to send Madison, Ray JR, and Lindsey one. Plus one each for my two,� Alexx said turning
to look at him.

�Sure, I�ll start work on them when we get back to the
lab. Willow
and I have decided to market them so you�re all doing me a favor. I�m thinking of giving them to a few older
kids as well. So if you know any
teenagers that would be interested let me know, please?� Xander asked her with a smile.

�Of course,� Alexx said with a smile.

�I�m interested, what is it?� Nikko
asked from his place on the left of Xander.
Tru was on his right. They had
decided to stick to Xander and were pleased that Xander didn�t seem to
mind.

�It�s a language game.
Sandro only speaks Spanish, so I thought he could use it to learn
English, but it also does a lot of different games in Spanish and I can set it
up so that with a new memory card he can learn other languages as well.� Xander
told him with a smile.

�What an excellent idea Xander. How much will it cost to buy?� Artemus asked.

�For the clan, nothing, for everyone else we were thinking
of retailing it for about 30 dollars, but that includes six games. Since we are going to market it as a learning
game we are going to offer a number of schools that we have dealt with before a
deal on it so that they can use them with their children. But that won�t be until we work the bugs
out. After their out we�ll send it to
the warehouse and have them built to sell.� Xander said with a shrug.

�I wondered how you got so many out when it appeared that
you and Willow made everything,�
Lara said from her place behind Xander.

�We do the initial design and build, but after everything
has been worked out when tell Charlie and Kendra and they send it on to our
factories depending on what is being built.
All of our military or government equipment goes to the southwest to our
factory down there, our police and science equipment goes to the northwest, and
so on. We have factories in every
direction here in the states. Plus a few
in Quebec and New Zealand,
Willow was supposed to travel to the Australia
for our newest factory, but she got turned instead. We still haven�t decided to send in her
place, its one of the reasons that I need to talk to Charlie. Willow
has decided I need to start dealing with him, since I am talking to others
now.� Xander said with a smile, still remembering the burst of words that Willow
had come out with and then her apology followed by relief when he agreed.

�I didn�t realize that Willox-Harsberg Inc was that wide
spread a company.� Eric said with wide
eyes.

�That�s the main company; we have subsidiaries spread out
everywhere. The most well known are Dawnlight and IraSheila Inc.�
Xander told him, making several of the passengers gap in astonishment. Both companies had come out with some of the
best education and safety equipment in the last few years.

�Where did you come up with the names for the companies?�
Tru asked.

�Willox-Harsberg is for me and Willow, Dawnlight is for Dawn, IraSheila
is for Ira and Sheila Rosenberg, we came up with that one after Willow�s
parents was killed in the car wreck just after we were emancipated. They were wonderful people and their deaths
were a real tragedy. They loved Willow
a great deal.� Xander said sadly, thinking of what his best friend had lost.

�But didn�t they let her separate from them when she was
sixteen?� Riddick asked confused.

�Yes, but I think they only did it because they knew I
needed to be protected and they knew that with their ages Willow
needed to be as well. As it was her
being emancipated kept a lot of her greedy relatives from taking her money and
inheritance from her after Ira and Sheila were killed. Willow
and her Mom were more like best friends than mother and daughter. While Willow was Daddy�s
Princess, they loved Willow and
would do anything to make her safe and happy.� Xander answered. Alexx and the others were pleased to hear
that Willow�s parents had cared for
their daughter. They had begun to fear
that both of them had just been thrown away by their parents.

~~~~~~

AN: Thanks to Cordy for helping me with the twin's
behavior and dialog. Also the man they scare will be making another
appearance.

Calleigh smiled as she climbed out of her SUV, Alexx had called
her to join the group on their quest for equipment. She was looking forward to joining in with
the group and to meeting Xander. The
young man had impressed her with his lab and with the fact that he had survived
what she had seen in those pictures. As
she neared them a sigh fell from her lips at the sight of one of the men in the
group. Bosco was very good looking, but
the two were constantly at odds on procedure and he had actually tried to keep
her from doing her job last week when she and Eric went into process a scene
from a gang fight. She had to literally
verbally flay him before he allowed her to do her job. Not that she minded the vampire, but he was
worse at trying to protect her than Speed and the others were.

When she neared them, Xander turned to face her and they
were all surprised by the sudden laugh that came from the boy. He turned to look at Bosco, then back to her
and snickered. Riddick raised an eyebrow. �Xander want to tell me what�s tickled you?�
Eric asked before his mate could.

Xander turned to look at him and grinned widely, �Calleigh
is Bosco�s mate.� He said looking between the two and snickering again. �From what I see, he�s met his
match. Let�s go shop,� Xander said with
a grin for Eric, who laughed at the sudden playfulness of his son and allowed himself to be led away.

Calleigh stared in disbelief at Xander and then at Bosco who
was blushing uncomfortably. A slow
wicked smile crossed her face. �Shall we
go shopping?� she purred looking at him in amusement, before turning and
dragging Riddick into the store behind her.
The older man was snickering at the flummoxed looked on Bosco�s face
while the others followed laughing at the man.

When they got inside Alexx was at Xander�s side along with
Brian and Jamie who were looking around trying to figure out where to go
first. Indy and Lara were already
looking around, trying to decide what would work best in the course that they
were setting up, while Seth was eyeing the rock wall and the rope set. Nikko and Tru were with Harry and Draco a few
feet down, looking at the balance beams and some other equipment. As the salesman walked past them on his way
to Xander�s group he paused to ogle the group, a nasty smirk crossing his
face. Draco and Harry turned to glare at
the man, making him hurry away.

When the salesman came up to them Xander�s teasing suddenly
stopped and he pushed Brian and Jamie behind him smiling tensely at the
man. Alexx narrowed her eyes and looked
the man up and down. �May I help you?� the
man asked politely.

Xander didn�t speak; he just looked at the man. Eric and Riddick frowned, �We want to buy
some equipment,� Riddick growled. The
man gulped and turned his attention away from Xander and the two younger
children.

�Of course what would you like to see?� the man asked
nervously.

�Someone else to help us for one,� Clorinda said sharply,
she and Alexx were glaring at the man.

�Is there a problem?� Another voice asked as another
salesman walked up to them. He too had
passed Draco and the others, but other than an amused smile at their
conversation he had continued on his way.

�I think I talked to you on the phone, Jesse isn�t it?�
Xander asked. �I�m Xander.�

Jesse�s face lit with a smile, �Hello Xander, and yes I was
the one you spoke to. Have you come with
your family to order the equipment you wanted?�

�Yes, we brought the experts with us. I�ve decided I want at least two of
everything, one for outside use and the other for inside. I am hoping you can accommodate us.� Xander said quietly, though the group noticed
that Xander was still blocking the other salesman�s view of the kids.

�Daddy, Poppa, sorry we were late, hey Little brother.� Kyra
said as she, Jack, Jayne, and Sandro came up to their sides. Xander and Sandro shared a grin and he
reached out hugging the little boy and by extension Jack, who grinned.

Kyra kissed his cheek and they all turned to face the two
salesmen. Kyra�s eyes narrowed as she
looked at the first man who had come up to them and then smiled in satisfaction
as he practically ran way from her. �So
have you bought anything yet?� she asked them.

�No, but I�ve let the others loose on the store so I figure
we�ll start ordering in a bit. Can I
take Sandro to look around and pick out what he wants?� Xander asked
eagerly.

�Sure,� Kyra said, knowing that Xander would protect
Sandro.

�I�ll go with them,� Eric offered, having no intention of
letting Xander and Sandro out of his sight, especially since he didn�t know
where the one man was.

�Excellent,� Jack said with a smile.

�Wait, can everyone come here for a minute,� Xander asked
somewhat shyly.

The group came back to him and looked at him in
question. �Okay here�s what I need you
to do. I need you to pick out equipment
that will last up to lots of use, be fun and something that everyone can
use. Make a note of what it is and we�ll
see if it is a one piece or if we�re buying two of whatever it is.� Xander said
with a smile at the group.

�What price limit are we looking at?� Alexx asked thinking
that they needed to be on a budget.

Xander shook his head, �No limit. Pick what you want and we�ll decide as a
group whether it stays or comes with us.�

�Cool,� Jamie and Brian said, thinking of some of the stuff
that they had already seen.

�Alright let�s go see what we can find.� Clorinda said with an amused smile.

Xander looked down at Sandro and explained what was going
on. � "Sandro, nosotros
escogeremos el equipo del juego tan si
usted ve algo usted quiere
jugar en sepamos y nosotros lo obtendremos bueno?" Sandro smiled blindingly and nodded
quickly.

"Estancia con su t�o Xander," Kyra reminded Sandro as the little boy
grabbed hold of Xander's hand.

"Si, mama!"

Everyone split up and started looking for things to
buy. Jesse assigned each group a
salesperson, though he didn�t assign Cal, who everyone had seemed to take a
dislike to. For the next two hours item
after item was added to the list of things for contemplation. Jesse was unable to believe the sheer number
and expanse of equipment being decided on.
Xander and Sandro seemed to be picking out swing sets, merry-go-rounds,
and teeter-tauters and to Sandro�s delight a train that went around a track and
he could play conductor in. They had
decided on a sand box as well as a turtle slide to put with it and a rock that
a small boy could climb.

The others had gone with balance beams, rock climbing walls,
monkey bars rope bridges and swings, a tube that you crawled through a set of
swings with a wooden fort on it and a spiral slide. There were several different designs of that
particular set that were chosen and by the time they had finished deciding what
went where the group had come to the agreement to buy them all and make a mini
castle and parapet out of them.

Thanks to Jesse they had also found someone to repair and
ready the pool that they had in the gym.
Xander had then asked that they fix a smaller pool nearby that Sandro
could play and swim in fully. After
Xander had set up a time for the delivery�s to be made and had paid the group
loaded up and headed to the mall. As
they were leaving Riddick pulled Jesse aside and calmly mentioned that he might
want to get rid of Cal. The man seemed
to have an attraction to their kids and those that looked like kids. He had already called Tripp to have him
investigate the man.

While Riddick was having his small chat with Jesse, Jack and
Kyra traded a quick nod. Kyra went out to the cars with everyone else, Sandro
balanced on her hip and chattering a mile a minute to Xander. Jack slipped back
into the store, searching for Cal. The man gulped nervously when she blocked
his way out of the storage room.

"I'm only going to say this once, asshat," she
said, her voice flat and dead as all life seemed to bleed from cold blue eyes.
"I catch you with in five hundred feet of my little brother, my son, or
any of the kids in my family, and you are gator bait."

Cal swallowed hard again. "I'll ... I'll tell the
police you threatened me."

"News flash, moron," Jack growled. "We are
the police." She planted her hand in the middle of his chest and shoved
back hard enough to make his teeth rattle together in his head. "I've
given you fair warning. Don't test me."

Jesse was standing behind her when she turned around. She
just smiled warmly and winked before jogging to catch up with her family. Jesse
shook his head slowly and frowned at Cal. "We need to talk. In my office. Now."

When they reached the mall the first place they went was to
the book store, Xander wanted to see what they had and buy a few books. Again the group spread out looking for things
that interested them and Sandro was with Xander looking at different books, with
his Mothers and Grandparents at their sides.
By the time they left the book store Xander had bought nearly twenty
bags worth of books and as many bags of movies and comics. Riddick chuckled and made a call, there was
no way there was going to be enough room in the cars for all of the stuff that
Xander was buying, and that did not include the stuff that everyone else had
bought.

Xander had also taken it on himself to decide that his �brother�
and �sister� needed to go shopping for clothes and whatever else they
needed, so Calleigh and Alexx took Tru and Nikko to go buy cloths and promised
to meet them in the promenade in a
couple of hours. Xander had handed over one of the credit
cards he had brought and made them promise to spend as much as they needed to
outfit themselves.

While he had been shopping Willow had called Xander�s cell
phone, something she had insisted he have, and proceeded to get to know her
brother and sister. She felt guilty
that she hadn�t talked to them while they were at Sylum and she agreed with
Xander that they were to have what they wanted and needed. Tru and Nikko were surprised and touched by
the fact that they both suddenly had a family again.

While they were at the next store going through the play
stations and other video games, several chosen showed up to get the receipts to
the stores that they had already shopped at and take their merchandise to the
car and the truck
that had been brought with them.

Speed and Horatio had also come along to see what the group
was up to and to make sure that they were behaving enough that they weren�t
going to get anyone kicked out of the mall.
Speed soon ended up buying his own share of the books in the store
before going with Horatio and the others to see what would be bought next.

When they reached the toy store Xander had to be reigned in
from buying everything that Sandro thought was cool and they realized quickly
that he would spoil Sandro given the chance.
The boy was also given to fits of whimsy every once in awhile and people
in their group would suddenly find themselves with a gift of some sort.

When they reached the electronics store Xander began to shop
with a narrow focus that literally scared the saleswoman that had tried to
suggest something he didn�t want. �Its
crap, I don�t buy crap.� Xander said distractedly, without letting the woman
begin her spiel, after that they were left alone. Riddick was vastly amused.

�Xander?� Horatio asked an hour
into their shopping spree in the store.

�Yes?� Xander asked, looking up
from the computer he was studying.

�What are you going to do with most of the things you are
buying from here?� Horatio asked confused by some of the items that Xander had
sent to the check out.

�I�m going to tear them apart and make other things. Some of them are to make the games for the
kids and for a new game I am going to make for Sandro and the others if they
want it. Some of them are going to be
used in the dampeners and some of them are going be used in controlling the gas
flow and repellant on the Smell stick.� Xander told him with a smile.

�Okay, I was just wondering.� Horatio said with a smile, he
was pleased that Xander felt comfortable enough to tell him what he was
doing.

�I think this is the last one, unless you can think of
anything else that would be needed.� Xander said looking over at the
others. Horatio, Speed, Eric, Riddick,
the Twins, Sandro, and Artemus were the only ones left in the store with them.

�Not a thing, I think you bought most of their merchandise,�
Speed said with an ironic smile.

�Okay, let�s go to the candy store next. I need more sweets in the lab.� Xander said
with a beaming smile. This brought
laughter from the group and they walked out to do just that.

When they reached the candy store, both Eric and the Twins
stopped Xander before he could go inside.
Eric grinned at Xander; he had found Xander�s candy stash and decided
that this was one area where he was going to step in and limit Xander�s
buying. �Xander, I can�t let you buy as
much as what you had in your lab until I confiscated it. You maybe a vampire, but you have to sleep
and candy has a strange effect on your metabolism. Just choose a few things and once their gone
you can come back.�

The rest of the group grinned at one another. Eric had taken the role of Poppa very
seriously and since the explosion in the lab he had taken to watching over
Xander and visiting the lab or calling to make sure that Xander was resting,
feeding, and leaving the lab at least once during the day.

Xander blinked slightly, but nodded in agreement. Eric had been horrified by the amount of
sugar that Xander had stored in the lab the last time he had been there and
Xander was now forbidden to eat Twinkies by Alexx, who Eric had told about the
candy and junk food. Giles had told them
that this was also a trait that Willow shared with her friend.

�And no more than one or two pieces for Sandro at a time, he
doesn�t need the sugar high.� Jack added, while Kyra nodded in agreement. Again, Xander agreed and they went into the
store to shop.

With Eric�s words in mind, Xander picked only his favorites
and in a first of the day managed to get out of the store without spending more
than forty dollars on anything. Though
he did make sure that he had purchased some of Sandro�s favorites within they
amount as well as a few things that he remembered Elliot mentioning he
liked.

Once they were finished shopping they went to the promenade
to wait for the rest of their group. As
they were waiting Elliot made his way to where they were sitting. When Xander saw him he smiled shyly in
greeting. Elliot was again surprised,
but also pleased by the fact that Xander was acknowledging his presence. Xander shifted sideways and let Elliot set
down beside him, before blushing and looking away. He reached into the bag that he was holding
and shyly offered Elliot a candy bar.
Elliot smiled and accepted it.

The rest of the group looked on in amusement, as Xander,
whom they all thought would have to be courted, offered Elliot the first gift
between them. Perhaps they had a better
chance than anyone thought.

~~~~~~

AN: New fandom added, Underworld.

Xander sat on the beach watching the waves as they crashed
against the beach, a soft smile playing across his face. This was the first time in the last few days
that he had allowed himself to just sit and think of the changes going on in
his life. The things that had happened
to him, things that not even Willow knew about, convinced him that he would
never have love or happiness with another person. He loved and adored Willow, but in a way that
would never transfer into sex or that sort of intimacy. Willow was a sexual creature, so he knew that
sex wasn�t all about pain and humiliation.
Xander could still remember Willow bringing home porn when they turned
eighteen so that she could show Xander that sex wasn�t always painful. They had both laughed themselves silly over
the cheesy lines in the first movie and Xander was definitely turned off by the
thought of having sex with a woman. They
had ended up watching gay porn for the rest of the night and it had helped
Xander come to the conclusion that he was gay.

Willow had been the one true constant in his life since he
was five, leaving her had been physically and mentally painful. The link they shared had eased that somewhat
and between the two of them they had managed to control it so that Xander
wasn�t aware of when she and Giles were having sex, something that had happened
twice at the manor and had embarrassed him, but amused her.

Spending time with his new family had also showed Xander
that love could go beyond time and place.
This made him think of Elliot, his mate.
Xander was amazed by the other man.
Elliot�s soul was calling to him, making him want to put aside his fears
and allow the bond. He recognized Elliot
as men and women from his previous lives.
Each time they had met before they had been close to marrying, or
becoming mates, only for tragedy to strike and for them to lose one another
time and again.

During their first lives before Eli was turned he had known
the other man as a young bard and warrior.
He died not long before Eli was turned and dusted by Livia. Eli had blamed himself for not being able to
help the man that he had fallen in love with.
The knowledge of coming close only to lose each other before their bond
could be cemented or acted upon was one of the reasons that Xander was so
reluctant to bond.

Despite what the others told him, Xander wasn�t completely
convinced that Livia would not end up dusting him again. Xander had been told by Eric and by others
what happened to mates if one was dusted or killed after the bonding began and
if it had been done. Xander didn�t want
Elliot to be insane or to die. Xander
wanted to hold himself away from Elliot and to stop the bond before it could go
any further, however, Elliot wasn�t making that easy for him and after his
conversation with Eric, he knew that he couldn�t hold off much longer. Xander knew that he was already falling in
love with Elliot. It wasn�t hard to fall
for the man; the emotions and caring that he showed Xander were incredible to
him.

Xander stood suddenly, a thought coming to him. It was time that he acted bravely for a
change and maybe made the next move in his relationship with Elliot. First though he needed to go and talk to Tru
and Nikko, they could help him with what he wanted to do, he hoped.

~~~~~~

Ryan Wolfe watched as Calleigh and Bosco faced off against
one another, he was grinning despite himself and enjoying watching the other
man get a thorough dressing down from the southern beauty. They had arrived on scene only to be told
that they weren�t allowed to go in and do their job. Eric was dealing with Elliot Allheart, the
newest detective on the force. The two
men were shaking their heads and also watching Calleigh explain the rules to
the other man.

He could hear phrases from each of them, mostly from Bosco,
as the other man was more want to raise his voice than Calleigh. He could have sworn he heard the words mate
and vampire as well as stubborn several times in their conversations, but he
was unsure. Finally Bosco threw up his
hands and spun to walk away, Calleigh turned with a smirk on her face and
walked towards him. Ryan chuckled and
picked up both of their cases and walked to her. She grinned at him and took the case. They both turned with a raised eyebrow to
Elliot and Eric who grinned in response.

Eric picked up his case and the three CSI�s went to begin
processing their case, though the three did notice that Elliot and Bosco stayed
where they could watch the three of them work.
Ryan figured that was a good idea since the lab still had an open hit
out on it. Ryan loved his job and the
people that he worked with. He had made
a lot of mistakes when he first came to the lab, but they seemed to have
forgiven him for the most part, well at least Calleigh and Alexx seemed to
have.

One of the things he loved about working in the lab, was
that unlike when he was on patrol there were no malicious teasing about his
OCD, Eric teased him about it, but it was affectionate, not taunting and
hurtful. Eric had even pointed out that
it had helped them when they were after the Judge. Ryan smiled at his colleges again before
turning back to his work.

~~~~~~

Xander looked around nervously, but smiled at Seth who was
acting as his escort for this excursion.
He had called to ask where Elliot was and found out he was at the
lab. Xander had asked if they could meet
there and have dinner together once his shift was over. Elliot had hesitated for a moment and Xander
had been afraid that he was going to say no, only to have to hold back a
nervous giggle when Elliot said yes.

He had then thrown himself on Tru�s mercy and begged her to
help him find something to wear that would be nice, but still cover his
scars. Tru had immediately gone through
his closet and found the outfit he was currently wearing. He had on a pair of nice chinos, that fit him
snugly, but weren�t indecently tight. A
soft green, silk shirt and black boot, his hair was brushed, but left to lie
where it will. The shirt made his eyes stand
out more than they usually did and he made a stunning picture to those that
looked at him.

Valera and Ryan were the first to see the newcomers and both
froze, eyes wide, both whimpered.
�Damn,� Valera whispered. Seth
smirked and looked directly at them while Xander looked down shyly. Valera wondered who they were, but didn�t
have to ask as Speed came out of the new trace lab and called out a greeting to
both of them.

�Xander, Seth, what�s up?�
Speed asked as the pair walked towards him.

�We�re here to pick up a friend of ours, Elliot, for
dinner.� Seth said, going with the idea that it was a buddy dinner, so as not
to out Elliot at the station.

�Sounds good, Valera, Ryan come here I want you to meet
someone.� Speed called with a sudden
smirk. He couldn�t wait to see how they
took meeting Xander. When the two
reached them Xander looked up and smiled gently. Ryan returned the smile while looking at
Speed in question.

�Guys, this is Seth Gecko and Xander Harris. Xander is the co-founder of Willox-Harsberg
Inc. and Seth is his body guard.� Speed said.
Seth snorted and rolled his eyes, while Valera and Ryan stared at Xander
with wide eyes.

�Will you marry me?� Valera said with a wicked grin. Xander blushed to the roots of his hair and
laughed shyly.

�Sorry I�m already taken,� he told her shyly, smiling
slightly. She grinned and laughed.

�It�s nice to meet you.
I�ve used a lot of your products since I�ve been here and on the
force. H said that you came up with the
new unit that the bomb squad is testing out,� Ryan said with a smile for the
shy boy.

�Willow and I try to come up with stuff to help people,
though it usually reflects what we are interested at the time. We started work on the B.R.A.D. when we were
fourteen, but after I blew up our sheds, we shelved it. I didn�t start working on it again until
recently. Willow had finished the
software so we offered it to Horatio and the department. I�m just glad that he can use it.� Xander said honestly.

�Wait, you blew up some sheds? How did you do that?� Ryan
asked.

�Willow and I built a bomb,� Xander answered honestly.

Valera and Ryan stared at him in shock. �Were you hurt?� Ryan asked worriedly.

�No, we only damaged our sheds, there was a kink in the
software, but it should be better now and safer.� Xander answered again, honestly. Speed hoped that no one asked a question
where Xander would be required to lie, because he was beginning to wonder if
the boy could. He knew that Xander could
evade a question, he had seen him do it, but he had never heard him lie.

He was also hoping that no one asked where their parents
were since it upset Xander. To his
surprise, neither Valera nor Ryan asked about Xander�s parents, instead they
asked if he would be interested in looking around the lab while they waited on
Elliot to get done with work. Of course
it was the sad look on both of their faces that they recognized Xander from the
case a week earlier.

For the next thirty minutes they explored the main portions
of the lab, they didn�t go into any of the sensitive areas since they would
need permission to go further into the lab, permission that Speed could not
grant them. As they were making their
way back to the main part of the lab, Horatio, Bosco, Calleigh, and Elliot were
making their way there as well. Elliot
watched in pleasure as the young vampire smiled at him in welcome, then turned
with a warm smile towards the others.

When Horatio reached them Xander beamed at him and waved
shyly to Calleigh, who winked at him in response. �Hey Xander, what do you think of our lab?�
she asked with a sweet smile.

�I like it, I would love to see more of it sometime,� he
told her with a grin.

Calleigh chuckled, �I think we can find a way to arrange
that, especially if they knew what your lab looked like.� She then turned to
look at Eric and grinned at the jealous looks on both of her friends
faces. �Elliot introduced us and Xander
let me look at his lab. Even with Miss
Boa�s additions to the lab, his is more detailed.�

�I have a lot more room then I did in the old lab, I love
it.� Xander said gleefully, making the group laugh. He then turned to Elliot and smiled, �Are you
ready for dinner?�

Elliot nodded and he, Seth, and Xander said good bye to the
others and left. After dropping off
their visitor passes, Seth casually mentioned where they were going for dinner
and got into the car with Xander. They
drove a couple of miles, before both cars pulled off the road and Xander said
goodbye to Seth, before going back to Elliot�s car so that they could go to a
restaurant that Clorinda had recommended to Xander, after Tru called and asked
for a romantic nice place to eat at and she got him on the phone to find out
what was going on.

When they reached the restaurant Elliot smiled at the
relaxed setting and the small number of people.
He was pleased to see that they had a secluded table that looked out at
the ocean and that they would be alone enough to get to know one another.

After they had been seated and ordered their drinks, both
men looked at one another for a moment before laughing at the sudden
awkwardness that had overcome them.
Neither of them was quite sure what to say. Finally it was Elliot who spoke. �Thanks for asking me to come to dinner
tonight. I know that you aren�t
comfortable around me, but I appreciate you giving me a chance.�

Xander looked at him sharply and shook his head, �I�m
comfortable around you. I like you
Elliot, actually I more than like you.
I�m the one with the problem. I�m
not ready to mate yet, plus I think you could do better than me. I want to get to know who you are, we know
very little about one another. I don�t
even know if you what your middle name is or what you like.� Xander told him shyly.

Elliot looked back and smiled, �Well then I guess its time
we learned about one another. And
Xander, there is no better than you.� Elliot told him sincerely, making Xander
blush again.

~~~~~~

The Manor�Later that night

Willow lay on her side, a slight smile gracing her features,
even as her eyes were closed. Nearby
Rupert was reading, though alternately he would look up at his mate and smile
at the content look on her face. He knew
that she was conferring with Xander, and while it still confused him on
occasion that they could interact that way he also enjoyed the happiness that
it brought Willow.

When it had been decided to separate the two he was not the
only worried by the consequences of that action. The two, in the small amount of time they had
been in the clan, had made quite an impression on the rest of the clan. They were a unit, much in the same way that most
mates were, but it was closer to the bond that Jack and Kyra held with one
another. Thankfully, though both of
them had found a way to remain together even though the miles were separating
them.

Giles had waited to complete their bond until after Xander
had settled into being a vampire. Giles
was still slightly unnerved by the fact that Xander had felt their bonding, but
of course his mate had been amused by it.
The girl was incorrigible and Giles adored that about her. She shared herself with him in a way that no
one else ever had and she eased the loneliness he hadn�t even realized he was
suffering from.

They shared a love of books and he took her to explore New
Orleans on many occasions in the last few days.
He had decided to plan a trip and take her overseas. She needed to go and do the dedication
ceremony on one of their new factories and Giles saw no reason not to go with
her.

They had also worked out a routine between them. Giles would work in the library and Willow
would work in the lab. He regularly
received updates from Artemus and knew about the explosion in Xander�s
lab. Before he could even begin to
worry, she and Xander had worked out what had gone wrong and had taken steps to
counteract the effects. Giles didn�t
want to even try to guess at what they were creating, he was afraid to
know. However, Willow left the lab more
than he had been told that Xander did and they spent as much time together as
they wished. Giles had never expected
his mate to be so mischievous or sexual in nature, but he would never regret
having Willow as his mate and love.

When Willow�s eyes opened he put down his book and smiled at
her, she grinned widely opening her arms to him. Giles chuckled and walked over to her, easing
himself down onto the bed and lying atop her.
Pressing a gentle kiss to her lips he pulled back and raised an
eyebrow. �Elliot and Xander went on
their first date. Xander had a lovely
time and they got to know each other better.
Elliot is going to take Xander to see a movie tomorrow night. Xander is in love with Elliot. He�s not quite ready to bond, but he�s
getting there.� She told him.

�That�s good news.� Giles said with a smile. Willow nodded, before leaning up and kissing
him again. Soon all thoughts of Xander
and Elliot were gone.

~~~~~~

She stood on the roof of the building, watching the bastard
that had destroyed her life and murdered her family. She sneered slightly as he kissed the woman
at his side. They were hunting prey
among the poor souls walking along the boardwalk. When she saw that they had chosen their marks
she jumped off the building and began to make her way through the crowd and
after the two soulless killers.

She had just rounded the corner when a sword lashed out at
her, severing the muscles in her left arm and scraping across the bone. Selene let out a cry of pain and hurled
herself backwards. She came up sword in
her left hand and gun clutched in her right.
�Bateman,� she hissed her eyes shifting to a crystalline blue. The heartless killer smirked at her.

�Hello Pet, I wondered when you would show up. My mate and I were looking for a new pet to
torture, but you�ll do nicely.� Bateman said with a cruel smile. Jessica clapped her hands and giggled with
joy at the thought of torturing the beautiful and strong female. She liked breaking the strong ones.

Two more vampires stepped up behind them and Selene
shuddered at the sight of Commodus and Kai Sing. She knew that she stood no chance against
them. She looked beyond them and saw the
human she had been coming to save and saw him smiling coldly at her. It had been a trap and like a fool she had
allowed herself to fall for it. Thinking
quickly Selene began to shoot at all of them, she heard two screams of pain and
a curse before she spun on her heel and ran.
As she was running she felt something sharp go through her left side and
let out a pained cry, but she did not stop running, there was no way she would
ever return to being their pet.

She ran for three blocks before she was grabbed and thrown
against a building. Selene brought up
her gun, but had it snatched from her hand, as well as having her sword
taken. When she saw who holding her a
sigh of relief was released. Somehow she
just knew the twin women were not with Bateman or the Rogues army. �Who are you? Why are you in Miami and
running around injured and armed?� Jack demanded coldly.

�My name is Selene. I
am hunting Bateman to kill him. I was
ambushed by him and his fellow generals.
The rogues army has come to Miami and they are
led by Livia,� Selene answered honestly.

�Come with us, Daddy will want to talk to you.� Kyra ordered
after sharing a look with her sister.
One could only wonder how many more hunters would show up looking for
that group.

~~~~~~

Selene allowed herself to be led away from the district with
the twins. As they were going, they heard footsteps coming towards them; all
three turned and Selene swore as she saw the swarm of vampires all wearing the
mark of Livia in the tattoos on their upper arms.

She looked around her desperately, making sure that there
were no humans that could be injured in the coming battle. When she saw that
there were none, a wolfish smile crossed her face and her blue eyes took on a
glow, her fangs dropping with a sadistic joy at the thought of getting to kill
these monsters that willingly served Livia. Kyra and Jack smiled ferally at one
another before giving Selene back her weapons. The three women spread out,
facing the oncoming vampires without fear.

The first wave of vampires swarmed the women, only to be
killed without effort by the more experienced and deadly fighters. Wave after
wave of vampires fell to their blades. Each woman killed no less than six
apiece before the remaining vampire lunged forward. Selene was the weakest link
among the three with her injuries, but you would never have noticed. She had
trained with some of the most ruthless hunters in the vampire world. These
pathetic creatures were nothing to her. The twins were in the same position.
They had fought and killed more deadly fighters.

The only reason that this group had been sent after Selene
was that they thought she would be alone and that with sheer numbers they would
be able to overwhelm and capture her. They had not counted on coming up against
Riddick�s children. By the time they were through, the twenty vampires sent
after Selene were mere dust. The twins again grabbed Selene and began to run
with her at their sides. For the sake of their cover they could not be found
and the three women could hear sirens in the distance. They may not have been
coming because of the battle, the vampires having moved beyond human ability to
see, but none of them were taking that chance.

~~~~~~

The twins had been heading for Temple Nocturne to try and
get any information they could on Livia, instead they ended up in the middle of
a fight. The pair had no problem with that, but they did not want to take
Selene to the compound that currently housed Sandro and their little brother,
just in case this was a trick of Livia�s to try to get someone close to Xander.
Or even a trap to get Tru and Nikko back.

Jack had pulled out her cell phone and called Riddick,
telling him what had happened and asking where he wanted to meet them. Riddick
had ordered them to take her to the beach just at the edge of the compound�s
borders. The twins did as they were told and managed to get Selene there
without further incident. All three women were slightly disappointed by that,
but said nothing. They did, however, know about the vampire that was following
them at a distance.

When they reached the spot that Riddick had ordered them to,
they could see Riddick, Speed, and Seth waiting for them, along with Will and
Jack Turner. Jack and Kyra shared a look and suddenly spun on their heels; a
few seconds later they returned with a blond haired vampire. He had come along
peaceably, again to the Twins� disappointment. When Selene saw him she sighed
in frustration. �Why did you not show yourself earlier?� she asked irritated.

�I only spotted you a few minutes after you finished the
fight. I thought we had an agreement Selene? You do not go after any of them by
yourself and I find a way for us to talk to Sylum.� Micah said with a frown.

�I was merely watching the area for rogues. I thought they
were going to kill a human, but he was working for them instead to set me up,�
she said in defense of herself.

�Who are you?� Riddick demanded.

�He�s Micah Herod,� Seth said calmly. �I thought you were
following the last descendants of the Lady?�

�They were murdered by Livia�s army. I have been hunting
them trying to get the one they Turned. Tru is the
last of the line. I failed her once, and I want to free her from their
control.� Micah told him, his eyes holding sorrow and determination.

Riddick and Speed shared a look. They knew about Micah �The
Kid� Herod; he was the human and sired child of Herod. From the time that Cort
had been Turned and Micah was publicly killed in
Herod�s game, Micah had been traveling around watching after The Lady�s
descendants. He and Quigley were mates, but Micah had only recently found that
out by accident. He refused to bond until the taken descendant was found. �Tru
is free; she has sworn loyalty to Sylum and has become my adopted childe.�
Riddick said calmly.

Micah closed his eyes and smiled slowly, opening them he
asked, �Is she all right?�

�She�s okay; she and my childe Xander have become brother
and sister. She is very well protected,� Riddick told him honestly.

�Being one of your children, she would be.� Micah said with
an impish smile, dispelling for a moment the sorrow that lived in the older
vampire�s eyes. He knew all about Riddick, Jayne and his Twins. Who didn�t?

Selene frowned slightly, and then gasped as the adrenaline
wore off and she recognized the Twins. �Oh God. Trick
and the others took you when they took me.� Everyone spun to look at her and
Jack jerked back in shock.

~~~~~~

At the same time this
conversation was happening the family was getting ready to go to Clorinda�s for
a barbecue the twins were to have met them there after getting their
information. When the others left, Alexx had come in and stolen Sandro from
Xander to let him go with her kids to play in the newly renovated gym. Left
alone, Xander decided to indulge in his secret vice.

Xander swayed his hips slightly to the music playing in the
background. He was alone, or so he thought, so he could indulge in one of his
favorite activities, dancing. It was one of the few things that he had taught
Willow to do and one of the things that he did mostly when he was alone.

For Xander, dancing was the ultimate release. He could be
himself and let the emotions that he hid from others loose. One of the main
reasons that he never danced around others was the innocent sensuality that he
radiated at those times. Willow had jokingly told him he could make a statue
horny when he danced. From that moment, he only danced with her or alone.

Tru and Nikko looked at one another in astonishment; the
music was sexy, almost as sexy as Xander as he danced. They knew he thought he
was alone and they should probably leave, but he was a sight to behold. They
looked off to the side and grinned at the dazed look on Elliot�s face. The
older man looked like he was about to whimper. When Xander snapped and rolled
his hips to the side, Elliot did
whimper. He also turned and rushed from the lab, much to their amusement. They
stayed to watch and once he was through they would take him back to the others,
so they could go to Clorinda�s.

~~~~~~

Alexx and Eric shared a look as Elliot hurried back out of
the lab and back over to them. �Elliot?� Eric asked. He could smell desire and
frustration on the older man. �Is something wrong with Xander?�

�Not from what I could see,� Elliot said reverently.
Snickers met his words.

�What did he do?� Calleigh asked, amused.

�He was dancing, Christ help me.� Elliot said eyes wide.

�That�s all?� Alexx asked with a raised eyebrow.

�If he trusted me more he would have been naked and the rest
of you would have been waiting for the next few days to see him.� Elliot said
bluntly, still thinking of his sensual mate. �I�m going to die of frustration.�
Elliot said mournfully.

The group burst into laughter. �Maybe I should go see this
dance,� Danny said teasingly.

�Only if you want to be dust,� Elliot growled, his eyes
shifting. It was okay for Tru and Nikko to see Xander, they were his adopted
brother and sister, but anyone else would die.

Danny merely grinned; this was going to be fun.

It was over ten minutes later when Tru, Nikko and Xander
came out. Xander blushed when he looked at Elliot, but allowed the older man to
come and stand beside him. Elliot glared at the others until they left. Once he
and Xander were alone, Elliot turned to look at him. �When you�re ready, I want
you to dance for me. That way I�ll know you�re ready to bond.� Elliot told
Xander, before leaning forward and pressing a gentle kiss to his lips. When he
pulled away Xander smiled shyly, innocently up at him. Elliot nearly groaned at
the warmth and wary emotion in Xander�s eyes.

The pair turned and made their way to where their family and
friends waited for them. Elliot was glad to see that no one, not even Danny,
teased them when they arrived. He was finally making progress with Xander and
he didn�t want that ruined by someone teasing Xander over their first kiss.

~~~~~~

Ron Weasley arched his back and yawned, a smile crossing his
face as he walked across the tarmac to the SUV waiting for him. At its side
were his Sire and his Sire�s mates. He clasped forearms with Draco and then
turned and did the same with Draco�s mates. �It�s about time you got here you
lazy pup. Richard and James are already here,� Draco told his childe with a
smirk. Ron merely chuckled. Considering he had traveled from Tibet to be here
he was making excellent time.

Ron was a wanderer by nature and an adventurer. He had just
finished his latest dig when he had heard about Nikko being in Sylum territory
and having been Turned. Ron was pleased that his young
mate was all right, but after talking to Lara he was worried that the boy would
not wish to bond with him. There was also Nikko�s age. While Ron would look
like a sixteen year old boy for eternity or until dusted, he was turned in 1230
and had no wish to bond with his mate until the boy was older and had begun to
heal from his time at Smith�s hands.

Ron knew that he owed a debt to Spike for having dusted
Smith, and he also knew that he had a very delicate courtship ahead of him.
Speed, an old friend and fellow adventurer at times, had been the one to
originally call him about Nikko. Speed had known that Ron had decided to follow
Hannibal and Basher�s lead and travel to allow his mate to grow up before
coming to claim him. So far the only one who had had any luck with waiting was
Hannibal. Nikko was still too young to have made the decision to become a true
Chosen, but from what he had learned the last time he spoke to Nikko�s father,
the boy had been considering it. That was eight months ago. Nikko never got the
opportunity to make his choice. Like with Buffy, another had stepped forward
and destroyed any chance Nikko had to decide whether to be Turned
or not, although Ron was glad that Nikko hadn�t turned into a vampire hating
hunter.

He had already agreed with Speed that he would wait until
Nikko was eighteen before he began to court Nikko and try to complete their
bond. Ron was looking forward to getting to know his mate and he was also
looking forward to hunting Livia�s band down and killing them once and for all.

~~~~~~

Selene�s pronouncement caused a stir of sensation. Micah
stepped forward, placing a hand on Selene�s shoulder. �Selene, I thought you
were kidnapped and Turned by Bateman?� he asked confused.

�I was. Trick was his childe.� Selene said softly, her eyes
haunted by the memories of her time at Bateman�s hands and the horror that he
had inflicted upon her and the woman in front of her. She had been in Bateman�s
control for nearly six months when Trick came home with the Twin. �What
happened to your child? They never said,� Selene said.

Jack cried out in pain and ran away, shocking all of those
there, except for Kyra. �DO. NOT. EVER. ASK. THAT. AGAIN.� Kyra said furiously before spinning on her heel and
running after her sister.

Speed looked at Riddick in shock. �Child?� he asked
horrified. Riddick could only shake his head in confusion.

�I�m sorry. I did not mean to upset her.� Selene said. She
hated thinking of her time with Bateman and had not intended to bring up the
other woman�s nightmare. Micah turned her, sheltering her against the painful
memories that wanted to rise to the surface.

A Warehouse, Somewhere in Miami

Bateman rushed through the warehouse door, Jessica secure in
his arms, his brothers on his heels. As they made their way through the
warehouse to Jessica�s healing �meal� they passed various chosen and victims
trapped in the hell of their new lives.

Most of those they passed were illegal immigrants tricked
into this place by the promise of a job and a new life. Most though, had been
taken from their families and homes. At least half of them were children, some
as young as ten. These children had no family and no one to protect or search
for them. There were street children from Romania and children bought from the
brothels of the South Seas. Several children had been bought from Russia and
Africa as well.

Those that had not been bought had been taken from their
families. They came from all over the world and spoke only one language: the language
of pain and suffering. They communicated not with words, but with actions and
cries of hopelessness. The adults held in the warehouse could do nothing to
help them and, in many cases, the children�s torment was further used to break
the adults and make them feel even more helpless by their situation.

One of these being held prisoner was especially haunted by
what he was seeing. He had, for the sake of the woman he loved and the man he
called friend, returned here willingly. In the life he led before descending
into hell, he would have arrested the men and women that fed on the people
housed around him.

However, Kai Sing had hunted him, breaking him, driving him
insane and had brought him to this point. The being now known only as Pet was once a robust, vital man. Now he
was a shell of a man, his mind was long since broken, and he had destroyed any
chance he had of getting help by �killing� himself in front of the woman he
loved. He could not leave now and go for help; he was a chained dog, beaten and
shattered by his master�s unloving touch.

The creature now called Pet, once a man known as John Hagen,
watched as they went by. In a small bit of rebellion, he hid his face to cover
his amusement that someone had managed to harm one of his main tormentors. It
was really too bad that they � whoever they
were � hadn�t managed to kill the bitch.

~~~~~~
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The Strength Behind An Enemy