::If you want us to join you, just say something,:: Wesley told Xander. Spike peeked over Wesley’s shoulder and nodded.

::Not like we wouldn’t want to, you know,:: The redhead added.

::Wanna take a shower? I, for one, am filthy,:: Xander said obligingly. Spike sniffed Wesley’s shoulder and nodded.

::So’s he,:: He said, sitting up. Spike swung off the bed, reaching for Wesley, who was trying hard to fake indignation.

::I take it you’re still not ‘freaking out’,” Wesley asked Xander as Spike set him down in the shower.

::Nope,:: Xander replied, grinning. ::I’m good once I get used to things.:: Wesley and Spike shared a look. ::Yeah, yeah, I’m good anyway, but I wasn’t digging for compliments.::

::Right,:: Spike murmured, turning on the water.

Their bath wasn’t the most efficient cleaning job, but it certainly was fun.

•••

“What, precisely, are you doing?” Wesley inquired as he toweled off his hair. Xander had practically run from the bathroom, disappearing into the kitchen. When Spike and Wesley got there, they found him up to his elbows in an enormous bowl of flour.

“Making breakfast,” Xander said cheerfully. “Could you get the milk out?”

Wesley obliged, opening the carton and setting it on the counter. Spike took up position across the bar, watching Xander cut shortening into the flour. “Dare I ask what that is going to be?” Spike asked, echoing Wesley.

“Biscuits,” Xander replied. “The American kind. Not cookies.”

::Your grandmother’s biscuits?:: Wesley inquired. ::The ones that have us drooling?:: Xander’s memories of these biscuits were rather…enticing.

“Those biscuits,” Xander confirmed. “With jelly, of course. Eggs, too, if one of you makes them.”

::I’ll make eggs, once the biscuits are done,:: Wesley said. ::In the meantime, I believe I will change the sheets.:: The bed was… sticky.

::Can I help?:: Spike asked, curious as to the mechanics of biscuit making. He had Xander’s memories, but they were a bit odd to him anyway.

Xander turned the basketball sized wad of dough onto the floured counter. “Sure, come over here,” Xander said. He split the dough into about six portions, setting five of them aside. Spike joined him, staring down at the sticky stuff on the counter.

“Now what?” Spike asked. The dough didn’t look workable.

::First cover the dough in a little flour. Then it won’t be sticky.:: Xander covered one hand in flour and patted it on the dough. Spike copied him, seeing in his mind how it would work.

::Rolling pin?:: Spike inquired. Xander slapped one into his waiting hand.

::Don’t press hard. The dough’s really soft,:: Xander warned. With the boy’s guidance, Spike rolled out the dough. Xander provided a cutter and the redhead quickly made nine or so large round biscuits. Xander gathered up the scraps while Spike rolled out another wad of dough.

::You’re banking a lot on us liking these biscuits,:: Spike noted as he made yet another set of them. ::There are enough here to feed a bleedin’ army.::

“They keep well,” Xander said firmly. “Great for sandwiches, snacks…”

“But Anya hated them, so you never made them,” Spike finished for him. Xander just kept on brushing the raw biscuits with butter.

::She didn’t like a lot of things,:: Xander said as he slid two heavily laden cookie sheets into the oven. ::Come on, we should help Wesley.::

::Wesley is doing fine,:: The ex Watcher replied. ::The bed is finished. I was simply—“

::Sorting my socks by color,:: Xander finished for him. ::Which I appreciate, but… are you bored?::

Wesley grinned. ::No; I wanted a pair of socks.::

::Took one look in your head and realized you never pair them up,:: Spike added. ::And you don’t have a single pair of black socks. Xander, that’s a sin.::

“You might want to start the eggs,” Xander told Wesley, changing the subject abruptly. “Biscuits don’t take that long.”

•••

“Another biscuit?” Xander asked, proffering the bread basket. Wesley glanced at the boy, groaning.

::You know damned good and well that I am overfilled as it is,:: Wesley snapped. ::As is Spike. And you, for that matter. Cover the things up with a cloth and get them out of my sight.::

Xander smirked and hid the biscuits. They had gone over very well. ::You did say that you refused to do all the cooking…::

::You may make biscuits again next week,:: Wesley stated. ::Once we’ve finished the rest of these.::

::Sleep,:: Spike begged. ::Or I’m going to start throwing up. This really hurts.:: Until now, Spike hadn’t seriously over eaten. He wasn’t sure what to make of the sensation.

::Taking a nap will help,:: Xander assured him. ::Come on.:: He led the others into the bedroom, where they stripped down and crawled under the covers.

::See? I didn’t freak at the whole stripping down and getting fleshy in bed thing,:: Xander reminded the others.

Spike snorted. ::You’ve had your cock up my—::

::But I still didn’t freak,:: Xander interjected.

::And I’m looking forward to returning the favor,:: Spike continued. ::As soon as this disgusting pain goes away.:: Xander shuddered, thinking about everything he’d felt the night before, when they were…

::Exactly,:: Spike murmured. Wesley sent a silent agreement, since he was almost asleep already.

•••

Spike was just waking up, letting himself be entertained by Xander’s dreams, when the phone rang. He reached for it, stretching over Wesley’s back. He rested his weight on the other man, knowing it didn’t bother Wesley at all. “Yeah?” He mumbled into the phone.

“The Vraiyl are in Los Angeles,” Angel said shortly. “We need you here.”

Spike sat up, as did Wesley and Xander. Angel’s words had woken them up instantly. The three men focused their attentions briefly, feeling the presence of the demons in the distance. They weren’t in the habit of leaving that sense open all the time, but perhaps they needed to do so now. “We’re leaving how.” He hung up the phone and crawled out of bed.

Xander threw Wesley some of his new clothes while he pulled on his own. On their way out of the apartment, Spike grabbed the bread basket, a jar of apple butter, and a full jug of orange juice.

“Why does this not surprise me?” Xander asked as they piled into the car. Wesley sat next to him in the front, while Spike took up the back seat, arranging the food safely.

“Because we were getting comfortable, which always means something’s about to happen,” Spike replied.

::The calm before the storm?:: Wesley suggested.

::Something like that,:: Xander agreed. ::No nookie now,:: He lamented. ::And I was looking forward to getting to…:: His voice faded as he let the things he’d been dreaming about replay in his mind. Answering moans from the other men told him all he needed to know. Angel had better be right about the Vraiyl, or he was going to suffer big time.

::Biscuit?:: Spike asked, holding up the basket.

Wesley glared at him in the rearview mirror. Spike smiled back. The former vampire was still getting used to having a reflection, so he played a lot in front of mirrors. The others found it sweet. ::No,:: Wesley muttered.

::Banana?:: Spike offered. ::Juice?::

::I’ll take a biscuit,:: Xander said. ::With apple butter.::

•••

“Angel really does live in a hotel,” Xander murmured as he stopped the car. “I mean, I saw the memories, but…”

“And it’s not even a good hotel,” Spike groused. “No bar, club or restaurant in the place. Just dusty old rooms.”

“And Angel,” Wesley said. “Mustn’t forget that.”

::The others will be here too, right? Like Connor, Fred and Gunn? They’re not so bad, you know?:: Xander asked hopefully. ::Well, Gunn’s a bit of a jerk, but generally better than Angel…::

::So long as Cordelia doesn’t open her mouth,:: Spike snapped. ::She’s…::

::Rather devoted to Angel,:: Wesley replied.

Angel was waiting for them in the lobby, pinned there by the sun. Spike couldn’t help but smirk at his Sire as he strode into the building, the sun’s rays still glinting off his now-red hair. Wesley and Xander laughed silently, enjoying Spike’s pleasure at taunting his Sire. Spike had achieved, in many ways, what Angel wanted so badly. While Spike wasn’t precisely human, he was a living, breathing, soul-having creature that was significantly closer to human than Angel was.

“Took you long enough,” Angel growled as they stopped in front of him.

Xander pulled off the sunglasses that had become a permanent fixture on his face. He’d quickly gotten used to wearing them everywhere, even inside stores in the middle of the night—having people gawk at his solid-colored bluish eyes wasn’t a good thing. “Fuck off, Deadboy. The Vraiyl. What were they doing when you found them?”

Angel glared at the young man. He would’ve said something about Xander’s attitude, but Wesley and Spike drew closer to the boy and made it very clear that anything Angel said to Xander would be acted upon by all three of them. “Two of them, at UCLA. Taking down students, to be exact. We ran them off.”

“For now,” Spike muttered.

“We’ll take you there when it gets dark,” Angel spat, wanting nothing more than for this situation to be resolved quickly. He wanted these men gone from his city.

“Why? We can track them better than you, and the Vraiyl don’t wait for sundown,” Xander said. “We’ll be back later.” The three men turned and left the hotel before Angel could try to stop them.

::Car or foot?:: Wesley inquired. They hadn’t spent very much time practicing traveling by foot yet, although they knew how to move extremely quickly when the situation warranted it.

::Car,:: Spike said. ::The campus is a ways off.::

::But that’s not where the Vraiyl are right now,:: Xander replied. ::Campus is that way, but the demons are this way,:: He continued, pointing.

::Right you are,:: Spike murmured. ::Shall we?:: He added, opening Xander’s door.

•••

::A law firm?:: Xander murmured. ::THE law firm? The one that…::

::That law firm,:: Wesley confirmed. ::Bloody bastards.::

::Angel and Cordy were wrong,:: Xander thought.

::They were tricked,:: Spike corrected. ::By the pros, no less.::

::They fell for the same thing twice,:: Xander growled. ::Stupid.::

::So, what do we do?:: Spike inquired.

::If this involves Angel, and it does, then I know who to see,:: Wesley replied. ::And we don’t have to do it here. I know where she lives.::

::Lilah,:: Xander muttered. ::The rabid she-devil.::

::More like a demented Yorkshire terrier,:: Spike said lightly. ::But you’re right, here is not a good place to do this. They probably haven’t spotted us yet, but…::

::What are we going to do, then?:: Xander asked as Wesley led them through an alley and away from the building. They located Xander’s car and drove away, towards the Hyperion. They weren’t going to actually go to the hotel, but it was in a convenient direction.

::Find out what she’s up to. They may be calling the Vraiyl, thinking they’ve got the demons under control,:: Wesley theorized.

::Not for long,:: Spike thought. ::The Vraiyl are playing them.::

::Of course they are. Wolfram & Hart don’t have what it takes to control the Vraiyl,:: Xander added.

::The Altenalium,:: Wesley said softly.

::Why else would they call the Vraiyl?:: Spike said. ::They want the Altenalium.::

::But we’ve got it,:: Xander said. ::Unless we agreed to work for them, it wouldn’t matter how many Vraiyl they brought over.::

::If one of us died, though,:: Wesley began, playing through the memories they’d been given. ::The remaining two might join Wolfram & Hart in their insanity.::

The other two men shuddered. ::Then we won’t die, will we?:: Xander said firmly.

::Not planning on it,:: Spike agreed. ::But regardless of what Wolfram & Hart are planning, we have to stop the Vraiyl.::

::That isn’t our primary problem at the moment,:: Wesley argued. ::Wolfram & Hart are wily opponents.::

::Then we have to be better, don’t we?:: Xander stated flatly. ::Lots better.::