"Hello?" Wil said cautiously when he noticed a stranger sitting in the kitchen, drinking a cup of coffee.
"Hi." The young man said without revealing any emotion in his reaction.
"I'm Wil, this is Spike." Wil said, sensing something dark and dangerous in the man before him.
"You're Wil? From the way Mom talked, you were a kid." the man said frankly.
"Who is your mom?" Wil asked cautiously.
"Wil?" A female voice called from the doorway.
"Aunt Lily?" Wil asked with delight, then ran to her and gave her a firm hug.
"You certainly have grown." Lily said as she happily returned the hug.
"Yeah. From what Pop said, I was supposed to stop growing when I hit puberty, but we figure that when we found the dimensional doorway, it gave me energy or something that made me grow up faster than I was supposed to." Wil rambled.
"Well, I'm just glad to see that you're happy and healthy." Lily said as she released him from the hug.
"I *am* happy. Aunt Lily, I'd like for you to meet..."
"William the Bloody. We've met." Lily said with a gracious smile directed at Spike.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but that wasn't me." Spike said with regret.
"Disappoint me? Don't be silly." Lily said dismissively.
"It's a really long story Aunt Lily, but this is Spike." Wil said quickly.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Spike. I believe you've already met my son, Eddie." Lily said frankly.
"Actually, no. We hadn't got that far yet." Wil said, then turned to Eddie and continued, "Nice to meet you Eddie."
"Yeah." Eddie said and gave a casual wave.
"Don't mind him, he still hasn't recovered from the drive down from the coast." Lily said in a conspiratorial whisper.
"We just drove here from New Mexico." Wil said, then seemed to remember something.
"I'm gonna make me and Spike some blood. Would you like some Aunt Lily?" Wil asked hopefully.
"Why don't you sit down and I make some for all of us?" Lily asked gently.
"You're a guest. It would be wrong for you to wait on us." Wil said honestly.
"I may be a guest right this minute, but I've been a mother quite a bit longer and I wouldn't be at all comfortable letting you serve me." Lily said, then walked to the cabinet and pulled out a pan.
"Let her." Eddie said bluntly. "You can't win."
"Okay." Wil said with a chuckle, then looked at Spike with question.
Spike awkwardly walked to the table and took the seat next to Wil.
"So what about the others? Are they going to be coming to breakfast or are they going to turn in for the day?" Lily asked as she started heating a pan on the stove.
"Pop said he was gonna take a shower. Dad went with him so it might take a few minutes." Wil finished with a giggle.
"Well, if they're going to be sharing a shower, they'll probably appreciate a good breakfast when they're finished." Lily said decisively as she walked to the refrigerator.
"She's happy when she has people to cook for." Eddie said with no trace of emotion in his voice.
Spike looked at Eddie curiously, trying to understand the laconic young man.
"How are Grandma and Grandpa doing?" Wil asked, just trying to make some sort of conversation.
"They're alive." Lily said without enthusiasm.
"If you call that living." Eddie added with a smirk.
Lily nodded her agreement, then placed a mug of blood, each, before Wil and Spike.
"Thank you Aunt Lily." Wil said cheerfully.
"Yes. Thank you." Spike said respectfully.
Lily smiled at the pair before going back to her breakfast preparations.
After a sip of the warmed blood, Spike cautiously asked, "Do you think we might have something to add to this?"
"Yep. Got it." Wil said cheerfully as he hopped up and went to get the tin of Wheat-a-bix.
Spike's eyebrows went up at the sight.
"This is the best." Wil said as he crumbled a handful into his mug.
After a moment to consider, Spike took a handful and did the same.
Wil watched carefully to see Spike's reaction as he drank the blood.
"Bloody brilliant!" Spike said with a grand smile.
"Yeah, ain't it?" Wil said happily, then changed into his demon form so that he could fully enjoy his blood.
When he put down his mug, he noticed that Eddie was looking at him, almost longingly.
"I hope we didn't keep you guys waiting." Alexander said, then stopped in the kitchen doorway when he saw more people than he expected in the room.
"Aunt Lily! What are you doing here?" Alexander asked joyfully as he ran to pull her into a hug.
"When I finished getting your parents settled into the vacation house, I called Eddie and asked him to come and pick me up." Lily said happily as she returned the hug.
"So you decided to stop by and see Angel on your way home?" Alexander asked with delight.
"Well, I had intended to visit with you and Wesley and Wil, but you weren't here when I arrived. That allowed me the opportunity to visit with Angel for a while last night and catch up on old times." Lily said, then pulled out of the hug so she could go back to work on breakfast.
"I'm glad you're here. It's good to see you again." Alexander said happily, then noticed the quiet young man sitting at the table, nursing a cup of coffee.
"I'm Alexander."
"We've met." Eddie said frankly.
"We have?" Alexander asked curiously.
"Yeah. I was about fourteen. You were just a little kid then, but I remember your scent." Eddie said honestly.
"Cousin Eddie?" Alexander strained to remember.
"That's me." Eddie said calmly.
"I was so young, I barely remember anything except that I really liked you. You were really friendly." Alexander said honestly.
"Yeah. I remember when Mom said that your family wouldn't let you come over and visit anymore." Eddie said darkly.
"They're wankers." Wil said as an explanation.
Alexander regretfully nodded his agreement.
"Marilyn grew up in the same house that I did. We were like brother and sister. I can't even tell you how much it hurt when she just cut me off like that." Eddie said honestly.
"Well, we're here. And now I'm old enough to really get to know my cousin Eddie." Alexander said happily.
"Yeah." Eddie said, but there seemed to be a sadness behind his eyes.
"Eddie, this is Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, my good friend and soon-to-be bonded mate." Alexander said happily.
After a moment of looking at Wesley, Eddie took in a deep inhale of breath, then blinked with surprise.
"Human?" Eddie asked Alexander curiously.
"One hundred percent." Alexander said happily.
Eddie clenched his jaw and forced out the words, "I'm happy for you."
Alexander glanced at Wesley with concern at the reaction.
"I don't know if you've been formally introduced, but this is my son, Wil and his soon-to-be bonded mate, Spike." Alexander said as he carefully watched for Eddie's reaction.
"Nice to meet you." Eddie said sharply, then stiffly walked out of the room.
"Did I say something wrong?" Alexander asked in puzzlement.
"No. Not at all." Lily said in a flustered voice. "Everyone sit down, breakfast is ready."
All the men sat around the table, sharing curious looks and hoping that Lily would explain.
"Eddie has recently had a few bad relationships. When they found out about his true nature, they were scared off. I suppose that seeing the four of you as two couples reminded him that he's alone." Lily said as she sat plates around the table.
"True nature?" Alexander asked carefully.
"He's a werewolf, Pop." Wil said frankly.
"How did you know that?" Alexander asked curiously.
"His scent." Wil said simply, then asked, "How did you *not* know?"
"I guess since I met him before, I automatically associated his scent with just being him. He smells almost like..." Alexander trailed off, then looked at Wesley with dawning realization.
"I have a recent telephone number for him." Wesley said immediately as he took the address book out of his chest pocket.
"I'll be right back Aunt Lily. This'll just take one minute." Alexander said, then accepted the address book from Wesley.
"What was that all about?" Lily asked curiously.
"In our travels, we have had occasion to make the acquaintance of another werewolf. Alexander is calling now to see if he is available to visit." Wesley said honestly.
Lily thought for a moment, then smiled as she said, "That would solve a lot of problems. They could go and hunt together."
"Among other things." Wil said with a smirk at his father.
"That, young man, is none of our business." Lily said firmly.
"Yes Aunt Lily." Wil said as he tried to restrain his smile.
"Wil, would you go out to the car and see if Miss Summers might, perhaps, care to join us for breakfast?" Wesley asked seriously.
"Oh crap! I forgot Dawn!" Wil said as he rushed out of the room.
"Will we be having one more for breakfast?" Lily asked curiously.
"She can have mine. I've already had my blood." Spike said seriously.
"Nonsense. You're too thin. Eat. The skillet is still hot, this will just take me a minute." Lily said as she walked back to the stove.
"He's on his way over." Alexander said as he rushed back into the room and dropped into his place at the table.
"What did you tell him?" Wesley asked curiously.
"I just said that I needed for him to come over to Angel's right away." Alexander said as he started to cut up his food.
"So he thinks he's coming over to aid in some sort of emergency?" Wesley asked cautiously.
"Yeah." Alexander said without concern. "It's gotta work better than the truth."
Unbidden, a smile came to Spike's face.
* * * * *
"Sorry I'm late guys. I got so comfortable I fell asleep." Dawn said as she walked into the kitchen.
"I'll have your breakfast ready in just a moment." Lily said from the stove.
"That's okay. I don't really need anything." Dawn said shyly.
"That's what Marilyn used to say..." Lily trailed off sadly.
"She made her choices." Alexander said quietly.
"I know." Lily said, then placed a plate of food on the table before Dawn.
"Should I go get Eddie?" Alexander asked with concern.
"He'll be back any second now. I know he's got to be hungry and he won't be able to resist the scent of the food." Lily said as she moved to Eddie's place and refilled his coffee cup.
"Sorry about that." Eddie mumbled as he walked back into the kitchen and directly to his place at the table.
He noticed the coffee and that there was a plate full of food waiting for him. "Thanks Mom."
"Eat." Lily said with an indulgent smile as she carried a plate and a mug to her place at the table.
* * * * *
"What's the problem?" Oz asked as he rushed into the kitchen.
"Breakfast is ready." Alexander said frankly.
"You woke me up out of a sound sleep for that?" Oz asked in a pained voice.
"Not just for that. There are some people visiting that I thought you'd like to meet." Alexander said with a forced smile, hoping that Oz wouldn't be too mad at him.
Oz seemed to be about to bark a response at Alexander when his gaze suddenly shifted to Eddie.
"Eddie, I'd like for you to meet Daniel Osborne, we call him..." Alexander began to say, but stopped when it became obvious that neither of the men was listening.
"You might want to stand back." Lily said, then took a sip from her mug.
Eddie slowly stood from his chair and a low growl could be heard coming from the back of his throat.
"Pop. This might not have been such a good idea." Wil said cautiously as he stood and walked to Spike's side.
"I can see that now." Alexander said as he slowly backed away.
Oz was also growling now, and was staring at Eddie with unblinking eyes.
Silence filled the room and all watched as Eddie and Oz continued to stare.
"How is everyone doing this morning?" Angel asked as he walked into the kitchen.
"Hi Great-Grandpa Angel." Wil said quickly, then whispered, "The werewolves are getting to know each other."
"Oh." Angel said with a glance at the pair, then he looked back at Wil, noticing that the appeared to be about 12 years older than he was the previous day.
Angel's gaze shifted to Spike, sitting at the table and watching the werewolves intently.
Wil watched carefully for Angel's reaction.
Angel opened his mouth, then closed it and shook his head.
Wil smiled to himself as he watched Angel go about the business of fixing himself a mug of blood, as if it were any other day.
Oz took in a long slow inhale, then took one step closer to Eddie.
Eddie didn't move, but every muscle was tensed, ready to pounce at the slightest provocation.
Oz took another step closer, then when he was beside Eddie, he moved close and took in another long slow inhale.
Eddie cautiously turned his head and began to sniff Oz.
"You two are courting like a couple of humans! You're animals at your cores and you already know what you feel and what you should do about it." Lily said frankly.
After a long silent moment, Eddie quietly said, "Sorry Mom."
"Would you and your new friend like to have some breakfast before you run off to play?" Lily asked in a motherly tone.
"Can you keep it warm?" Eddie asked as he watched for Oz's reaction.
"Of course. Go on." Lily said with an indulgent smile.
Oz blinked, then slowly turned and said, "Thanks for inviting me over Xander."
"Glad to help." Alexander said as he tried to restrain a giggle.
As soon as Oz and Eddie were out of the room, Wil said, "Oz dominated. Eddie submitted."
Alexander looked at Wil with surprise at the statement, then began to relate it to their talk in the car earlier.
Lily looked from Wil to Alexander with question.
"Spike and Wil are trying to figure out how they can be together without Wil dominating Spike." Alexander said frankly.
"Pop!" Wil said in a scandalized voice.
"Sorry." Alexander said weakly.
"Spike, tell me honestly, how do you feel about Wil?" Lily asked curiously.
"I love him." Spike answered honestly.
"Love?"
Spike nodded, almost regretfully.
"But I was a master vampire before I was captured by the watcher. I was beaten down and starved. I love Wil, but... I can't be that for him. I just can't." Spike finished with pain in his voice.
"Wil? I don't think I even need to ask, but how do you feel about Spike?" Lily asked cautiously.
"I love him with all my heart and soul... and if my demon has his own feelings, he loves Spike too." Wil said frankly.
"That's a lot of love." Lily said quietly.
"So much it hurts." Wil said with regret at saying the words.
After a moment to consider, Lily turned and said, "Spike, my nephew loves you. That's clear for anyone to see. But your relationship can't last as things are now."
Spike nodded at hearing the words.
"So let me help. Take my blood and make yourself strong." Lily said in a slow, confident voice.
"How will that make anything different?" Wil asked cautiously.
After a smile at Wil, Lily said with pride evident in her voice, "Haven't you ever wondered why vampires are so savage and have such a feverish bloodlust?"
"I thought it was because they were demons." Wil said honestly.
"Yes, but the source of the bloodlust is the search for the blood that will finally satisfy their hunger and quiet the beast."
At Wil and Spike's uncomprehending looks, Lily continued, "I am a direct descendant of the first and best of us."
All in the room froze at the magnitude of the words.
"My blood will restore your strength and calm the craving of your demon. It will transform you from the ravenous monster that you are and remake you into a true vampire; the complete being that all vampires were meant to be." Lily explained carefully.
"So Spike wouldn't crave blood anymore?" Wil asked cautiously.
"He will in a way. Spike is a vampire, he will always require blood to nourish and sustain him. But the craving, the endless need, won't drive him anymore. In fact, he will be released from many of the restrictions that inhibit the bastardized half-vampire beasts that have redefined what it means to be a vampire."
"Like what?" Alexander asked cautiously.
"Sunlight, holy water, garlic... you know, the usual things."
"I'd be able to go out into the sun?" Spike asked in wide-eyed wonder.
"Yes. Intense sunlight is uncomfortable and you'll probably want to avoid it, but if you go out in the sun, it won't cause any lasting damage." Lily said consideringly.
"Is doing this going to hurt you?" Wil asked Lily with concern.
"No Wil. This is one of my greatest joys, to be able to bestow this gift on those rare few who I find worthy." Lily said with a gentle smile.
"But I'm not worthy..." Spike said with regret.
Lily chuckled at the words, her reaction seeming to be completely inappropriate.
"You've already said that you love Wil." Lily said with a gentle smile. "That, in my judgment, makes you worthy."
Wil pulled Spike into a hug as Spike stared at Lily, still not fully comprehending her words.
"Come to me Spike." Lily said, then trailed off into a whisper. "Drink me."
Wil broke into a big smile, then nudged Spike to take a step forward.
When Spike stepped close enough, Lily pulled him into her arms.
"Don't take too much." Alexander warned with concern.
Lily chuckled with delight as she placed a hand on the back of Spike's head to guide him into place.
"No need to worry. He couldn't possibly take too much." Lily said, then her expression seemed to be one of ultimate peace as Spike's fangs penetrated her neck.
"My blood marks the end of his journey. The thirst is quenched. The lust is sated. From this day forward, his life can be anything he wants it to be." Lily said, then looked down and gently smiled as Spike pulled away from her neck.
"You should be able to feel my blood transforming you." Lily said, almost hypnotically.
"Spike, never again doubt that you are worthy of anything you desire. For now that you have accepted my blood, you belong to the house of Dracula." Lily said proudly.
"I feel it." Spike whispered, then turned to look at Wil with excitement. "I feel strong!"
"Stronger than me." Wil said with a grand smile.
"I do love a happy ending." Wesley said as he watched Spike and Wil's loving embrace.
"Look around us Wesley." Alexander said, then waited for Wesley to do so.
"I see what you mean. This isn't an ending, it's a beginning."
Editor's Notes: Hey did you see what he said right up there? He said it was the end, right after he said it wasn't the end but the beginning.?Make up your mind. and make it up so we get more of the story. Of course if it is the end of that story, then we need a sequel, possibly called "Middles", or something.?It really is nice to see these people again.
Darryl AKA The Radio Rancher