( continues...) granted."

Giles glared at Spike, then looked back at Xander. "When you've, um, recuperated, I'd be very grateful if you could give me a report of what happened."

"Excuse me?" Xander blinked.

Spike snickered. "This would be for the NC-17 version of the Watchers' diaries, then, would it?"

"It's for scientific purposes purely."

"Right."

"In any case, Xander, whatever you want to tell me, I'd be very grateful. And, Spike, if you can keep it from sounding like a letter to Penthouse, I'd like your observations as well."

"Penthouse, eh? I had you pegged as purely a Playboy man."

Giles glowered and let himself out.

Xander was still staring off as Spike settled in next to him. "All those girls . . ."

"Yep. All those girls. Lovely girls. I wonder what the baby the little blue girl pops out'll look like. She was certainly determined, that one."

"Yeah." Xander shook himself and glared at Spike. "Why are you sitting on my bed? Why are we talking about this?"

"Reminiscing's half the fun, pet." He put one arm behind his head and began fondling his cock with the other hand. "Sometime's re-enacting's fun, too."

Xander let his eyes close. "Vampires. Get off of my bed." The last was half-hearted, and he let himself slip towards sleep. Then he woke up again. "When you say re-enacting, you do mean, just in your head, right?" All he got was a lewd chuckle. "You like girls, Spike. I *know* you like girls."

"Oh, I love girls. Wonderful, soft, wiggly girls." He pulled his hand from behind his head and patted Xander's hair.

"*I* like girls."

"I could tell, pet. And the girls liked you. I had a couple of minutes free time once in a bit, and I could tell you were having a very good time." The hair patting had turned to hair stroking. "Very pleasant to watch."

"If I could move, I'd throw you out of here."

Another chuckle. "You just catch up on your sleep, whelp. I'll keep an eye on you."

Reluctantly, inevitably, Xander felt his eyes close. He pried one open to peer up at Spike.

"What?" Spike asked.

"I'm picturing you painted blue."

"Pleasant dreams, mate."

The above has no artistic pretensions whatsoever, and no dreams of higher purpose. But at least it's out of my head.

Bwahahahahaha! And Connie brings the porn to match any décor.

All that sex appeal could make my head burst, Karl. Have you no compassion? That could be a force to bring Osama out of the mountains, but did they try that? No, just right for the missiles.

Victor -- I am so confused.

My own fuzzy-headedness at fault - why didn't I guess that Wes was the First?

My own fuzzy-headedness at fault - why didn't I guess that Wes was the First?

You mean, when he's introduced in a chapter called "Hide in Plain Sight?"

I don't remember the chapter titles.

Yes. I'm dumb.

Yes. I'm dumb.

No you're not. I just worked really, really hard to blindside people.

Did it work? And more importantly, did it work in a way that doesn't seem forced? I know there's still lingering questions there--we'll get to them, I promise, but does the real Wesley's reveal make sense?

Okay, I really really want to reread in a format that is not on-line. But I think it did.

Okay, I really really want to reread in a format that is not on-line.

I was joking earlier about finding an artist and making it a demo-comic book.

But I think it did.

Good enough. I'll tie up the loose ends on that, soon.