Chapter Three

"You wanted to see me, Gil?" Al Robbins asked as he entered the office everyone was gathered in.

"Actually, our guests asked that you be present, for your medical opinion, while they explain what they know about the case we are working on," Grissom answered, indicating the two men sitting on the couch.

Doc Robbins looked at the two men and sighed. "I'm about to get outed aren't I?"

" 'Fraid so, Doc," Xander said, apologetically. "Less than two hours and it was obvious that the half-truths and omissions weren't going to work. They set a new record."

"I spoke with Rupert earlier. He said you had received a call from a friend and were on your way here. He didn't mention you, however, William."

" 'Course he didn't," Spike snorted. "Not like he pays any mind to what I do. No way was I lettin' my Xan come to Vegas alone. Giles weren't gonna send anyone with him."

"Your Xan?" he asked with a stern glare at Spike. "Harris, I cannot believe that you would get mixed up with...you know better, despite his...unique circumstances that still does not change the fact that he is what he is."

"Thank you!" Greg exclaimed. "That's what I've been saying too. Spike's a...a...a Brit and he's not going to change the way he is. He won't listen," he finished in a whine.

"Because he's a Brit?" Al asked raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure Rupert will love hearing that."

"You know what I mean!"

"And the two of you don't know him," Xander finally snapped. "Look, I've been right where you are, when he was sleeping with Buffy. I didn't trust him for years, but he's earned the trust. He's proved himself time and again. Just drop it. You're not with us, you don't know. There are exceptions to every rule, both of you should know that. And hey, he hasn't tried to kill me since we've been together, that's more I can say for any of the women I was ever involved with."

"I haven't tried to kill you in years, whelp," Spike defended. "I can't remember the last time I tried to kill you."

"You haven't actively tried to kill me since our first forced co-habitation. That doesn't mean you didn't hang back to see if something else would do it for you," Xander said with a grin.

"Yeah, well. Couldn't do it myself anymore now could I?"

"Excuse me," Grissom interrupted. His eyes darted between the two men, a confused frown on his face. "Could we please discuss whatever it is that you wanted to come in here for?"

"I still want to know what the big deal is about him being British," Nick muttered. "Are you serious that he really tried to kill you in the past?"

"Yup," Xander nodded. He smirked at the disbelieving, bug-eyed looks. "It was a long time ago. Things changed. He's not usually like that any more. Promise."

"Al, how do you know these men?" Grissom asked.

"That, is a long story," Robbins sighed. "Greg, I take it you are the friend that called Xander." Greg nodded. "I wish I had known that you knew about this, it would have made things easier over the years."

"C'mon Doc," Nick said impatiently. "Just tell us what's going on here."

"The world is older than you know," Xander started. "Blah, blah, blah. I hate that speech. Basically, everything you thought was fiction, isn't. Demons, vampires, werewolves, magic, all of that is real. We fight those things that go bump in the night that are trying to destroy humans."

"Oh please," Nick snorted. "You don't really expect us to believe this do you? You're totally off your rocker. Greg, I can't believe you would call someone like this."

"Hear them out," Greg said quietly. "I know for a fact he's telling the truth."

"Al," Grissom said.

"It's the truth, Gil. I'm a Watcher. I keep an eye on the demonic activity here in Vegas and let the right people know if something, like your case, happens. Which is how I knew Xander was on his way here. The Council send in someone to handle the situation so that it never becomes public."

"Do you have proof?" Grissom asked.

"You can't seriously be listening to this Gris," Nick protested.

"If they can provide proof, I don't see how we can't accept it," Grissom said calmly. "We have to follow the evidence."

"Actually, William there is your proof. I can tell you that his body temperature would be the same as this room, he doesn't require oxygen, and has no pulse," Al said just as calmly.

"What, he's a zombie?" Nick snorted.

"I ain't no bloody zombie. Nasty buggers those," Spike grumbled.

Grissom had moved over to their guests. He approached Spike slowly and asked, "May I?"

"Knock yerself out," Spike said.

Grissom let his fingers trail over Spike's neck, noting the coolness of his skin. He then placed two fingers firmly where a pulse should have been found. He frowned and grabbed the man's wrist searching for the pulse there. Still not finding anything, he placed his ear to the unmoving chest.

"There's no heartbeat," he said, his voice shaking slightly.

"What? No way," Nick said as he moved over to Spike.

As Nick placed his fingers on Spike's neck, Spike said, "I told you I ain't no bloody zombie." Suddenly the smooth face was transformed into a distorted mask of ridges. His blue eyes were now a gastly yellow, and his canines had elongated into fangs. "I'm a vampire," he said as Nick fell back onto his ass.

"Holy shit," Nick breathed.

"Fascinating," Grissom said, staring at the sight before him.

Greg's only reaction was to let out a small eep and step further away from the couch.

"I hardly believe that was necessary," Doc Robbins chastised the laughing vampire.

"Sooo not nice," Xander scolded.

"Of course it weren't nice," Spike scoffed. "I'm a vampire, I'm not nice. Besides, he deserved it." He noticed Grissom's fingers twitching. "No, you can't touch 'em. And don't be getting any ideas 'bout experimentin' on me. Had enough of that to last for a few lifetimes, ta very much."

"How did you find out about this Al?" Grissom asked. His hand still twitched, wanting to reach out and touch the face before him, and you could see the hundreds of questions and theories in his eyes.

"The Council approached my family when my sister and I were still pretty young. They told us what they did and why. The initial meeting didn't go very well. They were a bit..."

"Stuck up, condensending, know-it-all assholes," Xander supplied.

"Very much so."

"Travers," Xander said disgustedly.

Doc Robbins nodded. "Quentin's father actually. Needless to say, the apple didn't fall far from the tree."

"Can't say I feel bad he got blown up," Xander huffed.

"They were not happy my family didn't want to cooperate with their plans. They continued to try to get my parents cooperation for years. I decided that I wanted to become a Watcher when I was sixteen and a friend was killed by a vampire. They had lost interest in my family by that point. I've never been an active field Watcher like Xander, but I did receive the training and contacts to help inform those who could help if something happened."

"Greg?"

"Summer after my third year of college. I was headed from home to my intern interview with the San Fransisco PD. I had planned to spend a week sightseeing before the interview. I got a late start and stopped in Oxnard over night, that was the plan anyway. I got a room, then decided to do some exploring. I was walking down the streets when something grabbed me and drug me into an alley. I remember feeling like my chest was being crushed and then nothing except a cloud of dust falling on me. I turned around and there Xander was with a stake in his hand. I ended up staying for the week and Xan told me about everything."

"I tried to get him to believe the dude had just run away. Obviously it didn't work."

"What about you?" Nick had regained enough sense to ask Xander.

"It all started with a girl," Xander said with a lopsided grin. "But her, I can't and won't tell you about. There are somethings that some people just never need to know, and her secret is one of them. Anyway, our high school librarian was...is a Watcher, he's actually the head of the Council now. I overheard him telling the girl about vampires. I didn't believe it at first, but then my best friend was turned. He was the first vamp I staked. We were fifteen. I've been fighting ever since with Buffy, Willow, and Giles, our Watcher."

"So, you just kill these...vampires, demons, whatever. You're a murder," Nick protested.

"A vampire would snap your neck and drain you dry before you could scream for help," Spike said. "You are food, cattle. They don't care who you are, you're just a Happy Meal with legs for them. They don't kill just for food. It's all about the violence, the rush that the blood gives them. We're not talking about the maudlin vampires that bloody Anne Rice wrote. We're talking real, violent, deadly vampires, that are five times stronger and faster than you. Your guns don't work, knives don't work. Stakes, sun, fire, decapitation those will kill a vamp, holy objects will injure. The general public can't protect themselves, that's why there are people out there protecting the rest of you."

"It's still murder," Nick seethed. Faster than he could blink, Nick found himself wrapped in arms of steel, his head pulled to the side, and Spike's mouth on his neck.

"What are you going to do Cowboy?" Spike hissed. "You can't move. I've got you, and I could have you drained and dead in less than three minutes. There are thousands of vampires in this country, probably a couple of hundred in this city. You're helpless. What do you think would happen to the rest of you humans if there weren't people like Xan?"

Nick struggled in the embrace. His breathing became ragged and his eyes became wide with panic.

"Let him go," Greg shouted as Xander was getting ready to speak. "He's claustrophobic, you're going to send him into a panic attack."

Spike immediately released Nick and stepped away. Greg made it to Nick and cupped his face, forcing him to look into his eyes.

"Hey, you're alright. You're free. It's okay Nicky," Greg crooned softly, trying to calm the other man.

"Sorry," Spike said softly. "I was trying to make a point. I didn't mean to cause that."

"He was kidnapped a few years ago," Grissom said just a softly. "He was buried in a plexi-glass coffin. There was a web cam set up to a light. We were given access to it. Every time we viewed the cam, the light would come on and Nick could see exactly where he was."

"I know how that feels," Spike said. "I had to dig my way out of my coffin when I was turned."

"I guess we have something in common then," Nick said, his breathing back under control. "So, um, if you don't mind me asking...how long have you been a..."

"Vamp?" Spike asked with a wistful smile. "I was turned in 1880. All told, human and vamp, I'm one hundred and fifty years old."

"Wow," Greg breathed. "That is so cool."

"Ta mate."

"So, that whole freaking out you were doing ealier, about them being together," Nick looked at Greg, "that was about him being a vampire, not British, right?"

"Yes," Greg giggled. "I couldn't exactly say what I was really meaning."

"Right. And the not always dating Americans?"

"I'm a demon magnet," Xander sighed. "I've only dated one fully human, and she later became half demon. My ex-fiance was a former Vengance demon turned human when she created an alternate reality my ex wished up. Returned to demon when I left her at the alter. Turned human, again, when she couldn't do the job anymore. There was the mantis lady that wanted my virgin seed to fertilize her eggs before she ate me. The mummy girl that sucked the life force out of people. The woman from the hardware store that stuck a knife in my stomach and tried to scarifice me..."

Nick and Grissom looked horrified as Xander went on about his past relationship encounters. Greg snickered loudly before saying, "You didn't tell me about the hardware store."

"It was close to the end...before we really knew what was going on," Xander said sadly.

"I got there in time that time," Spike said, taking his hand. Xander gave him a bright smile.

"What's this Council you keep talking about?" Grissom asked, coming out of his stupor.

"The Watcher's Council. Well, its the International Council of Watchers now. Most of the former Council was blown up a few years ago by a demonic entity bent on destroying them. Giles, and the rest of us, reformed it after that," Xander started to explain. "We gather information on demons and well...watch for any activity that needs to be stopped. I was the head Watcher for Africa for the first two years while we were reforming. The HQ is still in London, where it's always been...that's where you usually find Giles. I'm in Cleveland now, we're the HQ for the activity in the States."

"If you aren't going to need me anymore, I've got bodies waiting on me," Doc Robbins said.

"Hey Doc, do you ever get vamps coming in?"

"Those would be the bodies that are picked up so suddenly by family that no one ever sees," Al smirked as he left the office.

"Damn," Nick breathed. "Okay. I got the point. I still can't really agree that just killing vampires is acceptable. But, I'll wait until I have more information before I make any kind of real judgment."

"That's all that we ask," Xander said. "You have to understand that demons are just like humans. Some are normal and peaceful others are completely evil. It took me a while to see the good side. Anya, my ex-fiance, really helped me see beyond just the black and white. Although, it took me years to stop being such a hypicritcal ass. But the evil is still there, and still has to be stopped. That's what we do. We stop the ones killing and plotting to destroy the world, the others we leave alone."

"Soo, what makes...umm...Spike a good vampire?" Nick asked.

"Bloody hell. You're just full of questions," Spike grumped, good naturedly.

Xander and Spike spent the next hour explaining about themselves, Sunnydale, and everything they had experienced over the years.

"Spike's an ass, but he'll do the right thing," Xander assured them. "He's been fighting with us for seven years now. Took me five of those years to finally trust him. I can't tell you how many times he's saved my life and the lives of others."

"So, what do you need to do?" Grissom asked, coming out of the spell the story telling had created.

"The first thing we need to do is send those pictures back to Cleveland so that our people can get to work translating and looking for the ritual they are doing," Xander answered.

"We can't allow those pictures to float around freely," Grissom protested. "There's chain of evidence that we have to follow."

"No problem," Xander said and looked at the ceiling. "Hey Wills, we need one of our laptops."

Grissom and Nick both jumped when a light suddenly filled the room and a laptop landed at Xander's feet. "So cool," Greg breathed.

"How?" Nick and Grissom both asked.

"Magic," Xander answered with a shrug. "This is a Council laptop. It's only connected to our database. No one else has access to it. We can download the pictures onto it and send it back to Cleveland, via magic gram. Only Willow and Giles will see what we send. While they figure out what all of this is, we can hit the local demon hangouts and see if we can get some answers there. Unless you know of someone else that has a database of demonic languages and rituals."

"No," Grissom sighed. "You give your word that those pictures will not be released to the public?"

"Mr. Grissom, we've been keeping things like this out of the public for the last twelve years...I don't think we'll be changing that anytime soon."

"Alright then. Greg, help Xander download the photos to his laptop. Once that's taken care of, we'll go with you to these hangouts."

"Sure thing, Gris. C'mon Xan," Greg said, heading for the door.

"Hey Greggo," Nick said as Greg reached the office door. "That case Cath and 'Rick had, at that blood bar...when you gave them that cross and stake..."

"I was being totally serious," he smirked as he left the room.